*Portal 2 wins three BAFTAs, including Best Game. LittleBigPlanet 2 and Battlefield 3 each collect two Awards, with Battlefield 3 also taking the public-voted GAME Award of 2011
Batman: Arkham City receives two with Mark Hamill awarded his first-ever BAFTA.*
PORTAL 2 won three awards at tonight’s GAME British Academy Video Games Awards at the London Hilton, hosted by Dara O’Briain. The first-person puzzle platform game took home the BAFTAs for Design, Story and the coveted Best Game.
LITTLEBIGPLANET 2, the follow-up to the multi-BAFTA Award-winning LittleBigPlanet, triumphed in the Family and Game Innovation categories.
BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY took the Award for Action and MARK HAMILL received his first-ever BAFTA in the new Performer category for his role as the Joker. The jury lauded Mark’s performance as: “… a compelling new dimension of the classic villain psyche”.
BATTLEFIELD 3, the 11th instalment in the Battlefield franchise, stormed off with two BAFTA Awards in the Online – Multiplayer and Audio Achievement categories. L.A. NOIRE with its sulty sound track took home the Award for Original Music.
After four years of development INSANELY TWISTED SHADOW PLANET, the shooter, exploration, puzzle game took home the Award for the new category Debut Game.
KINECT SPORTS 2, the follow-on from the BAFTA Award-winning original took home the Sports/Fitness Award. TOTAL WAR: SHOGUN 2 won the BAFTA for Strategy. The thir
d year in a row for the Total War series.
PEGGLE HD won a BAFTA for its iPad version of the classic puzzle game in the Mobile and Handheld category. The BAFTA for Artistic Achievement was awarded to RAYMAN ORIGINS.
The Online – Browser category was won by MONSTERMIND, the first real-time player v. player game on Facebook.
Three groups of students and recent graduates who had each designed a new game prototype contested this year’s BAFTA Ones to Watch Award in association with Dare to be Digital. The award was presented to TICK TOCK TOYS, designed by Swallowtail.
Industry vetran Ian Livingstone presented the Special Award to developer Markus Persson for his outstanding creative contribution to the industry, highlighting Minecraft as a standout accomplishment in his career. On hearing he was to be presented with this Award, Persson said: “…when I first heard that I would receive a BAFTA Special Award, I was blown away and deeply humbled.”
With over 230,000 votes The GAME Award of 2011, the only award at the ceremony voted for by the public, was won by BATTLEFIELD 3.
For more information please contact:
Kristoff Clark at freud communications
Tel: 020 3003 6472
Email: [email protected]
A red carpet highlights package will be available from 01:00 GMT on Saturday 17 March along with an EPK of the main categories of the ceremony and associated gameplay footage.
Download the video content at: http
Client: freud
Username: BAFTAVG2012
Password: Games
A highlights programme of the Ceremony will also be broadcast on Challenge TV at 11pm on Sunday 18 and 9pm on Monday 19 March 2012.
Notes to editors:
About BAFTA:
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round Learning & Events programme that offers unique access to some of the world’s most inspiring talent through workshops, masterclasses, lectures and mentoring schemes, connecting with audiences of all ages and backgrounds across the UK, Los Angeles and New York. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. For further information, visit www.bafta.org.
About the judging process:
Games were entered by both developers and publishers into all the categories listed in this release and were initially voted on by BAFTA’s video games members and a carefully selected list of industry experts via a secure website.
The titles garnering the most votes went through to specialist juries who receive the games prior to making their nominations.
Each juror signs confidentiality papers and casts their votes on paper. The results in each category are not known until the envelope is opened on the night.
About GAME:
GAME is part of GAME Group plc, Europe’s leading retailer of pc and video games, video game consoles and related accessories. We operate from over 1,000 GAME stores, concessions and franchises in the UK, Eire, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Portugal, France and Australia; and over 220 Gamestation stores in the UK. Together with our on-line and multi channel shopping services, our aim is to be the destination of choice for every consumer.
Downloads:
Video Games Awards Winners Press Release (69.5 KB)
Video Games Awards Winners List (84 KB)