Kuju's Nigel Robbins

It certainly is a fascinating time in the industry. Looking back, it's never been dull, but now we have almost this perfect storm of opportunities, certainly in terms of the technological advancements - Natal, PlayStation Move, Nintendo's 3DS, OnLive... a lot of things that, if you'd told somebody five years ago would all be happening around the same time, they'd have jumped out of their skin and gotten very excited by it.

So there's this big party going on, but not enough of us are enjoying ourselves at the moment. We need to crank the music up and start dancing - everyone's a little bit cautious, and certainly I felt that at GDC and meeting a lot of interesting people over the last few weeks.

It's understandable, on the back of a recession and uncertainty over consumer demand. Everything has thinned a little - there's been a lot of trimming, a lot of axes have fallen. But I feel now that the sun is starting to shine a little bit, and we're hoping it'll come out in a big way sometime soon - although nobody has all the answers. Nobody knows exactly what's going to happen, we just have to make sure we're nimble enough to seize opportunities, and scale back where it doesn't make sense - and not be distracted by things which aren't true to our core business.

As far as Kuju's perception is concerned, one thing I'm a great fan of is the independent branding exercise that was rolled out in the last 12-18 months - I think that was a masterstroke of genuis, given that now every studio has its own identity, which is important in terms of any clients we're working with. They get it, they understand who that studio head is, and what that creative team is all about.

But also, it gives them a healthy sense of autonomy, so there's not this thick corporate layer at the top which can often hinder progress of a company like this. I've seen that in previous roles, and I've always been a fan of creating autonomy - but at the same time pulling everyone together where it makes sense creatively so we can break out and have those sessions you need to develop new and compelling IP and product.

That's important for Kuju, because we're the right size to be able to do that and have the best of both worlds - have the autonomy and independent-spirited brand in Vatra and Headstrong, Zoe Mode and doublesix, and then a very thin corporate layer of Kuju management.

But also within Kuju an innovative arm, where we can develop new projects, and make sure everbody's a part of that when we look at developing activities that are perhaps outside of our comfort zone. We shouldn't be held back, if that's the case, in terms of ambition.

I think Kuju's structure is perfect for that, and with Catalis as the parent company, they're very encouraging when it comes to making sure we're delivering on both fronts.

I'm fortunate in that we have some remarkably talented and passionate teams working in each of our studios, and the studio heads are at the top of their game. Ian and Jonathan have been true innovators at Kuju and it's very positive that I have the luxury of their time and talent, both during the CEO transition and beyond.

I do, if we're smart about it. Kuju's reputation is one of "on time, on budget - a safe pair of hands." That's important for any developer. But at the same time we'd like the studios' reputation to be that and one that's appropriate to the platform of the genre each studio is focusing on.

I've spent the past week visiting and speaking with a number of Kuju's key publishing partners in Europe, Asia and the US. The one message that is consistent with them all is the need to focus on quality. With fewer titles rolling out presently the need for production excellence has never been more important, whether you're a developer delivering a triple-A, big budget titles or a more nimble digital download project.

In the end, the publisher is more concerned with the studio head and the creative team that's working on their product, rather than the CEO of the corporate entity. However, I'm very keen to be a part of the process so that we can make sure we do super-serve clients and deliver the objectives - and make sure the follow-through is there.

Has Kuju been affected by the events of the last 12-18 months? Yes, I think every developer pretty much has, but I think Kuju is robust enough, and has the track record and foundations so that we can today have a strong structure that will stand us in good stead for the opportunities that will roll out in the future.

But I think it's certainly a key few months for the industry - everybody needs to start dancing again, and make sure that the content is going to be rolled out with gusto. Caution isn't good for anybody - prudence is, but it's certainly time for things to move a bit faster than they have in the past 12-18 months.

That's one change I think we'd all like to see.