Village Gamer

Nintendo of Canada Ltd. and Loblaw Companies Ltd. are partnering to bring the Nintendo Neighbourhood Tour to families across Canada. These FREE events will give consumers the chance to play great Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ games such as including Wii Sports Resort™, Wii Fit™ Plus, the Professor Layton™ series and more, as well as enjoy other family fun activities in the Nintendo Activity Gazebo. This exclusive Wii and Nintendo DSi experience is being offered to Canadians living in smaller communities throughout the country and will bring an exciting educational experience to those who have not yet had the opportunity to be visited by Nintendo.

Tour Schedule:

Medicine Hat, AB – Real Canadian Superstore
August 20-22 (Fri. 12 p.m.-5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.)
Lethbridge, AB – Real Canadian Superstore
August 27-29 (Fri. 12 p.m.-5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.)
Kelowna, BC – Real Canadian Superstore
September 3-6 (Fri. 12 p.m.-5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Mon. 12 p.m.-5 p.m.)
Chilliwack, BC – Real Canadian Superstore
September 10-12 (Fri. 12 p.m.-5 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.)
Nanaimo, BC – Real Canadian Superstore
September 17-19 (Fri. 12 p.m.-5 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.)
Halifax, NS – Joseph Howe Drive Atlantic Superstore
August 13-15 (Fri. 12 p.m.-5 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.)
Kennebecasis, NB – Campbell Road Atlantic Superstore
August 20-22 (Fri. 12 p.m. -5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.)
Sherbrooke, QC – Maxi&Cie Sherbrooke
August 27-29 (Fri. 12 p.m. -5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.)
Kitchener, ON – Highland Hills Real Canadian Superstore
September 10-12 (Fri. 12 p.m. -5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.)
Newmarket, ON – Real Canadian Superstore
September 17-19 (Fri. 12 p.m. -5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.)

The Nintendo Neighbourhood Tour will also be in Saskatoon on August 10-15 at the Saskatoon Ex and in Sudbury for the Sudbury Ribfest, September 3-5.

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has announced that it will begin a new round of consultation sessions with industry representatives this fall. Valerie Creighton, President and CEO, and Stéphane Cardin, VP of Industry and Public Affairs, will meet with stakeholders across the country to gain input on key issues to be resolved prior to releasing the program guidelines for 2011-2012 in December.

Please register by selecting a location near you. Exact times and locations will be provided to registrants by email prior to each event. New this year, stakeholders who are unable to attend a session in person can participate through an online discussion forum. More details will be provided in the coming weeks.

Pizza Hut Canada and PepsiCo have partnered up for a Need For Speed World promotion. If you order your dinner (specifically, the EA Gamers Bundle deal) through Pizza Hut’s online ordering feature, you could win one of eight gaming prize bundles, plus they are holding daily draws for a copy of EA’s Need For Speed World.

According to the rules, if you wish to enter without purchase, you need to send in a 100 word paragraph telling Pizza Hut what you love most about their food and restaurants. Each grand prize consists of: one gaming console of winner’s choice (winner to select one of Xbox 360, Playstation 3, or Nintendo Wii) and one five pack of EA games. Total approximate retail value of each grand prize is $650.00 CDN. The contest runs until September 19, 2010 at 11:59:59 PM (EST). This contest is not available in Quebec.

Widgets Odyssey II from Frima Studio is now available on the PlayStation Store in North America for only $1.99 USD. As a PlayStation Mini title, playable on both the PlayStation®3 and PSP®, Widgets Odyssey II is a puzzle-laden, space-faring, platforming adventure that follows in the footsteps of its prequel, Widgets Odyssey, which was launched on July 6.

Along with Widgets Odyssey, Widgets Odyssey II represents the conclusion of Frima’s “Summer of the PlayStation Mini” which also included the launch of Young Thor, one of the most critically successful PlayStation Minis in history.

In the Widgets Odyssey saga, five robots aboard their space vessel have just one simple mission… to save the universe from the tyrannical Yagor and his evil henchmen! Armed with the abilities of Spad, Cosmo, Bruce, Helmut, and Monk, players will guide each robot along their exciting adventures filled with puzzles, mazes and minigames.

BC companies, don’t forget that submissions are open for the annual Lotus Awards. Get your nominations in for your favourite creative work from the west coast’s broadcast, print, design and interactive individuals, studios or agencies before they close on August 14th. The Lotus Awards will be held on November 10th, location yet to be announced. Tickets will go on sale in September.

You know we’re getting closer to the release of Blue Castle’s Dead Rising 2 because today the first three episodes of Keiji Inafune’s film Zombrex Dead Rising Sun are available to view on Xbox LIVE. Exclusive to Xbox owners for one week prior to going on general release, the episodes will be available online for the general public beginning August 11. The initial episode begins with an introduction from Inafune-san and Episode 3 ends with him explaining his motivation for making the movie.

Available beginning today, Telus and Microsoft are bringing a North American premiere to Canadian homes, enabling the Xbox 360 to directly access TELUS’ Optik TV service. The Xbox 360 is a first-class home entertainment and gaming system that Optik TV customers can now use as a digital set top box to enable PVR Anywhere features, such as scheduling the recording of up to three shows simultaneously on one PVR unit. The Microsoft Mediaroom software that powers Optik TV now also supports delivery of Optik TV to the Xbox 360 to provide great functionality for watching television anywhere in the home, as well as all the gaming benefits customers already know.

“We are blazing a trail as the first provider in North America to offer this innovative capability with Xbox 360 and Optik TV. The integration of the Optik TV service, powered by Microsoft Mediaroom, with the Xbox 360 will deliver increased flexibility and enhance our customers’ entertainment experience,” said TELUS President and CEO Darren Entwistle. “We continue to offer the latest and greatest technologies available for home entertainment systems through this industry-leading capability that Canadians are receiving first.”

With the Xbox 360 console, Optik TV now delivers the ultimate integration of gaming and entertainment on one platform. In addition to being able to watch recorded shows and schedule recordings, subscribers can also use the Xbox 360 console to access digital photos and digital music libraries on the TV via their home wireless network and connected Windows PC.

“With Microsoft Mediaroom, the Xbox 360 offers an unmatched entertainment experience for the entire family – and one that today gets even better for Optik TV customers,” said Greg Barber, Senior Director, Home Entertainment and Devices, Microsoft Canada. “By providing easy access to Optik TV directly via the Xbox 360, TELUS is uniting the best in TV with the best in gaming to raise the bar in Canada for in-home entertainment.”

Telus is currently offering a free Xbox 360 for clients who subscribe to High Speed Internet on a two year term. For clients who take advantage of this offer, they will experience Telus’ impressive High Speed Internet with built-in home Wi-Fi, as well as benefit from a free Xbox to use as a digital set top box with Optik TV.

Torstar Digital and Rogers Media today announced a technology joint venture to invest in TOPS, a leading edge, high volume content management system for internet media publishers. The Total Online Publishing Solutions system (TOPS) offers end-to-end solutions for web and mobile media publishers. Established in 2005, TOPS allows publishers to quickly and inexpensively develop and manage digital properties with large amounts of content and high traffic volumes. Its flexible data architecture allows diverse properties to create customized asset types for any content they want to present – including articles, locations, events, businesses, reviews, comments, identities and other information.

“We have been working with the TOPS platform for a year to great success. It’s an outstanding set of solutions for our digital properties,” said Claude Galipeau, SVP & GM, Digital Media, Rogers Media. “Citytv.com launched on TOPS last fall, as well as Flare.com and our all news radio sites, including 680News.com. TOPS has vastly improved the publishing power of our journalists and editors, our search engine performance, and our speed to market. This investment allows Rogers to co-develop a best-of-breed content management platform, and accelerate its adoption for our brands.”

TOPS has been running thestar.com, one of Canada’s leading newspaper sites, for over four years and Toronto.com, one of Canada’s leading city guide sites, for nearly five years. TOPS also runs the sites of Metroland Media Group’s news sites and Metro News of Canada (metronews.ca and journalmetro.ca).

“Our value proposition to publishers is that we can build the site you want quickly and then operate, maintain and improve it for you, with world-class features at very low expense,” said Danny Galic, CTO and General Manager of TOPS. “We offer TOPS as a service which means you don’t have to buy software, hardware or hire any technologists. The publisher provides the idea for the site and we do all the building and maintenance. Publishers who use TOPS really appreciate the freedom from having to understand technology and hire technologists to realize their publishing visions. They also appreciate the sharing of costs on one infrastructure with other publishers using the platform.”

The Rogers Media investment creates an equal partnership with Torstar Digital in managing and developing TOPS, under a joint board and services provided by Torstar Digital under a management services agreement.

As part of a new partnership with Universal Pictures, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation (OTMPC) and Tourism Toronto have teamed up to promote the new film from filmmaker Edgar Wright, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, it was announced today. The action-comedy was filmed in Toronto and stars Canadian actor Michael Cera. It opens nationwide in theatres on August 13, 2010.

Today, the partners launched a new website to promote the film. The site features a video podcast of native Ontarian Michael Cera, along with fellow cast members sharing their favourite quirky local Toronto travel tips; photos from an interactive social media photo booth; and a contest offering fans a chance to win a ‘Scott Pilgrim’-themed travel package.

The partnership comes at a time when memories of Canada from the 2010 Winter Games are still fresh in the minds of travellers. CTC will feature the podcast on its websites for travellers in the United States and other markets.

“We’re excited about working with Universal Pictures and Michael Cera on this project,” said Michele McKenzie, President and CEO of the CTC. “This partnership is another great opportunity to build on the international profile Canada acquired during the Games.”

Meanwhile, over in the Canadian music industry, John-Paul Ellson, Chair of the Canadian Council of Music Industry Associations (CCMIA), announced today that the CCMIA is joining Balanced Copyright for Canada coalition, a national organization that advocates taking Bill C-32 as a starting point for bringing Canada’s copyright into the digital age. Bernie Finkelstein of Balanced Copyright for Canada’s Advisory Board welcomed CCMIA’s support. The Advisory Board of 14 members includes Roger Mooking, Steven Ellis and Andy Stochansky, among others.

Said John-Paul Ellson, “I’m pleased to announce the Canadian Council of Music Industry Associations’ joining Balanced Copyright for Canada and their taking Bill C-32, the Copyright Modernization Act, as a starting point for copyright reform. I’m honoured the CCMIA have designated me to be their representative on the Advisory Board.”

“From coast to coast to coast, our members have been hit hard by unchecked Internet piracy. With access to fewer live venues than in a city like Toronto, CCMIA artists have fewer opportunities to earn even a portion of revenues lost to piracy, with live performances,” Ellson said. “That is why we enthusiastically back Balanced Copyright for Canada’s efforts to get the legal reforms we need.”

Balanced Copyright for Canada’s Advisory Board offers guidance on how it can best support the passage of copyright legislation that effectively protects artists and creators, and the creative industries and their investors. The Board includes artists and producers from the music and film industries and those who represent them, and Canadians who are actively engaged in defending intellectual property rights (IP) in Canada.

“Artists like me, and especially those just starting out, need copyright reforms, now, so that we can earn a living making music,” said Andrea Menard, a Saskatchewan-based Metis singer/songwriter and actress. “I’m glad that my provincial music industry association, through the CCMIA, supports Balanced Copyright for Canada campaign for legislation that will put the pirate download sites out of business.”

Bernie Finkelstein, an independent music producer and a Balanced Copyright for Canada Advisory Board member, welcomed CCMIA’s support.

The CCMIA recently announced a corporate restructuring designed to more effectively address current issues faced by the Canadian music industry. The restructuring includes the induction of a new executive team.

The members of the CCMIA – Music Newfoundland and Labrador, Music Nova Scotia, Music Prince Edward Island, Music New Brunswick, Music and Film in Motion (Northern Ontario), Manitoba Music, SaskMusic, Alberta Music, Music B.C. and Music Yukon – together represent more than 5,000 registered members and an additional 3,000 associated members. All are actively engaged in the music industry and include artists, managers, publicists, agents, educators, promoters and other music industry entrepreneurs.

The CCMIA is the national voice for its members and, through its members, the thousands of Canadians who contribute to Canada’s artistic and cultural diversity with a positive economic impact on the Canadian economy of hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Technological advancements have profoundly affected the music business model. This has rendered services and assistance, historically provided by major music labels, no longer available to Canadian artists. The members of the CCMIA are filling this void by offering extensive day-to-day advice, assistance, support, programs and services to music industry entrepreneurs (both artists and service providers) throughout Canada.

“Currently proposed amendments to copyright legislation present challenges and opportunities to ever-changing digital marketing platforms and processes,” said J.P. Ellson, chair, CCMIA. “There is a tremendous need for standardization in training of cultural workers, and it is time for Canadian music industry artists and professionals to be heard on a national stage. CCMIA provides that united voice for the industry.”