Videogame Industry Icons Honored with Stars on Walk of Game

The game industry continues to grow and with an entire generation now having been raised on games, it is a legitimate and burgeoning part of our culture. Which makes it worthwhile honouring the people who have played a role in the industry’s formative years. Sony Entertainment’s Metreon centre is a 350,000 square-foot entertainment complexlocated in the heart of downtown San Francisco that was opened 18 months ago. Last year Metreon launched the video game industry’s version of the “walk of fame” to commemorate some of pop culture's most indelible icons of the digital screen. Last year the inaugural inductees were Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of “Mario Brothers” and “Donkey Kong”) and Nolan Bushnell (co-founder of Atari and “Pong”), in the Lifetime Achievement category, and Halo, Link (The Legend of Zelda), Mario, and Sonic The Hedgehog in the category for favorite Games/Characters. This year fans have voted in six new inductees and all were on hand to claim their stars on the “walk of game.”

They were Sid Meier (creator of Civilization, Railroad Tycoon and Pirates) and John Carmack (Technical Director, id Software - developers of DOOM and QUAKE) for Lifetime Achievement, and Lara Croft (Tomb Raider), StarCraft, FINAL FANTASY and EverQuest as favorite Games/Characters.

The 2006 inductees were honored at a press and industry-only reception where the stars were unveiled. Sid Meier and John Carmack were in attendance to accept their stars for Lifetime Achievement. Accepting on behalf of Lara Croft was Bill Gardner, CEO of US Publishing for Eidos, Toby Gard, design and creative consultant for Lara Croft, and Karima Adebibe, the new Lara Croft model; accepting for EverQuest was Chris Lena (Producer), and Firiona Vie from EverQuest and Antonia Bayle, Queen of Qeynos from EverQuest II; Sonia Im from Square Enix was joined by a team of cosplayers to accept the star for FINAL FANTASY, and Blizzard Entertainment's Shane Dabiri, Producer, and Bob Fitch, Lead Software Engineer, accepted on behalf of StarCraft.

Nolan Bushnell (co-founder of Atari and creator of Pong), 2005 inductee for Lifetime Achievement, headlined the event along with SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog. Adam Sessler, host of G4's "X-Play" emcee'd the Induction Ceremony.

The newest additions to the attraction are now open to the public, in time for the Game Developers Conference (GDC), an annual gathering of the global game development community, and a Walk of Game partner for the second year. New to Metreon's attraction in 2006, gaming fans can come experience why these games are the voters' choice at the Walk of Game Station - unique stations featuring inducted games.

In 2005, Walk of Game's inaugural inductees included Halo(R), Link (The Legend of Zelda), Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog. Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong) and Nolan Bushnell became the first recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Every October, gamers worldwide cast their votes through paper ballots and online submissions at www.WalkOfGame.com during a one-month voting period. The top four Games/Characters and the top two Lifetime Achievers are then honored with a 24"x24", customized steel star on Walk of Game. Nominations for 2007 will be announced later this year.