GAME Opens Public Vote for GAME British Academy Video Games Awards

Basingstoke, Hampshire (PRWEB) February 14, 2010

GAME, the high street retailer, has unveiled the shortlist for the GAME Award of 2009, which is presented at the GAME BAFTAs and is the only prize on the night that is voted for by the public.

Titles up for the coveted GAME Award this year include: Beatles Rock Band, FIFA 10, Assassins Creed 2 (http://www.game.co.uk/Games/Xbox-360/Assassins-Creed-II-Special-Edition/~r344314/ ) and the record breaking Modern Warfare 2 (http://www.game.co.uk/Games/Xbox-360/Call-of-Duty-Modern-Warfare-2/~r344819/ ). Anyone can vote for their choice GAME BAFTA award (http://www.baftagameaward.com/ ).

Last year, over 60,000 people voted for the GAME Award with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare scooping the prize.

Johnny Minkley, BBC Radio One's gaming expert and editor of Eurogamer TV, part of Europe's biggest independent games site Eurogamer.net, said:

"2009 was a vintage year for games (http://www.game.co.uk/ ) and gamers, with many fantastic titles released that show off the talent and technology in the industry. Call of Duty was a worthy winner last year, but faces stiff competition to make it two years in a row."

Neil Ashurst, head of UK PR for GAME said:

"The GAME Award is the only opportunity for gamers to vote for their favourite titles at this year's GAME BAFTAs. If you have a favourite game on the shortlist, don't assume that it'll win, go to the website and make your vote count"

The GAME BAFTAs are on Friday 19th March and will be hosted by comedian Dara O'Briain.

O'Briain who is a lifelong gamer said, "I am delighted to have been asked back to host the GAME BAFTA's for the second year running. It's an honour to acclaim the very real people whose creativity, innovation and wit produce such amazing virtual worlds".

Voting for the GAME BAFTAs closes at midday on Tuesday 16th March.

Notes to Editors:

About GAME:

GAME is Europe's leading specialist retailer of pc and video games products. Since the start of trading in 1991 with 11 stores in the UK, it has grown both organically and through acquisition to a chain of over 1,300 outlets in January 2009. It operates stores in ten countries, supported by eCommerce websites. Online retail is located at game.co.uk. For further corporate information, log onto gamegroup.plc.uk.

About BAFTA:

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts exists to support, develop and promote the art forms of the moving image, by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the viewing public.

PR Contact:

Neil Ashurst

GAME

Unity House

Telford Road

Basingstoke

Hampshire

RG21 6YJ

+44 (0) 1256 78 44 22

http://www.game.co.uk

###

Find More Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Press Releases

M2 Research Reports 90 Percent of Tweens are Playing Games Online; Mobile and Social Media Use on the Rise Among Children

Encinitas, CA (PRWEB) August 18, 2010

Today's kids are playing games on consoles, computers, portables and online more than ever before. Kids and Games: What Boys and Girls are Playing Today is a new report series launched by M2 Research. Key findings from the report include:

1. Social Networking: Social Networking is increasingly prevalent in children's lives. Facebook is now the favorite website among tween (8-11) boys and teen (12-15) girls.

2. Key Demographic and "Sweet Spot": Online games dominate for boys and girls ages 8-11. 91% of tween boys and 93% of tween girls play games online.

3. Nintendo Dominates Handheld Gaming Space: But thanks largely to the iPad and iPhone, Apple is becoming a significant player especially with girls.

4. Portable Platform Discrepancy: Sony's PSP has the largest gender discrepancy. 17% of teen girls play games on the PSP compared to 44% of teen boys.

5. Strong Videogame Franchises: Franchises continue to flourish at the top of the "Favorites" list for boys and girls. The videogame franchise girls prefer is the Mario Series, with 20% of girls picking it as their favorite. Boys, prefer Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with 36% of teen boys picking it as their favorite game.

"We have found kids tend to play a wide variety of games, and their favorite games and gaming sites change often." explains Louise Curcio, M2 Research Analyst. "There are opportunities for companies, and we believe the kids market has been overlooked."

Lead author for this report, Louise Curcio, has extensive experience in consumer marketing and children?s gaming. Contributing authors, Wanda Meloni and Billy Pidgeon, have both been tracking videogames, online gaming and development technologies for many years.

The Kids and Games: What Boys and Girls are Playing Today report has over 80 gaming charts and outlines key trends and companies. Survey data is collected from over 5,000 kids across the United States. M2 Research has formed a strategic partnership with KidSay to create this ongoing report series, which will be released twice per year.

For further information about the report and pricing, please contact: Wanda Meloni

About M2 Research

M2 Research has been providing market analysis in the gaming and entertainment space since 2000. The M2 Analysts include Wanda Meloni, Billy Pidgeon and Louise Curcio. With a focus on gaming and emerging trends in demographics, technology, and consumer preferences, M2 Research publishes market reports and newsletters. The company also works with clients on customized market planning and analysis. For further information contact us or visit us at http://www.m2research.com.

About KidSay

KidSay is a research company that has been tracking kids? behaviors for over 10 years. Kidsay performs one-on-one surveys with children around the country five times annually. KidSay can be reached at http://www.kidsay.com.

CONTACT:

Wanda Meloni

M2 Research

wanda(at)m2research(dot)com

Tel: 760-213-7939

###

More Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Press Releases

Overtone?s GameVoice Report Reveals Increasing Online Conversations about Video Games Online in August

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) September 24, 2010

While many were vacationing during August, video game enthusiasts were busy engaging in online conversations about Electronic Art?s Mass Effect 2 game coming to the Sony PlayStation 3 platform this winter, making the PS3 the most talked about platform, according to Overtone?, Inc.?s GameVoice? report for August. In addition to game platform data, the most recent issue of GameVoice reveals that Halo: Reach remains the most mentioned upcoming video game with the majority of online conversations focused on pre-orders and the beta which occurred in May.

?As we predicted last month, we?re seeing several games and products generate increasing online comment volume, such as Mass Effect 2 and Halo Reach,? said Michelle Mathis, GameVoice Product Manager. ?Consumers were also engaged in lively discussions about retailers? plans to sell used games and popular game promotional offers, among other hot topics. There is no shortage of strong opinion or reluctance to share sentiments when it comes to video game enthusiasts.?

GameVoice highlights the top line rankings of 300+ video games, consoles, publishers, genres, retailers, and other hot topics and summarizes consumer sentiment and volume across these categories providing insight into millions of social media conversations. The 32-page August 2010 report compiled from comments in video game forums and message boards, offers valuable video game consumer insights including:

Overall Platform Sentiment

The handheld platforms rank higher than the consoles again in August, with the DS slightly ahead of the PSP in the Sentiment Index. The 3DS continues to receive many positive comments, though both volume and sentiment decreased this month.

Platform Insights: Top Publishers

Electronic Arts tops conversation about publishers with over 21,000 comments, down from over 26,000 last month. The announcement of Mass Effect 2?s upcoming release for the PS3 contributes to the volume about EA and Microsoft, while server issues are another common topic about EA. Excitement about upcoming games from Nintendo, such as The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Activision, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops, land those publishers in third and fourth place, respectively, in August.

Game Insights: Top Released Games

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the most talked about released game in August. Mass Effect 2 jumps to second place, with an increase of nearly 3,000 comments. Halo 3: ODST remains in third, while Battlefield: Bad Company 2 falls to fourth.

Game Insights: Top Upcoming Games

Microsoft Xbox 360 exclusive Halo: Reach leads comments on upcoming games again in August, with an increase in volume over the previous month as the September 14 release date approaches. Call of Duty: Black Ops is second. Medal of Honor, which stirred up controversy in the media toward the end of August when news broke that gamers could play as the Taliban, drops to fifth place. Gran Turismo 5 moves up to third and Rock Band 3 comes in fourth.

Behind the GameVoice report is the OpenMic? GameVoice social media analytics application that, unlike other solutions, accurately measures true sentiment and extracts meaningful insights from consumer generated text within online video game communities. GameVoice reports are the product of OpenMic GameVoice applying unmatched artificial intelligence capabilities and a text analytics engine that ?reads? comments and is able to competently determine accurate results and insights suited for marketers, publishers, developers, and retailers in the industry. These insights, in turn, allow industry professional s to better understand the needs and wants of consumers, make product improvements, and offer better customer service.

GameVoice Solutions

GameVoice Report. The report summarizes social media conversation from millions of comments compiled from video game forums and message boards.

GameVoice Interactive. Introduced in August 2010, Overtone?s first interactive offering gives customers access to the GameVoice system, training and the GameVoice report. Users can log in to the system and generate custom insights on any topic GameVoice covers, including games, genres, consoles, publishers and retailers. GameVoice Interactive is available to qualified industry professionals for a free seven day trial.

GameVoice Interactive Plus. Overtone?s premium solution, GameVoice Interactive Plus includes the standard GameVoice Interactive package with the added benefit of consulting time with a GameVoice analyst. Consulting time ranges from 24 to 96 hours per quarter.

For more information about the GameVoice suite of solutions, please go to http://gamevoice.openmic.com

Overtone, Inc.

Overtone, Inc. provides an advanced customer listening solution that out performs simple social media monitoring for many of the world?s leading consumer brand companies including Microsoft, Yahoo!, and Continental Airlines. Overtone?s OpenMic delivers meaningful customer insights from unstructured customer-generated content enabling strategic decisions and intelligent action. Overtone is funded by top-tier venture capital firms Dolphin Equity Partners and ABS Ventures. For more information, visit http://www.overtone.com

Overtone and OpenMic are registered trademarks of Overtone, Inc. GameVoice is a trademark of Overtone, Inc. All other company names and product names are properties of their respective owners.

###

More Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Press Releases