Greg Ingham chairs Edinburgh International Games Festival for second year
For immediate release
LONDON Friday 11th February 2005: The Edinburgh International Games Festival today announces Chief Executive of Future PLC Greg Ingham has committed to his role as Chair of the event's steering committee for a second year.
Now in its third year, the festival features both industry and consumer focused events and runs in parallel with the wider Edinburgh Festival. Full details are yet to be announced although 2005's event promises to further establish the Edinburgh International Games Festival on the annual games industry calendar.
2004's Edinburgh event featured panels and presentations from industry heavyweights such as president of Sony Europe and chairman of SCEE Chris Deering, Eidos creative director Ian Livingstone, worldwide executive of music at Electronic Arts Steve Schnur and Seamus Blackley of Hollywood's Creative Artist Agency. Miles Jacobson of Sports Interactive and Jonathan Smith from Giant also held world premieres of Football Manager and LEGO® Star WarsTM games respectively as part of the Game Screenings Programme.
Ingham said "Edinburgh is a unique event. It's important for this industry's overall development to be seen as a cultural force - for us to run a festival celebrating and showcasing our progress and diversity. It's also important for the thought-leaders of our industry to contribute their insights. Edinburgh provides a terrific opportunity for both.
"So I'm delighted to be asked to chair the event again. Some of the biggest names in the industry have already committed to appear in 05. We're enhancing the event this year again, and look forward to unveiling plans in the coming weeks."
The Edinburgh International Games Festival is a jointly owned venture between the Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA) www.tiga.org and the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) www.elspa.com. The event is financially supported by Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian.
The 2004 sponsors included some of the biggest names in telecoms, interactive and retail with BT, GameStation, McDonald's, Nintendo, Nokia N-GageTM, NVIDIATM, Orange, PlayStation®2 and Xbox® all supporting this unique event .
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Alison Peters at Taylor Herring Brand Communications on 0208 206 5151 alison.peters@taylorherring.co.uk
Notes to Editors
- The Edinburgh International Games Festival is managed by a committee drawn from all areas of the business, including publishers, developers and two industry trade bodies; The Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA) www.tiga.org and the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) www.elspa.com. The EIGF is financially supported by Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian and by sponsorship from some of the biggest names in interactive entertainment, telecoms and retail with BT, GameStation, McDonald's, Nintendo, Nokia N-GageTM, NVIDIATM, Orange, PlayStation®2 and Xbox® supporting the event in 2004.
- The Edinburgh International Games Festival's aim is to increase the awareness and understanding of interactive entertainment and it's place at the heart of popular culture, highlighting the growing bond between video games and other entertainment industries notably music, literature, television and film.
- Greg Ingham, Chief Executive, Future plc Greg began his publishing career as a journalist at Reed International plc in 1983. Having left to edit CTW for four years he then joined Future in 1988 as publisher. He successfully drove growth in computing and games where Future became clear market leaders. He was appointed managing director in 1996 and subsequently chief executive of in 1999, leading the company through its IPO in June that year. He is Chairman of the DTI Games Industry Forum, is a director of the Periodical Publishers' Association and a trustee of the Entertainment Software Charity. He is also a director of the Theatre Royal Bath.