Edinburgh Interactive 2008 Update

[Tami]

NEW SESSIONS REVEALED AS THE EDINBURGH INTERACTIVE FESTIVAL 2008 FINDS OUT WHO IS PLAYING WHAT AND HOW GAMES CAN WORK IN EDUCATION
Tuesday 8th July/...The Edinburgh Interactive Festival today announced two new and exciting sessions for the two day conference taking place over the three day Festival. The two sessions, scheduled to take place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on Monday 11th August 2008 are titled “Who Plays What and Why?” and “Too Cool for School – A New Look at Games in Education”.

The first session, taking place in the morning of the opening day of conference sessions, will welcome Sean Dromgoole, CEO Some Research and GameVision, as the speaker.

The session will take a look into the trends in games and, as the session title suggests, the changing demographics in the world of games. Dromgoole will delve into the likes and dislikes of gamers from both sides of the Atlantic and offer an insight of what is hot and what is not, offering delegates a session not to be missed for publishers and developers alike.

Sean Dromgoole said, “GameVision interviews more than 40,000 gamers a year in Europe and the US on behalf of all the major publishers. Every four years or so we take a step back from the usual usage and attitude tracking and segment the market. We’ve just done it again. Are your audience Scrappers or Wolves? Snackers or Lone Rangers? And what does it mean for you if they are? All will be revealed.”

The afternoon of day one will play witness to a session at the forefront of video games’ discussion at the moment – Games in Education. Graham Brown-Martin, Founder and CEO, Handheldlearning.org, will play host to those attending this session and will show how off-the-shelf games and consoles are being used today to achieve massive improvements in both learning and teaching practices with the education sector in the UK.

Graham Brown-Martin said “Games and consoles that are designed and produced for entertainment are growing in value within the education sector and are proving to make transformational improvements in learning and teaching for a fraction of the cost of traditional ICT deployment. I hope that the session will also prove to developers that there is no need to design games specifically for schools, but to stick to what they do best, create compelling interactive entertainment.”

About Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2008
Now celebrating its sixth year, the Edinburgh Interactive Festival 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.

New to Interactive Festival 2008 will be Features, Exhibition and Recruitment areas specifically tailored to cater for the public - allowing them access to the latest games and job opportunities in games.

As ever, the three-day Interactive Festival 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.

Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2008
Edinburgh International Conference Centre
150 Morrison Street, Edinburgh EH3 8EE
UK

Sunday 10th August
Game Screenings
Dare ProtoPlay
Public games area and retail site

Monday 11th August
EIF Conference
Game Screenings
Dare ProtoPlay
Public games area and retail site
Conference Networking event

Tuesday 12th August
EIF Conference
Game Screenings
Dare ProtoPlay
Public games area and retail site
Digital Interactive Symposium

Edinburgh Interactive Festival will also play host to the Digital Interactive Symposium, the games event aimed at academics and games industry professionals. It takes place on the afternoon of Tuesday 12th August.

Registration is open now at www.edinburghinteractivefestival.com
There is also a Facebook Group in 2008 at [url=\"http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12251081247\"]http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12251081247[/url]


Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2008 registration details:
Register before Tuesday 1st July 2008 - £120 (ex VAT)
Register on or after Tuesday 1st July 2008 - £149 (ex VAT)
Scottish based developers and companies - £99 (ex VAT)
Students - £75 (ex VAT)

Delegates can also register for the Digital Interactive Symposium.
You can see more of Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2007 at [url=\"http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YktZnm_eRlQ\"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YktZnm_eRlQ[/url]

Edinburgh Interactive Festival has also forged a number of key relationships with partners and sponsors that will be announced shortly.