With over 200,000 gamers voting for the nominees, this years Golden Joysticks was the biggest, most popular awards ceremony the country has ever seen. Never before has an event like this attracted so much attention from the public.
Hogging the limelight was no walk over for Grand Theft Auto, with Halo 2 and Resident Evil 4 snapping at the heels of Rockstar Games' international hit, which has sold an amazing 1.5 million units copies across Europe alone,
Competition was hot in all 19 award categories, with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess stealing the One To Watch for Christmas prize, and the PSP taking the Golden Joystick for the Innovation of the Year. While Halo 2 took Xbox Game of The Year and Half Life 2 secured PC Game of the Year, Nintendo sailed away with the Publisher of the Year accolade.
"We're very excited about what happened this year " said James Ashton-Tyler, of Future Publishing, "Not only was the event bigger than ever, but the number of voters who took part showed how much the Golden Joysticks means to real gamers. The night was a real celebration of the best on offer from the UK gaming industry as a whole."
Hosted by British comedian Jimmy Carr, the video games industry's biggest ever award ceremony took place amid the glitz and glamour of the Park Lane Hilton Hotel, London. Now in it's 23rd year, the annual event has quickly become one of the most significant events on the gaming calendar. Each award was voted for entirely by gamers from across the UK, making winning all the more important for the short-listed nominees.
The confirmed winners of the 2005 Golden Joystick Awards are as follows:
- PlayStation 2 Game of the Year – Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- GameCube Game of the Year – Resident Evil 4
- Xbox Game of the Year – Halo 2
- PC Game of the Year – Half Life 2
- The Carphone Warehouse Handheld Game of the Year – Super Mario 64 DS
- Best Film-Based Game of 2005 – Resident Evil 4
- BBC Radio One – Colin and Edith's Best Game Soundtrack of 2005 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- The Sun Online - Online Game of the Year – World of Warcraft
- Publisher of the Year - Nintendo
- The In Stock Magazine Retailer of the Year – Play.com
- The Game One Gaming Innovation of the Year - PSP
- MCV's The One to Watch for Xmas – The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
- The Sun's One to Watch for 2006 – Resident Evil 5
- Hero of 2005 – CJ from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Villain of 2005 – Officer Tenpenny from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- The Girl's Choice for 2005 – The Sims 2
- Editor's Game of the Year – Resident Evil 4
- Unsung Hero of the Year - Fahrenheit
- Nuts Magazine's Ultimate Game of 2005 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas