14 DAY TRIAL // An official report today reveals some interesting information about this year's Edinburgh Interactive Festival, which takes place on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 August. This year's Festival is said to focus on the cultural impact and relevance of games, also bringing together many of the industry's key decision makers in games publishing, hardware and development.
Basically, the Edinburgh Interactive Festival is the world's only true cultural games event, which in its fifth year, is newly positioned to reflect video gaming's rise in popularity and influence, helping the festival celebrate the best of video gaming worldwide. To make things even more interesting, some of the most influential names in entertainment will examine the cultural issues of games and gaming.
Chris Deering, Chairman of Edinburgh Interactive Festival said: "This year we have much to be excited about. We welcome Ubisoft President and Founder Yves Guillemot; Simon Nelson joins us from the BBC; we have a keynote from the Sony Computer Entertainment, a look at technology for Second Life with Linden Labs' Jim Purbrick and actor Steven Berkoff will join us to discuss how to capture performance within a game. We are also delighted to join up together with EDGE magazine, Dare to be Digital and the new academic conference, the Digital Interactive Symposium."
He added that "the festival is now firmly established as one of the most important events in the interactive entertainment industry's calendar."
The Festival is also said to bring games closer to the TV and Film festivals, as the content committee this year has appointed festival specialist agency Arthur Leone PR. The conference is staged at the Royal College of Physicians, in Queen Street, Edinburgh, starting with a keynote address delivered by none other than Ubisoft's CEO, Yves Guillemot.
This year's festival will also see new partnerships for Edinburgh Interactive with Dare to be Digital. If you want a full update on everything that's going to happen during 13 and 14 August, at the Royal College of Physicians, and how to get yourself registered, see the Edinburgh Interactive Festival's official website.