G4 WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE ACADEMY…
TV Network About Video
Games Partners with Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences to Air Awards
Special Hosted by Comedian and Actor Dave Foley
LOS ANGELES
(February 18, 2003) – G4®
would like to thank the academy…the interactive academy, that is. Today, the
TV network all about video games announced a partnership with the Academy of
Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) to co-produce and air a one-hour special
on the Academy’s Sixth Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the video game
industry’s preeminent awards event, which recognizes creative achievement in
video game development. The announcement was made today by
Vinnie Longobardo,
senior vice president, programming, G4.
The
Interactive Achievement Awards will take
place February 27 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, with the
one-hour G4 special airing in March.
The awards event
will be hosted by comedian and actor Dave Foley, best known as the star of the
long-running NBC comedy series, News Radio.
Among the awards presenters will be
extreme sports personality Tony Hawk; multi-sensory performance troupe Blue
Man Group; actor Xander Berkeley, currently
starring in the hit Fox TV series 24;
actress Julie Benz of Buffy the Vampire
Slayer, Roswell and
Angel fame; actress Kelly
Hu, star of the upcoming
X2, the sequel to the blockbuster
film X-Men; and Mike Metzger, the undisputed pioneer of freestyle motocross.
The show also will feature a special musical performance by the recording act,
Unwritten Law.
Held during the
annual D.I.C.E. Summit (D.I.C.E.
stands for Design,
Innovate,
Communicate and
Entertain), which assembles the
game industry’s most accomplished professionals for two days of discussion and
brainstorming, the peer-based Interactive Achievement Awards recognize the
talented individuals and development teams that have contributed to the
advancement of interactive entertainment’s popularity, success and prestige.
“The Academy was
created in 1996 to increase awareness and promote the art of interactive
entertainment. Now, seven years later, we have a $9 billion industry, a
respected awards platform, and we have G4, the first 24-hour TV destination
for video gamers,” said Paul
Provenzano, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. “The
fact is that people passionate about games are going to be watching G4, so for
the both the Interactive Achievement Awards and the Academy, G4 is the logical
place to be.”
“G4 shares the
Academy’s dedication to supporting the craft of video game development and to
reflecting the culture of interactive entertainment,” said
Vinnie Longobardo, sr.
vice president, programming, G4. “We’re proud to be the first network to
bring the Academy’s prestigious awards to television, and look forward to
producing an exciting awards show that will satisfy our discerning audience of
savvy gamers.”
Interactive
Achievement Awards are presented in 30 craft, console, computer and online
categories. Awards highlights include an overall Game of the Year Award, as
well as Game of the Year in different genres, and the prestigious Hall of Fame
Award, which will be presented this year to SEGA®’s
Yu Suzuki, widely recognized as a pioneer of console video gaming.
About G4
G4 is the Comcast-owned
24-hour, seven-day-a-week television network dedicated to the world of video
games. Targeted to young adults 12-34, G4 is committed to creating a
lifestyle brand that is the premier source of entertainment, news and
information about electronic games, including video, computer, online and
wireless platforms. G4 currently has distribution to approximately 9 million
digital cable homes on Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Insight
and Mediacom systems. For more information, visit
www.g4tv.com.
About the Academy of
Interactive Arts and Sciences
Located in
Los Angeles, CA, the Academy of Interactive
Arts and Sciences (AIAS) is an official professional academy of the $9+
billion interactive entertainment software industry. AIAS is supported by the
industry’s leading companies and counts among its board of directors
representatives from Activision, Bioware
Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Ensemble Studios,
Infogrames, Insomniac Games, the Interactive Digital Software
Association, Microsoft, Nintendo of America, Oddworld
Inhabitants, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Sierra Entertainment, and
Carnegie Mellon University.
