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Critical acclaim is a swell bullet point for the back of a box, but, really, who bases their buying decisions on what the so-called "experts" have to say? Let's face it, we buy certain games because they're staring us down every which way we turn -- on the internet, on the TV, on the frickin' subway -- and because, well, sometimes we're just suckers for the ol' "Chotchkie" Editions. And, while we might curse the thought of marketing (and our powerlessness against it), the MI6 Awards celebrates this integral component of the game industry machine.

So, just this once, let's all give a hand to the brilliant minds that so craftily offered us many, many valuable opportunities to ride their hype waves all the way to the checkout last year. View the complete list of awards and "Gold Winners" (no euphemism necessary, huh?) after the break.

At the MI6 marketing conference in San Francisco, GameDaily reports on how Halo 3's marketing molded the image of Master Chief. Jerret West, global group product manager at Microsoft, explains they didn't want to portray Master Chief "as a reckless American cowboy." They needed him to be accepted as a savior of humanity and integrate Halo into pop culture. West notes the team had pop culture benchmarks like making the cover of Time or Wired, and worked with numerous other companies to push marketing ideas.

Chris Lee, a product manager from Microsoft, points out that Halo didn't have an awareness problem, it had a perception problem for being too hardcore. Looks like the team's efforts to make the Master Chief mainstream worked out. Halo 3 ended up becoming one of the best selling games last year.

The man responsible for introducing us to Freddy Krueger may soon be following in the footsteps of the Wachowski brothers, Steven Spielberg, and other Hollywood heavyweights who are crossing over into the gaming biz. And unlike some people in the entertainment industry, writer-director Wes Craven feels that if video games contain "deep stories, characters, and narratives", they should be considered forms of art.

Speaking with author and Mercury News blogger Dean Takahashi at the MI6 Game Marketing conference, Craven also confirmed he is "in talks" to make an original video game. However, if you're expecting a Resident Evil-style romp from the horror maven, you may be surprised with what he eventually produces. The former college professor feels there are not enough educational games on the market, and sees opportunities to simulate world politics and health problems. Whatever it is, Wes, don't let "you know who" make a movie out of it.

In addition to Nightmare on Elm Street, the prolific Craven has also written and/or directed The Hills Have Eyes, Swamp Thing, Scream, and Red Eye.

See also: WesCraven.com

Nintendo's marketing department never ceases to amaze, do they? The Nintendo DS will act as an all-in-one espionage gadget in the upcoming Generic Teen Spy Movie 18 Stormrider, the first in a long line of Alex Rider stories by author Anthony Horowitz. From the press release:

"After the murder of his uncle and guardian, the MI6 British spy agency recruits the reluctant 14-year-old Alex Rider to take over his uncle's mission. Like any good spy, during training he receives his key piece of gadgetry: a Hot Rod Red Nintendo DS. He also gets several game cards that transform his DS into an eavesdropping device, a wiretap detector or a smoke bomb."

Uhm, why can't our dual-screened wonders do all that? I wonder if the villains use PSPs which fire out UMDs at rapid speeds. Oh snap.

[Update 1: Added PSP villains, thanks, Ludwig]