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UKIE's Michael Rawlinson

More detail on the ELSPA-UKIE transformation, and what we can expect in the future

GamesIndustry.biz And obviously PEGI will be another ongoing strand - what's the latest on the progress there?
Michael Rawlinson

Everything's progressing well - the government has targeted April 1 for the launch of that. We're now preparing plans for public awareness and education, and looking to build partnerships with retail and online providers who can get the marketing out. And also with parental groups who can help with messaging and running training sessions for parents.

So we're building all those networks and we'll have more to say on that in due course.

GamesIndustry.biz Do you expect UKIE to be a bit more public-facing?
Michael Rawlinson

We certainly want UKIE to be the go-to point for mainstream media, for information, advice and comment on the industry, absolutely. That's going to be another one of our key pillars - raising the awareness of and being the voice for the industry.

GamesIndustry.biz It's a challenging point for the UK industry right now, particularly in light of the recent Realtime Worlds collapse, while it was also recently claimed that the UK had slipped behind Canada to fourth in the global development rankings. How do you evaluate the state of play at the moment in the UK overall?
Michael Rawlinson

I think there are two things to note. One is that a lot of the measurements, unfortunately, are not complete. So we're measuring the state of the UK industry based on the old business models, and I'm not sure we're full factored in the new ones yet.

That may not affect the movement from third to fourth in terms of development capacity - however, the cake is growing, so the UK is still growing - which is hugely positive. I don't think we should underestimate our heritage, creativity and ability to really lead going forwards.

I really want to talk the UK up - yes, support from the government and a specific tax incentive to draw inward investment would of course be hugely beneficial. I think it's going to be some way off, but we'll continue to champion that.

In the meantime let's not say "Woe is me!" Let's say "We're open for business, come and buy what we've got to offer, because we've got some amazing talent and amazing creative business here."

GamesIndustry.biz I'm sure Canada would take you up on that offer... But seriously, when you talk about business support functions, does that include specific advice that might help companies avoid going into administration in the future?
Michael Rawlinson

I think at the moment that's certainly outside of our remit. A trade association is really there to create the right environment to do business, but it's not there to deal with the specific commercial elements.

GamesIndustry.biz With UKIE expanding its remit, doesn't that put a question mark over the viability of having two trade associations in the UK? And if so, what then happens to TIGA?
Michael Rawlinson

Our remit is to go and expand our membership, primarily into new areas of the business - online, casual, social and mobile. We have member companies that represent development, and we see them having their own identity with UKIE as we go forward.

We will continue to work with TIGA wherever appropriate and wherever we can - and would welcome the involvement of TIGA and its members in the work of UKIE. Let's see how that pans out going forward - I don't know - but we want to be open to dialogue and relationship with that organisation.

Michael Rawlinson is director general of UKIE. Interview by Phil Elliott.

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