The Academy’s 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards were presented at a ceremony held in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on February 27, 2003, the first evening of the D.I.C.E. Summit.

Comedian Dave Foley hosted the awards, with musical performances by Unwritten Law and The Players. The presenters were Xander Berkeley (24), Julie Benz (George of the Jungle II), Cliff Bleszinski (Senior Designer, Epic Games), Blue Man Group, comedy collective Chickenface, Ed Fries (Vice President of Games Publishing, Microsoft), professional skater Tony Hawk, Kelly Hu (X-Men 2), Don James (Nintendo of America), David Jones (Founder and Managing Director, Realtime Worlds), Nina Kaczorowski (Minority Report), Douglas Lowenstein (President, IDSA), Syd Mead (Syd Mead, Inc.), freestyle motocross champion Mike Metzger, Shigeru Miyamoto (Senior Managing Director, Entertainment Analysis and Development Division, Nintendo Co., Ltd.), Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe, William Lee Scott (Dumb and Dumberer), Tommy Tallarico (Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc.), Amy Weber (Son of the Beach), and Victor Webster (Mutant X).

Battlefield 1942, developed by Digital Illusions and published by Electronic Arts, won four awards, including overall Game of the Year and PC Game of the Year.  Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft Entertainment, won two awards, including Console Game of the Year.

The Academy presented Interactive Achievement Awards in 26 craft, console, computer, and online categories.  The Academy also inducted Yu Suzuki, one of Sega’s leading game designers, into the Academy’s Hall of Fame.  In keeping with Academy tradition, Will Wright, last year’s Hall of Fame inductee and co-founder of Maxis, returned to make the presentation.