THE FINALISTS 2012 YOUR TEAM • YOUR GAMES • YOUR AWARDS
Digital Distribution Team Award Partner
10th Anniversary
Previous Winners 2011: Sega
Honouring any digital distributor, portal or publisher selling games for download direct to consumers in the UK, through consoles or computers
BETHESDA Skyrim was a retail hit, not just in terms of boxed sales but digital copies too – it was No.1 on Steam and at one point out- performed Call of Duty, which in November 2011 was no mean feat. Overall, partners and contemporaries praise the firm for its work on both sides of a release in terms of driving pre-purchase and then supporting a title post-arrival. Further digital kudos for Bethesdaʼs digital team is its work in digital strategy guides: its Skyrim product created with partner Prima Games was praised by their contemporaries for the rich content and forward-thinking delivery mechanism.
GREEN MAN GAMING With year-on-year sales growth of 500 per cent, the UK based company now employs 20 people, and sells PC downloads to more than 140 countries worldwide. It may be relatively small, but the team is widely praised, with execs in high places telling MCV this was a group they enjoy working with – a real achievement for this two-year-old company. A new management team have helped steer the firmʼs existing group of self-titled ʻagile technologistsʼ (which devised the innovative digital trade-in model, letʼs not forget) towards the next phase of growth: new markets and broadening out to more platforms.
SEGA
Winning the inaugural Digital Distirbution Team prize in 2011 hasnʼt made Sega complacent. If anything Sega has worked harder now it is in the spotlight. In the UK, this is one of the most influential digital teams, responsible for the publisherʼs entire non-Japanese global digital portfolio. UK MD and director of digital distribution John Clark has made this a core part of Sega, with the PC games team run by James Schall and supported by Mark Prince (financial manager) and Anh Luong (account manager). This team manages direct relationships with the likes of Steam and Origin plus major retailers GameStop and Media Markt plus other digital partners and service providers. Key achievements include the biggest-ever digital launches of Football Manager, Total War and Sonic brands plus innovative Christmas-themed marketing and content offers in- game.