Global Online Game Awards

- World's best online game for 2008 announced in Korea

- "Korea is the best place for holding the global online game awards"

Korea Game Industry Agency (president: Choi Kyu-nam) announced the winners of the 1st Global Online Game Awards, the best online games that captivated the world's gamers in 2008 per genre. This event was held at Exhibition Hall No. 3 of SETEC at 5pm on the 16th.

For Role-playing games, Blizzard Entertainment's "World of Warcraft" for the Racing/Casual genre, Nexon's "Kartrider," and First-Person Shooting Game Valve's "Counterstrike Source" were the big winners. NC Soft's "City of Heroes/Villains" was selected for the Adventure/Action game genre, EA Sports' "FIFA 09," as the top sports game, and CCP Games' "EVE-Online," for the Strategic Simulation game genre.

These award-winning games were selected by summing up the opinions of judges based on standards such as game scenario/planning, game graphics/character, game music/sound, game technology, and game creativity for the 5 candidate games of each genre as selected during the preliminary screening.

The host explained that fairness and credibility of the awards were enhanced through the participation of major game media of each nation in the world with regard to the judging and proceedings of the "Global Online Game Awards." Simon Carless, publisher of the US's Game Developer and Gamasutra.com, Michael Trier, chief editor of German PC Game magazine "Game Star," Wang Wei Wen, chief reporter of Chinese Game portal "17173 dot com," and Mo In, chief editor of Korea's "The Games" participated in this event as judges.

Simon Carless, publisher of Game Developer and Gamasutra.com and one of the judges, noted how a variety of online games are popular all over the world, breaking down the cultural boundaries of the East and the West. "I think the 2008 Global Online Game Awards is more valuable as a venue where all major game developers worldwide gather," he stated.

According to Michael Trier, chief editor of German PC Game magazine Game Star, Korea is a country that the world should benchmark in terms of promoting a healthy game culture. "Korea is the best place for holding the global online game awards held this year for the first time in the world," he said.

Mo In, chief editor of "The Games" and one of the judges representing Korea, expressed hope that the awards event for global online games is established as "an international game awards similar to the Cannes Film Festival or Venice Film Festival."

Wang Wei Wen, chief reporter of Chinese Game portal "17173 dot com" gave his two cents' worth after participating in the judging. "Online games not only provide enjoyment to people but also play the role of narrowing the gap between nations. I hope to see more excellent online games next year and the year after," he said.

"This event will serve as an important opportunity for Korea to contribute to the revitalization of the global online game industry. "I sincerely congratulate excellent games from every nation including Korea, North America, and Europe, they truly deserve the recognition," said Choi Kyu-nam, president of the Korea Game Industry Agency as the organizer of the Global Online Game Awards.