Wii, Wario win ToyAward

While the Wii has already received numerous awards from within the gaming industry, Nintendo's latest system is winning accolades from the outside world as well. The latest such award comes from the Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair in Nürnberg, which runs February 1-6.

The one-two punch of the Wii and Nintendo's WarioWare: Smooth Moves walked away with a ToyAward in the Trend and Lifestyle category, according to the Toy Fair's official site. More than 150 companies submitted a total of 223 products for consideration in the 2007 ToyAwards, but the field was narrowed to eight category-winning entrants.

"The jury chose the product because the play concept of Wii tends to encourage playing PC games in groups instead of alone," the site explained. "In addition, the product not only appeals to player types with an affinity to PCs but also to new age groups--a real lifestyle theme. The innovative controller--for more fun and movement--and the Wario Wear: (sic) Smooth Moves represent a return to the more classic games in the game console segment."

Other winners included a remote-controlled Lego bulldozer in the Technical and Electronics category, while Pleo--a virtual dinosaur from the inventor of Furby--took home the Special Innovation Award.