- Village Gamer - http://www.villagegamer.net -

Beware the Ides of March and Enigmatic Thieves

mingleverse [1]VancouverMingleverse [2] is holding a promo contest and giving away A 50-Person Mingle Room with all features, including live video, for 1-year, built to the winner’s personal specifications. The contest winner will get to spend an hour with our Mingle Room designer to discuss room design, along with a $50.00 Google Adwords credit to spend on promoting your mingles or your mingle group. This contest is open to everyone. Please visit the Mingleverse contest page [3] for details on how to enter.Kasumi Goto [4]

[5]EdmontonBioware [5] has officially announced the next downloadable character for Mass Effect 2 (I mentioned her yesterday in my review of ME2 [6]). Kasumi Goto is a thief. More specifically, she is an enigmatic human thief and the Illusive Man has requested that Shepard add her to his (or her, depending on the gender of your Commander Shepard) elite squad. As with all of the other squad members, Kasumi will come along with her own baggage in the way of a quest which Shepard will have to help her with in order to win her loyalty. Kasumi is tentatively scheduled to be available in early April. It is interesting to note that on the Mass Effect 2 character page [7], there are still two slots marked “Classified” so I think we can safely say that there is lots more to look forward to from Bioware. Like…M57 Hover Tanks…and more missions.

D-Box [8]LongueuilD-BOX Technologies Inc. [8] has announced its first agreement with Walt Disney Pictures to feature its groundbreaking motion technology with the studio’s new film from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time [9], opening in theatres May 28.Prince of Persia Sands of Time [10]

“We are very proud to count Walt Disney Pictures as a supporter of our technology. Disney has a very good reputation within the industry and has demonstrated over the years much dynamism and vision. Following last year’s acquisition of Marvel Entertainment, which complements their already broad portfolio, this studio is well positioned to produce movies which will fit particularly well with our technology”, declared Claude Mc Master, President and Chief Executive Officer of D-BOX Technologies.

From the team that brought the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy to the big screen, Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films present Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, an epic action-adventure set in the mystical lands of Persia. A rogue prince (Jake Gyllenhaal) reluctantly joins forces with a mysterious princess (Gemma Arterton) and together they race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time – a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.

centennial college [11]Toronto – On Thursday, March 18, communicators, bloggers, social media enthusiasts and students will come together at The Centre for Creative Communications [12] for Talk is Cheap 3.0 [13], Centennial College’s third annual “unconference” exploring trends in social media and public relations.

The evening kicks off at 6 pm with a panel discussion on the vital role social media played in Haiti immediately following the earthquake this past January. The panel includes representatives from the Canadian Red Cross, World Vision and CBC. Following the panel there will be a series of interactive workshops on everything from Twitter and online privacy concerns, to how organizations like the Ontario Ombudsman, City of Toronto and Toronto District School Board are using social media.

“Social media continues to revolutionize the way we communicate,” says Barry Waite, Program Coordinator, Corporate Communications & Public Relations, Centennial College. “Nowhere was this more evident than in Haiti, where it helped save lives and raised millions of dollar for earthquake relief. From global disasters to the A-B-Cs of parent-teacher communication, social media is touching every aspect of our lives. It’s also changing the nature of the public relations industry, which will also be a key focus of Talk is Cheap.”

Talk is Cheap 3.0 is presented by Social Media Group and takes place at The Centre for Creative Communications, 951 Carlaw Ave. (at Mortimer). Registration is free [13]. Donations will be accepted in support of the Canadian Red Cross and World Vision Canada’s Haitian relief efforts.

wavefront [14]Vancouver – Last week WaveFrontAC [14] and Ericsson [15] announced their partnership for a developer test lab at the WaveFront facility. Now you can take a video tour of the new lab and learn about how Wireless developers in Western Canada are now able to test new wireless applications on a 3G network, in real-world situations over robust networks, to help them ready their technology for market. 

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

Nintendo Canada [16]Vancouver – From the earliest days of Nintendo’s portable Game Boy™ system, Pokémon [17]™ games have made their mark. Now Nintendo [16] has released completely updated versions of two classic Pokémon games, available now for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems. The new Pokémon HeartGold Version and Pokémon SoulSilver Version games take place in the beloved Johto region first introduced in the Pokémon Gold Version and Pokémon Silver Version games 10 years ago. The new games have evolved to include updated graphics and sound as well as intuitive new controls that use the Nintendo DS touch screen.

“Every year Nintendo introduces a new wave of players to Pokémon, and their enthusiasm is always amazing,” said Ron Bertram, Nintendo of Canada’s vice-president and general manager. “Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions, combined with the new Pokéwalker accessory, give longtime fans a new way to experience Pokémon, and they open the door for the next generation of players who want to see what the Pokémon phenomenon is all about.”

Toronto and Montreal Pokémon fans were treated to a special launch celebration of the games by Nintendo of Canada. At events held at Wizard World, Toronto, and Pepsi Forum, Montreal, over 400 kids had the opportunity to play the games and try out the Pokéwalker accessory, while the Pokémon character colouring zone and Pokémon photo booth provided additional entertainment. As a special surprise, beloved Pokémon character Pikachu was on hand at the Toronto event to welcome and greet fans.

The new games come with a Pokéwalker™ accessory, a small device that lets players bring their favourite Pokémon with them wherever they go. Players can transfer a Pokémon to the Pokéwalker and then simply walk around in real life. By walking, players earn Watts that can be used to encounter and catch wild Pokémon or search for hidden items. The Pokémon in the Pokéwalker will gain Experience Points as the player walks, and can even go up one level when they are transferred back into the game. Players also can wirelessly connect two Pokéwalkers to receive a gift.

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions feature detailed graphics that show off the hundreds of Pokémon that players can catch and train, as well as all the different environments in the game. For the first time, players can interact with all their favourite Pokémon outside of battle by selecting the leader from their party to follow behind them on their travels. An internal clock keeps track of the time of day and the day of the week, and some special events will only happen on certain days or at certain times of day.

As always, trading and battling with friends is a big part of the Pokémon experience. Players with a wireless broadband Internet connection can interact with their friends who have Pokémon HeartGold, SoulSilver, Diamond, Pearl or Pokémon Platinum Version games to trade or battle Pokémon via the Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection service. Players also can battle and trade with others via a local wireless connection.

Note to Readers: Do you have Canadian Interactive Media News to share? Let us know [18] about it so we can pass it along to others.