NEW YORK, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Spike TV has upped the ante for the 4th annual Spike TV 2006 Video Game Awards (VGAs.) Joining host Samuel L. Jackson will be musical performances from Tenacious D and AFI along with presenters including hip hop mega-star 50 Cent, NBA superstar Mike Bibby, actor Seth Green, half-pipe legend Tony Hawk, rapper/actor Method Man and actress Rachael Leigh Cook. Many more musical acts, presenters and attendees will be announced shortly.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061121/NYTU116 )

During the VGA's, viewers will be treated to the world premiere of Blizzard Entertainment(R)'s opening cinematic movie for its highly anticipated upcoming expansion set, World of Warcraft(R): The Burning Crusade(TM). The two-minute clip will debut exclusively on Spike TV. World of Warcraft is the world's most popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game, with more than 7.5 million players worldwide.

Spike TV's 2006 Video Game Awards tapes on Friday, December 8 at the University of Southern California's Galen Center in Los Angeles with the two- hour "games vs. games" extravaganza. The show will premiere on Wednesday, December 13 (10:00 PM-Midnight, ET/PT).

To vote for this year's VGA nominees go to http://www.vga2006.spiketv.com/ -- it runs through Thursday, December 7. Also online, fans can log-on to view exclusive red carpet and backstage coverage of the event.

The official sponsors of Spike TV's 2006 Video Game Awards are Burger King(R), Mountain Dew, Pontiac, Stride(TM) Gum, U.S. Air Force and Verizon Wireless.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion from Bethesda Softworks tops this year's VGA nominations with ten including "Game of the Year," "Most Addictive," and "Best Performance by a Human - Male" for actor Patrick Stewart as well as "Studio of the Year" for Bethesda Softworks and designer Todd Howard. Company of Heroes (THQ) and Gears of War (Microsoft) each have six nominations.

Nominees of Spike TV's 2006 Video Game Awards were determined by the VGA Advisory Council, composed of some of the most respected gaming industry experts. The council is responsible for selecting nominees and participates along with our viewers in the voting process to select VGA winners. Winners will be determined by votes from the Video Game Industry Voting Council and consumer voting. The winner in the "Most Addictive Game" category will solely be determined by viewer voting.

Spike TV's 2006 Video Game Awards pays tribute to the outstanding achievements of games, designers, animation, breakthrough technology, music and performances of the past year in the world of video games. The awards also provide a glimpse at the future of gaming -- including exclusive sneak peeks and world premiere footage of some of the hottest and most anticipated games of 2007 and beyond.

Albie Hecht, Oscar(R)-nominated producer and co-creator of the "Kids' Choice" and "Video Game Awards," and Casey Patterson, Senior Vice President, Event Production & Talent Development for Spike TV will serve as Executive Producers of Spike TV's 2006 "Video Game Awards." Alicia Portugal will serve as Producer and Scott Fishman is the Executive in Charge of Production. Beth McCarthy will serve as director.

Spike TV is available in 90 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. .

About Blizzard Entertainment

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft and the Warcraft(R), StarCraft(R), and Diablo(R) series, Blizzard Entertainment (http://www.blizzard.com/), a division of Vivendi Games, is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating many of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard's track record includes nine #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's free Internet gaming service, Battle.net(R), reigns as the largest in the world, with millions of active users.

CONTACT: Shana Agron, Spike TV, +1-212-767-4275,
shana.agron@spiketv.com; or Aileen Budow, Spike TV/Comedy Central,
212.767.3952, aileen.budow@spiketv.com

Web site: http://www.spiketv.com/
http://www.vga2006.spiketv.com/