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North East games firm rides high

A North East videogames company has beaten off Europe-wide competition to land a nomination for an industry award recognising the best creative, technical and business minds in UK and European game development. Eutechnyx, which has its headquarters on the banks of the River Tyne in Gateshead, has received a Develop Industry Excellence Award nomination in the ‘Best Use of a Licence’ category for its racing game The Fast and the Furious, a Sony PlayStation 2 and PSP title based on the Hollywood franchise. The game has already been a huge commercial success for Eutechnyx, with over 1 million copies shipped worldwide.

Darren Jobling, director of business development and chairman of Codeworks GameHorizon, said: “It’s a tremendous honour to be nominated for a Develop award. The Fast and the Furious has already proven a big favourite with game players around the world, so to be recognised by our peers from within the games industry is doubly satisfying.”

The awards are voted for by a panel of nearly 100 experts from the game development community. In addition to the 16 prizes judged by industry cognoscenti, two additional awards are to be presented on the night - one to a Development Legend, and an overall Grand Prix, both decided by the magazine’s editorial team. Eutechnyx – who face competition from the likes of Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Pirates of the Caribbean – will discover whether they have secured the prize at a ceremony on Wednesday 25 July 2007 at the Hilton Metropole, Brighton.

Eutechnyx is a founding member of Codeworks GameHorizon, a business network for the game development sector in North East England. Carri Cunliffe, head of sector development at Codeworks, added: “With this award nomination, Eutechnyx has added to its reputation as one of the most respected and successful studios in this hugely competitive industry. Their continued success is a great credit to the thriving games community in North East England.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .