Golden Joystick Awards 2009

For immediate distribution

14 August 2009 The Golden Joystick Awards is proud to announce a new team of media partners for 2009.

MSN, ShortList and Bliss are all partnering with the event, reflecting the increasingly mainstream appeal of the video games industry in 2009. The only UK industry accolades voted for by the the gamers themselves, The Golden Joystick Awards approaches its 27th year with each of the partner’s readers and subscribers being encouraged to vote for their favourite games of 2009.

2009’s Golden Joystick Award for the multiplayer category will be renamed ‘The MSN Multiplayer Game of the Year’. Microsoft’s portal is involved in the awards for the very first time this year and will be supporting the event by showcasing the nominated categories by creating a rich range of content editorial features to complement it’s impressive existing gaming coverage and MSN will also be hosting a voting mechanic. MSN will take the Golden Joysticks Awards to a whole new audience this year and will be providing live content from the awards event.

“MSN is delighted to sponsor the Multiplayer Game of the Year award,” said Alastair Bruce, MSN Tech & Gadgets manager. “Our involvement with the Golden Joystick Awards goes hand-in-hand with our comprehensive coverage of the video games scene at MSN Tech & Gadgets. With so many great titles having been released over the past year, we’re sure the awards will be a huge success.”

ShortList are also partners with the awards for the first time. The UK’s biggest mens lifestyle magazine is on the rise with a circulation of 510,720* representing a 6.1% rise in circulation year on year. Voting for ‘The ShortList One to Watch Award’ will be hosted on www.shortlist.com and the weekly magazine’s involvement reflects their increasingly strong gaming coverage.

“ShortList is proud to be a media partner for this year’s Golden Joysticks Awards. ShortList celebrates all that’s most important in a man’s life – climbing the career ladder, forming a lasting meaningful relationship and scoring a 20-yard screamer from the safety of your own sofa.” said Terri White, editor of ShortList

The Golden Joystick Awards are delighted to welcome Bliss as the girls lifestyle magazine media partners for the third year running. Bliss is a leading lifestyle magazine for sassy 13-17 year old girls offering them a fantastic fix of fashion and beauty, exclusive celebrity gossip, and jaw-dropping real-life stories. The new-look monthly Bliss launched in April 2009 to rave reviews and continues to be the most exciting and relevant magazine in the sector due to it’s understanding of the evolving trends in girl’s lifestyles.

“We are delighted to partner with The Golden Joystick Awards again on the Bliss Handheld Game of the Year. The universal appeal and accessibility of handheld consoles means that more and more teenage girls are playing games. The interest in gaming amongst teenage girls continues to grow and Bliss aims to provide its readers with varied content on some of the hottest games that are in the market" said Jess Tadmor, Marketing Manager at Panini UK

“The Golden Joysticks continue to grow and we are delighted to welcome readers from MSN, ShortList and Bliss to have their say on the games they believe made the last year and the ones set to occupy the nation’s living rooms in the months ahead. They form the strongest media partnerships we have had in place for the awards to date. We look forward to announcing additional sponsors and partners over the coming weeks” said Emma Parkinson, Publisher at Future UK and organiser of the Golden Joystick Awards.

The Golden Joysticks are the games industry’s most-loved awards and the industry’s acceptance as a mass market form of entertainment looks set to be reflected in the popularity of 2009’s event - a record-breaking 700,000 votes having already been cast by gaming enthusiasts.

Featuring 15 gamer-voted categories, the event is the world’s longest-running video games awards, first held back in 1982. Votes cast now at www.goldenjoystick.com will directly decide who scoops a prestigious Golden Joystick when the winners are announced in London on Friday, 30th October.

For more information about the Golden Joystick Awards please contact Justin Crosby on 0207 100 3999 justin@boomdialogue.com

For more information about Future UK please contact Will Guyatt, Future UK on 01225 822517

About Future

Future plc is an international special-interest media group that is listed on the London Stock Exchange (symbol FUTR). Founded in 1985 with one magazine, today we have operations in the UK, US and Australia creating over 180 special-interest publications, websites and events for people who are passionate about their interests. We hold strong market positions in games, film, music, technology, cycling, automotive and crafts. Our biggest-selling magazines include T3, Total Film, Digital Camera, Fast Car, Classic Rock, Guitar World, Official Xbox Magazine, Official Playstation Magazine, Nintendo Power, Maximum PC and MacLife. Our websites include gamesradar.com, bikeradar.com, techradar.com, and musicradar.com. Future produces over 4 million magazines each month; we attract more than 18 million unique visitors to our websites; and we host 25 annual live events that attract hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts. In addition, Future exports, syndicates or licenses its publications to 90 countries internationally, making us the UK's number one exporter and licensor of monthly magazines.

About Panini

The Panini Group was established almost 50 years ago in Modena, Italy and with its subsidiaries throughout Europe and Latin America; it is the world leader in the published Collectibles sector. Panini is also the leading multi-national publisher of comics, children’s magazines and manga in Europe and Latin America. The Panini Group is expected to make record sales of approaching $1Billion in 2008, has distribution in 100 countries and employs a staff of more than 700. Further information can be obtained on "http://www.paninigroup.com

About MSN and Microsoft

MSN attracts more than 465 million unique users worldwide per month. With localised versions available globally in 42 markets including 18 in EMEA, MSN is a world leader in delivering compelling programmed content experiences to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About ShortList

ShortList is Britain’s number one men’s weekly magazine, with over 500,000 copies distributed every week across the UK. With an informative and entertaining blend of news, style, gaming and sport, the magazine has already won several prestigious industry awards for editorial and publishing excellence. ShortList is for men with more than one thing on their minds.

*ABC Figures Jan - June 2009