Hooray for Holyrood!

6th May 2005 - The Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival (EIEF) today announces a stellar line up of world exclusive premiere Game Screenings for some of 2005's most highly anticipated games, all taking their cues from the silver screen.

Taking place from 10th -14th August 2005 at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) and shaping up to be one of the gaming events of the summer, EIEF will premiere 'Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of The Were-Rabbit', 'The Movies' and 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' followed by Q&A sessions with their protagonists.

Industry legend David Braben (Chairman and Founder of Frontier Developments) and Aardman Animations' Design and Product Development Manager Rachael Carpenter will offer an insight into their unique collaboration on Frontier's new console game 'The Curse of The Were-Rabbit' based on the cinematic release, out in Autumn this year. The game sees the dynamic claymation duo Wallace & Gromit pitted against the sinister Were-Rabbit and other shadowy adversaries, and allows the player to explore and interact with the locations and characters from the film. David comments "This has been a very exciting project for Frontier. Collaborating closely with the world-renowned team at Aardman, we have again worked with the two fantastic characters of Wallace & Gromit to create a game that we are all thrilled with. Edinburgh is a great platform for us to premiere the game".

Lionhead Studios founder Peter Molyneux OBE reveals the mastery behind 'The Movies', where the player becomes the studio boss by creating their own stars and making their own movies with this inspiring and addictive simulation. Peter will be available to give an insider's guide into how to make it big in the movies, even if it is only in your own front room. Peter says "This is everyone's personal chance to become a silver screen big shot! Edinburgh is a key event on the gaming calendar and the perfect location for our world premiere screening."

Based on the forthcoming film, 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' creator Mike Jacob (Buena Vista Games) will give an insight into the magical world of Narnia, discussing the game's highlights and unique collaborative game design. Mike says "I'm really excited to come to Edinburgh to show the amazing features we have in The Chronicles of Narnia. As a story so much enjoyed by the British it will be great to see their initial reactions the game".

Matt Carroll, Director of Festival Screenings comments "With the enthusiasm of publishers and developers participating in the 2005 Game Screenings programme, this is an exclusive opportunity for the public of all ages and tastes to discover and see what these amazing creative people bring to the most exciting industry in the world - and one in which Scotland has excelled. We've brought the creators - now we need the people to come judge! Find out what it is all about and get yourself to a Game Screening!".

The Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment 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. Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian supports the Festival as part of its backing of the creative and digital industries, which are key sectors for Scotland.

For further information and to book a delegate place for the Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival please visit www.eief.co.uk

For further information please contact

Naomi Segal at Taylor Herring Brand Communications on

020 8206 5157 naomi.segal@taylorherring.co.uk

Notes to Editors

• The Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment 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 Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival's aim is to increase the awareness and understanding of interactive entertainment and its place at the heart of popular culture, highlighting the growing bond between video games and other entertainment industries notably music, literature, television and film.