Annual video game award ceremony
Graphic of the trophy
The Golden Joystick Awards , also known as the People's Gaming Awards , is a video game award ceremony ; it awards the best video games of the year , as voted for originally by the British general public,[ 1] but is now a global event that can be voted online via GamesRadar+ . As of 2023[update] , the ceremony was in its 41st year. It is the longest-running video game award ceremony, launched in 1983, and the second-oldest video game award ceremony after the Arcade Awards , launched in 1981.
The awards were initially focused on computer games, but were extended to include console games . The ceremony is not directly related to the golden joystick prize given away to successful contestants on GamesMaster , a British television show, but both properties belong to Future plc .
In 2021, the Golden Joystick Awards celebrated 50 Years Of Games by asking the public to vote for the Ultimate Game Of All Time, which was won by the 2011 game Dark Souls . The PC also received the Best Gaming Hardware of All Time Award, which was accepted by Valve president Gabe Newell .
Winners
1983
Awards were presented by DJ Dave Lee Travis at a ceremony in London 's Berkeley Square .
Award
Winner [ 2] [ 3]
Runners-up
Game of the Year
Jetpac
Arcadia , Manic Miner , The Hobbit
Best Arcade-Style Game of the Year
Manic Miner
Arcadia , Penetrator , Zalaga
Strategy Game of the Year
The Hobbit
Football Manager , Planet Invasion , Scrabble
Best Original Game of the Year
Ah Diddums
Ant Attack , Pssst , Splat!
Software House of the Year
Ultimate Play the Game
Imagine Software , Llamasoft , Melbourne House
1984
Awards were presented by Jools Holland , at a ceremony in London .
1985
Awards were presented by Jools Holland , at a ceremony on a Thames Riverboat .
1986
The ceremony took place at Cadogan Hall .
1987
Awards were presented by Chris Tarrant .
1988
The ceremony took place at Kensington Roof Gardens .
1989
1989/1990: Paul Patterson of Ocean Software receives, from Jonathan Ross and Julian Rignall , "Best Coin-Op Conversion of the Year" (8-bit) award.
The ceremony took place at Kensington Roof Gardens , 11 April 1990.[ 9]
1990
The ceremony took place at Kensington Roof Gardens , 4 April 1991.[ 10]
1991
The ceremony took place at Hyde Park Hotel, London , on 7 April 1992.[ 12]
1992
The ceremony took place at Kensington , London, in May 1993.[ 13]
^ "Best Original Console Game" referred to games without an official license and that were not based on an arcade game , which is why Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was eligible, despite being a sequel .[ 15]
1994
The ceremony took place in London , on 16 May 1994.[ 16] [ 17]
1996/1997
The ceremony took place at Café de Paris , in November 1997.[ 18] [ 19]
2002
The 2002 ceremony took place at the Dorchester Hotel on 25 October 2002 and was hosted by Jonathan Ross .[ 20]
Award
Winner
Runners-up
Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto III (Rockstar Games )[ 14]
Halo (Microsoft Studios ), Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (EA Games )
Online Game of the Year
Counter-Strike (Valve Corporation )
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (EA Games ), Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (Blizzard )
PC Game of the Year
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (EA Games )
Grand Theft Auto III (Rockstar Games ), Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (Blizzard )
Best Use of a Film Licence
The Thing (Vivendi Universal Games /Konami )
Spider-Man (Activision ), The Sum of All Fears (Ubi Soft )
Sports Game of the Year
Pro Evolution Soccer (Konami )
Championship Manager (Eidos ), FIFA 2002 (EA Sports )
Game Innovation of the Year
Grand Theft Auto III (Rockstar Games )
Max Payne (Rockstar /3D Realms ), The D-Day landing in Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (EA Games )
Hardware of the Year
Microsoft Xbox
AMD Athlon XP Processor , Nintendo GameCube
British Developer of the Year
Rockstar North
Electronic Arts
Rare Publisher of the Year
Electronic Arts
Activision /LucasArts , Microsoft Game Studios
Retailer of the Year
Gameplay.com
GAME , Amazon.co.uk
Most Wanted Game for Christmas
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Rockstar Games )
Splinter Cell (UbiSoft ), Super Mario Sunshine (Nintendo of Europe )
Xbox Game of the Year
Halo (Microsoft Game Studios )
Dead or Alive 3 (Tecmo ), Max Payne (Rockstar /3D Realms )
GameCube Game of the Year
Resident Evil (Capcom Eurosoft )
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (Activision /LucasArts ), Super Smash Bros. Melee (Nintendo of Europe )
Handheld Game of the Year
Golden Sun (Nintendo )
Mario Kart: Super Circuit (Nintendo ), Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 (Nintendo of Europe )
PS2 Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto III (Rockstar Games )
Final Fantasy X (SCEE ), Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Konami )
2003
The 2003 ceremony took place at the Park Lane Hilton on 28 November 2003 and was hosted by Phill Jupitus .[ 21]
Award
Winner
Runners-up
PS2 Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Rockstar )
EyeToy: Play (SCEE ), Pro Evolution Soccer 2 (Konami )
GameCube Game of the Year
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Nintendo )
Metroid Prime (Nintendo ), Resident Evil Zero (Capcom )
Handheld Game of the Year
Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (Nintendo )
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (Nintendo ), The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Nintendo )
Xbox Game of the Year
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Activision /LucasArts )
Soul Calibur II (Electronic Arts ), Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (Ubisoft )
PC Game of the Year
Championship Manager 4 (Eidos )
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Rockstar ), Battlefield 1942 (Electronic Arts )
Online Game of the Year
Battlefield 1942 (Electronic Arts )
Phantasy Star Online I & II (Sega ), Unreal Championship (Atari )
Film Adaptation of the Year
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Electronic Arts )
Enter the Matrix (Atari ), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Electronic Arts )
The Daily Mirror Award: Best of British
Championship Manager 4 (Eidos )
Conflict: Desert Storm II (SCi ), Republic: The Revolution (Eidos )
Publisher of the Year
Nintendo
Electronic Arts , Rockstar Games
Retailer of the Year
GAME
Amazon.co.uk , Gameplay.com
Hardware of the Year
Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP
SCEE EyeToy , Microsoft Xbox Live!
Unsung Hero Game of the Year
Viewtiful Joe (Capcom )
No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way (Monolith Productions ), Steel Battalion (Capcom )
Hall of Fame Industry Personality of the Year
Shigeru Miyamoto (Nintendo )
Editor's Award: Game of the Year
Pro Evolution Soccer 3 (Konami )
Call of Duty (Activision ), The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Nintendo )
Most Wanted Game for Christmas
Mario Kart: Double Dash (Nintendo )
Pro Evolution Soccer 3 (Konami ), WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain (THQ )
Most Anticipated Game for 2004
Half-Life 2 (Valve )
Doom III (Activision ), Halo 2 (Microsoft )
Ultimate Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Rockstar )
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Nintendo ), Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Activision /LucasArts )
2004
The 2004 ceremony took place at the Park Lane Hilton on 5 November 2004 and was hosted by Matt Lucas .[ 22]
Award
Winner
Runners-up
PS2 Game of the Year
Burnout 3: Takedown (Electronic Arts )
Pro Evolution Soccer 3 (Konami ), Spider-Man 2 (Activision )
GameCube Game of the Year
Mario Kart: Double Dash (Nintendo )
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (Konami ), Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (Nintendo )
Handheld Game of the Year
Sonic Advance 3 (THQ )
Metroid Zero Mission (Nintendo ), Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (Nintendo )
Xbox Game of the Year
Fable (Microsoft )
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (Ubisoft ), Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack (Rockstar Games )
PC Game of the Year
Doom 3 (Activision )
X2: The Threat (Deep Silver ), Far Cry (Ubisoft )
Online Game of the Year
Battlefield Vietnam (Electronic Arts )
Burnout 3: Takedown (Electronic Arts ), Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (Valve )
Publisher of the Year
Electronic Arts
THQ , Ubisoft
Retailer of the Year
Amazon.co.uk
GAME , Play.com
Hardware of the Year
Nintendo GBA SP
Creative Labs Gigaworks S750, GBA Wireless Adapter
Unsung Hero Game of the Year (Editors' Award)
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (VU Games )
The Suffering (Midway ), Mashed (Empire Interactive )
Game of the Year (Editors' Award)
Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (Konami )
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords (Nintendo ), Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising (NovaLogic )
Hall of Fame - Industry Personality of the Year
Warren Spector (Ion Storm )
Most Wanted Game for Xmas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games )
Half-Life 2 (Valve ), Halo 2 (Microsoft )
Most Wanted Game For 2005
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo )
Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater (Konami ), Resident Evil 4 (Capcom )
Ultimate Game of the Year
Doom 3 (Activision )
Fable (Microsoft ), Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (Konami )
Ultimate Gaming Hero
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega )
Master Chief (Halo 2 , Microsoft ); Lara Croft (Tomb Raider , Eidos )
2005
The 2005 ceremony took place at the Park Lane Hilton on 4 November 2005 and was hosted by Jimmy Carr .[ 23]
2006
The 2006 ceremony took place at the Park Lane Hilton on 27 October 2006 and was hosted by Emma Griffiths .[ 24]
2007
The 2007 ceremony took place at the Park Lane Hilton on 26 October 2007 and was hosted by David Mitchell .[ 25]
2008
The 2008 ceremony took place at the Park Lane Hilton on 31 October 2008 and was hosted by Frankie Boyle .[ 26]
2009
The 2009 ceremony took place at the Park Lane Hilton on 30 October 2009 and was hosted by Sean Lock .[ 28]
2010
The 2010 ceremony took place at the Bridge Park Plaza on 29 October 2010 and was hosted by Rich Hall .[ 30]
2011
The 2011 ceremony took place at the Bridge Park Plaza on 21 October 2011 and was hosted by Seann Walsh .[ 33]
2012
The 2012 ceremony took place at the Bridge Park Plaza on 26 October 2012 and was hosted by Ed Byrne .[ 35]
2013
The 2013 ceremony took place at the indigO2 on 25 October 2013 and was hosted by Ed Byrne .[ 37]
2014
The 2014 ceremony took place at the indigO2 on 24 October 2014 and was hosted by Ed Byrne .[ 39]
2015
The 2015 ceremony took place at the indigO2 on 30 October 2015 and was hosted by Danny Wallace .[ 42]
2016
The 2016 ceremony took place at the indigO2 on 18 November 2016 and was hosted by James Veitch .[ 44] [ 45]
2017
The 2017 ceremony took place at Bloomsbury Big Top[ 47] on 17 November 2017 and was hosted by Danny Wallace.[ 48]
The 2018 ceremony took place at Bloomsbury Big Top on 16 November 2018, and was hosted by Danny Wallace.[ 49] [ 50]
2019
The 2019 ceremony took place at Bloomsbury Big Top on 16 November 2019.
2020
The 2020 ceremony took place digitally on 24 November 2020 and was hosted by Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham .[ 52] [ 53]
2021
The 2021 ceremony took place on 23 November 2021 and was hosted by Nolan North and Emily Rose .[ 55]
2022
The 2022 ceremony took place on 22 November 2022.[ 57]
2023
The 2023 ceremony took place at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on 10 November 2023, and was hosted by Troy Baker .[ 58] [ 59]
2024
The 2024 ceremony took place at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms on 21 November 2024, and was hosted by Ben Starr .[ 60] [ 61]
References
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External links
† denotes 8-bit; ‡ denotes 16-bit