Village Gamer

Toronto – A world without downloading, file sharing and iPods seems inconceivable today. But this digital age was ushered in a mere 10 years ago with the creation of Napster, the music sharing software. It opened a Pandora’s box.

Today, The Globe and Mail launches The Download Decade, an in-depth editorial series examining the profound societal, economic and cultural changes resulting from these new digital technologies. The series will examine: Napster’s critical role in the resurgence of Apple; the growth of ISPs; new business models and how they are faring; the fundamental transformation of the music industry; the debate about downloading and whether ISPs should be forced to hand over information on heavy file sharers; copyright law impact; and what the future holds.
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UK – Develop Magazine, a UK-based magazine for the game development industry has released its annual Top 100 worldwide studio list. While there are more Canadian studios listed this year than in previous years, there is a large shift in their placings.

EA Canada, who held the number one position on the Develop 100 list for 2005, 2006 and 2007, was toppled from that position in 2008 by Nintendo, and this year both were moved down a notch by Blizzard Entertainment. Rockstar North took third place, effectively knocking Canada out of the top three. EA Canada, however, still hangs on to the top Canadian spot at number 4 while Ubisoft Montreal finishes at sixth, down three from 2008. Fourth place is the lowest position EA Canada has ever held in the Top 100, while Ubisoft Montreal has moved up and down the list while always remaining in the Top 10; the studio placed 10th in 2007, 6th in 2006 and 5th in 2005.
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