It is perhaps in keeping with the times that there was a distinctly apocalyptic edge to the 27th annual Golden Joystick awards for video games, presented on Friday in London.

The accolade of ultimate game of the year was awarded to the post-apocalyptic adventure Fallout 3, but of the winners in the 14 other categories, ten were connected with fictionalised war or warfare, with the Call of Duty franchise collecting three awards: two for Call of Duty: World at War; and a special “one to watch” award for the forthcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

In the UK, the Golden Joysticks are rivalled only by the Baftas for prestige in gaming circles. The Baftas are decided by voters who work in the gaming industry. The Joysticks are the only awards to be voted for by the public at large.

This year, over 1.2 million people registered their votes, an increase of 350,000 on last year, reflecting the growing popularity of video games as a complementary form of entertainment to films and music. The Golden Joysticks were today officially recognised by Guinness World Records as “The World’s Most Popular Video Game Awards”.

The market for video games was worth £2.7 billion in the UK last year, and games developed in the UK generated over £2bn in exports.

The full list of winners, however, will do little to contradict the prejudices of those non games players who contend that video games focus on turning violence into entertainment. The only categories with winners that do not rely on conflict were the Soundtrack of the Year, awarded to Guitar Hero World Tour, and the Family Game of the Year, won by the British-developed Little Big Planet.

Another notable British triumph was the Handheld Game of the Year, which went to Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, developed in Leeds by Rockstar, whose Grand Theft Auto series has now won a Golden Joystick in each of the last eight years.

GOLDEN JOYSTICK AWARDS 2009

FULL LIST OF WINNERS

Family Game of the Year
Little BigPlanet

Handheld Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Retailer of the Year
GAME

Mobile Game of the Year
Metal Gear Solid Touch

Nintendo Game of the Year
Call of Duty: World at War

Multiplayer Game of the Year
Call Of Duty: World At War

The Rampage Soundtrack of the Year
Guitar Hero World Tour

Xbox Game of the Year
Gears of War 2

PC Game of the Year
Fallout 3

UK Developer of the Year
Jagex (for MMORPG Runescape)

PlayStation Game of the Year
Killzone 2

Publisher of the Year
Activision Blizzard

Online Game of the Year
Left4Dead

One to Watch
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Ultimate Game of the Year
Fallout 3

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