[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.]
London, 5 March 2012: Markus Persson, the Swedish developer
behind the phenomenally successful game
Minecraft, is to be given the Special Award at the GAME
British Academy Video Games Awards on Friday 16 March.
32 year-old Persson started his career in games programming at
King.com and jAlbum where he developed games including
Funny Farm, Luxor and
Carnival Shootout. After leaving the company,
Persson designed and released an unfinished version of his
block-building construction game
Minecraft in May 2009. BAFTA’s Special Award,
which is presented to an individual for their creative contribution
to the industry, highlights
Minecraft as a standout accomplishment in Persson’s
career.
Despite remaining unfinished,
Minecraft is continually updated and since its first
release has amassed over 16 million registered users who have built
everything from the Taj Mahal to the Starship Enterprise within the
game. The game now brings in revenues of around
£160,000 per day and to date has made £62
million.
Minecraft’s success has allowed Persson, dubbed the
poster-boy of digital distribution, to create his own development
company, Mojang Specifications, and secure merchandising contracts
with companies such as The Lego Group.
On being invited to receive the Special Award, Persson said:
"I've always considered the BAFTA Awards to be one of the most
prestigious awards one can receive, and I was very happy when it
expanded to cover video games in 1998. When I first heard
that I would receive a BAFTA Special Award, I was blown away and
deeply humbled. Going to London to accept this award is going
to be a very positive and interesting experience that I'm very much
looking forward to."
Ray Maguire, Chair of the BAFTA Video Games Committee, said:
“Markus is an inspiration for all games developers and this
Award reflects the determination and innovation that he continues
to show to both the developer community and to gamers
worldwide. We are thrilled that he will accept this Award and
are excited to see what new developments he will introduce to the
industry in years to come.”
The GAME British Academy Video Games Awards will take place on
Friday 16 March
at the London Hilton on Park Lane and, for the fourth
year running, will be hosted by comedian and gamer Dara
O’Briain.
For information on either buying tickets or about the Awards in
general, visit BAFTA’s website at
www.bafta.org/games/awards or contact Kelly Smith
on
[email protected].
-ENDS-
For more information or interview requests please
contact:
Kristoff Clark
freud communications
Tel: 020 3003 6472
Email:
[email protected]
Notes to editors:
About BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an
independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art
forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence,
inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to
its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round Learning & Events
programme that offers unique access to some of the world’s
most inspiring talent through workshops, master classes, lectures
and mentoring schemes, connecting with audiences of all ages and
backgrounds across the UK, Los Angeles and New York. BAFTA relies
on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations,
trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its
on-going outreach work. For further information, visit
www.bafta.org.
About the judging process:
Games were entered by both developers and publishers into all
the categories listed in this release and were initially voted on
by BAFTA’s video games members and a carefully selected list
of industry experts via a secure website.
The titles garnering the most votes went through to specialist
juries who receive the games prior to making their nominations.
Each juror signs confidentiality papers and casts their votes on
paper. The results in each category are not known until the
envelope is opened on the night.
About GAME
GAME is Europe’s leading specialist retailer of pc and
video game 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
www.game.co.uk
. For further corporate information, log onto
www.gamegroup.plc.uk
.
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