Industry members let their hair down and donned some Michael Jackson-style hats during the event’s after-party. Attendees included former Nintendo UK marketing boss Dawn Paine, Ubisoft’s Stefano Petrullo and Xbite’s Nick Whitehead. Other popular figures in the MCV Awards music video included Lee Kirton, Amanda Farr and Paul Nicholls.
PEOPLE & INDUSTRY: 2011 WINNERS
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION TEAM SEGA
HIGH STREET
DISTRIBUTION TEAM GEM
SALES TRIUMPH F1 2010 (CODEMASTERS)
SALES TEAM NINTENDO
MCV RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD
Ubisoft’s UK sales director Darren Bowen was chosen by the MCV Retail Advisory Board to win the 2011 Special Recognition Award. The Retail Advisory Board consists of games buyers from several retailers including HMV, Play.com, Tesco, GAME, Amazon, Asda and more. “I am surprised and delighted,” Bowen said. “It is great to be recognised especially as there are so many great people in this industry. Being voted for by people you work with is fantastic.”
GRAND PRIX: 2011 WINNER
It was a double whammy for Ubisoft last year as CEO Yves Guillemot picked up the top award. “Being recognised in the UK for all the work we’ve done is a great honour,” he said. “We have released a lot of great games this year, and it’s been a fantastic effort from the development and marketing teams. “We are privileged to have won the Grand Prix award and it means a great deal to us.”
This year’s MCV Industry Excellence Awards ceremony takes place on Thursday, April 19th at the Lancaster London Hotel. Over 600 games industry execs attend this prestigious event. Guests are advised to purchase tickets or tables early, as this event is always a sell- out. For 2012, single-band pricing has been introduced to make the event more accessible. It is £2,599 + VAT for a table and £275 + VAT for a single seat. A wide range of sponsorship opportunities are also available. Sponsors include Nintendo, ShopTo.net, Green Man Gaming, Sega, OnLive, OPM and NCsoft.