Gotham makers scoop gaming award

Project Gotham Racing 3 was released last year

The team behind Xbox 360 game Project Gotham Racing 3 and online title Geometry Wars 2 has won the Grand Prix prize at the annual Develop awards.

Liverpool firm Bizarre Creations is a leading light of the Xbox scene and also scooped an award for online use.

Sony's quiz game Buzz won for best new title, while the firm won an innovation award for the game's controllers.

The Develop Industry awards recognise the talent of game developers. The ceremony was held in Brighton.

Stuart Dinsey, publisher of Develop magazine and managing director of Intent Media, said: "The games development community is perhaps one of the world's great unsung creative industries.

"The Develop Industry Excellence Awards marks the time of year when the people who are at the creative coal-face of the business are recognised for just how remarkable they are."

Ubisoft's King Kong, based on the Peter Jackson movie, won the award for best use of a licence while Black and Burnout developer Criterion won the best art and sound award and the prize for in-house development.

Criterion is now owned by video game giant Electronic Arts.

Sony's European team won the award for publishing hero while Fahrenheit, made by Quantic Dream, was named the best new PC game.