Edinburgh Interactive 2010

Monday 24th May/... Edinburgh Interactive today confirmed that Nintendo UK has become a partner of this year’s event. Taking place at Edinburgh’s arthouse cinema The Filmhouse on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th August 2010, Edinburgh Interactive features a compelling blend of industry and consumer events, including conference, screenings and free game play.

Edinburgh Interactive is part of The Edinburgh Festival – the biggest cultural festival in the world. EIF delivers a lively schedule from a wide range of industry sectors including games, social networking, mobile entertainment, education, music, film and television. It also plays host to a range of free events including a games showcase and the Games Screening programme.

This year also marks a new event partnership between Edinburgh Interactive and Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival. On Thursday 26th August 2010, the eve of the TV Festival and the closing day of Edinburgh Interactive, the two will host the first ever creative industries event for television and games, providing an insight into technologies, but more importantly bringing the decision makers from games and television together for the first time.

The MGEITF Futureview Keynote Address will be given this year by a games industry leader, with Edinburgh Interactive hosting a Keynote Address from television. There will also be a Creative Masterclass at MGEITF which will bring together games developers and creatives to discuss the game development process and to explore what the opportunities may be for co-development of interactive TV and games formats.

David Yarnton, Nintendo UK MD, said:

“We are delighted to renew our support for Edinburgh Interactive for a fifth consecutive year. Edinburgh Interactive is a unique and a key event in the games industry calendar, which continually raises our profile within the wider cultural arena – something that has only been amplified this year through its relationship with the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.”

Chris Deering, Edinburgh Interactive Chairman, said:

“The year-on-year growth of Edinburgh Interactive has only been realised by the continued support of pioneers like Nintendo, who recognise the importance of a cultural event that brings the wider interactive industry together with consumers and media.”

Nintendo has been a major supporter and partner of Edinburgh Interactive, with a significant presence that has allowed the public and Edinburgh Interactive delegates to experience Nintendo games in a unique way. Nintendo’s contribution to this year’s Festival will include Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii), Metroid: Other M (Wii) and Dragon Quest IX (DS). Previous Edinburgh Interactive festivals have seen Nintendo provide a Wii Sports Resort-themed gaming area and live cooking demonstrations from world class chefs using Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What To Eat? on Nintendo DS.

Call For Content

The 2010 programme is still open for screening submissions from developers, publishers and game creators, who would like to showcase their content as part of this year’s Festival. Edinburgh Interactive offers 30 to 60 minute screening sessions in dedicated auditoriums seating up to 100 people. The Festival is also open to feature any game-related short films, machinima and animations, which will be featured between the screenings line up. For press enquiries and anyone wishing to submit content to this year’s Edinburgh Interactive, please contact stuart.taylor@bhpr.co.uk and laura.west@bhpr.co.uk

For more details about partnership opportunities please contact amy.fairchild@bhpr.co.uk

Please submit proposal papers for the Edinburgh Interactive conference to Wendy Rosenthal at wendy@hyperentertainment.com

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About Edinburgh Interactive 2010

Now celebrating its eighth successful year, Edinburgh Interactive is powered up to showcase the continued popularity, growth and influence of video games. And this year, the Interactive Festival is more synchronised with the world famous Edinburgh Festival than ever, appealing to the press, public and professionals from film, television and interactive media backgrounds alike, offering a bigger event for delegates, more consumer focusing – an overall spectacle for all.

As ever, Edinburgh Interactive wouldn’t be complete without the cornerstones of conferences, keynotes, panel sessions, debates, games screenings and even more people than ever jostling to get through the doors. www.edinburghinteractive.co.uk

Edinburgh Interactive is managed by an Executive committee and a board drawn from all areas of the games industry, including publishers, developers and the two industry trade bodies: The Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA) http://www.tiga.org and the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) http://www.elspa.com. EIGF Ltd is the non-profit company behind the festival.