This is not the year that Chip music finally blew up. Without commercial support from any of the dying arms of the International Media Empire it is up to members of our own community to document, promote and represent the finest the scene has to offer. Often working on no budget and tighter deadlines these few are perhaps the sole reason the outside world knows about us at all. These are the nominees for Defender of the Chip 2008.

Goto80 – Doing it on all levels, as a musician, advocate, blogger, historian, and overall exerting a positive influence on the community, Goto80 has done more for the scene by mistake than most have on purpose.

Jose Torres – Despite your opinions on the content of its posters, the work he has done organizing the 8Bitcollective forums and hosting is nothing short of amazing to promoting the growing youth chip movement. By creating a level playing ground for new and experienced users to mingle and create, he has given us a platform to organize and grow together as an community. Furthermore he is giving the game boy music scene a renewed lease on the future with the development of his sub cart writing hardware.

2pp – From almost the beginning of the rise of the East Coast 8bit music scene, 2 Player Productions has been there tirelessly documenting the growing profile of the chip community. With each years Blip Festival passing their production acumen has grown, and we have benefited from a an amazing and insightful documentary “Reformat the Planet”. Without a proper record of history, everything that is important may be lost to the ravages of time, and 2pp is doing this perhaps better than anyone.

BOTB – For whatever reasons, the demoscene concept has never caught on in the states, but the crew at Battle of the Bits have cobbled together a tightly knit community that celebrates innovation, creates a awesome learning environment, and pushes cutting edge exploration of any and all chip platforms.

The Tank Despite the glut of commercial music spaces worldwide, none have been as nurturing and supportive of the international chip scene than the organizers and volunteers at The Tank. Under the leadership of Mike Rosenthal, artists worldwide have been given the opportunity to meet and play with their peers, and the success of the Blip Festival must be unquestioned.