Village Gamer

Toronto – This January More2Girls Inc is launching an interactive magazine for Teen girls that is delivered in the form of a desktop application. This is a new delivery model for magazine subscriptions; one that other publications are likely to follow. To view a demonstration on how it works, go to http://www.more2girls.org/how-it-works.

More2Girls Magazine has chosen to publish in the form of a desktop application in order to suit the behaviours and habits of its Teen girl market. The application “floats” on the desktop, so it does not interfere with the multiple chat and browser windows Teens are accustomed to running simultaneously. The security features inherent in the type of file Read the rest of this entry »

Surrey, BC – Andrew Thomas, Marketing Manager of CDwest.ca, the audio division of Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp., a leading CD duplication company in Canada, announced yesterday that the company is proud to be entering into a sponsorship agreement for the Supernova.com “Band On The Run 2009” battle-of-the-band series in Western Canada.

“We’re very excited to be a part of Supernova’s 2009 series,” explains Andrew Thomas “This fits perfectly with our mandate to provide a local partner for Western Canadian performers and music industry members who would like a factory-direct source for their CD, print and packaging needs.”

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Submission Deadline for “NHK Best Asian Program Prize” is February 16, 2009

Banff – The Banff World Television Festival (BANFF) and NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster, are pleased to announce their second year of partnership on the “NHK Best Asian Program Prize” at the Banff World Television Awards. This distinguished award pays tribute to special TV programs about Asia from both Asia and around the world. As title sponsor of the award, NHK has committed $20,000 (CDN) to the prize winner announced at the 2009 Banff World Television Awards Ceremony. BANFF takes place June 7-10, 2009 at the Fairmont Banff Springs in Banff, Canada.

“NHK is a leader in public broadcasting and an advocate for Asian content and programs produced around the world,” says Peter Vamos, Executive Director of the Banff World Television Festival. “We are proud to partner with NHK once again to honour excellence in television programming and celebrate the diversity in Asian cultures.”

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Get on Board Early With the Skate 2 Demo on Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network

Vancouver – Black Box, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio announced today that the Skate 2 demo will hit Xbox Live Marketplace on January 8th and the PlayStation Network on January 15, 2009. The demo introduces players to the city of New San Vanelona where they can skate with style and individuality via access to the enhanced character customization tools. Gamers will get a first glimpse of the deep single-player story and exciting challenges in all-new locations. The Skate 2 demo will also feature two of the game’s online Party Play modes: Thrasher’s Hall of Meat and Spot Battle.

Skate 2 ups the ante in delivering all the grit, creativity and culture of skateboarding. Equipped with double the bag of tricks, players are tasked to rebuild their career and revive the skate scene. Now with the ability to get off-board and move objects, gamers can create their own epic spots and challenges, which can then be uploaded, shared and experienced by others around the world.

Skate 2 hits retailers in North America on January 21st, and worldwide on January 23, 2009 – making it one of the first must-have games of 2009. Skate 2 is developed by Black Box, a studio of Electronic Arts in Vancouver, British Columbia and will be available on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The game is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB.

New game an ideal training tool for any management system auditor

Ottawa – DISTIL Interactive announces a beta release date of February 1, 2009 for its Auditing Skills game. This will be the 10th off-the-shelf game designed by DISTIL, in partnership with the Canadian Standards Association. The Auditing Skills game can be used by companies using any management system, in order to train new auditors, accelerate auditor development and identify top-performing or underperforming auditors. The game is designed to help internal auditors develop the competencies specified in ISO 19011 guidelines.

The internal auditor role is a critical one in an organization, one that requires strong communication skills and effective investigative abilities, often in addition to the employee’s usual workplace role. According to auditing principles and the requirements specified in many Standards, individuals must be independent of the areas they are auditing to ensure impartiality and objectivity. Novices to the auditing field often express concerns around the interpersonal skill requirements – auditing senior management can be especially daunting; and seek practice in the interpretation of evidence. This learning product provides a safe but challenging environment for learners to develop their competence as auditors. Strong training not only improves auditors’ personal performance, but leads to accurate and complete audit findings that can facilitate improved corporate performance.

In the game, learners perform the role of internal auditor in a virtual audit of a fictitious company’s Business Management System (BMS). The BMS requirements will appear familiar to anyone who is familiar with management system standards such as ISO 9001,

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Toronto – Breakthrough Films & Television has started production on Stay Tooned (13 x 30′), a new live action factual entertainment series that examines the animated programs and characters that have greatly influenced pop culture.

Viewers will be taken back in time to revisit the Saturday morning animated programs that defined our popular culture. Each episode will be an entertaining, comical mix of interviews from experts, celebrities and fans, along with cartoon clips and behind-the-scenes footage. The series celebrates how ‘toons shaped and reflected our culture – then and now. Funny, entertaining and touching, Stay Tooned is a love letter to the golden era of Saturday morning cartoons, and is produced by Breakthrough Films & Television in association with Creator/Producer, Dale Burshtein and Canwest. Airing on TVtropolis, Stay Tooned will be internationally distributed by Breakthrough Entertainment.

London, ON – Big Blue Bubble is proud to announce that Masters of Mystery: Crime of Fashion is scheduled for release on all major portals and is available now at the Big Blue Bubble Arcade. Crime of Fashion is the first in a series of hidden object games that will appeal to fans of the genre and anyone who loves a good murder mystery!

The New York fashion world is turned upside down when Detective Carrie Chase discovers that a famous Fashion Designer has been murdered. She soon comes to the frightening realization that a serial killer is at large with an eye for design and a thirst for murder. Masters of Mystery: Crime of Fashion is a thrilling, hidden object game with a twist. Using interactive forensic tools, the player will solve cunning puzzles to ultimately uncover the horrifying truth behind these brutal crimes.

Key Features

* a compelling mystery to solve
* stunning, photo-realistic scenes

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Global Programme Fosters the Success of Innovative Startups with Scalable, Flexible Web Hosting Options from PEER 1

Vancouver – PEER 1 Network Enterprises, Inc., a leading provider of online IT infrastructure, has been selected to join the Microsoft BizSpark programme as a Network Partner. The BizSpark programme is a new global programme designed to help accelerate the success of early stage startups by connecting them to Network Partners: active members of the global software ecosystem that can provide mentorship, guidance and resources to BizSpark enrolled startups. BizSpark creates an ongoing, mutually beneficial ecosystem between Microsoft Corp., startups and Network Partners.

“As a hosting Network Partner for BizSpark we provide the highly flexible and scalable hosting environment needed for startups as well as small to mid-size businesses,” said Lee Hadsock, channel sales manager for PEER 1. “This represents an additional channel to attract promising new companies with rapid growth potential that will require the high performance network and advanced technical support that PEER 1 provides.”

With more than 10,000 customers, PEER 1 has worked with many startups that began as small, unknown, online companies and are now some of the most popular Internet sites; these include YouTube and PlentyofFish.com. Understanding the unique development needs of online businesses as well as the complexities of hosting and internet infrastructure means that PEER 1 can help companies to succeed with the BizSpark programme.
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Corel Digital Media products include the latest in photo and video editing, disc authoring and video and disc playback with the latest Blu-ray support

Ottawa – Corel Corporation today announced that key partners will exhibit its high-definition playback and authoring software at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) from January 8-11, 2009 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Corel products to be demonstrated at CES include Corel® WinDVD®, Corel® LinDVD® and Corel® DVD MovieFactory®. Corel will also demonstrate its complete line of Digital Media products in private meeting rooms 6221mp and 6222mp, located in the North Hall. Current and potential OEM clients may contact Corel to schedule a meeting at corel.oem -at- corel -dot- com.

Corel at CES

The following Corel partners will exhibit Corel products at CES:

Intel (Corel WinDVD)
Central Hall, Booth 7153

Dolby (Corel WinDVD and Corel DVD MovieFactory)
Lower South 1 LVCC, Booth 20901

Phoenix Technologies (Corel LinDVD)
Central Hall, Booth 9014

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Title: Crash Bandicoot – Mind Over Mutant
Developer: Radical Entertainment
Publisher: Sierra – Activision
Platforms: Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PSP, PS2
Release Date: October 7 2008

Mind over Mutant is the latest addition to the Crash Bandicoot franchise from Vancouver’s Radical Entertainment, and the general consensus among those of us at the Village Gamer HQ who played the 360 version over the holidays is that “Crash rocks!”

The plot line for Mind Over Mutant requires Crash to save his friends and everyone else from the evil clutches of the nasty Dr. Neo Cortex and the equally warped Dr. Nitrus Brio. The squabbling and delusional duo have released a new device called the “NV” on the Bandicoot world, a mind controlling unit which bears an odd resemblance to today’s real world mobile devices. The NV has not only affected Crash’s sister CoCo and his best-friend Crunch, but also each of the Titan “clans” which also populate Crash’s world.

Mind Over Mutant is full of player achievement objectives, ranging from health and skill upgrades for Crash and his small army of Mutant Titans to missions, side-missions and treasure hunts. Skills and health can also be upgraded by collecting mojo jewels, while main mission objectives are obtained from characters in the story. Completing percentages of the game results in achievement awards, and some objectives which can only be successful through co-op play.

While the co-op areas can be accomplished with one player using two controllers, we found it far more fun to actually play co-operatively. Other achievements throughout the game include unlockable skins (or costumes) for Crash and art collections. The art collection featuring fan art must have thrilled the many young artists whose work was included, and I feel this was a very special and thoughtful way to thank Crash Bandicoot fans.

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