Electronic Gaming Monthly and Computer Gaming World Announce the Best Games of 2004

    SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Ziff Davis Media's market-leading PC
 and videogame publications Electronic Gaming Monthly and Computer Gaming World
 today revealed the winners of their annual Game of the Year Awards honoring
 the best video and PC games of 2004. The winners will be published in the
 March 2004 issues of Electronic Gaming Monthly and Computer Gaming World,
 which will be on newsstands February 8, 2005. 1UP.com, the Company's new
 online community for gaming enthusiasts, will also feature the winners in the
 same issues.
     "Every year we review hundreds of PC and videogames so that core gamers
 can make smart purchasing decisions," said John Davison, Vice President and
 Editorial Director, Ziff Davis Media Game Group. "Every winner of an EGM or
 CGW Game of the Year Award represents something truly special. 2004 was an
 unbelievable year in terms of quality releases, and picking the very best was
 more challenging than ever before."
 
     Electronic Gaming Monthly
     The editors of Electronic Gaming Monthly, the ultimate guide to video
 gaming, reviewed scores of videogames that reflect the various platforms that
 comprise the videogame industry -- PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube -- as well
 as handheld, online and multi-platform games.  The EGM editors' overall winner
 for 2004 Game of the Year was Microsoft's Halo 2, the juggernaut of the gaming
 industry that had gamers lining up to purchase and competitors moving their
 release dates to avoid.  Four months after its debut, the editors of EGM still
 play Halo 2 every week. The complete list of Electronic Gaming Monthly's 2004
 Game of the Year awards is:
 
     * Game of the Year: Halo 2
       -- Publisher: Microsoft (Redmond, WA)
       -- Developer: Bungie
     * Sony PlayStation 2 Game of the Year:  Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
       -- Publisher: Rockstar Games (New York, NY)
       -- Developer:  Rockstar North
     * Microsoft Xbox Game of the Year: Ninja Gaiden
       -- Publisher: Tecmo (Torrence, CA)
       -- Developer: Team Ninja
     * GameCube Game of the Year: Metroid Prime 2
       -- Publisher:  Nintendo (Redmond, WA)
       -- Developer: Nintendo
     * Multiplatform Game of the Year: Burnout 3
       -- Publisher: Electronic Arts (Redwood City, CA)
       -- Developer: Criterion Studios
     * Handheld Game of the Year: Metroid: Zero Mission
       -- Publisher:  Nintendo (Redmond, WA)
       -- Developer: Nintendo
 
     Computer Gaming World
     The editors of Computer Gaming World, the number one PC gaming publication
 in the industry providing two decades of gaming industry editorial leadership,
 revealed their 21st annual Game of the Year Awards.  The 2004 awards expanded
 this year to include 15 distinct categories, ranging from in-depth
 role-playing games to real-time strategy and sports games.  The winners
 represent the best PC games and hardware in the industry.  The editors' pick
 for the overall 2004 PC Game of the Year was Vivendi Universal Games' World of
 Warcraft, lauded as the first massive-multiplayer game that anyone can play,
 both hardcore and casual gamers alike, bringing the genre into the mainstream.
 It was also deemed a triumph of art direction, rendering a gorgeous fantasy
 world without demanding the most expensive hardware.  The complete list of
 Computer Gaming World's 2004 Game of the Year winners is:
 
     * Game of the Year: World of Warcraft
       -- Publisher: Vivendi Universal Games (Los Angeles, CA)
       -- Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
     * Strategy Game of the Year: The Sims 2
       -- Publisher: Electronic Arts (Redwood City, CA)
       -- Developer:  Maxis
     * Real-Time Strategy Game of the Year: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
       -- Publisher:  THQ (Calabasas, CA)
       -- Developer: Relic Entertainment
     * Action Game of the Year:  The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher
       Bay
       -- Publisher: Vivendi Universal Games (Los Angeles, CA)
       -- Developer: Starbreeze
     * MMORPG of the Year: City of Heroes
       -- Publisher: NCsoft (Austin, TX)
       -- Developer: Cryptic Studios
     * Single Player Shooter Game of the Year:  Painkiller
       -- Publisher: Dreamcatcher Interactive (Toronto, ON)
       -- Developer: People Can Fly
     * Multiplayer Shooter Game of the Year: Unreal Tournament 2004
       -- Publisher:  Atari (New York, NY)
       -- Developer: Epic Games
     * Wargame Game of the Year: Battles in Normandy
       -- Publisher: Matrix Games (Staten Island, NY)
       -- Developer: Strategic Studies Group
     * Adventure Game of the Year:  Missing: Since January
       -- Publisher: The Adventure Company (Toronto, ON)
       -- Developer: Lexis Numerique
     * Expansion Pack of the Year: Rise of Nations: Thrones & Patriots
       -- Publisher: Microsoft (Redmond, WA)
       -- Developer: Big Huge Games
     * Sports Game of the Year: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
       -- Publisher: Electronic Arts (Redwood City, CA)
       -- Developer: EA Sports
     * Classic Game of the Year: Sid Meier's Pirates!
       -- Publisher: Atari (New York, NY)
       -- Developer: Fireaxis
     * Role-Playing Game of the Year: Vampire: The Masquerade.Bloodlines
       -- Publisher: Activision (Santa Monica, CA)
       -- Developer: Troika
     * 2004 Hardware of the Year: Athlon 64 FX-55
       -- Manufacturer: AMD (Sunnyvale, CA)
 
     About the Ziff Davis Media Game Group
     The Ziff Davis Media Game Group is the largest publisher of electronic
 game magazines in the United States. Electronic Gaming Monthly has the highest
 rate base of any independent gaming magazine published, covering the
 PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and all relevant and emerging
 game systems.  The Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine is the #1 publication
 for passionate PlayStation gamers.  Computer Gaming World is the longest
 running and most respected publication for core PC gamers. 1UP.com, the Ziff
 Davis Media Game Group's online property, reaches active electronic game
 buyers on the web.
 
     About Ziff Davis Media Inc.
     Ziff Davis Media is a leading integrated media company focusing on the
 technology, videogame and consumer lifestyle markets.  The Company is an
 information services provider of technology media including publications,
 websites, conferences, events, eSeminars, eNewsletters, custom publishing,
 list rentals, research and market intelligence.  In the United States, the
 Company publishes 9 market-leading magazines including PC Magazine, Sync,
 ExtremeTech, eWEEK, CIO Insight, Baseline, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Computer
 Gaming World and Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine.  The Company exports the
 power of its brands internationally, with publications in 41 countries and 20
 languages.  Ziff Davis Media leverages its content on the Internet with eight
 highly-targeted technology and gaming sites including PCMag.com, eWEEK.com,
 ExtremeTech.com and 1UP.com.  The Company also produces highly-targeted b-to-b
 and consumer technology events including DigitalLife. With its main
 headquarters and PC Magazine Labs based in New York, Ziff Davis Media also has
 offices and lab facilities in the San Francisco and Boston markets.
 Additional information is available at http://www.ziffdavis.com.
 
 

SOURCE  Ziff Davis Media