With mobile studios dominating the list of nominees for UK trade association TIGA's first ever awards, we decided to put the spotlight on some of the companies in the running.

Mobile entertainment provider Thumbstar has been nominated for best service provider at the TIGA Awards 2012, due to take place on 1 November.

We caught up with Thumbstar COO Martin Kitney to find out what coming home triumphant would mean for the Liverpool-based outfit.

Pocket Gamer: How do you feel about being named as a finalist at the first TIGA Awards?

Martin Kitney: It's great to be nominated. and in amongst some great companies within the industry. We are looking forward to the awards ceremony.

What would receiving a TIGA Award mean for Thumbstar?

To win would be fantastic.

Thumbstar has been servicing over 150 mobile developers since 2008 and have built up a distribution network of over 200 channels worldwide so it would be a great acknowledgement of the hard work done by the team here.

Are you a TIGA member?

Yes. TIGA is integral to the growth of the UK's games business and, in particular, the nurturing of the UKs development community through education and support, and representing their ambitions at the highest level.

Thumbstar makes contact with the same developers through various TIGA events andwe offer support distributing their products, even developing and publishing, generating valuable incremental revenue for their businesses.

What do you think are your chances of winning?

Who knows!

It’s an eclectic category and we are up against some very good companies in their own field, but we believe we are doing the right thing and heading in the right direction on our side, so we are delighted to just be nominated for that.

However, winning would be the cherry on the cake!
Thanks to Martin for his time.

You can find more details on the TIGA Awards 2012 nominees here.