Rod Cousens to deliver keynote speech at TIGA

The organisers of next week's TIGA seminar on next-generation development have announced that Codemasters CEO Rod Cousens will deliver a keynote speech at the event.

Cousens will focus on the new challenges faced by developers at the seminar, which is titled Strategies for 3rd Generation - How to keep the UK the place to make games in Europe.

He will also look at what can be learned from previous transitions, how UK developers and publishers can remain competitive in the global market and the best ways to reach new customers.

Cousens' speech will be followed by a Q&A on challenges for independent developers with Kuju's Ian Baverstock. John Chasey of Infospace will then give a talk on the future of the mobile games market.

Toby Simpson and Paul Baker of Nice Tech will and Eutechnyx's Darren Jobling will look at the challenges involved with entering the MMOG sector, and EA's Fred Gill will discuss the issues producers face when developing next-generation games. Tim Gatland of Nobles/Fun4Games will then look at ways to finance companies and create value.

The event will end with a panel discussion summarising the key points raised over the course of the afternoon, to be chaired by Eidos' Ian Livingstone.

The TIGA seminar will take place at the Royal Armouries International hotel, Leeds, on Wednesday October 12 from 12.30-6.45pm. Entry is free to all TIGA, Game Republic and Game Horizon developer members. Non-members should contact Clare Maddalena (clare.maddalena@tiga.org) for more details.