Everyone else has a winners and losers of '06 for about every category so I'll throw my two cents into the videogame industry.

WINNER: 2K GAMES

Rockstar may have taken some hits to their street cred but 2K Games built on the success of Jade Empire with the award winning Elder Scrolls Oblivion, horse armor incident and all. next up, Bioshock and "emergent gameplay".

LOSER: EA SPORTS

Madden failed to fully realize its next-gen glory on the 360. NBA 2K7 beats bests Live for yet another year. Charging gamers in Tiger Woods for already available options. Continues it's stranglehold on competition with it's exclusivity contracts. Fight Night and ESPN integration were bright spots though.

WINNER: WORLD OF WARCRAFT

With 7.5 million subscribers worldwide, it's the new Evercrack. Crossed over into TV land with South Park, Stargate, and Help Me Help You. Took bad press with the tragedy in Korea and the transgender incident. Blizzard still puts out expansions.

LOSER: JACK THOMPSON

Yet another shining example of why everyone hates lawyers. The REAL reason people play Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.

WINNER: PS2 GAMERS

Okami, Metal Gear Subsistance, Final Fantasy XII, Guitar Hero 2, Bully, Kindgdom Hearts 2,etc. So many good games still out you would think it was the only system released by Sony.

LOSER: PS3 GAMERS

The price tag, the delays, the snub of the Euro gamer, no rumble, the robberies, the Ebay price gougings, the Lik-Sang debacle. PS3 gamers have no place to go but up.

WINNER: E3

Even though I always wanted to go to E3 I for one applaud the move to downsize the event. Less cosplay and random people with no business being there means that more information and coverage on games will only benefit the gamers more. Although I already miss the booth babes...

LOSER: USK

Don't get me wrong I LOVE Germany and it's people. I was born there, I spent my 21st birthday there and plan on going back. However, what is up with the USK and their policy towards "killer games"? It's bad enough people have to import games like Gears and Dead Rising but putting them in the same category as porn? Crytek might move if it goes through which sucks for them but if I lived there it would give me an excuse to visit "the back room"...

WINNER: GEARS OF WAR

No Halo? No problem! The Emergence of Gears of War proved three things: Epic can be more than Unreal, the 360 is more than just HALO, and you need HDTV to truly enjoy your games. This game was the tip of the spear of great games on the 360 in '06 and continued to cement the legitimacy of Microsoft and the relevance of XBOX Live.

LOSER: FANBOYS

PS3 fanboys who have only been gaming for maybe 10 years thinking the PS3 would "pwn noobs" on hardware and sequels alone. The 360 fanboys thinking Sony will fold in the face of losing exclusives. The Wii fanboys thinking the Wiimote is the greatest thing since the Powerglove. The PC fanboys thumbing their noses at anything not keyboard and mouse. Ignorance and a keystroke can make for a mind-numbing online experience.

WINNER: GAMERS

It was a good years to be a gamer. Two console launches and multiplatform trends have been contributing to the consistent increase in revenue towards the industry. Gears of War, Final Fantasy XII, Comapny of Heroes, and Zelda: Twilight Princess proved there are good games on whatever system you have. Expect more of the same next year when the PS3 gets on track, HALO 3 and Super Mario Galaxy make their debut, and Crysis makes you wish you upgraded your computer...