MCV Industry Excellence Awards 2007: Finalists Announced

Friday 2nd March/... MCV, the leading print and online games trade publication, has today unveiled the shortlist for its prestigious Industry Excellence Awards.

The fifth MCV Industry Excellence Awards will be held on April 19th 2007, at The Brewery, London. Over 600 top industry executives will attend the celebrated event from all sectors of the games entertainment industry.

Event partners include Microsoft Xbox360, Nintendo, NVidia, IGA, System 3, Sennheiser, Gem and Kiss FM.

The awards honour excellence across 15 categories, covering all areas of the business. This year’s shortlist confirms the strength and depth of talent within the games industry – as well as throwing up some interesting old rivalries.

The “New Games Brand” category pits brain versus brawn as Nintendo’s Brain Training goes head-to-head against Microsoft’s Gears of War (Just Cause, Guitar Hero and Dead Rising are also finalists), whilst perennial opponents FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer will duke it out alongside Gears of War, Wii Sports and Brain Training for the “Game Campaign” award.

But it’s not just the games themselves vying for recognition. Shopto.net receives its first ever MCV Industry Excellence Awards nomination in the “Online Retailer” category, whilst individual stores are now able to pick up their own award in the “Star Store” category.

The winners of the MCV Industry Excellence Awards are decided by a panel of over 60 industry experts. However, the evening will conclude with highly prized “Grand Prix” Award, awarded by the magazine team itself.

Over 40 different companies have been named as finalists. Nintendo leads the way with eight nominations in total, capping an amazing year for the company. Microsoft pick up five nominations as do Ubisoft and Electronic Arts.

“The last 12 months have seen the industry’s major players raise their respective games, so to be nominated for the 2007 MCV Industry Excellence Awards is a real honour,” says Stuart Dinsey, managing director of Intent Media, publisher of MCV. “As the only awards event to recognise both products and individuals, these are the most sought-after trophies in the games industry. Everyone nominated this year should feel especially proud, and we can’t wait to unveil the winners next month.”

The fate of the finalists will be revealed at the MCV Industry Excellence Awards at the Brewery, Chiswell Street, London EC1 with the event kicking off at 6pm on Thursday April 19th 2007.

Additionally, the event will also host a pre-event party at 5pm in association with Sennheiser and Gem Distribution.

The event is sponsored by Microsoft Xbox360, Nintendo, NVidia, IGA, System 3, Sennheiser, Gem and Kiss FM.

RETAIL
Independent Retailer:
e-Play
Chips
Grainger Games
Playtime Multimedia
Ninja Games

Specialist Games Retailer:
Chips
Gamestation
GAME
Gamestop
CEX

Entertainment Retailer:
Woolworths
Virgin
HMV
Asda
Tesco

Online Retailer:
Play
Amazon
GAME
Gameseek
Shopto.com

Star Store:
Playtime Multimedia (Doncaster)
Gamestation (Birmingham New Street)
Chips (Orpington)
GAME (Braehead, Glasgow)
HMV (Oxford Street, London)

PEOPLE & INDUSTRY
Sales Team:
Nintendo/Koch
THQ
Ubisoft
Electronic Arts
Microsoft/Gem

UK Development Team:
Travellers Tales
Real Time Studios
Evolution
Rare
Rockstar Leeds

Distribution Team:
Gem
Centresoft
Koch
Just
EUK

Unsung Hero:
Capcom
Square
Mastertronic/Blast
Koch/Nindie.com
Blizzard

Games Publisher:
Electronic Arts
Ubisoft
Sega
THQ
Nintendo

PR & MARKETING
New Games Brand:
Brain Training (Nintendo)
Gears of War (Microsoft)
Just Cause (Eidos)
Guitar Hero (Activision)
Dead Rising (Capcom)

PR Team:
Nintendo/Cake
Microsoft/Red/Edelman
Ubisoft
Electronic Arts/Shine Communications
Sega/Kazoo

Game Campaign:
Gears of War (Microsoft)
Wii Sports (Nintendo)
Brain Training (Nintendo)
FIFA 07 (Electronic Arts)
Pro Evo 6 (Konami)

Trade Marketing Team:
Ubisoft
Sony Computer Entertainment
Vivendi Universal Games
Nintendo
Sega

Marketing Team:
Microsoft
Nintendo
Ubisoft
Electronic Arts
THQ

MCV: The Market for Home Computing & Video Games is the weekly trade publication for all sectors of the interactive entertainment market. It is a member of the ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations) and PPA (Periodical Publishers Association).