MCV Awards 2011: Finalists unveiled

Microsoft and Ubi claim most slots as trade elite gain recognition.

Nearly 60 companies from across the £2 billion games industry are nominated for prizes at this year’s MCV Industry Excellence Awards. Microsoft and Ubisoft lead the pack, with 11 and nine finalist places respectively.  

From physical retail to digital distribution, via publishers and peripherals brands, the nominated firms from across the trade have been recognised for their work during the last 12 months. Over 600 retailers and exectives from the UK games industry will gather for the MCV Industry Excellence Awards on Thursday April 7th at the The Brewery, Chiswell Street, London.

It is the biggest single night on the industry's calendar, with every leading company represented.

"The MCV Awards continue to evolve, with new categories added to recognise the importance of the downloadable content," commented MCV publisher and Intent Media boss Stuart Dinsey.

"But the core awards still celebrate the very best in game retailing, marketing and PR. The UK business is worth over £2 billion a year and still thriving. These awards deminstrate the effort and invention of the people who work within the trade."

2011 MCV Award Finalists in full:

INDEPENDENT RETAILER
Console Connections
Games Centre
MyMemory.co.uk
Seedee Jons
ShopTo.net
X Bite

STAR STORE
Barkman Computers
GAME Oxford Street
GameStation Hull
Grainger Liverpool
HMV Oxford Circus

DIGITAL RETAIL INNOVATION
GAME in-store DLC sales
Green Man Gaming
Dead Rising 2 DLC (Capcom)
HMV Pure
InComm Cards
Zavvi app

SPECIALIST RETAILER
GAME
GameStation
Grainger Games
HMV
Play.com
Zavvi.com

GENERAL RETAILER
Amazon
Asda
Tesco
Argos
Sainsbury’s

PERIPHERALS & ACCESSORIES BRAND
A4T
Blue Ocean
Gioteck
Hubb
Pinpoint
Thrustmaster
Venom

NEW GAME BRAND
Alan Wake (Microsoft)
Art Academy (Nintendo)
Bulletstorm (Electronic Arts)
Dance Central (Microsoft)
Dance on Broadway (Ubisoft)
Kinect Sports (Microsoft)

TRADE MARKETING TEAM
Electronic Arts
Microsoft
Nintendo
SCE UK
Sega
Ubisoft
Warner Bros

BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
F1 2010 (Codemasters)
Fable III Kingmaker app (Microsoft)
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Warner Bros.)
Just Cause 2/YouTube integration (Square Enix)
Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft)
Kinect Galleries (Microsoft)
PlayStation Access (SCE UK)

PR TEAM
Electronic Arts
Microsoft
Namco Bandai
Nintendo
Premier PR
Sega
Sony
Ubisoft

GAME CAMPAIGN
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood (Ubisoft)
Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision)
Dead Space 2 (EA)
Football Manager 2011 (Sega)
Halo: Reach (Microsoft)
Mario 25th Anniversary (Nintendo)
Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar Games)

MARKETING TEAM
Activision
Electronic Arts
Microsoft
Nintendo UK
SCE UK
Sega   
Rockstar Games
Ubisoft

DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION TEAM
Direct2Drive
Get Games
Good Old Games (GOG.com)
Green Man Gaming
Kalypso Media
Sega
TripleACodes

HIGH STREET DISTRIBUTION TEAM
Advantage
Antigrav
Centresoft
Creative Distribution
Gem
Koch Media
Realtime Distribution

SALES TRIUMPH
Art Academy (Nintendo)
Deathsmiles (Rising Star)
F1 2010 (Codemasters)
Sniper: Ghost Warrior (City Interactive/Mastertronic)
Zumba Fitness (505 Games)
Mafia II (Take-Two)

SALES TEAM
Activision
Electronic Arts
Gem
Microsoft
Nintendo
Sega
Take-Two
Ubisoft

GAMES PUBLISHER
Activision
Electronic Arts
Microsoft Game Studios
Nintendo
Sega
SCE UK   
Take-Two/Rockstar
Ubisoft

MCV RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD: SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Dorian Bloch, Chart-Track
Darren Bowen, Ubisoft
Rosemary Buahin, Warner Bros
Darren Houghton, Gem
Penny Humphrey, EA
Paul Nicholls, Koch Media

GRAND PRIX
The highest accolade, this special award is chosen by the MCV team. It rewards a UK brand or company that has seen commercial or critical success while supporting the trade.

The awards take place at The Brewery, Chiswell St, London on the evening of April 7th.

Event sponsors include Nintendo, Codemasters, Ubisoft, Sega, The Hut Group, Premier PR, Gamescom and OPM Recruitment.