The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has announced that Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime will be inducted into its Hall of Fame at the D.I.C.E. summit this coming year. Along with names like Molyneux and Miyamoto, this honor was granted mianly due to the phenomenon called World of Warcraft, but for his other contributions to gaming as a whole as well. Congrats again, Mike!

"In particular, World of Warcraft has cemented Morhaime's influence and impact on the multi-billion dollar interactive entertainment industry; it is the world's largest online game, with more than 9.3 million subscribers.

Interactive Achievement Award Nomination Statement

Joseph Olin, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

The Academy’s peer panels and panelists are allowed and encouraged to consider any game released during the appropriate calendar year: it need not be formally submitted by a publisher to be reviewed, discussed and voted upon. The Interactive Achievement Award finalists are determined by nearly 400 of the most experienced game makers in the industry. Of the 45 titles that were finalists last year, seven were write-ins from the Peer Panels. This year, eight Interactive Achievement Award finalists are write-ins.

Last year, Capcom's Resident Evil 4 was a conspicuous no-show on the list of AIAS awards. This was apparently because Capcom was not a member of the AIAS, and the rules state that in order to be a part of the awards, a developer/publisher must be a member of the AIAS. This year, it has happened again. Capcom's Okami and Dead Rising were both left off the list, and again, Capcom is upset. Joseph Olin, president of the AIAS, claims that even though the rule has only been enforced in the last three years, the membership in order to be awarded rule is still on the books. We will try to get a response from Mr. Olin ourselves. Stay tuned.

We got the chance to speak with Joseph Olin, the President of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences about the state of gaming, the RE4 controversy, and life, the universe, and everything. Check it out.