Okami and Monster Hunter pulled down two prestigious 2009 CEDEC awards. The awards are particularly interesting, because they are voted on by the Japanese development community itself, and because any game is eligible, meaning titles released in the past can still win (presumably because awesome isn’t less awesome, just because it wasn’t in this calendar year).

The first-place awards went to Okami for Visual Arts, and to Monster Hunter Freedom for Game Design. W00t!

Hit the jump for the full release (photo via andriasang )

Capcom’s Okami and Monster Hunter Freedom
Development Teams receive top honors at CEDEC AWARDS.

Capcom Co., Ltd. (Capcom) is pleased to announce that the hit titles “Okami” and “Monster Hunter Freedom” have received the highest award in the Visual Arts and Game Design categories at the CEDEC AWARDS (sponsored by the Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association). The awards were announced at the CESA Developers Conference 2009 (CEDEC 2009) held from September 1st to 3rd.

“Okami” is a nature-themed action game in which the hero takes on the form of a wolf named Amaterasu and does battle with ghouls and ghosts in order to restore nature’s beauty to a devastated world. It delivers an audacious visual interpretation of nature and animals, rich and beautiful, rendered in a vivid Japanese-style through unique design techniques that do not rely on tone shaders. Since its release in 2006, Okami has garnered numerous awards, and continues to expand the possibilities of visual artwork within a game with the scheduled all-new October 2009 release of Okami for the Wii®.

“Monster Hunter Freedom” is an action game in which the player takes on huge monsters in a magnificent natural world. It makes use of the special characteristics of handheld gaming devices, allowing people to gather, communicate and enjoy playing together. This virtue of Monster Hunter Freedom has created an all-new style of communication, embraced by millions of people since the game’s 2005 release. The Wii title “Monster Hunter Tri”, released in August 2009, is the latest addition to the Monster Hunter Series, and given the series’ huge following, is quickly gaining traction to be the first third-party Wii title to hit the million-seller status in Japan.

Capcom is thoroughly committed to the creation of bold and unique games that are full of character. With a focus on creating original titles, Capcom strives to maintain a competitive edge in a market on the verge of a bona-fide penetration period for next-generation consoles.

ã€Prize Awarded and Product Details】
Visual Arts Category: First Prize
1. Title    Okami
2. Genre    Nature Adventure
3. Platform    PlayStation®2
4. Release Date    April 20th, 2006

Game Design Category: First Prize
1. Title    Monster Hunter Freedom
2. Genre    Hunting Action
3. Platform    PSP® (PlayStation®Portable)
4. Release Date    December 1st, 2005