This annual Video Game Hall of Fame Award honor will recognize the most memorable and innovative video game franchises in history.  The inaugural recipient, “The Legend of Zelda,” is one of the most influential and beloved gaming franchises of all time.  The legendary series will take its rightful place as the first entry into the Video Game Hall of Fame, with a special tribute at the 2011 “Video Game Awards” (#VGA) – the network’s ninth annual live televised event to celebrate the best in games.

Telecasting from Los Angeles, CA and featuring some of the most notable names in video games, Hollywood, music, sports and more, the two-hour event honoring the outstanding achievements within the video game industry over the past year will premiere LIVE on Spike TV, MTV 2 and Spike.com on Saturday, December 10 at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT.

“The ‘VGAs’ always celebrate the best games of the year and preview the future with world premieres,” said Casey Patterson executive producer of the “VGAs” and executive vice president of event production for Viacom Media Networks Entertainment Group. “Now our Video Game Hall of Fame will recognize the game franchises throughout history that have brought the industry to where it is today.”

“It is only natural to start with ‘Zelda,’” said Geoff Keighley, executive in charge, publisher relations, Spike. “‘The Legend of Zelda’ is a franchise that inspired many of us to see the potential of games when it debuted 25 years ago, one that has successfully transitioned from one game console generation to the next and has continually shown the narrative and artistic potential of the medium.”

“All of us at Nintendo are truly honored to have ‘The Legend of Zelda’ as the first inductee into Spike’s Video Game Hall of Fame,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales & marketing. “As we mark the 25th anniversary of the ‘Zelda’ series, we look forward to the December 10th ‘VGA’ event as a very special way to celebrate with fans and SPIKE viewers around the globe.”

The 2011 “Video Game Awards” will feature world premieres of the most anticipated games of 2012 and beyond.  In addition to the previously announced exclusives debuts of BioWare’s next project, the next “Alan Wake” game and “Metal Gear Solid: Rising,” this year’s viewers will get the first look at footage from “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Patriots,” “Transformers: Fall of Cybertron” and Most Anticipated Game nominee, “BioShock Infinite.”  Additional exclusives will be announced in the coming weeks. 

For additional information about other “VGA” world exclusives and announcements, fans can log onto VGA.spike.com and get updates via Twitter @SPIKE_TV as well as the hashtag #VGA. 

Leading the way with 12 nominations is “Portal 2” by Valve.  Rocksteady Studios’ second adventure featuring the Dark Knight, “Batman: Arkham City” garnered 10 nominations, while the third chapter in the Nathan Drake adventure, “Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception” by Naughty Dog and independent game “Bastion” rounded out the top most nominated games with 9 and 5 nods each, respectively.

Nominees for Spike TV’s 2011 “Video Game Awards” were determined by the VGA Advisory Council, made up of a group of some of the most well-respected video game journalists from media outlets such as Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, Game Informer Magazine, Kotaku, Joystiq, GameSpot, IGN and WIRED.

Below are several of the nominees and categories for Spike TV’s 2011 “Video Game Awards.”  For a full list, please go to VGA.spike.com.

GAME OF THE YEAR

• “Batman: Arkham City” (Warner Bros Interactive / Rocksteady Studios)
• “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
• “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword” (Nintendo)
• “Portal 2” (Valve)
• “Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception” (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

STUDIO OF THE YEAR

• Bethesda Game Studios
• Naughty Dog
• Rocksteady Studios
• Valve

BEST SHOOTER

• “Battlefield 3” (Electronic Arts / DICE)
• “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3” (Activision / Infinity Ward / Sledgehammer Games)
• “Gears of War 3” (Microsoft Studios / Epic Games)
• “Rage” (Bethesda Softworks / Id Software)

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME

• “Bastion” (Supergiant Games)
• “Minecraft” (Mojang)
• “Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP” (Capybara Games)
• “The Binding of Isaac” (Edmund McMillen)

For the first time, Viacom Media Networks will broaden the reach and impact of the 2011 “VGAs” by simultaneously airing the show LIVE on both Spike TV and MTV2, as well as on Spike.com.  Internationally, the “VGAs” will air in over 100 countries and territories around the world.  In addition, the show will include unique interactive opportunities only available to viewers during the initial live broadcast.  Further details will be announced in the weeks to come.