Nintendo Wii Fanboy

A number of Wii games are going up against some of the industry's biggest contenders in this year's BAFTA awards. It should make for an interesting award session, because while the Wii is dominating console sales (along with the DS), many people see games like Gears of War as greater achievements. Despite that, Wii Sports leads the pack of nominations, having picked up the greatest number of nominations; the pack-in boasts nods in seven categories, including Gameplay and Multiplayer.

It's not the only Wii title to pick up recognition, however; The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Trauma Center: Second Opinion are up for awards, along with a few other games. Check out the full list of nominations after the jump.

Nominations are open for this year's BAFTA game awards -- or perhaps we should call them the BAVGAs these days. And despite the fact that nominations close in July, games are eligible so long as they're going to be released in the UK sometime before December 31, 2007. So it's quite possible that games from the future could pick up awards.

This year's categories seem to have some room for Wii: Action and Adventure, Strategy and Simulation, Sports, Multiplayer, Casual, Use of Audio, Original Score, Technical Achievement, Artistic Achievement, Gameplay, Innovation, Story and Character, and Best Game. Casual? Sports? Gameplay? Innovation? Hell, we haven't even started thinking past Wii Sports yet, either. We'll keep an eye out for the full list of nominations and let you know when they're up. Have any Wii predictions? Let us know!

We expect The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess to get nominated for awards. It's a beautiful entry in a long-running series known for racking up the awards. What is surprising today is that while Twilight Princess received its due attention, it wasn't Nintendo's star when the Game Developers Choice Award nominees were announced -- Wii Sports was.

Just a few months ago, people were calling it a "trumped-up demo" and decrying the fact that this "minigame" was going to be marketed as a full game. Then, as a pack-in, some wanted to take a pass on it in favor of a cheaper price. Who'd have thought that months later, Wii Sports would emerge as a powerhouse and continue to dominate the spotlight? Now that everyone's had some time to be sporty in the living room -- and realize the depth of Wii Sports -- we wonder if that attitude's changed. Certainly someone thinks it's worthy of attention.

Twilight Princess is nominated in the Best Game and Writing categories; Wii Sports is up for three awards: Best Game, Technology, and Game Design.