Biggest games awards in the world & the only one voted for by gamers
Hotline Miami leads shortlist
Comedian Ed Byrne confirmed as host
Friday 25th October 2013, The Westminster Park Plaza
Voting now open at www.goldenjoystick.com
#GoldenJoysticks
29/08/13 The world’s most popular and credible games awards, the Golden Joystick Awards today announces the shortlist for its 2013 ceremony with public voting now open.
Celebrating the very best in the gaming industry, the Golden Joystick Awards are the only annual awards voted for by gamers, garnering a record-breaking four million votes last year.
Now in its 31st year and spread over 15 fiercely contested categories, the awards recognise every aspect of the world of gaming with gongs including Best Gaming Moment in association with Absolute Radio, Best Gaming Platform in association with Digital Spy, Best Mobile Game and The YouTube Gamer Award.
2D top-down kill-‘em-up Hotline Miami leads the shortlist with six nominations, followed closely by The Last of Us, Halo 4 and Dishonored with five nominations each. The four titles will do battle for the most prestigious award of the afternoon, Game of the Year. The highly competitive category is made up of 17 of the year’s hottest releases, also including BioShock Infinite, The Walking Dead and Borderlands 2.
With the next-generation of consoles set to launch before the end of the year, the future looks extremely bright for the gaming industry and all eyes will be focussed on the Most Wanted category to gauge what the gaming public are most looking forward to getting their hands on. The category not only pits Microsoft’s Xbox One against Sony’s PlayStation 4 but also features the most eagerly anticipated triple-A releases such as Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4.
The Golden Joystick Awards have always sought to reflect the ever-evolving games industry landscape and this year’s new categories further reflect it. A pick of the new additions include Studio of the Year which celebrates the developers who are well and truly shaping the future of gaming, Innovation of the Year in association with T3 which recognises the hardware, engine or peripheral that has enjoyed the most seismic impact during the past 12 months, while Best Storytelling reflects the sensational videogames plots which make The Catcher in the Rye look like Noddy Goes Shopping.
Tim Clark, Group Senior Editor – Games at Future, says: “We’ve completely revamped the categories this year, to make them more relevant to gamers around the globe, and to capture the excitement, innovation and diversity of gaming in 2013. With the next-gen almost upon us, indie games exploding on all platforms, while PC and mobile gaming go from strength to strength, this year’s ceremony promises to be the most thrilling yet. I can’t wait to see who the fans have backed hardest.”
After his dazzling debut at last year’s event, comedian Ed Byrne will once again host the awards. The Edinburgh veteran is a true videogames aficionado – his encyclopaedic knowledge of gaming coupled with his quick wit and charm make him the perfect choice to preside over the afternoons proceedings.
The Golden Joystick Awards will take place at The Westminster Park Plaza on Friday 25th October, 2013. For more information on the Golden Joystick Awards and to vote, visit: www.goldenjoystick.com
The shortlist nominations in full are:
Game of the Year
Borderlands 2 (2K Games)
Dishonored (Bethesda)
Forza Horizon (Microsoft)
Halo 4 (Microsoft)
The Last of Us (Sony)
Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
Tomb Raider (Square Enix)
BioShock Infinite (2K Games)
The Walking Dead (TellTale)
Pikmin 3 (Nintendo)
Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar)
Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Activision)
Guild Wars 2 (NCsoft)
Fire Emblem Awakening (Nintendo)
Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Namco Bandai)
Saints Row IV (Deep Silver)
Splinter Cell Blacklist (Ubisoft)
Most Wanted
Xbox One (Microsoft)
PlayStation 4 (Sony)
The Elder Scrolls Online (Bethesda)
Thief (Square Enix)
Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Konami)
Destiny (Activision)
Battlefield 4 (EA)
Call of Duty: Ghosts (Activision)
Super Smash Bros. Wii U (Nintendo)
Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Namco Bandai)
The Division (Ubisoft)
Titanfall (EA)
Dark Souls II (Namco Bandai)
Need for Speed: Rivals (EA)
Batman: Arkham Origins (Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)
Best Indie Game
Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)
Gunpoint (Suspicious Developments)
Mark of the Ninja (Klei)
State of Decay (Undead Labs)
Guacamelee! (Drinkbox Studios)
The Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow)
Ridiculous Fishing (Vlambeer)
FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games)
Super Hexagon (Terry Cavanagh)
Best Newcomer
The Last of Us (Sony)
The Walking Dead (TellTale)
Dishonored (Bethesda)
Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)
DUST 514 (CCP)
Forza Horizon (Microsoft)
ZombiU (Ubisoft)
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Namco Bandai)
Remember Me (Capcom)
State of Decay (Microsoft)
Injustice: Gods Among Us (Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)
DayZ (Dean ‘Rocket’ Hall/Bohemia Interactive)
Best Handheld Game
Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo)
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (Nintendo)
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Capcom)
LittleBigPlanet PSVita (Sony)
Fire Emblem: Awakening (Nintendo)
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate (Nintendo)
Assassin’s Creed III Liberation (Ubisoft)
Soul Sacrifice (Sony)
Persona 4 Golden (Square Enix)
Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)
Best Gaming Platform in association with Digital Spy
Steam (Valve)
Wii U (Nintendo)
Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo)
Xbox 360 (Microsoft)
PlayStation 3 (Sony)
PS Vita (Sony)
Gog.com (CD Projekt RED)
Google Play (Google)
iOS App Store (Apple)
Best Storytelling
The Last of Us (Sony)
BioShock Infinite (2K Games)
Metro: Last Light (Deep Silver)
The Walking Dead (TellTale)
Halo 4 (Microsoft)
Dishonored (Bethesda)
LEGO City: Undercover (Nintendo)
Tomb Raider (Square Enix)
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (Ubisoft)
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (505)
COD: Black Ops II (Activision)
Virtue’s Last Reward (Rising Star Games)
Best Mobile/Tablet Game of the Year
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2K Games)
Ridiculous Fishing (Vlambeer)
Super Hexagon (Terry Cavanagh)
Deus Ex: The Fall (Square Enix)
Rayman Jungle Run (Ubisoft)
Total War Battles: Shogun (Sega)
Joe Danger Touch (Hello Games)
Year Walk (Simogo)
Punch Quest (Rocketcat)
Best Online Game
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (Blizzard)
ShootMania Storm (Ubisoft)
Firefall (Red 5)
PlanetSide 2 (Sony Online Entertainment)
SimCity (EA)
DayZ (Dean ‘Rocket’ Hall/Bohemia Interactive)
Curiosity – What’s Inside the Cube? (22Cans)
Defiance (Trion Worlds)
World of Tanks (Wargaming.net)
League of Legends (Riot Games)
Dota 2 (Valve)
Eve Online – Odyssey (CCP)
Guild Wars 2 (NCsoft)
Runescape 3 (Jagex)
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (Square Enix)
Star Wars: The Old Republic (EA)
Disney Infinity (Disney Interactive)
The Secret World (EA/Funcom)
Rift (Trion Worlds)
Aion (Gameforge)
Best Multiplayer
FIFA 13 (EA)
PES 2013 (Konami)
Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Activision)
Nintendo Land (Nintendo)
Halo 4 (Microsoft)
Borderlands 2 (2K Games)
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Sega)
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (Blizzard)
Company of Heroes 2 (Sega)
F1 2012 (Codemasters)
Battlefield 3 End Game Expansion (EA)
Payday 2 (505 Games)
Innovation of the Year in association with T3
Ouya
Twitch.tv
Nintendo Direct (Nintendo)
Miiverse (Nintendo)
Wonderbook (Sony)
SmartGlass (Microsoft)
Oculus Rift (Oculus)
Defiance (Trion Worlds)
Curiosity – What’s Inside the Cube? (22Cans)
Earforce XP510 headset (Turtle Beach)
Studio of the Year
TellTale Games
Ubisoft Montreal
Naughty Dog
343 Industries
EA Canada
Irrational Games
Nintendo Intelligent Systems
Ninja Theory
Playground Games
Riot Games
DICE
Arkane Studios
The Creative Assembly
Sports Interactive
Best Visual Design
BioShock Infinite (2K Games)
Dishonored (Bethesda)
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Namco Bandai)
Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)
The Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow)
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (Ubisoft)
Borderlands 2 (2K Games)
Pikmin 3 (Nintendo)
DMC (Capcom)
The Last of Us (Sony
Metro: Last Light (Deep Silver)
Halo 4 (Microsoft)
God of War: Ascension (Sony)
Best Gaming Moment in association with Absolute Radio
Trying Oculus Rift for the first time. (Oculus)
MGS Revengeance – Senator boss fight (Capcom)
Bioshock Infinite – Hallelujah (2K)
Mass Effect 3 – Citadel DLC party (EA)
DMC – Bob Barbas boss fight (Capcom)
Dishonored – Lady Boyle’s Last Party (Bethesda)
Far Cry 3 – The Definition of Insanity (Ubisoft)
Hotline Miami – Chapter 8 (disco) (Devolver Digital)
The Walking Dead – The boy in the attic (Telltale)
Assassin’s Creed III – The Templar Twist (Ubisoft)
The Unfinished Swan – The King’s Dream (Giant Sparrow)
The Last of Us – Joel’s loss (Sony)
Tomb Raider – Radio Tower climb (Square Enix)
Dead Space 3 – A surprising death (EA)
Halo 4 – Cortana’s fate (Microsoft)
The YouTube Gamer Award
Yogscast
Ali A
Smooth McGroove
Francis
Fitzthislewitz
Tam McGleish (Gamewank)
Bitsocket
Ends
For more information please contact: Ben Bolton, Senior Communications Executive, at ben.bolton@futurenet.com or 020 7042 4034 and 07940 530424
About the Golden Joystick Awards:
Established in 1982, the Golden Joystick Awards is the world’s longest-running and best-known gaming awards. It’s the only annual awards voted for by gamers and a highlight of the games industry calendar. In 2012 it attracted a record 4.1 million votes.