Xbox Live Arcade Award winners announced

The winners of the 2008 Xbox Live Arcade Awards have been announced at the Games Developers Conference in the US during a private developer reception.

Following the launch of the Xbox Live Awards in January, more than 26,000 people voted for their favourite Xbox Live Arcade games.

The finalists in each category were chosen by a panel of industry journalists and the winners of the first six categories were selected by voters, with the final four decided by gameplay data, Metacritic score or staff vote.

Xbox Live Arcade is famed for hosting more than 25 small independent games developers who create original titles that represent more than a quarter of all Xbox Live Arcade content, with 14 of the home-grown titles enjoying Metacritic scores of 80 or higher.

The top award in this year's honours list went to Bomberman Live, which collected Best Overall Arcade Game and Best Competitive Multiplayer Game, while Best Original, Staff Choice and Best Family-Friendly Game went to Pac-Man: Championship Edition.

Xbox Live Arcade Award winners in full:

Best Overall Arcade Game: Bomberman Live (Hudson Entertainment)

Best Classic Game: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami Digital Entertainment)

Best Original Game: Pac-Man: Championship Edition (Namco Bandai Games)

Best Family-Friendly Game: Pac-Man: Championship Edition (Namco Bandai Games)

Best Competitive Multiplayer Game: Bomberman Live (Hudson Entertainment)

Best Cooperative Multiplayer Game: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Ubisoft Entertainment)

Best-Selling Game: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Ubisoft Entertainment)

Most-Played Game: Worms (Team17 Software Limited)

Highest-Rated Game: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami Digital Entertainment)

Xbox Live Arcade Staff Choice: Pac-Man: Championship Edition (Namco Bandai Games)