UNITED KINGDOM: Super Mario Brothers creator Shigeru Miyamoto - the "Godfather of Gaming" - is honoured at BAFTA Video Game Awards in London

Record ID: 205632

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Super Mario Brothers creator Shigeru Miyamoto - the "Godfather of Gaming" - is honoured at BAFTA Video Game Awards in London
  • Date: 22nd March 2010
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND UNITED KINGDOM (MARCH 19, 2010) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROCKSTEADY STUDIOS AUDIO DIRECTOR, NICK ARUNDAL, ON VIDEO GAMES GETTING CREATIVE RECOGNITION SAYING: "I think it's long overdue really. The sort of productions we can do now for video games challenge that of film."
  • Embargoed: 6th April 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVAF11WXZP9CB8TG5267W8QYEW9E
  • Story Text: Shigeru Miyamoto - "The Godfather of Gaming" - is made a BAFTA fellow and "Batman: Arkham Asylum" takes the top prize at the BAFTA/GAME Awards in London.
    "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" swept the British Academy Video Games Awards on Friday night (March 19) in London, with four BAFTA trophies.
    Voted for by a BAFTA panel of industry experts, Sony's adventure sequel took home trophies in the Action, Story, Original Score and Use of Audio categories.
    But the top prize of the night, for Best Game, went to "Batman: Arkham Asylum," which also took home an award for Best Gameplay.
    The Batman game had to please two audiences often known to be the toughest of critics: comic book fans and gamers.
    With that in mind, Senior Producer at Rocksteady Studios, Nathan Burlow, said bringing the iconic crime-fighter to life was a daunting project.
    "It really, really was. I think the way we got around that is we focussed on the actual game and also the content and the actual character himself was really key as well," he explained.
    The star of the night was legendary Japanese game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto. The creator of such iconic games as "Super Mario Brothers," "Donkey Kong," and "Zelda" was awarded a BAFTA fellowship.
    Miyamoto - who received a standing ovation at the ceremony - is known in the industry as one of the pioneers of video games, often referred to as the "Godfather of Gaming."
    His BAFTA fellowship puts him in company with Steven Spielberg, Frederico Fellini and Stanley Kubrick.
    But Miyamoto said he is not necessarily comfortable with his legendary status in the industry.
    "I'm sometimes embarrassed and and humbled because we should actually be behind the scenes. Entertainment is a very important for our daily lives, just like - for example -cartoons. As long as we entertain people as the end result. I (personally) should not be getting such prestige," he told Reuters Television ahead of the ceremony.
    Miyamoto is currently looking at expanding the role of gaming consoles as tools for tour guides and as educational aids, adapting the handheld Nintendo DS to be used in museums, galleries and schools.
    "Personally, I am actually interested in utilising our devices for public use. But while we are always making so called traditional gaming, like our latest Super Mario Galaxy 2, I'm really wanting to expand the scope of video games - that's what I'm trying to do," he explained.
    If there was a story of underdog success on the evening it was that of "Flower," the winner for Artistic Achievement.
    Created by independent game developer, thatgamecompany, for Sony's Playstation 3, the video game found itself up against much bigger and better established names, like "Uncharted 2," "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" and "Assassin's Creed 2."
    "It's a complete surprise to us. When you list the nominees against us, you'd have to say we were ranked as outsiders, said development team member, Gavin Russell. "It's incredible to think that the Academy and the panel and the community have been behind us and they've really, really driven this game to somewhere we never thought it was going to be."
    But perhaps an even bigger surprise on the night was the biggest video game blockbuster of 2009, "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" scooping only one award.
    The game, which set the record for the biggest entertainment launch in history upon it's release in November last year, won the GAME Award of 2009 - the only category voted for by he public.

    The full winners list for the BAFTA GAME Awards is as follows:
    BEST GAME: "Batman: Arkham Asylum" - Rocksteady Studios/Eidos
    ACTION: "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" - Naughty Dog & SCE Foster City Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment
    ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT: "Flower" - ThatGameCompany & SCE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment
    FAMILY & SOCIAL: "Wii Sports Resort Katsuya Eguchi" - Nintendo/Nintendo
    GAMEPLAY: "Batman: Arkham Asylum" - Rocksteady Studios/Eidos
    STRATEGY: "Empire: Total War" - Creative Assembly/Sega
    MULTIPLAYER : "Left 4 Dead 2" - Valve/Electronic Arts
    SPORTS: "FIFA 10" - EA Canada/Electronic Arts
    HANDHELD: "LittleBigPlanet" - SCE Cambridge Studio & XDEV Studio Europe/Sony Computer Entertainment
    ORIGINAL SCORE: "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" - Naughty Dog & SCE Foster City Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment
    BEST "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" - Naughty Dog & SCE Foster City Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment
    USE OF AUDIO: "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" - Naughty Dog & SCE Foster City Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment
    USE OF ONLINE: "FIFA 10" - EA Canada/Electronic Arts
    BAFTA ONES TO WATCH AWARD "Shrunk!" - Vykintas Kazdailis, Andrew Macdonald, Michael Cummings, Jacek Wernikowski, Stuart Kemp (The Butterflyers)
    GAME AWARD OF 2009: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2"- Infinity Ward/ Activision
    BAFTA FELLOWSHIP: Shigeru Miyamoto
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