Canadian Videogame Awards to Return This Spring; Nominations Now Open

Canada will once again gather on the West Coast this spring to celebrate its world-class video game developers at the third annual Canadian Videogame Awards ceremony. Set to take place in Vancouver on April 3, 2012, The Canadian Videogame Awards will be held during the International Digital Media Summit. Canada has the third-largest videogame industry in the world—for tons of cool stats on our country's gaming space, check out this infographic.

"As we head into the holiday season," said Victor Lucas, co-host and executive producer of The Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run, "and videogames are high on everyone's wish lists, I'd really like Canadians to recognize just how much incredible interactive entertainment was made this year in this country."

Nominations opened today for the awards. The award categories, as selected by a committee of industry leaders from across Canada, are:

Game of the Year

Best Console

Best Game on the Go

Best Downloadable Game

Best Audio

Best Social/Casual Game

Best Game Design

Best Technology

Best Visual Arts

Best Writing

Innovation Award

The three new categories for 2012 are:

Best Original Music

Best New Character

Best Indie Game

Finalists in all categories will be announced March 1, 2012, when public voting for Game of the Year will open. And speaking of awards, check out The First Annual Canadian Startup Awards happening right now, presented by KPMG and hosted by Techvibes Media.