Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and Electronic Arts'
Spore were recognized among this year's Jim Henson Honors, a program founded to recognize people and products that represent the values of the acclaimed Muppets creator.
Recipients are selected for demonstrating "true creativity and committment to innovation," according to Brian Henson, the puppeteer's son. "They have raised the bar in their respective fields."
The highest honor, the Jim Henson Celebration Honor, was awarded to Miyamoto not only for his previous creations, but because he "reignited America's love for gaming with the creation of Nintendo's hugely popular Wii console."
The Celebration Honor also made note of
Wii Fit, for encouraging physical health in an entertaining way and for its uses as a rehabilitation tool in use by physical and occupational therapists.
The Jim Henson Technology Honor, given to an individual, organization or product that breaks new technology ground creatively, was awarded to
Spore.
"The game is meticulously conceived and executed with infinite detail, allowing a gamer to design and create his own character - a digital alter ego - providing for an unprecedented level of user creativity as his being evolves from a single-cell organism to a galactic god over hundreds of millions of years," says the awards announcement.
