Mario Kart DS leads Golden Joystick 2006 nominations

Mario Kart can be played online on the Nintendo DS
Handheld.

Games console title Mario Kart DS leads the nominations for the Golden Joystick awards 2006.
The Nintendo DS game has six nominations, including game of the year, while role playing game Oblivion is short listed in five categories.

Quiz game Buzz and Xbox Live's marketplace, where gamers can download demos, lead the innovation category.

The winners - voted for by gamers - will be unveiled at a ceremony in a London hotel on 27 October.

Votes can be cast on the Golden Joystick awards website and organisers are expecting more than 250,000 ballots to be cast.

About Golden Joystick Awards:
The Golden Joystick Awards are officially the world's favourite video games ceremony, originally debuting back in 1982, when Atari, Commodore and Spectrum ruled the earth! Bigger than ever, the Golden Joystick Awards 2006 will feature 17 different award categories, and are the only awards voted for by those who matter - gamers.
Vote Here

Below you can see the official shortlist:

Favourite Character Award
 Mario (Mario Bros.)
 Agent 47 (Hitman: Blood Money)
 Lara Croft
 Alyx Vance (Half-Life: Episode 1)
 Prince of Persia (Prince of Persia The Two Thrones)

Girls Choice Award
 Nintendogs
 Animal Crossing: Wild World
 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Special Edition
 50 Cent: Bulletproof
 Evil Dead Regeneration
 Super Princess Peach
 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend
 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 Mario Kart DS

Handheld Game of the Year
 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
 Mario Kart DS
 Animal Crossing: Wild World
 New Super Mario Bros.
 Metroid Prime: Hunters
 Nintendogs
 Advance Wars: Dual Strike
 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
 Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
 LocoRoco

Innovation Award in association with T3 magazine
 Xbox Live Marketplace
 Nintendo Wi-Fi Connect
 Nintendo DS Lite
 Guitar Hero
 Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day
 Nintendogs
 The Movies
 We Love Katamari
 Animal Crossing: Wild World
 Buzz!: The BIG Quiz

The Sun's Family Game Award in association with
The Sun and The Sun Online
 Nintendogs
 Kameo: Elements of Power
 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 Shadow the Hedgehog
 Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
 Super Princess Peach
 Kirby: Power Paintbrush
 Super Monkey Ball Touch and Roll
 Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
 SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, PANTS!

Nuts All-Nighter Award in association with Nuts magazine
 Mario Kart DS
 Metroid Prime: Hunters
 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
 Call of Duty 2
 Animal Crossing: Wild World
 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
 Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
 Project Gotham Racing 3
 Buzz!: The BIG Quiz
 Far Cry Instincts Predator

Nintendo Game of the Year
 Mario Kart DS
 Animal Crossing: Wild World
 New Super Mario Bros.
 Metroid Prime: Hunters
 Nintendogs
 Gun
 Advance Wars: Dual Strike
 Chibi-Robo!
 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
 LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 2006 FIFA World Cup
 Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
 Fire Emblem: Path of RAdiance

One to Watch 2007
 Nintendo Wii
 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
 Halo 3
 Grand Theft Auto IV
 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
 PlayStation 3
 Super Smash Bros. Brawl
 Resident Evil 5
 Gears of War
 Spore
 Final Fantasy XII
 Crysis
 Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
 World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
 Super Mario Galaxy

Online Game of the Year
 Mario Kart DS
 Call of Duty 2
 Animal Crossing: Wild World
 Metroid Prime: Hunters
 Project Gotham Racing 3
 Age of Empires III
 Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis
 Final Fantasy XI Treasures of Aht Urhgan
 Perfect Dark Zero
 Quake IV

PC Game of the Year in association with ebuyer.com
 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
 Half-Life 2: Episode One
 F.E.A.R.
 Call of Duty 2
 Age of Empires III
 Football Manager 2006
 Civilization IV
 Fable: The Lost Chapters
 The Movies
 Black & White 2
 Guild Wars Factions
 Battlefield 2: Special Forces
 The Lord of the Rings: Battle For Middle Earth II
 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend
 Hitman: Blood Money
 The Sims 2 Nightlife

Playstation Game of the Year
 Shadow of the Colossus
 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Special Edition
 Resident Evil 4
 Guitar Hero
 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
 Hitman: Blood Money
 Black
 50 Cent: Bulletproof
 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend
 Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King
 Burnout: Revenge
 WWE Smackdown! Vs. RAW 2006
 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 Battlefield 2: Modern Combat

Publisher of the Year in association with Sonopress
 Nintendo
 Rockstar
 EA Games
 Ubisoft
 Microsoft Game Studios
 Capcom
 Konami
 Square Enix
 Activision
 Sony Computer Entertainment
 Sega
 Eidos
 Vivendi
 THQ
 Atari
 NCSoft
 Take Two

Retailer of the Year in association with Sierra
 GAME
 Play.com
 Gameplay.com
 Gamestation
 Amazon.co.uk
 HMV
 Gameseek
 Virgin

Soundtrack of the Year
 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
 Guitar Hero
 Need For Speed Most Wanted
 Shadow of the Colossus
 Sonic Rush
 Call of Duty 2
 Hitman: Blood Money
 50 Cent: Bulletproof
 Phoenix Wright

Xbox Game of the Year
 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
 Half-Life 2
 Call of Duty 2
 Project Gotham Racing 3
 Black
 Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
 50 Cent: Bulletproof
 Burnout: Revenge
 Perfect Dark Zero
 Hitman: Blood Money
 Dead or Alive 4
 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend
 The King of Fighters Neowave
 Psychonauts

Ultimate Game of 2006
 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
 Resident Evil 4
 Animal Crossing: Wild World
 Mario Kart DS
 Half-Life 2
 Shadow of the Colossus
 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Special Edition
 Metroid Prime: Hunters
 New Super Mario Bros.
 Call of Duty 2
 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
 50 Cent: Bulletproof
 Guitar Hero
 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend
 Hitman: Blood Money
 Project Gotham Racing 3
 Half-Life 2: Episode One
 Battlefield 2: Modern Combat