Famitsu crowns Hideo Kojima, Monster Hunter with timely 2008 awards

by Andrew Yoon { Apr 25th 2009 at 5:30PM }

They say that the Japanese are known for their impeccable respect of timeliness. So why is it that leading Japanese mag Famitsu is revealing its 2008 Game of the Year winners now? Here are some highlights:

Person of the Year -- Hideo Kojima
This is a man that not only has time to pen the complex and convoluted script behind Metal Gear Solid 4, but will star in weird videos meant solely for fanboys. That's a man you can respect.
Rookie Title Prize -- The Last Remnant
Perhaps "rookie" is a good word to use for Square Enix's RPG that almost played at a respectable framerate on a system that almost sold well in Japan.
Innovation Prize -- Wii Music
This game innovated by being the first Nintendo-developed Wii game that didn't sell billions of copies.
Game of the Year & Best Seller Prize -- Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G
We love it when "best selling" means simply "the best." In America, the best game of 2008 is Wii Play.

For the complete list of Famitsu's 2008 winners, visit 1UP.

Tags: famitsu, famitsu-awards, goty-2008, hideo-kojima, last-remnant, monster-hunter, monster-hunter-portable-2nd-g, wii-music

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

EnergyPigeon @ Apr 25th 2009 5:36PM

LOL wii play

Phantom @ Aug 29th 2009 2:23PM

Wii would like to play.

Black Mage @ Apr 25th 2009 5:36PM

None of the winners of these awards are really surprising, other than Wii Music being the most innovative.

Cammy @ Apr 25th 2009 5:38PM

Actually best selling game of 08 in the USA was either Mario Kart Wii or Grand Theft Auto 4 (there's some debate over which, no numbers are accurate enough to tell for sure).

Wii Play came out before 08...

Black Mage @ Apr 25th 2009 5:40PM

Really? You should have read that it says Japanese '08 Awards.

voted down

Cammy @ Apr 25th 2009 6:02PM

Learn to read you dumb piece of shit.

"We love it when "best selling" means simply "the best." In America, the best game of 2008 is Wii Play."

Jeffrey @ Apr 25th 2009 11:33PM

Not saying you're wrong about your assertions, but a game can be the best selling game of 2008 and not have come out then.

For instance, Gone with the Wind came out in late 1937 (as a book), so didn't become the bestselling book of 1937, but of 1938 where it had a full year to sell itself.

I can't think of a video game example, but I'm sure something of the sort can happen in this industry as well.

http://videogamejunkies1.blogspot.com/

Jeffrey @ Apr 25th 2009 11:34PM

Also, to the person who called you a "dumb piece of shit".

Show some class.

http://videogamejunkies1.blogspot.com/

tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 25th 2009 5:43PM

Giving an award to Last Remnant and wii music makes this very hard to take seriously...not that famitsu has much credibility left anymore anyway. Just sayin..

tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 25th 2009 5:45PM

Wait are those descriptions under the award from Famitsu or just Joystiq being snarky? :P

If it's from famitsu then I'll lay off of them for this, as I get it now.

THE Ezio Auditore de Firenze (PSN slycooper_rocker) @ Apr 25th 2009 5:55PM

it's joystiq being snarky

tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 25th 2009 5:58PM

Ok then, my opinion of Famitsu stands. I usually spot joystiq's jokes but I got that swine flu thing (ok not really...just regular flu) and I just woke up from a nap so my mind's not very sharp right now.

Being sick sucks though, can't even enjoy Fallout 3 :(

j.howlett @ Apr 25th 2009 6:15PM

perhaps they just finished their second go with all the games especially the ones released in december to make sure they made good choices. not everyone hands out awards willy nilly and takes'em back when something better comes along

Saint @ Apr 25th 2009 7:19PM

Valid point until you consider Wii Play being most innovative.

That's just a head scratcher.

Angel Mass @ Apr 25th 2009 6:18PM

Goooo Monster Hunter!

mgsrocks1 @ Apr 25th 2009 6:22PM

Hideo Kojima is winning awards left and right. He deserves them though. Without his games, I don't I would have bought a PS2, a PS3, or enjoyed gaming this generation as much. He is my inspiration and I hope one day I can make games with the same dedication and passion as Kojima. Arigato! (thanks)

THE Ezio Auditore de Firenze (PSN slycooper_rocker) @ Apr 25th 2009 6:33PM

really? i was expecting a guy named 'mgsrocks1' to say he hates kojima.

DeathroW @ Apr 25th 2009 6:42PM

Kojima is my god

Manly Mcbeefigan (Mr. ESC) @ Apr 25th 2009 6:57PM

"When God gives you lemons you find a new God!"

F.E.F Red Fury @ Apr 25th 2009 7:13PM

"When life gives you lemons, just say 'Fuck the lemons,' and bail"-Paul Rudd in
Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Saint @ Apr 25th 2009 7:21PM

"When life gives you lemons... YOU EAT YOUR GODDAMN LEMONS! THOSE THINGS AREN'T CHEAP!" - George Carlin, "Napalm and Silly Putty"

THE Ezio Auditore de Firenze (PSN slycooper_rocker) @ Apr 25th 2009 8:22PM

"When life gives you lemons, squeeze them in life's eyes" - my best friend.

Moptimus Slime (Ziggy played Guitar Hero, but not Smash Hits) @ Apr 26th 2009 1:58PM

"When life gives you lemonade, you make lemonade"-Don King

Manly Mcbeefigan (Mr. ESC) @ Apr 25th 2009 6:58PM

Hey Monster Hunter 2nd G a game that will never get to play,I hate when games are limited to a few countried.I hope that's not the case for Monster Hunter Wii.

Manly Mcbeefigan (Mr. ESC) @ Apr 25th 2009 6:59PM

*Countries.

Great Golem+ @ Apr 25th 2009 7:29PM

It's coming out this summer as Monster Hunter Unite, I think.

THE Ezio Auditore de Firenze (PSN slycooper_rocker) @ Apr 25th 2009 8:24PM

yeah it is unite. and if you have custom firmware, you can play it in english before unite comes out! just buy portable 2nd G off of play asia and rip it to the memory stick and you can download a patch that changes almost everything to english.

dgknight500 @ Apr 25th 2009 8:26PM

Yup, 2nd G is coming out as Monster Hunter Freedom Unite to the US this summer

Killiam XXIII @ Apr 25th 2009 7:04PM

FFS, how many bloody awards can Hideo Kojima get?

Manly Mcbeefigan (Mr. ESC) @ Apr 25th 2009 7:07PM

It is written than only 2/3 of the prizes Shigeru Miyamoto has.

Mr Khan @ Apr 25th 2009 7:21PM

Acknowledgement for Wii Music? No, it couldn't be.

Gavin @ Apr 25th 2009 7:23PM

The fact that Wii Music won anything just reveals how much of a whore Famitsu is. I wonder how much ad space Nintendo had to buy to get that hunk of shit in the running? Anyone who actually thinks this means anything has their head up their ass.

Mr Khan @ Apr 25th 2009 9:24PM

Accusations of Nintendo moneyhatting? lol.

Not that Nintendo is some saint, incapable of doing so, but they tend to refuse to play ball with the "gaming media" which is part of the reason why they are so often panned therein (and which leads to their very spotty PR with the core gamer)

Its that they don't whore themselves out, which leads to the reviled status they have

ScottG13 @ Apr 25th 2009 8:04PM

This explains why Japanese developers are increasingly struggle to sell in the West.

Ridiculous.

el serpiente @ Apr 25th 2009 8:19PM

Calm yourself. This is a Japanese magazine (not a developer), for a Japanese audience, giving awards for games that are in Japan. I don't think they care, nor should they what some Kenny Rogers fan on the other side of the world thinks.

ScottG13 @ Apr 25th 2009 8:32PM

I'm as calm as it gets.

But awards for trash makes more trash.

Bowser Rogozhin @ Apr 26th 2009 5:27AM

And I thought I was a hater. It seems I still have a lot to learn.

CrashSpyro123 @ Apr 25th 2009 11:23PM

Wii Play sold more copies in 2008 than either of those games did in 2008.

Elven_Star @ Apr 26th 2009 6:09AM

I really loved The Last Remnant indeed. Retarded reviews had me worried about it but they were all wrong.

"Oh, my PC usually runs stuff at 6500 FPS but ran this one at 6499. 6/10"
"WTF? Console versions got low scores so we can't give this version a much higher score, sry 8/10"

Giving this game any score lower than 9/10 is a crime against humanity.