Around 500 industry insiders gathered in Madrid last night to commemorate the history of video gaming in Spain, marking a long-awaited event that many thought was overdue. Organized by private university U-tad, the event attracted students representing emerging talent, but mostly key figures from the Spanish gaming industry, including developers, publishers and long-time retailers.
The award ceremony lasted for more than two hours and was divided into three parts to review the timeline of video games in Spain: the “Golden Age of Spanish Software” in the 1980s, the “Modern Era” from 1991 to 2007 and the “Modern Era” from 2008 to the present. The event ended with the announcement of the selection of the best Spanish video game in history, chosen by an expert jury from 50 nominees and more than 21,000 public votes.
Here are all the recognized games and studios:
The best Spanish game of all time according to the Jugando en Casa jury
The best Spanish game ever made by the public
Lifetime Achievement Award (1979-1990)
- Paco & Paco for La Pulga / Bugaboo
- Dinamic Software / Dinamic Multimedia / FX Interactive
- Made in Spain
- Topology soft
- opera soft
Lifetime Achievement Award (1991-2007)
- Pendulo Studios
- Pyro Studios
- Rebel Act Game
- mercury steam
Lifetime Achievement Award (2008-present)
- Novarama Studios
- tequila works
- play kitchen
- Nomada Studio
As for the half-joking, half-serious thank-you speeches, many senior developers made it clear why this event couldn’t wait any longer. It remembers to a great extent those who are no longer with us and in a particularly touching way Paco Menéndez, one of the souls of Soft Opera One, and therefore one of the souls of the famous Abadía del crimen, who tragically died at the age of only 34 years. Additionally, Tequila Works’ lead programmer Estefanía “Fany” Salcedo received the biggest round of applause when she expressed her hope that yesterday would be a turning point so that future releases would be full of women and diversity.
