INDUSTRY BACKS DEVELOPMENT AWARDS EVENT

Thusday 28th July 2005, London/... With the biggest night in the games development calendar approaching, the finalists, sponsors and host for the 2005 Develop Industry Excellence Awards have been revealed in full.

The biggest event of its kind to recognize creativity and talent amongst Europe's video and computer games developers the Develop Industry Excellence Awards have attracted companies such as Sega, EA Partners, ATI and Nvidia as frontline sponsors whilst Channel 4 News' host Krishnan Guru Murthy has been confirmed as the event's anchorman for the evening.

Every sector is put into the spotlight - from the newest start-ups to the most innovative technology, leading service companies and finest studio output. There are 18 awards this year including the Grand Prix and the hotly contested Development Legend award which will see David Braben*, Dave Jones* and Archer Mclean* battling for the award. A new addition for this year's event is the Best Use of a Licence award.

Finalists for the other categories at this year's Develop Industry Excellence Awards:

STUDIOS CATEGORY

NEW UK/EUROPEAN STUDIO (DEBUT TITLE)

Juice Games

Sumo Digital

Relentless Software

Gusto Games

Fuse Games

Nevrax

Guerilla Games

MOST IMPROVED STUDIO

Traveller's Tales

SCEE Studio Liverpool

Frontier Developments

MOBILE GAMES STUDIO

Distinctive Developments

Morpheme

Tower Studios

Redlynx

IOMO/InfoSpace

Ideaworks 3D

HANDHELD GAMES STUDIO

Exient Entertainment

Rare

Gizmondo Manchester

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CATEGORY

NEW CONSOLE IP

Killzone (Guerilla)

Fable (Big Blue Box/Lionhead)

Cold Winter (Swordfish Studios)

FlatOut (Bugbear Entertainment)

Archer Mclean's Mercury (Awesome Sudios)

NEW PC IP

The Saga of Ryzom (Nevrax)

Darwinia (Introversion Software)

Evil Genius (Elixir Studios)

Football Manager (Sports Interactive)

CustomPlay Golf (CustomPlay Games)

BEST USE OF A LICENCE

Lego Star Wars (Traveller's Tales)

Batman Begins (Eurocom)

Rocky Legends (Venom Games)

Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban (EA Chertsey)

Singstar Popworld (SCEE Studio London)

INNOVATION, SERVICES & TECHNOLOGY CATEGORY

BEST USE OF ONLINE

Nevrax (The Saga of Ryzom)

Redlynx (Pathway to Glory)

Digital Illusions (Battlefield 2)

Rare (Conker: Live & Reloaded)

Free Radical Design (Timesplitters: Future Perfect)

ART & SOUND

Climax (Sudeki)

Rockstar North (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)

Criterion Studios (Burnout 3: Takedown)

Frontier Developments (Rollercoaster Tycoon 3)

SCEE Studio Liverpool (Wipeout Pure PSP)

INNOVATION

Gametrak (controller)

Gizmondo (device)

Traveller's Tales (Lego Star Wars)

Big Blue Box/Lionhead (Fable)

Morpheme (Bluetooth Biplanes)

TOOLS PROVIDER

Havok

NaturalMotion

Criterion

Nvidia

SN Systems

Epic Games

SERVICES AND OUTSOURCING

Image Metrics

Escape Studios

Partnertrans

Babel Media

Audio Motion

RECRUITMENT COMPANY

Aardvark Swift

Datascope

Amiqus

OPM Response

Probe IT

INDUSTRY LEADERS CATEGORY

PUBLISHING HERO

Sega

SCi

SCEE

THQ

IN-HOUSE DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Digital Illusions

Rockstar North

Criterion Studios

Codemasters

INDEPENDENT DEVELOPER

Big Blue Box/ Lionhead

Free Radical Design

Swordfish Studios

Traveller's Tales

Creative Assembly

DEVELOPMENT LEGEND

David Braben

Dave Jones

Archer Mclean

Stuart Dinsey, managing director of Intent Media, which publishes Develop said: "Over the last couple of years the event has definitely established itself as the highlight of the development calendar. We have a fantastic turn out again this year with the event virtually selling out within three weeks of being announced.

"There are so many big names amongst the finalists this year and it will be a real battle for some of these awards. It will be a great night with many long overdue acknowledgements for those behind the scenes who create the concepts and designs for some of the best selling titles worldwide."

David Braben*

While still a student at Cambridge University, David Braben reached out into the inky blackness that was the unknown potential of video games and (with partner Ian Bell) conjured up the limitless, peerless Elite. Zarch on the Acorn Archimedes, which put flesh on Elite's bones by introducing real-time lighting and shadowing to games, was just the first of its worthy successors. Now chairman of 85-strong Frontier Developments, Braben is showing legendary staying power too.

Dave Jones*

The studio that Dave Jones founded back in the 1980s, DMA Design, is still making its presence felt today under a different name, Rockstar North - the developers of the just-a-bit successful GTA: Vice City and San Andreas. Modern GTA's success can be traced right back to Jones' imaginative 2D top-down GTA original, released in 1997, which confirmed the imaginative genius that Jones had already revealed with 1990's Lemmings. Now at start-up Real Time Worlds - the world awaits.

Archer Mclean*

Proud to admit that he wrote his first game in 1977 - before some of today's coding wizards were even born - Archer Mclean has developed a host of successful titles. Best known now for pocketing a lucrative niche with the likes of Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker, 3D Pool and Cueball World, Mclean's CV also boasts more varied fair such as Dropzone and International Karate. His PSP debut, Archer Mclean's Mercury, is so good it has been licensed back to Sony Japan.

Develop magazine is the international monthly for games programmers, artists, musicians and producers. It is published by Intent Media.

The Develop Industry Excellence Awards will take place on

Wednesday 31st August 2004 at the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington.

Tables of ten are available at £1,975 and individual seats at £199. Discounts are available to TIGA-affiliated companies and IGDA members with tables at £1,750 and individual seats at £175.

To secure your table or to discuss sponsorship opportunities please contact:

SPONSORSHIP & SALES

KATHRYN HUMPHREY

BARRINGTON HARVEY

TEL: +44 (0)1462 456780

FAX: +44 (0)1462 456781

Kathryn.Humphrey@bhpr.co.uk

MARTIN DEFRIES

BARRINGTON HARVEY

TEL: +44 (0)1462 456780

FAX: +44 (0)1462 456781

Martin.Defries@bhpr.co.uk

PRESS CONTACT:

KATHRYN HUMPHREY

BARRINGTON HARVEY

TEL: +44 (0)1462 456780

FAX: +44 (0)14562 456781

Kathryn.Humphrey@bhpr.co.uk

Issued by: Barrington Harvey, Troopers Yard, Bancroft, Hitchin SG5 1JW