DURHAM, N.C., April 16, 2009 — Leading online video gaming destination, The Escapist, today announced that it has been nominated for the Webby Award and the Webby People’s Voice Award in the games-related category for the second year in a row. Last year, The Escapist took home both Webby awards, which have been hailed by The New York Times as the “Internet’s highest honor.”
“Nominees like The Escapist are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of the Webby Awards. “It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the nearly 10,000 entries we received this year.”
Founded in 2005, The Escapist(escapistmagazine-com.go-vip.net) offers video game enthusiasts high-quality, innovative and exclusive content, which has continued to push the boundaries of online publishing and community creation with its innovative online offerings. The Escapist is being recognized as the mouthpiece of the gaming generation, capturing and celebrating the contemporary video gaming lifestyle — the games, the music, the insight and interviews — while also offering a dynamic environment for its loyal and growing readership.
“It is a huge honor for us to be nominated for the second year in a row,” said Tom Kurz, co-founder of The Escapist. “We have made steady and long-term investments with The Escapist, reinventing online publishing and providing what we believe to be a truly great product that offers high levels of engagement to our diverse community.”
Providing readers a choice selection of exclusive video offerings including the Web’s most viewed video game review series, Zero Punctuation, The Escapist reaches a broad demographic that expands beyond the traditional gaming audience. The site has also set new standards for audience engagement through various participatory events including the first-of-its-kind Internet Film Festival for Gamers and annual March Mayhem game developer competition.
“We continue to add vibrant new features on an ongoing basis, staying ahead of technology, and voicing the trends of the gaming generation through our active forums and robust, social media elements,” said Alexander Macris, co-founder of The Escapist.
As a Webby Award nominee, The Escapist is also eligible for a Webby People’s Voice Award, which is voted online by the global Web community. From now until April 30, fans can cast their votes for the Webby People’s Voice Awards at http://pv.webbyawards.com. Winners will be announced on May 5, 2009 and honored at a star-studded ceremony in New York City on June 8 hosted by Seth Meyers. Victors will be able to share with the world one of the Webby’s famous five-word speeches like Al Gore’s “Please don’t recount this vote;” the Beastie Boys’, “Can anyone fix my computer?” and Stephen Colbert’s, “Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.”
The Escapist is part of Themis Group, Inc.’s online media arm Themis Media, and currently generates over 27 million page views each month.
The Webby Awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy whose members include Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf, R/GA’s Chief Bob Greenberg, “Simpson’s” creator Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, and Harvey Weinstein.
About The Escapist:
Founded in 2005, The Escapist ( escapistmagazine-com.go-vip.net) is a leading video gaming destination offering video game enthusiasts high-quality, innovative and exclusive content. The Escapist aims to capture and celebrate the contemporary video gaming lifestyle and the diverse video game culture by way of in-depth features and thought provoking articles authored by leading video game authorities, as well as cutting-edge video shorts, engaging forums and robust and innovative social media elements tailored to its audience. Honored with both a Webby Award and People’s Voice Award in 2008, The Escapist is part of Themis Group, Inc.’s online media arm Themis Media, and currently generates over 27 million page views each month.
About The Webby Awards:
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received over 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Microsoft Silverlight; The Creative Group; .ORG; Getty Images; The Barbarian Group; Digital Kitchen; Wired; IDG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image.
