It’s Golden Joystick time: World’s biggest gaming ceremony returns

The Golden Joystick awards have been running now for twenty five years. Hailed as the biggest and most prestigious ceremony in all of gaming, the show rewards the very best that our beloved industry has to offer. Despite all that, I can only keep thinking of the Golden Joystick trophy from GamesMaster.

Dominik Diamond’s shenanigans aside, this year’s Golden Joysticks show is looking to be the best ever, and guess what — Destructoid will be there in full force … in the press pen … watching on an AV feed. Still, that’s better than what you’ll be doing on the 27th October, especially since the show’s set to be hosted by David ‘God of hilarity’ Mitchell.

Yes, the Britcepticon division of Destructoid (myself, David Houghton, Atheistium and CBlogger Wardrox) will be at the Hilton Hotel to watch events unfold. That said, the show needs your help too. Unlike some shows that arbitrarily hand out awards on subjects they know nothing about, the Golden Joysticks are voted on by us, the disgusting gaming public.

With already 700,000 votes, this year’s Golden Joysticks look set to be huge, and you can help sway things in your preferred game’s favor by joining in. Go to the official site and click “Vote Now!” Do it if, like me, you desperately want Cooking Mama to win something. Oh, and hit the jump for the full list of nominations.

The Sun Family Game of the Year
Wii Sports
Guitar Hero II
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Viva Piñata
Virtua Tennis 3
Mario Party 8
Sims 2 Pets
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Rayman Raving Rabbids
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Bliss Girls’ Choice Award
Guitar Hero II
Viva Piñata
Okami
Cooking Mama
Virtua Tennis 3
Sims 2 Pets
SingStar Pop Hits
Crackdown
Buzz! The Mega Quiz
Rayman Raving Rabbids

BBC 1Xtra Soundtrack of the Year
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Guitar Hero II
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Need for Speed Carbon
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
God of War II
Gears of War
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Okami
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy

Nuts All Nighter Award
Gears of War
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade
Wii Sports
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Pro Evolution Soccer 6
Resistance Fall of Man
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
Battlefield 2142
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
Company of Heroes

Handheld Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Pokémon Diamond/Pearl
Final Fantasy III
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Killzone: Liberation
Pro Evolution Soccer 6
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Justice for All
Tekken: Dark Resurrection
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
Chili Con Carnage

Innovation Award
The Nintendo Wii
PlayStation 3
DirectX 10
Wii Sports
Halo 3 Beta
Steam
Xbox Box Live Arcade
The PlayStation Network
Wii Play
Crackdown

Mobile Game of the Year
Final Fantasy
Lemmings Return
Sims 2 Pets
3D Space Invaders
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
Transformers
UEFA Champions League 2006-2007
Before Crisis – Final Fantasy VII
World Series of Poker Texas Hold’ em
Orcs & Elves

Nintendo Game of the Year
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Wii Sports
Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition
Pokémon Diamond/Pearl
Call of Duty 3
Final Fantasy III
Mario Strikers: Charged Football
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
Red Steel

Ones to Watch Award
Grand Theft Auto IV
Assassin’s Creed
Crysis
Halo 3
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Metal Gear Solid 4
Super Mario Galaxy
Fallout 3
BioShock
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

Online Game of the Year
EVE Online: The Path to Kali
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Gears of War
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
Resistance: Fall of Man
Mario Strikers Charged Football
Guild Wars: Nightfall
Battlefield 2142
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas

PC Game of the Year
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl
Company of Heroes
Football Manager 2007
Guild Wars Nightfall
Battlefield 2142
Test Drive Unlimited
The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles
Medieval II: Total War
Supreme Commander
Gothic 3
Neverwinter Nights 2

PlayStation Game of the Year
God of War II
Final Fantasy XII
Resistance: Fall of Man
Okami
MotorStorm
Guitar Hero II
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Call of Duty 3
Pro Evolution Soccer 6
Killzone: Liberation
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
F.E.A.R.
Canis Canem Edit

Xbox Game of the Year
Gears of War
Guitar Hero II
Forza Motorsport 2
Crackdown
The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles
Call of Duty 3
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
F.E.A.R.
Viva Piñata
Test Drive Unlimited
Saints Row
The Darkness
Virtua Tennis 3
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
Pro Evolution Soccer 6

Publisher of the Year
Nintendo
Ubisoft
Rockstar Games
Electronic Arts
Microsoft Game Studios
Sony
Codemasters
THQ
Square Enix
Konami
Capcom
Atari
Take Two Interactive/2K Games
Activision
Sega

Retailer of the Year
Amazon.co.uk
Play.com
Game
Gamestation
Gameplay
HMV
EB Games
Virgin Megastores
Gameseek

UK Developer of the Year
Rockstar North
Codemasters
Lionhead
Rare
Team 17
Free Radical
Criterion
Sony London
Bizarre Creations
Traveller’s Tales
Evolution Studios
Realtime Worlds
Sports Interactive
FireFly Studios
Llamasoft

Ultimate Game of the Year
Gears of War
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
God of War II
Final Fantasy XII
Resistance: Fall of Man
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
MotorStorm
Guitar Hero II
Wii Sports
Guild Wars Nightfall
Okami
Test Drive Unlimited