THE FINALISTS 2012 YOUR TEAM • YOUR GAMES • YOUR AWARDS Previous Winners 10th Anniversary
2008: Nintendo 2009: Activision 2010: Activision 2011: Electronic Arts
This award is for the company publishing games in the UK that has achieved notable commercial or critical success and generally high levels of performance over the last 12 months
ACTIVISION In 2011, the company achieved outstanding success both globally and locally driven by the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the establishment of a new IP, Skylanders: Spyroʼs Adventure and the founding of a new console online service, Call of Duty Elite. MW3 increased prominence in new channels such as forecourts and convenience stores with more midnight openings than ever throughout the UK. Skylanders, meanwhile, innovatively integrates the world of toys, video games and online play for the very first time and In North America and Europe, Adventure was the No.1 best- selling kidsʼ title in dollars across all platforms in the calendar year, according to The NPD Group and GfK Chart- Track.
ELECTRONIC ARTS 2011 was a stellar year for EA. It grew its market share overall to secure a fifth of the UK market in the calendar year and had two of the Top Three selling games for the full year and four of the Top 20. The UK team specifically has played a significant part in making FIFA 12 the best-selling sports game in history and the second biggest selling game in the UK in 2011. The firm also established Battlefield 3 as a triple-A franchise and took share in the FPS category to make the third biggest selling game in the UK. Other successes include continuing to push The Sims as both a brand sponsoring mainstream entertainment and as a new Facebook property. Origin – EAʼs own digital game distribution service – appeared in the last year and now has in excess of five million active members. Meanwhile hits like Star Wars: The Old Republic and Portal 2 prove the publisher can work with projects for core gamers as much as it can the mainstream.
BETHESDA 2011 was Bethesdaʼs biggest year to date. The firm established two new IPs in a competitive marketplace. The first was Brink, which arrived in the summer. And the second was Rage, a title many years in the making from the creators of landmark properties Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein. The UK publishing team devised sales and marketing campaigns which they say matched the efforts of the new gamesʼ famed developers Splash Damage and id Software. Of course the big story was Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which the firm says over-delivered. The cumulative effect of the three games was clear – in the market value stakes, Bethesda was No.8 in the publisher rankings this year.
MICROSOFT A very diverse range of games across key genres demanded a diverse range of strategies that befit the UKʼs best selling console in the last year. The Microsoft/Xbox team put together close collaborations promoting its games including work with Pizza Hut (for the Halo pizza), a ʻfirst of its kindʼ product placement within a television show with Kinect Sports: Season Two featuring in A League of Their Own on primetime on Sky 1, and a partnership with Walt Disney Corporation for Kinect Disneyland Adventures. Other highlights included a live television advertisement with Gears of War 3, a ʻflash danceʼ at the Westfield Mall, London with Kelly Brook, and a series of Forza stunts and promotions.