North East company, Eutechnyx , takes the videogame chart by storm

A video games developer from the region is flying high in the UK charts.

Award-winning Eutechnyx has turned hit MTV show Pimp My Ride and Hollywood blockbuster The Fast and the Furious into videogames for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 consoles.

Both are currently enjoying success in the UK Videogame Charts.

Brian Jobling, Managing Director of Gateshead-based Eutechnyx, said: ?It’s great that two of our products are doing so well in the national charts. And it’s a double success in more ways than one because it is a real achievement for a company to have two products so high in the charts at the same time.

?The Fast and the Furious and Pimp My Ride were both developed for Californian publishers and have now been successful on both sides of the Atlantic.

?We are really pleased with the success the company is enjoying, and looking at the bigger picture, Eutechnyx, which is a member of both Codeworks Connect and Games Horizon, is helping put the region’s videogames market further on the national and international map.?

Eutechnyx was successful in securing a Selective Finance for Investment (SFI) grant from regional development agency One NorthEast in 2005. The funding assisted the expansion of their development studio in Gateshead, which is currently producing next generation games for the PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii systems. The company is also looking to recruit additional permanent staff in the near future.

Andy Walton, eBusiness Manager at One NorthEast, said: ?Eutechnyx is a successful videogames company with its roots firmly in the North East, so I’m delighted they are doing so well.

?You generally find that it’s businesses from Japan and America that dominate the videogames market, so it’s great that Eutechnyx can boast two games riding high in the UK charts.

?On top of that, Pimp My Ride is also enjoying success in the Australian Games Charts, so the company is really helping put itself and the North East on the international map.?

To produce the Pimp my Ride game, Eutechnyx staff travelled to Los Angeles to work with rap star Xzibit, the star of the TV show, and its US publisher and producer.

Brian Jobling added: ?We have an excellent staff at Eutechnyx who worked day and night to make these products a big success, and we are delighted that this has been reflected in the charts.?

Eutechnyx employs over 80 staff at its studios in Gateshead, Hong Kong and mainland China.