Video games go Hollywood at awards show

The stars of the video game industry came out in force in Santa Monica to honor their peers for creative excellence - taking a page from the Hollywood playbook with red carpets, glittering gems and a live nationwide broadcast.

The blockbuster criminal adventure game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" took Game of the Year honors at the Spike TV Video Game Awards, the US cable network's second annual show honoring the US$10 billion (NZ$14m) games industry.

The awards were the latest mark of legitimacy for the gaming business, increasingly the fourth pillar of the entertainment industry along with movies, music and TV. Games sales regularly rival box-office receipts, and the largest game publishers take in more than US$1 billion a year in revenue.

"I guess this means that when we make games we don't play games," said action movie star Vin Diesel, whose own game company, Tigon Studios, shared in the Best Game Based on a Movie award for "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay," a film in which he starred.

Celebrities from the worlds of entertainment and athletics turned out for the awards, including actress Tara Reid, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, singer JC Chasez and baseball stars Bobby Crosby and Barry Zito.

But the crowd was pure gamer, with enthusiastic fans cheering for their favorite games.

"San Andreas" led the pack with four wins, including nods for its soundtrack and for voice work from actor Samuel L. Jackson.

Electronic Arts, the world's largest game publisher, garnered five awards, including two each for the racing game "Burnout 3" and the football title "Madden NFL."

Spike TV is part of the MTV Networks family of channels, and it brought some of the MTV sensibility to the awards, including raucous performances by rapper Ludacris and rockers Motley Crue.

Victoria's Secret models in angel outfits descended from the rafters to help present the "Vector Monkey" statuettes (a monkey holding a video game controller and wearing a crown).

But most award winners seemed unfamiliar with the procedure - few made any sort of speech and most offered a simply a brief "thank you."

- REUTERS