Comedian Ed Byrne set to host the annual awards show that takes place on Friday 26th October at the Park Plaza Westminster, London
24/08/12 HMV and GamesMaster are proud to announce that shortlist voting in the 2012 Golden Joystick Awards has now opened to the gaming public. As the largest and longest running videogame awards in the world, the HMV GamesMaster Golden Joystick Awards celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Voted for exclusively by the global gaming public, this year will see the cream of the gaming crop compete across16 fiercely contested award categories. Goldie oldies like Best Action-Adventure Game in association with Digital Spy and Best Handheld Game in association with T3 sit alongside innovations including Best Downloadable Content and Top Gaming Moment in association with the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror. And 19 of the year’s hottest titles – including The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Batman Arkham City and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – will be battling it out to be named Ultimate Game of the Year in association with GamesMaster. The awards will be presented to the videogame industry’s stars at the ceremony at London’s Park Plaza Westminster on Friday, 26th October 2012. Celebrating another stellar year in videogame development, host Ed Byrne will preside over an evening that celebrates the great and the good of the gaming world as well as offering exclusive sneak peeks at some of the treats in store for gamers in coming months. Gamers are invited to cast their votes now and have their say in gaming’s ultimate prize by visiting www.goldenjoystick.com.
The very first Golden Joystick Awards took place in 1983 and handed out its now famous gongs to Manic Miner, The Hobbit and Jetpac, among others. In the three decades since the inaugural awards few could have predicted the giant strides made by the medium – growing to become a £74-billion industry globally*. And the Golden Joystick Awards has grown with it, last year winning a Guinness World Record for the most votes cast in any videogame awards in history.
The Golden Joysticks has always reflected the fast-evolving landscape of the games industry and this year’s new categories underline that. This is demonstrated in its 30th anniversary year by the inclusion of categories such as Best Downloadable Content −celebrating both the emergence and esteem of DLC in contemporary gaming, Best Mobile/Tablet Game − honouring the exponential rise in both quality and popularity of iOS and Android titles and Best Browser/Flash Game − acknowledging the continuing maturation of the casual market. Also new to the Golden Joysticks is the Top Gaming Moment in association with Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror, created to reflect the ability of contemporary videogame developers to thrill their audiences like never before.
These fresh categories sit proudly alongside time-honoured gongs like Best Action Adventure Game in association with Digital Spy, Best Fighter Game, Best RPG in association with MSN, Best Sport Game in association with Sport Magazine and the biggie, the Ultimate Game of the Year in association with GamesMaster .
The Awards are this year hosted by comedian Ed Byrne. The Edinburgh veteran is a true videogame aficionado who can regularly be found in his gaming den battling it out on the likes of Battlefield and Uncharted with close pal, fellow gaming nut and former Joysticks host Dara O Briain. Ed’s witty banter and encyclopaedic knowledge of gaming mean he’s the perfect choice to preside over the anniversary celebrations. Game fans voting in this year’s Golden Joystick Awards will be treated to a special video message from the man himself as Ed urges them to help propel their favourite titles to the top spot. To vote now, visit the official website.
*Figure as of 2011 courtesy of Gartner Inc.
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For more information please contact:
Ben Bolton, Senior Communications Executive for Future on 020 7042 4034 or 07940 530424 or ben.bolton@futurenet.com
About the GamesMaster Golden Joysticks:
Established in 1982, the GamesMaster Golden Joystick Award is the world’s longest-running and best-known gaming awards. It’s the only annual awards voted for by gamers and a highlight of the games industry calendar. In 2011 attracted a record 2.1 million votes, breaking its own record as the World’s Most Popular Videogames Awards by Guinness World Records.
The GamesMaster Golden Joystick Awards 2012 ceremony takes place on October 26th at the Westminster Bridge Park Plaza.