MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
No fewer than 30 writers, plus more than 50 online and print publications – from Official Xbox Magazine to Holy Moly – are in the running for a highly prized Games Media Award this year.
The winners will be voted for by a 200-strong voting panel, comprising members of the media and industry PRs, with the stars being unveiled on Thursday, October 18th at Vinopolis, London.
Russell Kane will be the host for the evening.
Up to 350 guests will attend the event, including over 200 media. A limited number of trade tickets are available at 150 a head. Contact Kathryn Humphrey on 01992 535 646 to find out more.
You can follow the GMA Twitter feed at @GamesMediaAward or visit the Facebook page for pics and videos from last year’s event.
Christian Donlan
Chris Donlan writes about video games for Eurogamer and Edge magazine, and is a co-founder of Hookshot Inc along with some other, more talented people. He’s currently working on a cartoon series called Everybody Loves a Moose.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Edwin’s career in games journalism began with an account of a Halo match written from the perspective of Hunter S. Thompson. Subsequently: a network editor position at Kikizo, from which vantage point he ran AOL’s F2P and indie site Flytrap and the Green Man Gaming blog. He’s also written for MCV and a bunch of Future magazines – important ones that you may have heard of. Hobbies include obnoxious overwording, entertaining the fond belief that he’s a shrewd interviewer, molesting NPCs for traffic and making passive-aggressive apologies when he gets things wrong. He’s from Yorkshire but sounds like he’s from Rivendell.
Matthew Castle
Matthew spent the last six years writing lame jokes and over-scoring Nintendo games for NGamer. Worried that he was falling into a rut, he left the magazine and now writes lame jokes and over-scores Nintendo games for Official Nintendo Magazine. He also contributes to Edge, GamesMaster, PSM3 and Xbox World. When he’s not doing any of that, he can be found masquerading as Satoru Iwata on the back page of Nintendo Gamer. He LOVES getting writing awards. Hint hint.
Joel Gregory
After leaving university Joel decided to make sure that he could never look his tutors in the face again by stumbling into a career in games journalism. He joined Official PlayStation Magazine in April 2010 as a staff writer, working his way to the position of deputy editor via a carefully-planned campaign of backstabbing and credit-stealing. He now delegates any task he finds even remotely onerous, all while trying to snag every press trip and freebie available. He currently lives in Bath, co-habiting with a life-size cardboard cut-out of Christian Bale.
Jason Killingsworth
Jason Killingsworth is Edge’s features editor. He previously worked for Paste in the US, where he also covered music and film extensively. His words have appeared in Kill Screen, Official Nintendo, EGM, Nintendo Gamer, Xbox World, PSM3 and GamesMaster. He’s a compulsive high-score chaser and lover of masochistic games – 100%-ing Super Meat Boy, winning every platinum medal in Trials Evolution, etc. When he’s not writing about Dark Souls, he’s plotting his next excuse to write about Dark Souls. His masochism also extends to musical instruments, but you’d have to play the Irish bagpipes yourself to understand that kind of pain.
Martin Gaston
Martin is 26 and the game he’s enjoyed the most this year is Dota 2. In 2012 he became reviews editor at VideoGamer.com, and has subsequently become enormously familiar with the numbers 7 and 8. The best thing he’s done this year is convince his boss that he should write some Fifty Shades of Grey fanfiction. He’s absolutely delighted to be nominated, but will definitely be voting for Simon Parkin.
Simon Parkin
Simon Parkin is a writer and journalist on video games. He is part of the core editorial team at both The Guardian and Eurogamer and his work also regularly appears in Edge magazine. He specialises in long-form feature writing. His journalism was used as evidence in the court case that ended the ‘trademark trolling’ career of Tim Langdell.
Keza MacDonald
After seven years Keza still isn’t remotely bored of writing about video games, which is just as well, as her skills at demon slaying, pretend guitar and dealing with internet commenters are pretty much non-transferable. She’s still working on claiming IGN for the British, writing some of the world’s biggest gaming website’s most-read opinion pieces and reviews. She still won’t shut up about Dark Souls.
Christian Donlan
Chris Donlan writes about videogames for Eurogamer and Edge magazine, and is a co-founder of Hookshot Inc along with some other, more talented people. He’s currently working on a cartoon series called Everybody Loves a Moose.
Pat Garratt
Pat’s been knocking around games editorial for years. He co-owns VG247 with Eurogamer Network and manages a global games news team. He grows chillis and learns to swim when he isn’t working. His hyper-violent hobby fiction is yet to be discovered.
Wesley Yin-Poole
Eurogamer news editor Wesley Yin-Poole has been with the site for just over two years, focusing on interviews and original reporting. His career began with VideoGamer.com, then Pro-G.co.uk, as deputy editor. Before that, stints as a reporter across a number of trade magazines, including The Publican (lots of pub lunches), Cabinet Maker (nothing to do with politics) and Chemist and Druggist (not as fun as you’d think) helped hone the skills he uses today.
Simon Parkin
Simon Parkin is a writer and journalist on video games. He is part of the core editorial team at both The Guardian and Eurogamer and his work also regularly appears in Edge magazine. He specialises in long-form feature writing. His journalism was used as evidence in the court case that ended the ‘trademark trolling’ career of Tim Langdell.
Michael Plant
Favourably comparable to Uncharted’s Nathan Drake in all aspects (except athletic ability, looks and wit), Mike Plant has been concerning himself with gradually building up The Independent’s print and online games coverage, in-between bouts of freelancing and establishing his own gaming blog, Games Catalyst, over the last couple of years. Mike would specifically like to thank his long-suffering fiance and faithful cat for putting up with countless hours of ‘killing zombie-alien games’ – the term by which nigh on all titles are referred within his household.
Dan Silver
Dan Silver has edited the Sunday Mirror’s games page since its inception last summer. A real labour of love, he writes almost all of the copy himself, reviewing up to three games a week while simultaneously editing the Daily Mirror’s football website and trying to be a loving husband and father to two young children. Frankly, if it wasn’t for the steady stream of free Skylanders he’d have been kicked out the house months ago. Dan has previously written about gaming for publications as diverse as the NME, Kerrang!, Edge and the sadly short-lived PlayStation Next. He has a weakness for sports sims and RPGs – although is no longer allowed to play World of Warcraft.
Keith Stuart
Keith Stuart is one of the oldest functioning games journalists on the planet. Starting out on Edge magazine in 1995, he went on to write for almost every Future games publication before becoming a regular Guardian contributor in 2000. Since 2005 he has been writing daily for the newspaper’s Gamesblog, as well as penning features on game culture for The Observer and The Guardian’s G2 section. He has also sought to widen The Guardian’s coverage by making them talk about games in the Tech Weekly podcast and by hosting gaming events in its chic office. Whether they like it or not.
Tom Hoggins
Tom has been writing about video games for The Daily Telegraph since 2008, when he and then partner-in-crime Nick Cowen revived an ailing section. While The Telegraph wasn’t exactly a traditional hotbed of video game journalism, the new section was a well-received and welcome success, combining specialist knowledge with a mainstream outlook. Since 2011, Tom has been in sole charge of games coverage at the newspaper, as well as developing a handy sideline in ‘annoying higher-ups’ in his quest to give video games a larger presence. Tom lives in Kent with his wife and is corrupting his newborn son by humming the Kingdom Hearts theme tune as a lullaby.
Lee Price
Everything The Sun does centres on the reader – it doesn’t worry about upsetting our favourite PR, the paper says it tells the reader exactly what they want to know; whether a game’s worth shelling out 40 for. It does more than reviews, from gaming gadgetry trials, world exclusive previews and news stories, as well as regular, unique competitions, slowly establishing it as a gaming portal – weekly in print, daily online. It had the world’s first hands-on with the PS Vita this year and was the only national to give substantial main-paper space to E3 – with pieces on Wonderbook and Wii U.
David Jenkins
Metro’s chief video games writer has over ten years of experience reporting on the industry. He worked for many years on Channel 4’s Teletext GameCentral pages. This is the only element of the editorial service to survive to this day – as part of the Metro website and newspaper. He has also written for Edge and GamesTM, and was a regular on XLeague.tv’s television show Games Night. He wears white socks all the time.
Jonathan Pile
Jonathan has been responsible for ShortList’s gaming content for two-and-a-half years. In that time he’s grown the coverage to make it an integral part of the title’s editorial, breaking exclusives in the news section (such as the recent first play of Tomb Raider) blogging on the website and writing longer features. He also initiated ShortList’s annual gaming special, which has grown year-on-year and founded the magazine’s E3 awards (ShortList is the only mainstream title to have them).
Leon Poultney
Leon started playing video games with the introduction of the Amiga 1200 and upgraded his console almost every year until he reached the heady heights of owning both an Xbox 360 and a PlayStation 3… at the same time. This early passion for games not only stood him in good stead with the Yellow FreeAds (he had to find money for the new console somehow) but also led to a career in writing about them. Namely for Zoo where almost every issue boasted some kind of first play or exclusive feature.
Matt Hill
Matt is deputy editor of T3, the PPA International Magazine of the Year. Having previously spent his time squeezing gaming exclusives into unsuspecting print lifestyle magazines such as ShortList, Arena, FHM and Soho House’s members mag, this year he has been attempting to do the same with tablets, crafting long words and interactive gaming content for the award-winning T3: Tablet Edition, Virgin’s pioneering iPad monthly Project and new entertainment beast Industria. In between an unhealthy New Star Soccer obsession, this year also saw him get Zelda on the cover of the Guardian Guide.
Helen Lewis
Helen is the deputy editor of the New Statesman, a left-leaning political weekly magazine. She also blogs for the NS website on games, comedy and feminism. In the last few months she has written a series of articles on sexism in gaming – from a piece on voice-chat abuse (for Edge magazine’s website) to the harassment of Anita Sarkeesian for wanting to make a series of feminist videos about gaming. But she also writes games reviews for the NS magazine.
James Dyer
A film geek, gaming nerd and recovering World of Warcraft addict, James has nonetheless managed to hold down gainful employment at Empire magazine for the past decade. When not moaning about Star Wars prequels or getting teary-eyed over ‘80s action films, he has carried the torch as Empire’s sole joypad-twiddler and propped up the magazine’s coverage of all things games-related.
Tamoor Hussain
It took Tamoor over six years to get an LLB Law degree, but just a few minutes to realise it was the most boring thing he’d ever done. Instead he decided to write about video games, much to his parents’ dismay. Motivated by memories of having a couple of actually-quite-rubbish reader reviews published in the pages of CVG he started a blog (no one read it), posted articles in the D’toid and GameSpot community section, and hooked up with an Irish fella to start an awesome website, all the while working at GAME. The fine folks at CVG eventually rescued him from retail hell and put him to work. He’ll be eternally grateful to them for that.
Lee Bradley
Stumbling blindly through a career studded with outrageous fortune, Lee Bradley currently works for Xbox 360 Achievements, where he has earned such accolades as ‘quickly becoming my least favourite games writer’ and ‘what a twat’. Lee also freelances for a number of respected outlets and is far too old and bald to be a Rising Star.
Matthew Reynolds
After freelancing for Retro Gamer and many gruelling nightshifts liveblogging Big Brother, Matt was promoted to gaming section editor at Digital Spy, one of the UK’s biggest entertainment and tech websites. In this role he does a bit of everything; breaking news, developer interviews, first-look previews, retro pieces, organising inter-office Tekken tournaments and annoying PR reps over the phone. You can read his thoughts about tea and Spelunky over on Twitter at @Crazyreyn.
David Scammell
After flunking his Physics ‘A’ Level (turns out ‘U’ applies to more than just Uranus), Dave couldn’t tell you how a star is born. But as Skyrim proved, you don’t necessarily need to have a good grasp of physics to succeed in the games industry, and Dave’s sharp eye for headlines, vast editorial experience and ability to turn everything slightly risqu gave him all that he needed to land a job on the VideoGamer.com mothership. He’s also going out with one of the girls at MCV. But that’s not why he’s on this list. Promise. Pinky swear and everything.
Owen Hill
Built as a machine to generate nicknames, Owen joined PC Gamer to help grow its website. With Tom Senior by his side, he’s turned PCGamer.com from a middling blog into the biggest PC games site in the world. He loves co-op games, card games, the huggable kind of games-related tat, and is Welsh.
Joe Robinson
Joe has been writing about video games since 2008 and has enjoyed a varied career: Internship at GamesTM, deputy editor for Strategy Informer, contributor to Rock, Paper, Shotgun, PCGamesN, X360a and more. Since going propa’ freelance in early 2012, he’s also dabbled in the dark arts of PR and marketing because he sees the value in actually being able to feed himself once in a while. If he wins, he’ll be the first one to call for a re-count as just being nominated was baffling enough, and he wishes the other illustrious (and far more deserving) nominees all the best.
Lucy James
Since she found out that writing about video games was a legitimate career option, Lucy jumped on it as fast as she could (sorry, mum). After completing an internship with GameSpot UK earlier this year, she finished her Psychology degree, moved to London and started freelancing all over the place. When she’s not writing or presenting for True Gits on YouTube, you can usually find her listening to some Hall and Oates or replaying Mass Effect 2 for the tenth time. She finds it disconcerting to talk about herself in the third person.
Steve Hogarty@misterbrilliant
Hello, my name is Steve Hogarty. I like Twitter and I like dogs, plus video games. I’m a freelancer though I currently spend most of my time writing for PCGamesN. I am also not afraid to cry. I don’t think that’s a weakness. We’ve all been through some dark times. Winning this Twitter award would finally make my father take me seriously. Do youhear that dad? I know you’re reading this. Why won’t you reply to my texts.
Martin Gaston@squidmania
Martin’s Twitter is almost exclusively about games, which is why his girlfriend unfollowed him. He very often goes over the 140 character li
Debbie Timminsn@weefz
Debbie runs The Average Gamer from home, leaving her starved for contact with other human beings. She uses Twitter for everything from commenting on the latest games news to crowdsourcing essential skincare tips (‘Are you supposed to moisturise your butt?’). Sometimes she wonders if this is destroying her sense of propriety.
Matt Lees@jam_sponge
After seven years of working in the games industry, Matt is thrilled to be finally recognised for his best-in-class ability to procrastinate at work. During his past two years at Official Xbox Magazine he has managed to deliver a consistently strong presence on the social networking site, solidifying his position as one of the industry’s top providers of regular nonsense. When he isn’t busy being with his intensive Twitter schedule, Matt does something to do with magazines.
Mark Brown@britishgaming
Mark Brown is a freelance writer whose regular haunts include Wired UK, Pocket Gamer and Eurogamer. But those accomplishments pale in comparison to his god-like ability to squeeze jokes about butts and farts into a strict 140 character limit. His biggest achievements in the world of Twitter include being retweeted by the bloke who makes Minecraft, having a tweet be parroted by 1,980 unique human beings, and having everyone agree with him when he said Arkham Asylum was better than Arkham City.
Pat Garratt@patlike
Pat’s been knocking around games editorial for years. He co-owns VG247 with Eurogamer Network and manages a global games news team. He grows chillis and learns to swim when he isn’t working. His hyper-violent hobby fiction is yet to be discovered.
PC Gamer
PC Gamer has been the leading authority on PC gaming for almost 20 years, and today exists as a successful international print magazine and the most popular PC games site in the world. Known for its sharp, funny writing and authoritative reviews, it’s currently blessed with one of the best teams in the industry. That includes nominee Owen Hill, former GMA winners and nominees Tom Francis and Rich McCormick, along with Tom Senior, Chris Thursten, Tony Ellis, John Strike and editor Graham Smith.
Edge
As it approaches its 20th year in print, Edge has been branching out across new media with the launch of a dedicated iPad edition at E3 in June. The application, which makes extensive use of Apple’s tablet to deliver a rich, fully interactive experience, has received a hugely enthusiastic response inside and outside of the games industry, and sales to date have exceeded expectations.
Retro Gamer
The team behind Retro Gamer say that all they ever wanted to do was make a magazine that not only documents the classic franchises of yesteryear, but is also a fun read and reminiscent of the classic games magazines of yesteryear like Mean Machines, Crash and Zzap!64. The magazine is going from strength-to-strength at the moment and this nomination is a reflection of all the hard work put into it each month.
Official PlayStation Magazine
OPM continues to fight strongly against the industry’s ‘official magazine’ stigma with true editorial independence and an unrivalled blend of authoritative writing, biting opinion, self-effacing humour, and innovative content – like a gaming head-to-head with popstar Ladyhawke and having a journalist play the full 24-hour Le Mans race in GT5. (It totally broke him, but the feature was great.) Look beyond your preconceptions and you’ll find a truly smart, witty, and beautifully designed gaming bible.
Nintendo Gamer
The UK’s only unofficial Nintendo magazine, Nintendo Gamer is a haven of impartiality, irreverence and cakes shaped like Mario’s moustache. Evolving, Pokmon-style, from NGamer back in January, the magazine continues to fly the flag for die-hard Nintendo fans. Where else will you find insightful reviews, epic retrospectives and nostalgic ramblings rubbing shoulders with fake Iwata interviews, Ocarina of Time rebuilt in Minecraft and LEGO recreations of Super Mario Bros 3? Nintendo Gamer always puts gaming first, and has never once quoted Michael Pachter.
GamesTM
A magazine for those who have a real passion for video games, games™ is a huge publication that boasts amazing staff that live, breathe, and frequently sweat gaming – just like you do. The team only stops creating quality copy to romance the notion of one day holding aloft another GMA trophy. There’s no doubt about it, games™ should definitely win this year. games™ is now only months away from its tenth anniversary and its dedication to providing gamers with entertaining and quality copy has never been more important.
IGN
IGN is the worldwide leader in games media, live stream editorial and owner of the world’s fastest growing eSports league. With the largest and most engaged audience in the market, IGN’s leading global reach is complemented by insightful local editorial that reaches games in their own language in 34 countries. The UK editorial team produces content for its local audience, with global appeal – broadcasting a distinctive British voice to the worldwide IGN community of 57m on all screens, including its new Xbox Live app.
Eurogamer
Eurogamer.net is the largest independent games website in the UK and specialises in long-form games journalism – from traditional reviews and interviews to investigative reports and analysis. The site is edited by Tom Bramwell, who has worked on it for over 12 years, and its family of writers includes past GMA winners Ellie Gibson, Martin Robinson and Christian Donlan as well as equally fantastic award-losing journalists like Oli Welsh and Simon Parkin.
Gamespot UK
GameSpot has spent the last year heavily investing in quality British games journalism, hiring prominent journalists such as Danny O’Dwyer and Cameron Robinson and freelancers such as Ashton Raze and Chris Schilling. We have launched high quality and successful video franchises such as Escape from Mount Stupid, which regularly gets 100,000 views per episode, and The What If Machine. We’ve also produced shows that focus on topics away from the big blockbusters, including a new show called Secret Code.
CVG
CVG grows stronger and more authoritative in its field with each year that passes, and the last 12 months have seen the world’s longest-running games publication extend its commitment to world-best gaming news and analysis, while enjoying great traffic growth. Led by new editor Andy Robinson and associate editor Rob Crossley (formerly of Develop), CVG has built upon the most successful 12 months in its online history with a move to 24/7 posting, and a new commitment to delivering insightful and entertaining long tail content.
Rock Paper Shotgun
Rock, Paper, Shotgun is the world’s leading PC games blog. Or, at least, the world’s leading PC games blog called Rock, Paper, Shotgun, which is nearly as good. Since launching in 2007, it’s grown to the point where well over a million monthly readers use it as the marketsquare for all that’s new, radical or controversial in PC gaming. Formed by industry veterans Kieron Gillen, Alec Meer, Jim Rossignol and John Walker, RPS covers everything in PC games while quietly pushing the frontiers of non-review-writing.
VG247
VG247 is the world’s fastest video games news site. Updated over 1,300 times per month, it is one of the most comprehensive sources of games information on earth, and the only British operation of its type to provide true 24-hour reporting. Read mainly by an ultra-core gamer audience of highly vocal early adopters, VG247 is the final word in UK-based games news.
Ready Up
Now in its fifth year and with a staff of 30, Ready Up is a stalwart of the UK’s games press and the proving ground of many of the industry’s up and coming journalists. Pooling talent from all over the country and every walk of life, the site provides daily blogs, reviews and features with a personal slant and passionate style.
The Average Gamer
The Average Gamer has been running since 2005 with a motley crew of volunteer games enthusiasts and the occasional developer or freelance journalist. The blog emphasises opinion pieces and reviews – what’s great about otherwise-flawed games and how wonderful ideas can be horribly executed. The team also pulls together a calendar of upcoming games meets across the UK and Ireland. This covers all aspects of gaming culture: video games tournaments, live action meets, tabletop gaming, industry beers, developer talks and anything else you can think of.
We See In Pixels
The only thing which kept Mike Adebajo sane from boredom and constant job rejections after graduating was gaming.
He had an itch, however. He wanted the world to know (and probably ignore) his lovely thoughts. Thus We See In Pixels was created, a simple independent blog for moaning about, shouting about and generally humping an industry he cared for deeply. He is truly honoured to see the industry is now humping him back in kind.
Gamewaste
Nick Cowen is an award-winning tech and video games journalist who has written for a variety of publications including The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, T3, Nuts Magazine, CVG, IGN, Eurogamer and other specialist gaming press. His blog Gamewaste contains all of the ideas he has that are pretty much un-sellable to all of the above.
Hookshot Inc
Hookshot Inc. was formed by four industry veterans Christian Donlan, Simon Parkin, Will Porter and Keith Stuart in February 2012 to focus on downloadable video games that cost $15 or less. The team patrol a wild and hectic new frontier in games, taking aim at the titles that deserve attention – and pulling them directly into the lives of busy players.
OXM Breakdown
The OXM Breakdown takes a theme, closes its eyes, spins around three times, and runs with it. It normally runs into a wall within 90 seconds, but like a Red Setter running into a patio window, it doesn’t stop. It simply turns around, and continues running in a new direction. By the end of a typical episode, it is lost, bewildered, bruised, naked and without dignity. It is an incoherent hypothermic mess that just wants you to hold its hand. And because it doesn’t have human form, it needs a metaphorical hand to hold. A GMA should just about do it.
Inside Xbox
Inside Xbox produced video content with the aim of entertaining and enlightening the Xbox Live community through a mixture of comedy and unparalleled Xbox gaming knowledge. Its main show, SentUAMessage, was written and hosted by Andy Farrant and Dan Maher, and skilfully put together by video producers Ash Denton and Gareth Wild. The Inside Xbox network developed a loyal following globally, but ceased production earlier this year.
Start Select
Start/Select is GameSpot UK’s daily video show, presented from the site’s London office. It covers off news and events relevant to the UK audience and leverages the site, Twitter and Facebook to gauge user sentiments and feedback. The show is made available on the site, on iTunes, on Facebook and on YouTube, allowing the growing audience to find and interact with the show however they choose.
PlayStation Access TV
The official description of Access TV is ‘Your weekly guide to everything PlayStation,’ which is fine but doesn’t mention that the show’s designed to inform and celebrate the UK PlayStation audience, is voiced by brilliant stand-up Lucy Porter, or the time scriptwriter Rob was punched so hard by UFC champ George Saint-Pierre that he coughed up (most of) his Big Mac. Other highlights include shoots in Jordan, Sao Paolo and Tokyo, inviting a member of the community to front our daily E3 coverage, and talking naughty bishops with Nicolas Cage (really happened). Access TV is produced by Future Publishing.
Yogscast
The Yogscast is the UK’s No.1 YouTube channel with well over a billion views and counting. Formed by Lewis Brindley and Simon Lane, The Yogscast found major success in 2010 with World of Warcraft and Minecraft videos capturing the attention of gamers worldwide. Videos of their adventures through the latest games continue to entertain millions globally each and every day.
Videogamer.com
The VideoGamer.com Podcast currently features Neon Kelly, Martin Gaston, David Scammell and Matt Nellis, with the occasional appearance from Tom Orry. The show has evolved through many forms over the past few years, but can be easily identified by its pointed snout, sharp teeth and matted black fur. If you spot the VideoGamer.com Podcast in your garden, why not leave it some stale bread and a saucer of milk? Caution: bites may lead to rabies.
One Life Left
Broadcast live on Sony-winning arts station Resonance FM on Mondays and podcast globally the following day, its mix of news, chat and general mischief has won One Life Left an army of loyal fans – and saw the team invited to GDC in San Francisco to broadcast live from the conference floor. The show regularly goes where no other has gone before, seeing its presenters Ste Curran, Simon Byron and Ann Scantlebury push the boundaries of taste and decency in the show’s live events, which have included the world’s first night of video game stand-up comedy, the crowd-pleasing night of video game karaoke and, this October, opening their own pub.
BBC Radio 5 Live’s Game On
Game On has been a part of 5 Live’s Up All Night programme since 2007. It is national radio’s only dedicated games-focused show which uses a lively mix of studio discussion, reviews and long format interviews with game makers, producers and industry figures. In the last year alone it has talked at length with Journey creator Jenova Chen, sat down with EA’s Peter Moore, heard from Paul Taylor of Mode7 (Frozen Synapse) and many more. Game On is produced by Adam Rosser who has more than a decade of experience in programme-making and can be seen, microphone in hand, at many events. He started playing table-top games in 1981 and sees no reason to stop now.
Pocket Gamer
The Pocket Gamer iPhone Gaming Podcast is hosted by Will Wilson with regular guests Keith Andrew, Peter Willington, and James Gilmour. Certified IAP-free by an independent monetisation committee, the PG podcast continues to struggle against Zynga’s Pocket Gaming With Friends Podcast in the App Store, which our legal team has advised us not to mention.
BBC Radio 1Xtra
Radio 1Xtra featured spotlight game coverage to highlight the most important trends in gaming and attended gaming events such as the Eurogamer Expo, to find out what was popular and is on the horizon that may be of interest to its listeners.
Askmen.com
AskMen is Britain’s most visited men’s lifestyle site. Since the formation of the new team – spearheaded by editor Charlie Parrish and staff writer Rebecca May, both boasting significant games journalism experience – games coverage has become the flagship of its entertainment and video content. It’s secured global exclusives (AskMen was the only UK media to interview Tiger Woods in New York for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 and hosted the Medal of Honor trailer first), delivered comprehensive E3 coverage direct from LA and become a respected games news and reviews source. As a result, both traffic and reader engagement has soared.
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is one of the biggest entertainment websites in the UK, with an audience of 12 million unique visitors, covering TV, movies, music, showbiz, tech and of course, gaming, which is now one of the site’s most prominent sections. You can follow on Twitter at @digitalspy and @digitalspygames.
Huffington Post
The Huffington Post UK launched in July 2011 and is a leading source of news, opinion, entertainment and digital information. The technology section is dedicated to uncovering the best in gaming, gadgets and science – with a focus on the most creative, inspiring (and weirdest) ways our world is changing for the better. The section is edited by Michael Rundle, who totally denies being a time-traveller from a distant, confusing future.
Holy Moly
Holy Moly was originally launched back in 2002 to prove to celebrities that being famous isn’t a real job and has since grown to encompass the entire entertainment industry, including TV, film, fashion, music and gaming. So thinking about it, we actually write about their real jobs now, too. Fancy that.
Sabotage Times
Sabotage Times is a brilliant online digest of created content, distracting links, great journalism and opinion that is guaranteed to take your mind away from whatever you are supposed to be doing. It covers everything from games, music, sport, style, travel, gadgets, TV, film as well as the world’s weirdest penis.
Wired.co.uk
Wired.co.uk is the online news arm of Wired’s UK business, which includes Wired magazine in print and on tablet, a weekly podcast, an annual event and a consulting service. A dedicated online news team and specialist contributors cover the most important science, technology, culture and business news for over a million readers a month, with a strong European focus. The site is edited by Nate Lanxon and is published from Bond Street, London.
Maxim
Maxim has been a well established name in the UK and the rest of the world for many years. Tom Perkins started as work experience (making awful cups of tea) in April of 2010 and was entertainment editor by the end of the year. His passion for gaming and distaste for uploading naked pictures of women to the internet (what a freak) brought attention to Maxim’s gaming section for the first time since its creation. Thanks to a dedicated and equally immature writing team, Maxim has made a name for itself in the gaming industry.
The Games Media Legend award is presented each year to an individual or brand which has made an outstanding contribution to video games journalism.
Last year the award was picked up by Colin Campbell who flew in from IGN’s San Francisco office. His career began 25 years ago as a staff writer on CTW.
Previous winners include Steve Jarratt, Gary Penn and Patrick Garratt, with PC Zone being given a post-humous Games Media Legend in 2010.
The prestigious Games Writer of the Year prize is different to the other awards.
All journalists – specialist, non-specialist, print and online – were invited to submit a piece of writing published since late October 2011.
These submissions are now being judged blind by award-winning journalist and The Guardian columnist Tim Lott. He will judge the writing purely on prose, regardless of the content.
