OPINION: A new era for UKIE

I spent some time last week with the new UKIE team as they prepare for next week’s grand Westminster unveiling.

I’ve visited ELSPA’s offices a few times before, and left feeling neither under nor overwhelmed. This time you could tell that there is change in the air, and could feel the excitement.

The new name is more than just a different logo (which you’ll get to see next week either here in the magazine, through MCVuk.com’s Tuesday night newsflash or if you’re lucky enough to be attending the Whitehall gathering for its unveiling).

The change to UKIE is a progressive, almost overdue attitude change.

Rawlinson is right to point out how the ‘silos’ that kept buffers between publisher, developer, distributor and retailer must be abolished. This was abundantly apparent at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival last week.

Although sponsored and co-owned by some of the biggest names in the traditional sector, it’s strongest headlines were all about the huge shifts away from publisher dominance and boxed goods.

The most illuminating talk was from the co-founder of Lima Sky, developer of iPhone game Doodlejump. He talked through how his range of skills helped the game become one of the biggest hits on the App Store. And he knew everything, from Apple coding skills to guerilla marketing tactics. To be blunt, they aren’t the kind of things you hear from Head of Marketing Y at Publisher X – but they should be. That’s the direction the industry is heading in.

If UKIE does its job right, people like Lima Sky will join up and share their much-needed wisdom with the rest of the industry.