Village Gamer

D-BOX Technologies Inc. has signed a multi-year development and sales agreement with US-based WMS Industries Inc., a leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of games and gaming machines to the global gaming industry. Under the terms of this agreement, D-BOX’s realistic motion technology will be incorporated into future WMS products that will enable casino players to hear, see and feel their gaming experience. This agreement provides WMS with the capability to maintain exclusive rights to D-BOX’s motion technology for casino gaming applications subject to the achievement of specific performance thresholds.

“We are very pleased with this multi-year agreement with WMS Industries and D-BOX’s breakthrough into the casino gaming segment.” declared Claude Mc Master, President and Chief Executive Officer of D-BOX Technologies. “Over the years, WMS has built a distinctive culture of innovation which aligns perfectly with D-BOX’s own vision. This agreement also fits in very well with our strategy to expand outside our core segment of commercial theatre applications to other markets, allowing us to accelerate our growth based on the strengths and networks of quality business partners.”

Commenting on behalf of WMS Industries, Larry Pacey, Executive Vice President – Global Products and Chief Innovation Officer of WMS, added: “As part of our ongoing player-driven focus, our creative teams continuously seek new and advanced technologies that will enable us to set new standards for innovation and gaming excitement. D-BOX Technologies has demonstrated innovative leadership in developing and utilizing motion technology, and this agreement will expand our range of capabilities. We see D-BOX as a key collaborator in the future in establishing new entertainment experiences, and we look forward to building a strong relationship with them.”

Kobo, a global digital reading service, today announced a contest in which all Kobo customers, with the purchase of an eBook, are eligible to win one of many exciting prizes – including the grand prize: a one week stay at a Fairmont Hotels Caribbean Resort. The “Kobo Stack and Win” contest, ending November 19, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. ET, makes shoppers eligible for a prizing category based on the number of eBooks they purchase.

“We are very excited to be able to offer really great prizes to Kobo customers right before the holiday season,” said Liz Ridout, V.P. Marketing and Communications at Kobo. “People can treat themselves to great new reads and be entered to win one of many fantastic prizes to make their holidays even more enjoyable.”

Separate prize drawings will take place after the conclusion of the contest on November 20, 2010. All eligible shoppers during the contest period will be automatically entered into different prize drawings based on the number of eBooks purchased throughout the contest.

The prize draw categories are as follows:

* 1 eBook = an Apple TV
* 2 eBooks = Kobo Wireless eReader
* 3 eBooks = Wayspa gift card
* 4 eBooks = Apple iPad
* 5 eBooks = Microsoft Kinect Xbox 360 Package

PLUS – all shoppers who buy eBooks during the prize window will automatically be entered into the grand prize draw for a week’s stay at a Fairmont Hotels Caribbean Resort – in addition to being entered into the draw for the prizes outlined above.

Kobo offers over 2.2 million eBooks, from New York Times best sellers, the hottest new releases, romance, suspense, and more. Consumers can try eReading for free by selecting from hundreds of thousands of free titles, ranging from 18th century romance novels to thrillers, to the most famous literary masterpieces. With Kobo, users can read across a selection of popular devices ranging from smartphones, tablets, desktops, laptops by downloading the free Kobo reading app, or read on the Kobo Wireless eReader – in addition to other eReaders. Reading is seamless across devices, as users can pick up on the last page they were reading with Kobo Sync.

Kobo also offers a selection of the most popular newspapers and magazines, delivered automatically to the Kobo Wireless eReader as well as the Kobo iPhone and iPad reading apps. With Kobo eReading is easy.

In response to Red Hat’s announcement of the general availability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (RHEL 6) Roaring Penguin Software Inc., makers of the acclaimed CanIt line of anti-spam solutions, today announced the availability of packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 on Intel i386 and x86_64 for CanIt-PRO and CanIt-Domain-PRO.

RHEL 6 features a completely updated core and a newer Kernel. Also included are support for virtualization and next generation networking (including comprehensive IPv6 support). We expect that Roaring Penguin’s core customer set will take advantage of Virtualization and IPv6 support features.

Roaring Penguin Software offers three anti-spam solutions. CanIt-PRO is available as a software solution or as an on-premises “soft-appliance” for the client’s site; CanIt-Domain-PRO is a centralized spam filter for the solution provider who provides anti-spam to multiple clients from their Data Center; and Hosted CanIt, a completely outsourced anti-spam service hosted by Roaring Penguin. Hosted CanIt is not affected by the release of RHEL 6.

MindShare Learning has partnered with San Diego based Tech4Learning Inc. to win a bid to provide 21st Century skill based creativity software to all Ontario public elementary schools.

“With the Ontario Ministry of Education’s licensing of Tech4Learning’s Pixie 2 software, one of the Ontario Software Acquisition program Advisory Committee’s (OSAPAC’s) key licensing mandates was met. The committee sought to recommend software that would address graphic painting software needs for students in Grades JK-3. Pixie 2 is engaging, award winning, educational software elementary students can use to further their exploration of the world around them. Pixie 2 combines a paint program with text options, clip art, voice recording, and standards-based curriculum activities, helping students build 21st century skills as they develop podcasts, online storybooks, videos, and Flash animations,” said Mark Carbone, OSAPAC Committee Member & Chief Information Officer.

“The OSAPAC Committee is excited by the licensing of Pixie 2, which will perform well in Windows and Macintosh computing environments in our Ontario classrooms,” said Mark Carbone, OSAPAC Committee Member & Chief Information Officer for the Waterloo Region District School Board.

The Tech4Learning Pixie 2 software will begin shipping to Ontario school districts later this fall. Pixie 2 is available to Ontario teachers through their educational site Ontario Educational Software Service (O.E.S.S.) representative.

“We are thrilled to see Pixie selected as a tool to help students across Ontario build 21st century skills as they develop podcasts, online storybooks, videos, and Flash animations,” said David Wagner, CEO, Tech4Learning, Inc.

TVO invites young viewers and families across the province to tune in to TVOKids between 4-5 pm on Tuesday, November 16 to find out who will be the Grand Prize winner in the “Where’s Polkaroo?” photo contest. The announcement will be made live in The Space, TVOKids’ interactive after-school program block (weekdays from 3:30 pm – 7 pm).

The Grand Prize winner will receive a day behind the scenes at TVO’s Toronto studios for up to six people, including:

* A tour of TVO’s Toronto studios and sets
* A meet and greet with TVO’s hosts
* The opportunity for kids and adults to attend production meetings and rehearsals
* An inside look at a live TV production from the control room

Since the contest launched in September as part of TVO’s special 40th anniversary initiatives, the iconic Polkaroo has been captured in photos from all over the province including: Kingston, Ottawa, Hamilton, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Toronto, North Bay, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Waterloo, London and Windsor.

The “Where’s Polkaroo?” photo contest encouraged Ontarians to upload photos to polkaroo.com that reflected their pride-of-place. Entries included a diverse range of beloved landmarks such as: Canada’s Wonderland, Saunders Farm in Ottawa, Niagara Falls, Toronto Zoo, Marine Land, and beautiful parks and beaches across Ontario.

Consumer appetite for mobile apps is growing at a rapid pace and the mobile application market is poised to generate revenues reaching $10 billion by the year 2015, according to data from the North American Mobile Market Report (North American Mobile Market, Commerce, Content & Applications 2010-2015). To cater to Canadian consumer demand for new, next-generation mobile applications, Rogers Communications Inc., has announced that it is giving the developer community unprecedented access to Rogers’ wireless network assets through the new Rogers Catalyst beta program, designed to enable the cost-effective, fast creation of mobile apps and services customized for the Rogers network.

A centralized, no charge, third-party developer portal, Rogers Catalyst provides online access to several of Rogers’ application programming interfaces (APIs) including SMS, location-based services and carrier billing. Leveraging the power of Rogers network API’s, the handset-agnostic platform enables smartphone-like functionality on a large variety of Rogers mobile devices. With faster time to market, Rogers Catalyst allows developers to innovate quickly, test applications in minutes and enable a variety of mobile apps and services that can be accessed by Rogers’ more than 8.5 million wireless subscribers.

Through a simplified registration and project creation process, Rogers Catalyst enables developers to gain access to a number of SOAP and RESTfull APIs that will allow them to build compelling new cloud-based services which leverage the Rogers network. In addition, Rogers Catalyst includes access to click through agreements, code samples, documentation, tips and tricks, a development sandbox, as well as a larger developer community and the ability to interact with Rogers Catalyst program managers.

Rogers is committed to working with developers and customers to provide the means to bring new wireless data solutions, products and services to Canadians. In addition to the newly-launched Rogers Catalyst program, Rogers has launched several initiatives to promote and foster innovation in Canada including the Rogers Data Alliance, a technology program designed to help machine-to-machine solutions and connected device providers bring their products and services to market quickly and easily on the Rogers network.

TigerDirect.ca® has announced the unveiling of its six remodeled Canadian retail outlets featuring Retail 2.0® technology.

Retail 2.0 provides online product information to in-store customers as they shop: product-by-product, aisle-by-aisle. Customers can access all product information, owner’s manuals, reviews, product tutorials, pictures, installation detail, and availability—whatever they need to make purchasing decisions—literally right at their fingertips. Customers are also free to browse competitor sites and comparison shop as if they were in the comfort of their own home or office.

All desktops, laptops, monitors and televisions – more than 200 screens per store—are connected to dedicated computers, providing direct, single key access to all production information on the item from the Internet and allowing further discovery—even outside of the TigerDirect.ca website.

“We are happy to now offer our Retail 2.0 concept in all of our TigerDirect retail stores in Canada,” said Gilbert Fiorentino, Chief Executive of the Systemax Technology Products Group, which includes TigerDirect. “With touch screens, hands-on product/internet capabilities and greater communication of promotions to our in-store customers, we feel that this enhanced new take on retail will provide a richer shopping experience for our customers.”

The enhanced Markham store will provide shoppers the ease of finding extensive product information for many devices including GPS, cellphones, MP3 players and cameras. These items are attached via a “waterfall display” allowing customers to touch & feel each item—activating Retail 2.0 by simply lifting the item from the unit.

The Retail 2.0 concept empowers and educates consumers as well as employees who can easily access all product information…a resource that has increased customer service and satisfaction. “Knowledge is power,” added Fiorentino. “Retail 2.0 has made our staff—and customers—instant experts in electronics.”

The Markham TigerDirect retail store is located at 8401 Woodbine Avenue in Markham. Store hours are Monday–Saturday 9am–9pm; Sunday 11am–6pm.

EA Partners, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. has signed an agreement with independent Montreal developer Trapdoor, to publish Warp™. This unique stealth action game features a top-down sci-fi world with a distinctive art style, addicting levels, hazardous traps and challenging puzzles. The new game will debut on Xbox LIVE® Arcade, PlayStation® Network and PC in Summer 2011.

“Working with EA Partners allows us to expand our distribution to a much larger audience while still being able to retain our creative vision and identity,” said Ken Schachter, Founder of Trapdoor. “As an independent studio we are thrilled with the opportunity to leverage the expertise and talent of EA’s publishing organization to bring our very first game on console to life.”

“One of our goals at EA Partners is to seek out the leading independent developers within the downloadable games market and publish their titles to a wide audience,” said Jamil Moledina, Outreach Director, Business Development at EA Partners. “We are thrilled to add Trapdoor to the EA Partners family and bring this best-in-class sci-fi stealth action title to gamers everywhere.”

EA Sports has released a new video for NBA Jam, which is scheduled for release on November 26th for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. Titled Politicians, this new video features appearances by several well known American politicians forming a team of Democrats and a team of Republican. Thus far, these two unlockable teams have been announced as being available only on the Wii version of the game.

The Democratic team includes President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore.  The Republican team features George Bush, Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin and John McCain.

Ubisoft Montreal has announced a further expansion for its successful Assassin’s Creed franchise, which has sold more than 19 million units worldwide to date, by developing and producing a new animated short story called Assassin’s Creed Ascendance. The animated short will launch in conjunction with the highly anticipated release of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood in North American on November 16, 2010.

Assassin’s Creed Ascendance is a short animated story developed by Ubisoft Montreal. It bridges the narrative gap between Assassin’s Creed II and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. Assassin’s Creed Ascendance follows Assassin Ezio Auditore as he struggles to remove the treacherous Borgia family from their papal throne. Ezio will learn the brutal truth behind Ceasare Borgia’s rise to power to control Italy. Assassin’s Creed Ascendance will be available on PlayStation®Store, Xbox LIVE® for the Xbox 360®, and other digital channels for a suggested retail price of $1.99. This film is not rated by the ESRB.

The rich universe of the Assassin’s Creed franchise allows artists from other media to create extensions of the original Assassin’s Creed storyline beyond video games. In addition to Assassin’s Creed Ascendance, fans will be able to immerse themselves even further into the Assassin’s Creed world with the release of an Assassin’s Creed comic book series, figurines and the recently launched Assassin’s Creed Project Legacy Facebook® game.

Assassin’s Creed The Fall, Issue 1 is now available from UbiWorkshop. This comic series follows 19th century Russian assassin Nikolai Orelov as he strives to claim an artifact of immense power from the hands of the Templars, leading to a climactic and violent showdown with the ruthless Tsar Alexander III aboard a speeding train. Meanwhile, his modern-day counterpart is a troubled young drifter rife with unsettling visions of a possible past life – visions that have irreversible consequences for the present.

The Fall was written and illustrated by Karl Kerschl and Cameron Stewart, with colour by Nadine Thomas, and is comprised of 32 pages. There are three different covers for the launch issue – the official Ubisoft cover, a Target exclusive cover and a GameStop exclusive cover.