"Diablo II" Captures Game of the Year in Interactive Achievement Awards

Recipients

I. CRAFT AWARDS

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction Final Fantasy IX (Play Station) Square Co., Ltd./Square Electronic Arts L.L.C.

Outstanding Achievement in Animation Final Fantasy IX (Play Station) Square Co., Ltd./Square Electronic Arts L.L.C.

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design Medal of Honor: Underground (Play Station) DreamWorks Interactive/Electronic Arts

Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition Medal of Honor: Underground (Play Station) DreamWorks Interactive/Electronic Arts

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design Zelda: Majora's Mask (Nintendo 64) Nintendo Co. Ltd./Nintendo of America

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering SSX (Play Station 2) Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts

Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering SSX (Play Station 2) Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts

Outstanding Achievement in Character or Story Development Baldur's Gate II (PC) Bioware/Interplay

II. CONSOLE

Action/Adventure Game of the Year Zelda: Majora's Mask (Nintendo 64) Nintendo Co. Ltd./Nintendo of America

Role Playing Game of the Year Final Fantasy IX (Play Station) Square Co., Ltd./Square Electronic Arts L.L.C.

Fighting Game of the Year Dead or Alive 2 (Dreamcast) Tecmo/Tecmo

Racing Game of the Year SSX (Play Station 2) Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts

Family Title of the Year Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64) Nintendo Co. Ltd./Nintendo of America

Sports Game of the Year SSX (Play Station 2) Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts

Innovation in Console Gaming Shenmue (Dreamcast) AM2/Sega of America

Console Game of the Year SSX (Play Station 2) Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts

III. ONLINE

Online Gameplay of the Year MechWarrior 4 Microsoft/Microsoft

Massive Multiplayer/Persistent World Game of the Year EverQuest: Ruins of Kunark Verant Interactive/SCEA

IV. PERSONAL COMPUTER

Family Title of the Year Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions Dynamix/Sierra On-Line

Action/Adventure Game of the Year Deus Ex Ion Storm/Eidos Interactive

Role Playing Game of the Year Diablo II Blizzard Entertainment/Blizzard Entertainment

Simulation Game of the Year MechWarrior 4 Microsoft/ Microsoft

Sports Game of the Year (TIE) FIFA 2001 EA Canada/Electronic Arts

Motocross Madness Rainbow Studios/Microsoft

Strategy Game of the Year Age of Kings II: The Conquerors Ensemble Studios/Microsoft

Innovation in Computer Gaming Deus Ex Ion Storm/Eidos Interactive

Computer Game of the Year Diablo II Blizzard Entertainment/Blizzard Entertainment

V. GAME OF THE YEAR

Diablo II (PC) Blizzard Entertainment/Blizzard Entertainment

Los Angeles, CA, March 23, 2001 -- The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) has announced the recipients of its 4th annual Interactive Achievement Awards.

The Awards were presented at a gala event held in San Jose at Polly Esther's on March 22, the week of Game Developers Conference. "Diablo II" (PC), developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment, garnered three Awards, including the top honor of overall Game of the Year 2001 and Computer Game of the Year. "SSX" (Play Station 2), developed and published by Electronic Arts, was awarded a total of five awards, including Console Game of the Year, and "Final Fantasy IX" (Play Station), developed by Square Co. Ltd. and published by Square Electronic Arts, took home three awards.

The Academy presented Interactive Achievement Awards in 27 craft, console, computer and online categories. The Academy also honored John Carmack, founder, owner and technical director of id Software, inducting him into the Academy Hall of Fame.

In keeping with Academy tradition, Hironobu Sakaguchi, last year's Hall of Fame inductee and creator and executive producer of the "Final Fantasy" series, returned to make the presentation. British humorist Martin Lewis hosted the Awards.

Peer panel review boards made up of individual Academy members with specific expertise in each of the categories were established to determine the finalists for each of the awards (with the exception of Game of the Year, Computer Game of the Year, Console Game of the Year, and Innovation in Computer and Console Gaming, which were determined by a board level review panel drawing from the total set of nominations).

Each peer panel member reviewed each submission in his or her category and then met in person, on-line, or by telephone conference call to consider the nominees with their respective review boards. Final balloting, overseen and certified by PricewaterhouseCoopers, took place online by a vote of eligible AIAS members.

Membership in AIAS is open to all qualified individuals working in the interactive software entertainment industry.

The Academy is supported by many of the industry's leading companies and counts among its board of directors representatives from DreamWorks Interactive, Electronic Arts, Ensemble Studios, Infogrames, Insomniac Games, Interactive Digital Software Association, Lionhead Studios, Microsoft, Nintendo of America, Sega of America, Sony Computer Entertainment America, and Simutronics Corp.

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences is located at 10635 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 180, Los Angeles, Calif., 90025.

For additional information, please call (310) 441-2280 or send e-mail: academy@interactive.org.

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Centennial of Ub Iwerks, Original Mickey Mouse Designer
Los Angeles, CA, March 23, 2001 -- Saturday, March 24, 2001 marks the 100th birthday anniversary of legendary Disney artist and motion picture pioneer Ub Iwerks, who is best known for his original design and animation of the character Mickey Mouse for Walt Disney in 1927.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri on March 24, 1901, Ub Iwerks met the young Walt Disney when both were teenagers working in a Kansas City advertising company. The two soon became artistic collaborators and business partners, founding the short-lived Iwerks-Disney Company and creating advertising cartoons.

When Walt Disney relocated to California in 1923 and set up his own animation studio, he called on Ub Iwerks to join him, and Iwerks quickly became the studio's top animator. By 1927, after a business dispute with his distributor, Walt Disney was in need of a new character to launch his own series. Ub Iwerks drew the initial sketches and animations of the mouse that Disney would soon propel into worldwide fame.

In 1930, Iwerks left the Disney studio to form his own company, Ub Iwerks Studios, at which he produced cartoon series that were technically brilliant but only mildly successful, including Flip the Frog, Willie Whopper, and the Comicolor Series. In 1940 he returned to the Disney fold and soon took his place as the company's leading visual effects wizard. Optical printers, traveling matte systems, the wetgate printer and the 360 degree motion picture screen, as well as numerous special photographic systems, are but a few of the inventions that have laid the groundwork for much of the visual magic we see today in motion picture theaters, theme parks and entertainment centers. For his many contributions to the film industry, Ub Iwerks was honored with two Academy Awards for Scientific and Technical Achievement, plus a nomination for his special effects work on Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds."

Ub Iwerks' son, Don Iwerks, Chairman and Co-Founder of Iwerks Entertainment and a Disney veteran and industry pioneer in his own right, observed of his father, "His prolific achievements and vision have helped to inspire and build the animation and visual effects community as a whole. If he were alive today, even at the age of 100 he'd be excited by the advancements in the digital revolution. He'd probably be on his home computer designing and inventing new processes that would take the industry to even higher levels."

Ub Iwerks' own story will be told during this centennial anniversary of his birth, with a soon-to-be-released biography titled "The Hand Behind the Mouse -- An Intimate Biography of Ub Iwerks, the man Walt Disney called 'the greatest animator in the world,'" written by Iwerks' granddaughter, Leslie Iwerks, and author John Kenworthy. In addition, the award-winning feature "The Hand Behind the Mouse -- The Ub Iwerks Story" about Ub Iwerks, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and directed by Leslie Iwerks, will be released through Buena Vista Distribution.

Iwerks Entertainment Inc., founded in 1986, is the No. 1 provider of 8/70 Large Format Theatre systems worldwide and the industry leader in ride simulation. Iwerks' technologies include Giant Screen (Iwerks Extreme Screen), ride simulation (Iwerks TurboRide), turn-key 3D/4D theatres (Iwerks 3D/4D FX Theatre) and other specialty attractions. Iwerks has nearly 200 installations in 38 countries worldwide at entertainment centers, amusement parks, movie theatres, museums, science centers, shopping centers, casinos, resorts, nightclubs, restaurants, and more. Iwerks has received two Academy Awards for Scientific and Technical Achievement: in 1998, Don Iwerks received an Oscar, the coveted Gordon E. Sawyer Award; in 1999, L. Ron Schmidt received an Academy Award Plaque in recognition of the Iwerks patented Linear Loop Projection system.

Iwerks is on the web at www.iwerks.com.

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William Hanna Dies at 90
Los Angeles, CA, March 22, 2001 -- William Hanna, co-chairman and co-founder of Hanna-Barbera with partner Joseph Barbera, has died in his sleep at the age of 90.

Hanna-Barbera created some of television's most memorable animated characters, including Fred Flintstone, Tom and Jerry, Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, the Flintstones, Scooby Doo, and the Jetsons.

Hanna began his animation career in the ink and paint department of Hollywood's Harman-Ising studios during the 1930s Depression. In 1937, he was hired by MGM, where he met Barbera. Their partnership lasted over 60 years. They formed Hanna-Barbera in 1957 when MGM closed its cartoon division, going on to produce more than 3,000 animated half-hour television shows.

Pathe to Release French-Dubbed Anime on DVD and VHS
Chicago, IL, March 21, 2001 -- Further expanding Japanese animation into a worldwide market, Manga Entertainment announces today a video distribution deal with Parisian-based entertainment company Pathé.

Pathé will dub Manga's Japanese animated DVD and VHS films into French and distribute them to French territories and French speaking countries worldwide including: France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Africa. Manga President, Marvin Gleicher and Pathé Distribution Director of Development, Abel Nahmias made the deal.

The companies are on the web at http://www.manga.com and http://www.pathe.com.

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Mr. Bill Library Acquired by Lions Gate LG
Marina del Rey, CA, March 21, 2001 – Lions Gate Home Entertainment and CinemaNow have secured home video and Internet video-on-demand rights to the complete library of popular Mr. Bill animated films, it was announced today by Peter Block, President of Home Video, Acquisitions and New Media, and Curt Marvis, Chief Executive Officer of CinemaNow.

The Lions Gate and CinemaNow acquisition includes "Mr. Bill Goes to Space," featuring Mr. Bill taking an ill-fated trip to the Russian Space Station Mir, and several shorts which will be available for the first time on home video.

"Mr. Bill Goes to Space" will premiere on CinemaNow concurrently with the real Space Station Mir's fiery return to earth on March 20, and the first volumes from the popular Saturday Night Live character will street on VHS and DVD at sell-through prices this summer under the Trimark Home Video Banner.

The acquisition marks the first time that all of the films from writer/producer Walter Williams' popular franchise character will be distributed under one roof. Included in the library acquisiton are "The Mr. Bill Collection (The Best of Saturday Night Live)"—19 shorts that include the original Saturday Night Live skits; "Oh Nooo!!! It's Mr Bill's 20th Anniversary" collection, featuring the theatrical short "Mr. Bill Goes to Washington," and "Mr. Bill Does Vegas Plus 25 All New Shorts," with special guests Wayne Newton, The Smothers Brothers, Father Guido, and Jenna Elfman. The collection is rounded out by the DVD "Ohh Nooo!!! Mr. Bill's Classics," which includes behind-the-scenes commentary about the SNL days from Mr. Bill and never-before-seen footage.

The Mr. Bill Play-Doh character was initially created by Walter Williams as a parody of bad animation. From his humble debut on TV screens nationwide on the first season of "Saturday Night Live" on February 22, 1976, he has grown to occupy the nation's consciousness with his trademark "Ohh nooo!!!" punchline. Like other great entertainers of the modern age, he's done it all: network, cable, movies, home videos, music videos, nightclubs, a best-selling book, the college lecture circuit, a tribute at the Smithsonian, and Letterman.

A 15th Anniversary USA Today survey found that Mr. Bill's popularity among "Saturday Night Live"'s characters is exceeded only by John Belushi and Gilda Radner. Following his seven year run on "SNL," Mr. Bill has amassed a body of work that includes "The Mr. Bill Collection" (the original films shown on SNL) and the New York Times number one bestseller "The Mr. Bill Show."

Mr. Bill has costarred in TV specials with Dick Clark and Bob Hope, worked with Shelly Duvall on Showtime's "Mr. Bill's Real Life Adventures," regularly hosted USA-TV's "Night Flight", was a guest correspondent on HBO's "Not Necessarily the News," cut a comedy album with Rich Little, and had his own line of cards and gifts in Hallmark stores. He produced promos for Comedy Central and anti-substance abuse spots for Knight-Ridder. He has appeared in national TV ad campaigns for Burger King, Lexus and Pizza Hut . Most recently he had his own TV series "Ohh Nooo Mr. Bill Presents!!!" on the Fox Family Channel. With his debut on CinemaNow, Mr. Bill adds digital age video-on-demand to his long list of credits.

CinemaNow, Inc. is majority owned by Lions Gate Entertainment. CinemaNow's site (www.cinemanow.com) currently streams over 200 feature length films, using the Windows Media Player as its viewing platform. CinemaNow's subscription and fee-based on-demand selections are securely streamed using Microsoft's Digital Rights Management and iBeam's proprietary platform. CinemaNow controls exclusive Internet distribution rights to over 1000 films from the Lions Gate, Trimark Pictures, Avalanche, Allied Artists, Tai Seng, and Salvation film libraries; it is the most extensive, comprehensive collection of feature films available on-demand over the Internet. The company closed a second round of financing, led by investors Microsoft and BlockBuster, at the end of 2000, and has been featured on "Ebert and Roeper at the Movies" and "CNNfn: The Leading Edge." The site was listed in January 2001 as one of the top 15 trafficked streaming content sites by DFC Intelligence.

Lions Gate develops, produces and distributes a broad range of motion picture, television and other filmed entertainment content through its four operating divisions – Motion Pictures, Television, Animation and Studio Facilities as well as its CinemaNow digital media platform.

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Duke Nukem Coming to the Big Screen
Los Angeles, CA, March 20, 2001 -- Videogame star Duke Nukem is coming to to the big screen courtesy of Threshold Entertainment and producer Larry Kasanoff (Mortal Kombat I & II, True Lies). The PG-13 rated film, Duke Nukem: The Movie, could hit theaters as early as next summer.

Dimension Films will release the movie, which will feature Duke being sent to outer space to intercept an alien ship on a collision course with Earth.

In the meantime, ARUSH Entertainment, Internet publisher of episodic video games, will release the newest Duke Nukem online adventure for the PC, "Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project," this fall.

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DIGIFEST 2001 Symposium Brings Students and Professionals Together
Vancouver, B.C., March 19, 2001 -- This April, the Center for Digital Imaging and Sound (CDIS) is hosting DigiFest 2001, an annual digital arts symposium and exhibition designed to jumpstart students by introducing them to the professionals, educators, equipment and software driving the digital arts and animation industries.

Students and their teachers from British Columbia are invited to attend hands-on workshops and develop their skills and understanding of digital media. The event takes place on Friday, April 20th and Saturday, April 21st from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the new CDIS Entertainment Technology Center (ETC).

At DigiFest, animation, modeling, video production, networks and the Internet are brought together under the umbrella of digital arts. New equipment and facilities at CDIS means this year DigiFest is expanding to include motion capture, digital audio and recording, video game programming and visual effects.

More than 35 different workshops and panels are scheduled for the event, with topics ranging from web, animation and multimedia careers to introductory workshops in software such as Softimage XSI, PhotoShop and 3D Studio Max. Over two days, participants will focus on introductory information about the digital arts and be provided with hands-on access to software and hardware used in entertainment technology. Attendees are encouraged to bring samples of their work for critique by the pros.

Key players from Vancouver’s entertainment technology industries will be present to share their knowledge and experience, including BopJet.Net, Merlan, Moshpit Entertainment, Apple Canada, Tom Lee Music, NetNation, IICS, DigitalEve Vancouver, New Media BC and Pacific Cinematheque.

For detailed information on cost, exhibitors, workshops and panelists, visit www.artschool.com/digifest/digifest.html. Tickets may be ordered from Ticketmaster online at www.ticketmaster.ca.

Launched in 1997, DigiFest is the brainchild of Bill Henderson, Head of Technology Education at Robert Bateman Secondary School in Abbotsford. Located in Burnaby, CDIS offers programs in animation, video game production, digital film, visual effects, new media, Internet and the recording arts.