Super Mario wins top industry award

11 March 2009 02:06pm

The veteran gaming character Super Mario is riding high again after his latest adventure won one of the top honours in the industry.

Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy, in which the moustachioed plumber ventures into outer space, scooped the Best Game award at the British Academy Video Games Awards.

The Japanese firm also triumphed in the handheld section with Professor Layton and the Curious Village

A spokesman for the company said: "We're delighted and honoured that the Academy has recognised both Super Mario Galaxy and Professor Layton. It is fantastic to have creative excellence rewarded by your industry peers in a year that has seen an unprecedented number of great, quality games."

But the big winner at Tuesday night's ceremony was Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which is a first-person shooter game developed by the American firm Infinity Ward.

Call of Duty 4, which is set in a contemporary war zone, scooped three awards - gameplay, story and character and the GAME Award, which was voted for by thousands of enthusiasts on a gaming website.

One British winner was Race Driver: GRID, which triumphed in the Sports category for its Warwickshire-based developers, Codemasters Studios.

Codemasters vice-president Gavin Cheshire said: "Having BAFTA celebrate the achievements of the industry in this way reflects the growing importance of the gaming industry to the UK, both economically and culturally.

"Gaming has never had a wider, more diverse audience than it does now and it's terrific that the industry is starting to receive the mainstream recognition that it deserves."

The ceremony, in central London, was hosted by the Irish comedian Dara O'Briain.

© The Press Association