Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2008

I must add that I completely understand now why EIF is said by many to be the industry's best kept secret. I can't remember the last time I saw so much useful, interesting and well-presented information compressed into such a short period of time. I came away with all sorts of useful data - some of which verifies things that we have believed for a while and some of which is challenging the ideas and thoughts that we have on products and markets for the future.

The festival at Edinburgh is to celebrate the creative culture of games and to look beyond where we are right now and try to predict the future and gain some inspiration and analysis. It's to celebrate the actual creative experience of making games. It's to celebrate the role that Scotland has in the UK's pre-eminence in the game area, and to absorb the energy of the festival in general.

It's not a trade show and it's not a business meeting; it's really a collaboration amongst people who really enjoy what they do and although they compete with each other most of the year this is just a little bit of relaxation and a bit of blue sky thinking – a glimpse of what could lie ahead from the creative community.

It's a perfect backdrop for games companies to go and express themselves, particularly in terms of demonstrating innovation. Very often when you are wrapped up in a very commercial show around the world you will not take that risk. You know something is building here. It's the impetus that it has. And as games are winning the battle for consumer's minds in terms of entertainment, I can see great things coming out of this.

Nintendo has been a long time supporter of the Edinburgh Festival and we've been here because we really like the fact that a diverse group of people can enjoy the different games that we have here. There are no egos at Edinburgh Interactive. The various format holders are here to celebrate the industry. There’s something for everyone at Edinburgh Interactive: consumers, trade and people just interested in the cultural aspects of video games.

Edinburgh has stuck true to its roots and it's a fantastic celebration of games and the culture that they bring.

It's the sixth year that I've been here, so I've been here right from the start and it's great to see how the show has evolved over all those years.

The thought process was that this was to be about culture and art rather than selling games and I think it's proved to be exactly that. We do talk about cultural issues and as it continues to do Sony will support it. It was great to see people from the industry at Edinburgh. It was great to see students. And it was great to see some people who just want to find out what is happening in the interactive space.

Edinburgh has always been a unique event. It's the only place where there are no politics. It's not competitive. We're just here to talk about art and culture. And when you look at the wide array of subjects being discussed you can understand why Edinburgh is Edinburgh and it couldn't be anywhere. It's about the town, it's about the festival atmosphere and it's about the fact that people have got time discuss some of these issues without the commercial pressures on them.

This festival brings people from different levels, the up and coming talent, the experts, in one place under one roof. I think it's a really good idea. We can truly discover new things and make new connections. It’s a fun business.

The Edinburgh Interactive Festival gives games a chance to put its place properly amongst other entertainment... TV, comedy, movie, drama, and in that understand some things about where the media is going culturally. Every year it is different and every year you are guaranteed a few surprises.

It's very important. The UK has lacked a real consumer focussed show for a long time.

These consumer focussed events are great. Obviously we have the trade event here as well, so we have all the luminaries from the games sector talking about the big challenges and the future, how we continue to grow the sector. And that's all for the benefit of the gamer.

It's a great place to meet new people. It's surprising how much business gets done. We do go out and have a few drinks but actually that fuels the business at the end of the day.

I'll learn a few things, teach a few things and be better off for coming.

I think something like this really inspires game developers to figure out what they can do with their games next and what kind of gameplay features they can incorporate in to what they are thinking of. It's really great to see just the variety of things happening here.

Events like the Edinburgh Festival are really important for a company like Sony because it allows us to get new games out there in front of people. It's great for us, it gets people excited and it gives us the opportunity to experience that excitement first hand.

It's a great way to find out what is going on in the industry, what's going on with other game development courses, find out what students are up to, see what the best students are capable of doing.

I love the Edinburgh Interactive Festival. This year it's massive. This year there are so many things to do, so many games to play, so many different screenings. It's done exactly what I hoped it would do which is grow year on year, so I can't wait to see what happens next year.

I’m a bit of a veteran when it comes to conventions and conferences, but all have been through a work capacity and have been very formal and heavy going. This was a dream for me, and I was like a big kid in the ultimate toy store. If Carlsberg made conferences, then it would probably be the best… ah you know the rest.