Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Gamecenter awards for the best games of 1996. Grab your popcorn, a refreshing beverage, and get ready for a walk through our picks of the very best offerings of the past year. If you would all please take your seats, we will begin.

What a year to be a gamer! It's been an amazing journey from the solo-only text games of yesteryear all the way to 1996. In the past 12 months, people from around the world have come together to pilot their ships, fire their rockets, think, plan, and kill in ways not even dreamed of a short while ago.

While the Internet might be feeding information to the masses, those in the know (most of you gathered here this evening) are fully aware of the incredible gaming opportunities it has offered. Even games without multiplayer options were able to benefit with patches, upgrades, and tactical information instantly available. Add in the phenomenal and innovative work done in 3D, and it's easy to see why gaming has rocketed to the media forefront.

The Gamecenter panel of experts have sampled, selected, and shortened their lists of nominees to a maximum of five contenders for each of the coveted best of genre awards. There are nine categories, ranging from Mac to sims, consoles to action, each and every game a winner in its own right. As always, the voting has been tabulated and confirmed by Fight Powerhouse, our private accounting firm. If you agree or disagree, let us know. We welcome audience feedback.