Edinburgh Games Screenings Programme Announced

Thursday 2nd August/... Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2007 today unveiled a glittering array of Triple-A games for arguably the strongest screenings programme, presentations and behind-the-scenes action in its five-year history. The Edinburgh Interactive Games Screenings take place on Tuesday 14th August at the Odeon Cinema, Lothian Road, in Edinburgh.

Two world premieres: Codemasters' Rise of the Argonauts and Turning Point, and a European premiere for Activision's Guitar Hero III, along with Midway's Unreal Tournament 2007, Assassin's Creed from Ubisoft and BioShock from Take 2 are just six of the games expected to wow expectant audiences. Students can also sample the action with a series of specially tailored screenings including an industry expert panel headed by Rebecca Thompson entitled 'How To Get Into The Games Industry'.

The Edinburgh Interactive Games Screenings, held once again at the Odeon Cinema, Lothian Road on Tuesday 14th August, is an exclusive one-day showcase giving gamers the chance to mix with some of the famous faces behind many of their favourite games, besides sneak previews of the top upcoming titles in this exclusive one-day showcase. Packed full of premieres and news exclusives, Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2007 brings fans closer to games than ever before.

"The Edinburgh Interactive Festival gives gamers their only chance to see the latest games for PC and console weeks or months before they hit the market," said Brian Baglow, Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2007 screenings director. "They also get to chance to meet some of the people behind the biggest games in the world and find out more about the strange industry that creates hits like Grand Theft Auto, The Sims and Halo."

"The 2007 festival Screenings promises to be the best yet. We have a fantastic line up of games and sessions. If you want to find out how to get a job in the games industry, see what you'll be playing this Christmas or meet the teams who are creating games for the latest generation of consoles, you have to be there.

"We've even got a session for non-gamers. If you've never, ever picked up a joystick, wouldn't buy a PlayStation 3 at gunpoint and are confused by kids spending eight hours a day wrestling with a joypad, come to the casual games screening. We'll open your eyes to a whole new world of wonder and fun - and give you something far more interesting to do with your home computer, mobile phone and TV controller."

The Edinburgh Interactive Festival Game Screenings schedule includes:

· How to get into the video games industry with Rebecca Thompson

· Race Driver (Codemasters) by Jamie Firth/Firebrand

· Guitar Hero III European Premiere (Activision) by Simon Byron

· Ace combat 6 (Atari) by Lee Kirton

· Unreal Tournament 2007 (Epic) by Mark Rein

· Clive Barker's Jericho (Cert 18) by Andrew Wafer

· BioShock (Take 2) (Cert 18) by Adrian Lawton

· Colin McRae: Dirt (Codemasters) by Guy Pearce

· Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (Eidos) by Chris Glover/FunCom

· Assassin's Creed (TBC) (Ubisoft) (Cert TBC) by Luc Duchaine (Brand Manager)

· Consolevania World Exclusive (Cert 15)

· Haze (Free Radical Design/Ubisoft) (Cert 18) by Dr Dave Doak

· Rise of the Argonauts World Exclusive (Codemasters) - Video only

· Turning Point World Exclusive (Codemasters) - Video only

· Game Over - Animated video montage of classic arcade games by PES

This year's Edinburgh Interactive Festival, which takes place on Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th August with conferences at the Royal College of Physicians, Queen Street and The Odeon, Lothian Road, respectively, will put an increased focus on the cultural impact and relevance of games.

The Festival is newly positioned to reflect video gaming's rise in popularity and influence, helping the festival celebrate the best of video gaming here and oversees and examine the cultural issues of games and gaming - making it the world's only true cultural games event.

2007 also sees new partnerships for Edinburgh Interactive with Dare to be Digital and the inaugural academics' conference, the Digital Interactive Symposium, which takes place at Edinburgh University on Wednesday 15th August.

The Edinburgh Interactive Festival not only features new branding and positioning but, to bring games closer to the TV and Film festivals, the content committee has appointed festival specialist Arthur Leone PR, who will be to bring the Interactive Festival closer to the fabric of the Fringe and the Festival.

For full details of the festival programme and events, along with details about registration and how to book, visit the Edinburgh Interactive Festival website at www.edinburghinteractivefestival.co.uk

Ends.

For further information, please contact:

Tom Sargent

Barrington Harvey

Tel: 01462 456780

Fax: 01462 456781

Email: tom.sargent@bhpr.co.uk

About EIF07

The Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival EIEF) is managed by a committee drawn from all areas of the industry, including publishers, developers and the two industry trade bodies; The Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA) www.tiga.org and the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) www.elspa.com.