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MGS4, Mario Kart Wii honored at Japan Game Awards

TGS 2009: Konami's action adventure, Nintendo's racer deemed top titles of last year by the CESA; Peace Walker, FFXIII, Assassin's Creed II among best up-and-comers.

The Consumer Electronic Supplier's Association-run Tokyo Game Show wrapped up on Sunday, and with the dust settling, it has become apparent that the event saw significant contraction from last year. As announced earlier today, attendance fell from 194,000 in 2008 to 185,000 this year. Exhibitor count was also off last year's mark as just 180 companies showed off 758 games, down from a respective 209 and 879 in 2008.

MGS4 is still bringing in the awards.

MGS4 is still bringing in the awards.

However, the show also played home to the CESA's Japan Game Awards, which includes honors for last year's top titles, as well as nods to upcoming games with the most potential. In the Game of the Year division, which applies to those titles that saw release between April 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009, the CESA handed out its Grand Award to Nintendo's Mario Kart Wii and Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots as the top two titles of the period.

Mario Kart Wii and MGS4 joined nine other games as winners of the Award of Excellence, though the CESA wasn't entirely clear on how these games were judged. Other winners within the Game of the Year division included Pokemon Platinum Version, which took home the Best Sales Award with 2.4 million units domestically and 5.6 million globally. Wii Fit and Grand Theft Auto IV took home honors for Global Award Japanese Product and Foreign Product, respectively.

As reported by Japanese gaming news site Andria Sang, the Future awards, which are limited to upcoming releases, were determined after polling TGS attendees between September 24 and September 26--or, the first two media-only days, as well as one open-to-the-public day.

In all, 12 winners were determined, with Japanese companies, such as Square Enix, Sega, and Capcom, receiving the most nods. The games range from global prominence, such as Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed II and Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII, to lesser-known, relatively niche games, including Level 5's Ni no Kuni and Namco Bandai's Tales of Graces. The full list of winners for the Future awards can be found below.

Grand Award
Mario Kart Wii - Wii - Nintendo
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - PS3 - Konami

Award of Excellence
Dissidia Final Fantasy - PSP - Square Enix
Demon's Souls - PS3 - Sony Computer Entertainment
BioHazard 5 - PS3/360 - Capcom
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 - PS2 - Atlus Pokemon Platinum Version - DS - Nintendo
Mario Kart Wii - Wii - Nintendo
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - PS3 - Konami
428: In the blocked city, Shibuya - Wii - Sega
Rhythm Heaven - DS - Nintendo
Yakuza 3 - PS3 - Sega
Professor Layton and the Last Time Travel - DS - Level 5

Special Award
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite - PSP - Capcom
Style Savvy - DS - Nintendo

Best Sales Award
Pokemon Platinum Version - DS - Nintendo

Global Award: Japanese Product
Wii Fit - Wii - Nintendo

Global Award: Foreign Product
Grand Theft Auto IV - PS3/Xbox 360 - Rockstar Games

Japan Game Awards - Future Winners
Assassin's Creed II (Ubisoft)
Bayonetta (Sega)
Dragon Quest VI (Square Enix)
Final Fantasy XIII (Square Enix)
Ghost Trick (Capcom)
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (Square Enix)
Lost Planet 2 (Capcom)
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (Konami)
Ni no Kuni (Level 5)
Professor Layton and the Demon's Flute (Level 5)
Tales of Graces (Namco Bandai)
Yakuza 4 (Sega)

114 Comments

  • zeldon98

    Posted Jan 2, 2010 9:25 pm GMT

    When is kingdom hearts birth by sleep come out in america???? It say January 9 in japan... are they not making one for america.

  • felipebo

    Posted Dec 18, 2009 6:16 pm GMT

    MGS left me closer to tears than any funeral

  • Taimanin

    Posted Oct 23, 2009 6:17 pm GMT

    GO MGS4! 8D

  • royal7thguy

    Posted Oct 4, 2009 4:44 pm GMT

    Let me just get this straight that I traded in mgs4 for uncharted 2 ( I'm saying this because I feel awkward about it right now) and please don't thumb me down because mgs4 was a AWESOME game with a AWESOME story, excellent online, and great TP shooting. It's with Uncharted 1 and 2, Infamous, Resistance 1 and 2, and probably more as the AWESOME games of the PS3 (no offence to 360 or Wii people).

  • huntervaneg

    Posted Oct 2, 2009 11:08 am GMT

    Why Mario Kart??? If you tell me that it is the DS version, I will be happy but it is the Wii one... Sorry, for all the lovers of this game (I love MArio Kart franchise), but it is so... Better I do not give my comments, I will just say that I lost 49.99 bucks on it!

  • chefstubbies

    Posted Oct 1, 2009 7:56 pm GMT

    Honoring Mario Kart? lol...only in Japan can they treat a POS video game like a nation-wide hero...

  • metalgear-solid

    Posted Oct 1, 2009 9:38 am GMT

    Metal Gear Solid 4 is one of the best games of all time and EVERY gamer needs to play it. MGS4 just reeks of epicness!

  • Xanth93

    Posted Sep 30, 2009 9:26 am GMT

    MGS4 is the best PS3 game out there right now, and the second best game ever made (the best being Ocarina of Time).

  • RECONPLANE

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 6:27 pm GMT

    Mario kart rocks!

  • isaacmj posted Sep 29, 2009 4:59 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    isaacmj

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 4:59 pm GMT (hide)

    GTA4 is so underrated that it doesn't get true awards anymore...

  • NuKkU

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 4:05 pm GMT

    woo go MGS4

  • Typhlosion001

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 2:35 pm GMT

    mario kart wii was amazing for wii online, mario kart is made for human players not racing AI and that is what made it so enjoyable. I do however believe that the battle mode in the game was the worst of the 6 games

  • rht992

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 1:25 pm GMT

    huh? i started playing MGS4 again last night. forgot how good it was but its starting to loose its hold on me this third time through. Its still one of the best games ever made though

  • dresdek

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 1:04 pm GMT

    mgs4 even though it was mostly movie I agree but mario kart wii? how did this receive grand award? this game was not grand by any means, it looked terrible in large hd and was nowhere near as fun as older kart games

  • Jaggermaster

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 12:37 pm GMT

    Big Surprise !!! Burp.....

  • Viron90

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 10:53 am GMT

    @payne6705

    Based on your description of the game mariokart clearly is not the racing game for you ._.

    Also, once you get in first its not hard to stay ahead really, except for the odd blue shell. That being said MKDS does have less powerful Items and I also thoroughly enjoy that game online

  • Eris88

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 10:45 am GMT

    I hope Kingdom Hearts: BBS is released soon

  • payne6705

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 10:41 am GMT

    @Viron90

    whoops my mistake I thought there was one for the NES so I apologize for that but you call mario kart wii a good game? oh ya its so much fun to have the completely overly powered weapons destroy any players with skill and let the nubs win without any effort sorry dude I know the mario kart games were always a bit unbalanced but the most recent outing was dreadful the DS version is the most superior version because it is actually balanced and had more interesting tracks

  • Viron90

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 10:35 am GMT

    @payne6705

    Mariokart wii is a really good game, and by far has the best online of any wii game. Also there is no 8-bit mariokart. SNES is 16 bit nub.

  • Necromorph2021

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 10:22 am GMT

    Metal gear solid 4 is a great game. if you play it under 4 times. the 5th time I tried to go through the game i quit because it has no replay value other than a stupid emblem at the end if you go through the game perfectly.