"The Spotlight Awards reflect our organizations‚ long tradition of honoring the best game developers in the world," said KoAnn Vikoren, CGDC Director. "Our goal with the awards is to continue to develop new ways to distinguish and promote the artistic expertise and the technical advances that go into today's interactive entertainment."

Producers at CGDC and the CGDA have increased the scope of the event to include 21 categories which recognize individual developers and development teams for excellence in game creation. A nominating committee consisting of Alex Dunne, editor of Game Developer Magazine; Johnny Wilson, editor-in-chief of Computer Gaming World; Neil West, editor-in-chief of Next Generation; Trent Ward, editor-in-chief of Video GameSpot; Donna Coco, senior associate editor of Computer Graphics World; Noah Falstein, board chairman of the Computer Game Developers‚ Association; Judy Salpeter, editor of Technology & Learning; Greg Reeves, columnist for Replay Magazine and Mark Miller, co-chair of IA-SIG of the MIDI Manufacturers‚ Association have chosen the nominees within each category.

Winners were selected by a voting body made up of Computer Game Developers‚ Association members and registrants of the Computer Game Developers Conference.

The Spotlight Awards are the most prestigious of the games awards because they are not influenced by marketing," said Noah Falstein, chairman of the CGDA. "In addition, they signify recognition from the game developers‚ peers unlike other game awards from game publishers and distributors that are used primarily to promote the publishers‚ products."

Games running on PC/Mac, console, or on-line/Internet and arcade games, released in 1996 were eligible for consideration for the Spotlight Awards. Complete information about the awards is available online at http://www.cgdc.com.

The Computer Game Developers Association is the preeminent society for the interactive entertainment, educational software and multimedia industries. Founded in 1994, it has over 1800 members from around the world. Representing technical as well as creative and management professionals, the CGDA was founded on the philosophy of raising standards within the industry, recognizing individuals and products that are exceptional, and establishing levels of craftsmanship.