Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival 2005 Announced

The organizers of the Scottish-based Edinburgh International Games Festival have annouced a name change for the event this year, to the Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival (EIEF). The event is planned to be considerably larger than ever before, and already has the support of Sony and Nintendo. The event will run from August 10th to 14th at the same time as the world famous Edinburgh Festival – a city-wide cultural event famed for its theatre and comedy attractions. The EIEF will include an industry-focused conference element, a consumer event named Go Play Games, and a series of 'Game Screenings' to premiere new titles. Commenting on this year's event, Chair Greg Ingham said "Edinburgh is a unique event. It's the only international forum that celebrates the cultural impact of the games industry. It's vital for this industry's overall development to recognize our diversity, challenge preconceptions and debate the future of the interactive entertainment industry." Ingham continued by suggesting that EIEF is "the only place where representatives from the TV, film, games and interactive industries can come together and learn from each other and network. Our new name reflects the cross over appeal of the event and the fact that our industry is about much more than games". The EIEF is a jointly owned venture between the UK Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA) and the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association trade body (ELSPA). The event is financially supported by Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian. Further information is available on the official EIEF site.