The goal of the game is to manage a professional hockey team in every aspect:

• finances
• drafts
• trades
• lineups
• on-ice strategies and more

With over 275,000 monthly visits and 4.25 million page views, Web Sim Hockey is on the rise since its 2009 launch, with more than 7500 teams being managed every day in over 315 virtual leagues.

“We are very impressed with the extent of the simulation and believe it is a very valuable tool for our course – The Business of Hockey,” said Dr. Ann Pegoraro, director of the School of Sports Administration in the Faculty of Management.

With the help of Dr Pegoraro, the management experience will then be exported to other universities in North America so that other students can experience this simulation as a real-life learning tool.

The “Back In Shape” mode features a weight loss workout created by Ubisoft and a weight control workout, designed by Sarbakan. This 40-minute weight control routine features a training room, game environment and exercises entirely created by Sarbakan.

“Working with Sarbakan on Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 enabled us to offer online gamers more content and gameplay, a key element in today’s industry,” explains Stéphane Decroix, Executive Producer on Mainstream brands at Ubisoft Montreal.

Jump Rope: Survival Mode – Download a new Survival Mode based on the in-game jump rope activity with a step pattern and intense endless mode. With unlimited time, brand new routines and 5 lives, you and your friends can have a blast with the ultimate Jump Rope showdown. Once you’ve purchased this activity, you can access it in the Your Shape™ Fitness Evolved 2012 game by going to “Activities” and then selecting the “Jump Rope” icon.  New achievements available – ‘Jump for Your Life!’

Your Shape 2012 delivers one of the most extensive video game fitness offerings on the market and one of the top tracking systems on Kinect. This installment of Your Shape returns with an upgraded extraction system using Ubisoft’s innovative player projection technology. The enhanced feedback system not only tracks what you are doing wrong, but now offers suggestions on how to adjust your moves to achieve the optimal workout. The player’s full body is scanned and tracked during the training session to allow players to see themselves in the Your Shape universe and monitor every step of their progress.

“We wanted to create a fun experience for all ages,” states IUGO’s CEO Hong-Yee Wong.  “Animal Academy is very easy to pick up, and the friendly and intuitive activities will keep you delighted for hours.”  The game launches with 20 cheery classroom themes and 23 endearing animal characters, with more being added with regular updates.

Animal Academy Description

• Customize your school – Build classrooms that will delight the students of Animal Academy. Reading, writing and arithmetic are the basics, but this ultra-fun school can also teach subjects such as paleontology, robotics, fashion and football to name but a few.
• Attract adorable animals – Each new classroom unlocks a new animal species! Cats, dogs, penguins, foxes, robo-mice and more.
• Play with friends – Pitch your students up against rival schools in friendly competitions or help out by supervising a friend’s classroom! Playing with friends earns you daily in-game rewards.
• Play the role of Principal – Build and maintain the greatest school in the land. The students at Animal Academy have been known to reward beloved Principals with heart-felt, home-made gifts.
• Expect tons of future content – IUGO is committed to keeping Animal Academy fresh with frequent and continuous updates. Check back often for new classrooms, animal species, game features and more.

The iPhone and iPad enhanced game is available now in the Apple Appstore and is today’s free download thanks to @FreeAppADay. Animal Academy is rated 4+ and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices running iOS 3.0 or later.

SimMiles is an airline simulation game for virtual airlines that allows real people to manage the virtual airline in an airline simulation game environment and it also allows virtual airline pilots to complete the flights for the virtual airline using Flight Simulator FSX in real time.  This way pilots also get to participate in this real time airline simulation game online in the most realistic environment.  Airways Virtual is a website that promotes virtual airlines, the airline management game genre in general and the flight simulator FSX community.

Airways Virtual features FSX Virtual Airlines that are based all over the world including countries like Canada, Singapore, United States (USA), UK (United Kingdom), Australia, Germany, France, New Zealand and Ireland.  There are many virtual airlines that you can choose from in these countries and many more.  Airways Virtual mainly features real world based virtual airlines to make the FSX Virtual Airline Management experience more realistic and fun.

Trailer Park King features a number of unique and interesting cast members. The role of the sexy Canadian Babe is being played by Celine.  Celine is actually part of the Freelance Games marketing department.  With just a few minor alterations and a tattoo,  provided by yours truly (with some help from our artist), Celine has been transformed into a shop keeper from Montreal.

In a nutshell, Trailer Park King is a fun adventure that tells a unique story in an interesting way.

Drag Racer: Pro Tuner, a reinvention of the classic flash game Drag Racer, this game will appeal to those of you who enjoy burning up the race track and saving $2.00 at the same time. Drag Racer: Pro Tuner offers new features, more customization and new racing modes, as well as the ability to share your car designs with your friends on social media.

Each car can have its own unique look, with custom paint jobs and over 70 decals to choose from. If you want even more customization, you can create your own decals from photos or images on your device for a truly one of a kind car.

Once you’ve created your dream car it’s time to race. Drag Racer: Pro Tuner lets you race head to head in more than 20 challenges, including a new Street Race mode which puts you bumper to bumper with some of the toughest drag racers on the street. Fans of Drag Racer: Online will be happy to hear that Nitrous Oxide, gear tuning, and other performance options have been included in Drag Racer: Pro Tuner as well as the ability to race against your friends over BlueTooth or Wi-Fi.

If designing the next greatest fashion look is more your thing, Style Studio is also on sale for $2.00 off the regular price. Style Studio: Fashion Designer allows users to create a full line of men’s and women’s clothing from dresses to tops, outerwear, pants and skirts.

The easy-to-use interface is simple enough for the younger user, but provides options to keep even the most experienced designer entertained. Users can choose one of the basic product designs, and alter it to fit their style. Then they can choose from thousands of materials, prints, belts, buttons, zippers, bows, pockets and accessories to further customize their design. Clothing can be tried out on any of the models included within the application, or designers can upload a photo of themselves or friends to try on the new fashions.

Once clothes have been designed, they can be showcased on fashion magazine mockups or turned into an entire fashion show. Designs can be shared with friends through Facebook, Twitter and Email integration into the app. Additional styles, materials and accessories can be purchased through the in-app store with more content being added all the time.

Style Studio: Fashion Designer has the most extensive customization engine for clothing design ever seen on the iPhone. It takes XMG’s powerhouse customization engine and applies it to the world of fashion, making this App for more compelling then the many dress-up-doll types of applications found in the App Store.

Style Studio: Fashion Designer is available for the iPhone and iPod Touch in both a free version and the full version, as well as for the iPad. Style Studio has been featured by Apple in their Fashion Week roundups and in the App Store’s “What’s Hot” sections.

“We have strived to create a new and unique experience for mobile gamers, and I think we have succeeded with Sunshine Cruise Lines,” states IUGO’s CEO Hong-Yee Wong. “It is engaging, easy to play, and you can share the experience with your friends.”

Sunshine Cruise Lines App Description

Welcome aboard your very own cruise ship! Build, customize and manage your one-of-a-kind dream cruise. Play with friends, earn rewards and have the most fun in the sun.

• Customize your own cruise ship with over 40 different facilities, unique crew members, color schemes and more
• Choose your play style! Fun, fast-paced en-route gameplay or take it easy and let the crew handle it for you
• See the world! 50 different ports around the globe (and more to come)
• Take on the role of Captain while getting to know your lovable and quirky crew
• Rich storyline infused with personality and humour
• Play with friends through Facebook (optional)
• Gamecenter achievements give you and friends plenty of rewards
• 100 beautiful postcards to collect and share with friends
• Hundreds of fun destination facts
• View friends‘ routes on your world map
• One-of-a-kind art style, signature IUGO polish and quality
• In-app purchases optional with Cruise Bucks

The second trailer, also from E3, introduces the studio’s new IP World Circus, an innovative and original game that allows players to build and manage their own circus. World Circus is scheduled for release in 2013 and offers 3 game modes – career, simulation and multi-player.

The third and final E3 video presents Wild Games’ new iPhone game Kung Fu Lobster, a colourful undersea world where you control a well-armed lobster and take on other denizens of the deep to prove that only the strong survive.

While Zombie Cookin’ is free to play, players can accelerate gameplay or acquire unique items by purchasing “Bones,” the game’s in app premium currency.

• Master more than 50 recipes
• Send your zombie hoard out to discover macabre, unusual and downright disgusting ingredients.
• 18 finger cleaving, brain scooping mini games.
• Decorate and increase the efficiency of your kitchen with better stoves, windows, floor coverings and more.

“The Just Dance brand has truly become a worldwide phenomenon with over 30 million people playing Just Dance,” said Olivier Ernst, director of Ubisoft Canada. “Fans play Just Dance at parties with friends, at home with the family, and as part of an active lifestyle to stay fit or even lose weight. Ubisoft is excited to bring Just Dance 3 to all motion platforms and give even more people the opportunity to enjoy the fun.”

Featuring more than 40 tracks across a wide range of musical genres, including pop, hip-hop, rock, R&B, country, disco, funk, and more, Just Dance 3 introduces a number of new game features that take advantage of the unique mechanics of each console. To get the party started, Just Dance 3 includes some of today’s hottest hits as well as classic dance tracks that everyone loves.

Confirmed tracks for Just Dance 3 include:

• 2 Unlimited – “No Limit”
• Black Eyed Peas – “Pump It”
• Duck Sauce – “Barbra Streisand”
• Groove Century – “Boogie Wonderland”
• Gwen Stefani – “What You Waiting For”
• Katy Perry – “California Gurls”
• Kiss – “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”
• Laura Bell Bundy – “Giddy On Up (Giddy On Out)”
• LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock – “Party Rock Anthem”
• MIKA – “Lollipop”
• Taio Cruz – “Dynamite”

In addition to this exciting tracklist, Just Dance 3 introduces exclusive new game features on all three motion-control platforms, such as four-player choreographies and dynamic environments on Wii and the new “Shout Out!” feature on Kinect, which allows players to score extra points by belting out their favorite song verse. This, combined with the entertaining and unique choreography developed by professional dancers, will provide players with the fun and accessible challenges they are looking for and ensuring that Just Dance 3 will get the world dancing.

“Style Studio has the most extensive customization engine for clothing design ever seen on the iPhone” said Ray Sharma, Founder of XMG Studio. “While there are a few apps out there that allow you to apply colors to pre-set clothing items and mix and match them, Style Studio is the first app that actually allows the designer to choose different materials, make alterations, customize prints and apply add-ons or decorative elements to each piece of clothing.”

Style Studio is available in the iTunes app store for $2.99 for any Apple mobile device running OS 3.0 or higher.

Last week during IUGO’s GDC Smartphone Summit Session, their VP of Biz Dev, Sarah Thomson, announced IUGO’s latest social game venture; Sunshine Cruise Lines. IUGO’s first social title, Lil’ Pirates (published by Capcom Mobile), launched in November 2010 and was a breakout success earning accolades from users, critics and fellow industry colleagues alike. Lil’ Pirates went on to win Pocketgamer’s best FREEmium title of 2011.

Having proved their chops as a solid social game developer, IUGO plans to launch several social titles during the course of 2011/2012. “Lil’ Pirates was a great experience for us,” enthuses Thomson. “We saw that we could build a unique experience that users loved. It was amazing to see how “into” the game players got. On top of that, the game was monetizing really well solely from virtual items, which was a testament to our design strengths as a studio,” Sarah adds.

“Now, with Sunshine Cruise Lines, the team is super excited to build a game around a theme that appeals to virtually everyone: Travel,” offers Thomson. Setting sail later this Spring/early Summer of 2011, Sunshine Cruise Lines is a FREEmium game in which players manage their own cruise ship while traveling the world. “There is so much we can do with this theme,” she explains. “This is an opportunity for us to play on users’ imaginations while having the world at their fingertips. Players will find the game familiar and easy to play as we’ve kept a foundation of tried and true mechanics. But the team has been really amped to try new things in Cruise,” alludes Sarah. “With Cruise players will enjoy a more dynamic environment that encourages experimentation. Players will have a number of different options for how to make their cruise ship unique, while offering deeper social interaction. The team is focused on making every facet of the Cruise experience special and fun from the art style, the UI, the audio to how they all tie in and enhance each other. We can’t wait for people to play our game!”

Don’t get caught dead in that island wear, it’s so last season! Quebec’s Frima Studio and SFO’s Bolt Creative have announced that the Pygmies of Pocket God on Facebook have arrived dressed to impress with Episode IV: Dressed to Kill. This latest addition to the Pocket God world introduces new items, including St. Patrick’s Day accessories, as well as a new dance taking the island by lightning storm.

Since its debut in December 2010, the Facebook version of Pocket God has grown exponentially and is attracting more players every month. More than 40 million loyal, unquestioning Pygmies have met their demise over that time, with two million of those being sacrificed by volcano alone (that’s approximately the same amount of people who visit Pompeii every year – coincidence?). Another two million sacrifices can be attributed to friends on Facebook sacrificing other friends in a host of brutal and irreverent ways, including electrocution, shark attack, venus fly traps, tornados, tar pits, and more! What good is a friend if you can’t sacrifice them every once in a while?

The new updates for Dressed to Kill include:

• All New Customizations: Fans have been waiting for the chance to dress up their Pygmies and the time has come! Pygmies can now be customized in a variety of ways, including wearing t-shirts, bow ties, life jackets (no worries, they won’t actually work), an oh-so-taboo censor bar, and more!
• All New YPDA (Youth Pygmy Devotee Association) Dance: It’s fun to hang with the Y-P-D-A! Even though the Pygmies constantly meet death, it doesn’t dampen their spirits, and they’re now prepared to show the world their latest dance craze. Go ahead and join in already, we swear no one is watching!
• St. Patrick’s Day-themed Items: For the Pygmy leprechaun in all of us, players can now customize their favorite faithful followers with holiday-themed items such as clover hair ties and fashionable green suspenders to hold that grass skirt up. Players can also do a little jig with the new St. Patrick’s Day dance. All holiday-themed content is available for a limited time.
• Brand New Quests: Of course, we have added more quests for all the deities out there looking to bring their sacrifice count to an all-time high.

The National Lacrosse League, which is comprised of teams from Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto (along with some American teams) has announced that NLL 11, the NLL’s officially licensed video game by Pittsburgh’s Crosse Studio in conjunction with Guelph’s Stir Fry Games, is in development for release this spring on Xbox 360′s Indie Game Channel.

The game will feature all ten NLL teams and the league’s 230 players, a completely new game engine, franchise mode, player statistics, celebrations and much more. For the first time, NLL 11 will include fighting in the video game. NLL Lacrosse 2011 will be available on the Xbox 360′s Indie Game Channel and will be priced at $5.00 USD.

While you’re waiting for NLL11 to debut, you could check out Stir Fry’s latest game, Office Brawlers, which is available on Xbox Live Indie Games. You can try it before you buy it, the price is 240 MS Points. Playing as your Avatar, you fight your way through Story Mode with 11 crazy weapons. You can play against your friends either on or off-line. Be the greatest Office Brawler of all time and achieve the highest score by playing in Survival Mode.

What started out as a very small Meetup group for independent developers in the Vancouver area has now become Full Indie. The new group was unveiled to a packed house of over 100 developers at Tuesday night’s monthly event for what is now the largest collective for independent game creators in Vancouver.

In May 2010, game developers Jake Birkett and Alex Vostrov founded the aforementioned Meetup group in order to connect with their peers. After only nine meetings with overwhelming event attendance and community input, Jake and Alex agreed that a formal brand, mission and web presence were the next logical steps. The group’s mandate will be to continue with its very successful monthly events which include presentations and networking as well as develop the Full Indie web site as a community-sourced endeavour, with centralized resources to assist indie developers not only in Vancouver, but around the world, with the development, publishing and publicizing of their work.

In keeping with the National Film Board’s commitment to digital production, and reflecting the evolution of audiences into dynamic participants, the eastern section of the NFB Mediatheque in Toronto is currently being transformed into an interactive hub that will provide new ways to connect with the NFB. Its redesign guided by the principle of engaging and communicating with Canadians, this area of the Mediatheque will soon offer access to , where visitors can check out recent web-based projects via the NFB Interactive portal, the Online Screening Room featuring more than 1,800 streaming films, and news and information about the NFB.

This flexible new space will also be outfitted with ceiling-mounted projectors, floor-to-ceiling screens and a state-of-the-art audio system, providing a venue for innovative new content such as participatory programming and immersive multimedia installations based on NFB online productions. The space will also host exhibits and screenings; its resources will be creatively incorporated into the Mediatheque’s many workshops and camps, and it can be tailored for private event rental. A webcam-enhanced touchscreen will allow the public to further connect with the NFB and record instant feedback on their experience such as film reviews, workshop recommendations and programming suggestions. Visitors will continue to enjoy over 5,500 NFB titles on free digital viewing stations, and services and events at the Mediatheque will not be affected. This new area will open to the public in early April, 2011.

This is a good start, but doesn’t go nearly far enough; I hope that MP Tony Clement will keep the pressure up in regards to telecom pricing in all areas:

In response to numerous requests, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today clarified the form and scope of its proceeding to review wholesale residential high-speed Internet access services, which was launched on February 8, 2011.

Canadians will have an opportunity to share their views at a public hearing starting on July 11^th in Gatineau, Que. The CRTC will also hold an online consultation. Details of both the hearing and consultation will be announced shortly.

Although the scope of the proceeding will not be limited to reviewing usage-based billing proposals, the CRTC intends to focus on issues such as:

• usage-based charges, whether aggregated between the Small Internet service providers (Small ISPs) or applied to each Small ISP
• usage-based charges driven by peak traffic periods, and
• an examination of network capacity and congestion.

The CRTC will not be expanding the scope, as requested by several parties, to include the billing practices for retail Internet services. There is no evidence that market forces are not working properly in this unregulated market.

Finally, the CRTC will not review, as was also requested by several parties, the overall regulatory framework for wholesale high-speed Internet access services. The overall framework was not part of the decision that is being reviewed, and it would not be appropriate to initiate such a wide-ranging review within the current proceeding.

Catching up with Big Blue Bubble this morning, the studio has released Geeks Unleashed to the Mac App Store for $3.99 USD. This game is a strategic puzzle game that pits the player against some of the smartest, yet geekiest opponents on the planet. The storyline, which for some reason makes me think of Big Bang Theory, follows the player as they enter a collecting convention, attempting to accumulate collectibles from different categories such as Sci-Fi, Fashion, Comics, Plush Toys and Role Playing Games.

Another popular Big Blue Bubble game also made its debut on the Mac App Store this week. Home Sweet Home, available now for $4.99 USD, is a game that invites you to play Interior Designer. You choose the furniture, patterns, and colors to create a masterpiece that will blow your client away. You can email photos of your newly designed rooms to yourself or your friends, and you can also replay levels or your designs.  With simple controls, a fun graphical style, and an easy to use interface, Home Sweet Home allows you to nurture your creative side.

Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney has launched a fun and educational Facebook application that tests your knowledge of Canada’s history, values, symbols and political institutions. The quiz can also be downloaded to mobile devices like iPhone, Blackberry and Android. The 20 questions are randomly selected from a bank of 122 questions, allowing the quiz to be played more than once.

“Download the app, take the quiz, and share it with your friends,” Kenney said. “You might be surprised to find out just how Canadian you are!”

The initiative is part of an on-line resource called “A Fun Path to Learning” that was launched in April 2010 by Citizenship and Immigration Canada for students and teachers. The educational tool draws from material in the popular new citizenship study guide Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship and aims to help students from grades five to 12 learn about Canada’s history and political institutions through games and activities. There are a number of learning resources on the Youth page, making learning about Canada’s history fun.

The “How Canadian Are You, Eh?” application is a cross platform application that can be found within Facebook, at the iTunes app store, in the Blackberry app world, and in the Android marketplace.

Radian6 has announced Radian6 for Salesforce, bringing new social capabilities to the Salesforce Service Cloud experience. Monitoring the overwhelming volume of social conversations that matter to enterprises, and connecting them to existing sales, service and marketing processes is a major challenge for companies today. To address this challenge, the Radian6 integration will connect the social capabilities within both the Salesforce Service Cloud and the Radian6 platform, enabling enhanced social customer service.

The Radian6 platform monitors social media, including blogs, forums, comments, photo and video sharing sites, Twitter, public content within Facebook and more. Radian6 leads the industry with its ability to surface social metrics on everything it gathers, enabling valuable time savings through sorting and prioritization. With its pending arrival on the AppExchange, Radian6 for Salesforce will let agents work entirely within the Service Cloud, with fully automated case creation that adds social media content to Salesforce based on the customizable Radian6 workflow rules engine.

In addition to the recently added feature that allows users to interact with Salesforce Chatter directly within Radian6 Engagement Console™ additional capabilities that leverage the Service Cloud will include the ability to create new or view existing cases, leads and contacts from within the Radian6 Engagement Console™. Radian6 for Salesforce is currently scheduled to be available to early adopters in April 2011 while a full public release is currently scheduled for Q3 of calendar year 2011.

zipzoom is a brand new patent-pending anonymous communication technology changing the way consumers and businesses find each other. The service was officially launched today in Simcoe County, choosing Barrie because it is one of the fastest growing cities in North America.

“A dynamic, friendly and booming community like Barrie is the perfect place to launch this revolutionary service,” said Reg DesRosiers, the founder of zipzoom.com. “We offer residents the ability to make quick, informed decisions about any products or services they need, while also providing new streams of customers to Barrie’s local businesses and salespeople.”

zipzoom.com recently launched a beta version of its site, which acts like a personal shopper for overwhelmed consumers. zipzoom.com-registered consumers just make an anonymous personal inquiry and zipzoom immediately, through its exclusive communication platform, sends the inquiry to all relevant contacts and businesses using a brilliantly designed product keyword search association, saving time, money and effort. Businesses and salespeople also benefit by having direct access to “ready-to-buy” customers 24/7 without increasing their advertising costs. zipzoom is free of charge to register for consumers, businesses, service providers and salespeople. zipzoom finally answers the question consumers ask themselves every day: “How can I find the best deal, person or business to work with?” On the vendor side: “How do I consistently find ‘ready-to-buy’ customers?”

In addition, zipzoom is offering weekly giveaways via their social media networks on Twitter and Facebook, where randomly chosen registered vendors will receive a no-charge lifetime membership subscription.

Staying true to its friendly, down-to-earth and down the street philosophy, Original Joe’s has announced that, starting today, it will be providing a free pound of wings to each individual who ‘likes‘ them on Facebook.

“Each person who decides to participate by liking Original Joe’s on Facebook will be able to print off a coupon which they can redeem at any of our 37 locations for a pound of wings on us,” says Derek Doke, President of Original Joe’s. “We appreciate the support and loyalty of our existing customers and this is one way to express our gratitude to our regulars while encouraging newcomers to find out for themselves why so many people choose Joe’s as their preferred neighbourhood pub.”

Joe’s is expecting thousands of individuals to take advantage of this promotion, and are prepared to give away up to $100,000 worth of wings (estimated Canadian dollar amount based on 10,000 pounds of wings and gift cards). With more than a dozen wing flavours available ranging from dill pickle, Caribbean jerk and industrial strength, to the more traditional honey garlic or salt and pepper, Joe’s has something for everyone.

The 2011 Canada 3.0 conference has opened registration for this year’s event, which will take place in Stratford on May 2nd through 5th. The Early Bird rate of $495.00 + taxes and service charge will be available until midnight on March 3th, when ticket prices will go up to $695.00 + taxes and processing charge. There is a StartUp/Small Business/Non-Profit price available for $225.00 + taxes and service charge as well as ticketing options for students. If you register before February 18th you will automatically be entered for a draw to win a copy of MacroWikinomics, personally addressed and signed by author Anthony D. Williams. Please see the Canada 3.0 web site for this year’s confirmed speakers.

Monde Media and Bug Tracker have made two personnel announcements this morning – Jean-Robert Michel, Monde Media’s former General Manager has moved into the dual role of Production Director for both Bug-Tracker and Monde Media, while Monde Media’s former COO has become the new Client Relationship Director for both entities.

In other comings and goings, the BC Technology Industry Association announced today that its President, Pascal Spothelfer will leave the organization June 30^th to return to the corporate sector. Spothelfer was appointed President & CEO of the BC Technology Industry Association in November of 2007, and since that time has successfully raised the level of recognition of the organization and BC’s technology industry through his leadership, commitment to collaboration, and tireless advocacy efforts.

“My past three years at the BCTIA have allowed me to get to know our technology community on a very different level. It has been most rewarding both personally and professionally,” said Spothelfer. “I have met and worked with incredibly smart, engaged and inspiring people – experiences that will fuel my passion to assist in the further growth of BC’s technology industry not just until my departure from the BCTIA, but in whatever role I pursue in the future. “

Paul Gorton, Chair of the BCTIA commented, “We will greatly miss having Pascal’s passion and vision. On behalf of the Board, I thank Pascal for his commitment to the BCTIA, and we wish him the utmost success in the future.”

Pascal will continue to lead the BCTIA and work with the board on the leadership transition until his departure at the end of June. A formal search has been initiated by the BCTIA and will be facilitated by Odgers Berndtson. Please contact Caroline Jellinck at 604 602 2556 for more information.

Canadian developers seem to have a thing for hippos – here is some info from three Canadian enterprises which contain “hippo” in their names.

Rock Hippo Productions Ltd has launched the second closed beta for its cartoon-style third person action shooter, MicroVolts. This second phase of testing will continue for approximately two weeks in preparation for the official release day. In addition, the company has released all-new screen shots of the game and is holding a special “Free-for-All” tournament which will kick off Saturday, February 5th. Winning players will be awarded their choice of any weapon they want to use with the launch of the Open Beta. Players who visit the game’s website will be able to learn more about the game and the events as well as register for a beta key.

MicroVolts features fast paced, third person shooter action and pits players against each other in a secret battle that has been waged and going unnoticed right in our own backyard for years. No one knows for sure when or where the first toy declared war but rumor has it that the uprising began with four original limited edition figures, code named MicroVolts. Battle lines were drawn when Naomi, Knox, Pandora, and C.H.I.P.-the prototypes a-were soon joined by an endless number of modified versions. Now, toy figures around the world are engaged in an all-out war for valuable battery resources and supremacy of the Micro World. All we can do now is stay out of their way and wait for a champion to be declared!

With a ton of weapons, inventive character designs, and a huge list of customization features, MicroVolts is destined to invigorate and re-energize the Free2play space. Intuitive controls and a third person view make the game easy to play and fun for both newcomers and veterans of shooter games. Game modes include Free for All, Team Deathmatch, Item Match, Capture the Battery, and many more featuring various maps designed by toy concept.

Tiny Hippos, a start-up based in Waterloo, has a product which will be of interest to all of you mobile developers out there. According to its site, this product, which is named Ripple Emulator, is a multi-platform mobile environment emulator that runs in a web browser and is custom-tailored to HTML5 mobile application testing. Ripple aims to reduce the challenges being faced by mobile developers caused by today’s platform fragmentation in the marketplace.

Ripple is built as a Chrome extension, running as part of the Chrome browser and takes advantage of our back-end services to perform some of the more complex operations. It offers the ability to look under the hood of your mobile applications, gaining full visibility into what your it is doing. It also allows for the use of existing tools to perform JavaScript debugging, HTML DOM inspection, automated testing, as well as multiple device and screen resolution emulation in real-time without having to redeploy the mobile application or restart the emulator.

Meanwhile, just down the highway a bit from Tiny Hippos is Mercury Grove, an Ottawa-based developer who has an enterprise called Network Hippo, which according to Mercury Grove’s site connects to users’ email, address books, and social networks to consolidate all of their professional contacts, remind them to stay in touch with important people, and makes it easy to connect online or through email. Mercury Grove also offers a service called Web Collaboration, which is an online workspaces for internal teams, partners, and clients. Unlike other team sharing services, Web Collaboration can be setup in minutes and requires no download, installation or administration.

Another collaboration-style service I stumbled across is Vancouver-developed Jostle. I found this site because the person behind Jostle’s Twitter account retweeted one of my Game Design Expo live tweets. According to the Jostle web site, a People Engagement Platform™ that glues enterprises together. This platform enables innovative companies to clarify their organization, reveal hidden expertise and engage their employees. Jostle is enterprise software that is accessible from any web-enabled device and works like a website, without the need to install software.

Toronto’s Blue74 Labs has released a statement announcing that IIA, the studio’s critically acclaimed real-life massively multiplayer “outdoor” role-playing game sold tens of thousands of memberships in the first 48 hours of its release, making it the fastest-selling ARG game of all time. The IIA Spy Game is being compared to blockbuster hits “The Game”, “Spy Game”, and “Halting State”, a book by Charles Stross.

The IIA (International Intelligence Agency) is a real life multi-player game that gives players a real life, real feel, “off computer” role-playing game. Players don’t know about the actual game play until they are engaged in the game, which was made globally available on January 24th via a small posting on the popular “Ycombinator: Hacker News”, a web site for Internet start-ups. Expectations were less than 100 memberships to be sold the first day, Mike Curry noticed a very heavy load on his web server – realizing the game had gone viral. Registration for the game is $5.00, which interested players send via PayPal.

The company does have an official site for the game, however they are not releasing the information until its members exercise a critical classified mission. It’s believed that the mission entails a Remote Controlled UAV helicopter taking aerial photographs of the building that houses their website. It’s believed they are doing this to ensure the security of the building.

In an article released yesterday on Gamasutra, Nexon America VP of Business Development Won Il Sue spoke with reporter Chris Nutt about the million dollar Nexon iNitiative, during which the publisher asked for game dev submissions from studios around the world. Coming out at the top of heap with signed deals: One2Tribe from Poland, and Ontario studio Antic Entertainment. Nexon did not reveal exactly what type of game the London, ON Antic team is working on, other than to say one of the studios is working on a Facebook game and that both games, while somewhat of an unusual nature for Nexon, will be of the social media genre. In the meantime, check out Antic’s free to play Junk Battles, a browser-based free-to-play fast-paced vehicle combat game.

All’s fair in love and war in cartoon-land as TeleToon Retro couples pursue the love of fans and a spot in TeleToon Retro’s Hall of Fame as the Top 5 Sweethearts in honour of Valentine’s Day. Starting today and running until Sunday, February 6, viewers can vote online for their top 5 favourite cartoon love matches, for a place in TeleToon Retro history.

TeleToon Retro has narrowed the field to 18 classic animated admirers and is inviting fans to select which couples are the Top 5 Sweethearts of all-time. The list of nominees for the Top 5 Sweethearts is made up of the following cartoon couples:

Following the voting period, the Top 5 Sweethearts will be announced on Friday, February 11 and a special programming marathon featuring all five couples will air as part of the “Retro Rewind” programming block on Sunday, February 13 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET. These winners will be inducted into the TeleToon Retro Hall of Fame, joining the Top 5 favourite cartoon characters of all-time as chosen by the fans in December 2010.

Garage Inc. was developed by TransGaming’s Studio Division in partnership with Breakthrough Entertainment and is based on an original concept from GlobalFun. The iPhone version is made possible with the support of the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

“Garage Inc. taps into the popular time management genre of the growing casual gaming market, providing entertainment value in bite-sized pieces for gamers at home or on the go”, commented Wojtek Kawczynski, Managing Director of TransGaming’s Studio Division. “We are thrilled to be able to provide quality entertainment across multiple platforms quickly and easily by leveraging TransGaming’s own core technologies.”

“Our partners at TransGaming Studios have created a original gaming experience with the Garage Inc. property”, said Dorothy Vreeker, Director, Digital Media at Breakthrough Entertainment. “We are proud to have collaborated on this very immersive and entertaining game.”

Garage Inc. is now available for purchase in the Apple Mac App Store (Mac required), iTunes App Store for iPhone and iPad, as well as GameTree Mac, as well as other retailers and distributors.

Need a room designed in High Definition? You’d better call the Home Sweet Home team! Big Blue Bubble Inc. is proud to announce the release of Home Sweet Home HD for the Apple iPad, available immediately!

With the added luxury of bigger rooms and highly polished art, Home Sweet Home HD will give you the chance to unleash your hidden talents as an Interior Designer. You choose the furniture, patterns, and colors to create a masterpiece that will blow your client away.

With simple controls, fun graphical style, and an easy to use interface, Home Sweet Home HD allows you to nurture your creative side. Remember, a house is not a home until it is a Home Sweet Home!

THQ Inc. has announced that a collector’s edition as well as six individual race packs for its upcoming real time strategy game, Warhammer® 40,000®: Dawn of War® II – Retribution™, currently in development at Relic Entertainment, are available now for pre-order.

Leading the charge, the Dawn of War® II -Retribution™ Collector’s Edition will give the most dedicated Warhammer® 40,000® fan access to all of the available bonus war gear for each of the six playable races in the game. It also includes an exclusive poster, six race art cards and a high-quality collector’s box all for $39.99. Gamers in North America can only get the collector’s edition by pre-ordering through the THQ store. Limited quantities are available.

Fans of a specific race can pledge their allegiance by pre-ordering one of the six available specific race packs for the same $29.99 suggested retail price as the regular version of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II -Retribution. These race packs are available for electronic distribution and are ONLY available at pre-order stage. Each race pack includes four unique ability and Wargear items that can be used to enhance the single player campaign. The Ork Race Pack is exclusive through STEAM and the Tyranid Race Pack exclusive through THQ.com. The Space Marine, Chaos Space Marine, Eldar and newly announced Imperial Guard race packs are also available for pre-order through THQ.com, STEAM and other electronic distribution partners. After launch, gamers will have the option of purchasing the individual race packs digitally through STEAM for a nominal fee. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution is scheduled to be released for Windows PC in North America on March 1st, 2011.

In addition to the news about Dawn of War, THQ has released Part 3 of the Dev Diary videos for Homefront, which is scheduled for release on March 8th. The PC version of this title is under development at Digital Extremes.

D-BOX Technologies Inc. has signed its first agreement with CineLux Theatres to equip its Morgan Hill, California theatre with 28 D-BOX MFX Seats. Cinelux Tennant Station Stadium 11 will introduce D-BOX’s technology January 14 with the debut of the 3D action-comedy, The Green Hornet. This is the first CineLux location to offer the incredibly, immersive movie experience and one of just a 49 auditoriums worldwide screening the new release in D-BOX format.

“The California market is our largest to-date worldwide with 14 theatres in the state offering D-BOX,” said President and Chief Executive Officer of D-BOX Technologies, Claude Mc Master. “As we continue to introduce moviegoers to our motion technology, expansion into new markets and demand in existing markets continues to rise at a steady pace. We look forward to announcing many more new theatres in 2011 and growing our global footprint.”

“Our theatres boast some of the most technically advanced features in the industry allowing us to provide a cutting-edge entertainment experience,” said Paul Gunsky, President of CineLux Theatres. “We’re always looking for new innovative ways to improve the movie experience and see incorporating D-BOX at our theatres as a natural progression of the future of movies”

Kik Messenger, the lightning fast, cross-platform mobile instant messaging service, has Kik’d off 2011 with its three millionth user, Kik Interactive Inc. announced today. Re-launched on Oct. 21, 2010, the Kik community continues to grow by 10-15,000 users a day. The growth rate, driven by Android and iPhone users, has held steady even though new BlackBerry downloads ended in late November.

“We are excited that so many people all over the world have embraced Kik and are more confident than ever of our future as the mobile community of choice for smartphone users,” said Ted Livingston, President and CEO, Kik Interactive, Inc. “We look forward to making the Kik user experience even better with new features and service enhancements.”

Over and above user growth, the number of messages sent by active Kik users continues to increase, from less than 10 messages a day in late November to almost 20 now, on average. Kik will introduce new features including picture messaging (very soon!) and group chat (soon-ish).  Service on iPhones will also be improved with a new version that makes it much faster to retrieve messages when users first open the app. As before, once the app is open, message delivery is real-time.

To the growing number of Windows Phone 7 users, Kik is coming soon! We are now putting the final touches on development, so it won’t be long before you can join the Kik community. KiK recently released an update that adds profile pictures and a feature that lets users easily find new Kik friends. The new address book feature not only lets users check for new Kik friends, but also provides much more control over users’ contact lists. The “Find more people on Kik” button scans user contacts and lets them choose whether or not to add newly identified Kik friends to their contact list.

We also recently improved Kik’s overall stability and reliability. Further out, we will unveil an incredibly powerful and unique technology that wirelessly connects users’ smartphones to any PC or TV. Hang tight for details. And, as promised, Kik’s much-anticipated mobile streaming music service is coming up soon.

Kik works with all iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch’s, and all Android devices – anywhere in the world. All you need is a mobile data plan. Each Kik message uses only a tiny amount of data – less than 1Kb per message. Kik Messenger provides lightning-fast delivery and receipts that tell users when messages are sent, delivered and read, and when friends are typing a reply. Every message appears in real-time, making Kik feel almost like a real conversation.

Scott’s interest at the Annex Pro event was tweaked both by the keynote delivered by Technicolor Creative Services’ Tom Burns and by the offerings from Atempo, Aspera, Blue Arc, G-Tech, AJA and HP because he likes to geek out over the technical side of things, which are completely out of my realm. As long as our networks connect and the computers and server are working, I’m happy – although I do want the fancy computers & screens they have on CSI and Bones, just because they look cool.

I have always liked the software tools developed by Autodesk, who was also present at the expo, but as I can’t draw and haven’t even mastered Bryce 5, Maya and Max are far beyond my capabilities – I have a healthy respect for anyone who creates product with that software. Craft Animations was also displaying their wares, and I actually have one of their products, which I won at a previous Annex Pro event. Not a clue what to do with that, either. Perhaps we should come up with a contest and offer it as a prize; I’m sure there are some indie devs out there who would benefit greatly from having it.

Transgaming Studios has released the pre-game cinematic for their upcoming title Garage Inc on the game’s Facebook page. The cinematic introduces the player to the characters and sets the mood for this 1920′s Prohibition-era game. Watch as lead character Angelo talks with his cousin Sal during a family Christmas gathering about the garage he dreams of opening.

There are two new indie titles available today – Xona Games is burning up the dev pipe, releasing their second new title this week. Score Rush has passed Peer Review and is now out on Xbox Live Indie Games for 80 MS Points. Built on the Duality ZF engine, this 4-player shoot ’em up features overwhelming firepower, trailing options, full screen bombs, tons of enemies, an intimidating final boss and hundreds of crazy bullet patterns to survive. The 60 fps adrenaline-rush experience is complemented by a hard-rocking Dragon Music soundtrack.

Also out today is RatRod Studio’s Drift Mania Canadian Championship is now available in the Android Marketplace for 99 cents. Previously released in the iTunes App Store, Android users can now get in on the racing action. Drift Mania Canadian Championships features Online Global Leaderboards with live events, variable throttle system and hydraulic handbrake with adjustable steering sensitivity, 7 uniquely spec’d vehicles, 5 different tracks, 2 acceleration modes and 3 levels of difficulty with 3 camera configurations. If you want to relive the moment, there is a highlights replay system, and you can also listen to either the included soundtrack or your own music as you tear up the track.

A post made earlier today by Frima Studios‘ Executive Producer Martin Brouard on the official PlayStation blog announced that there will be a new title released by the studio on December 21st. A Space Shooter for Two Bucks will be available for free to all PlayStation Plus subscribers, and $1.99 for everyone else. According to the blog, A Space Shooter is of the classic arcade space shooting genre (in case you couldn’t guess that from the title), and “swarms of enemies filling the screens with hazardous bullets and missiles, heaps of upgrades for your ship and its arsenal, high-paced and constant action requiring deft reflexes, and hordes of alien baddies just waiting to be blown up by your superior space-faring skills.” Plus, to add to your gaming experience, there will be a myriad of interesting characters to encounter and in some cases control.

Kitchener-Waterloo developer Footloose Games has announced that they will be releasing a beta version of their Munchies’ Lunch title on December 27th. Munchies’ Lunch is a fun adventure-puzzle PC-based game for the whole family. Simply download the game from the Footloose website to embark on an epic journey with the Munchie family as they say goodbye to their homeland and travel the world to find a peaceful place where they can settle down. Mr. & Mrs. Munchie will travel along with their children through far-away jungles, over steep mountains, and across the hot deserts in their journey. Along the way they’ll meet the ravenous Hungries, crafty bird-snakes and perhaps even a tribal tiki or two.

Vancouver developer LoudCrow has released its latest iPad book. Available now, this pop-out version of The Night Before Christmas joins LoudCrow’s previous title, Pop-out Tales of Peter Rabbit in the iTunes store. In this new release, you can see William Denslow’s masterful illustrations brought to life with innovative pull-tabs, spin-wheels, and elements that bounce and spring with the touch a finger. Listen to “O Christmas Tree” beautifully performed on piano while you read and interact with each page of the book. Explore every scene and discover the many delightful life-like interactions at your fingertips.

Bioware has released the first in a series of “Making of” videos for Dragon Age 2. Here is Part One:

Kobo has launched Reading Life, an industry first social eReading experience. Readers can now track their personal reading history, check-in with characters and places inside books and earn achievements and awards for simply reading. Readers can also choose to share books, favourite passages, awards and more with their friends on Facebook. Kobo Reading Life is initially available on iPad, as a part of the latest iPad update in the iTunes store now.

Kobo Reading Life for iPad provides an unparalleled experience that enables users to engage in eReading in new ways, connect with friends, and earn awards just for reading:

Sharing Books and Passages: Users can tell their friends what they are reading or highlight favourite passages in books they are reading. This is a great way to get a book club started, or update your bookclub friends as you read.

Statistics: Users can track their reading life with interesting statistics, including how many books they’ve read, pages turned, how fast they read, and times of day they read. Statistics help users track their progress, earn awards, as well as discover and learn about their own reading styles and preferences.

Activity: An activity panel shows the timeline of a user’s reading life, highlighting important events and milestones. Users have an at-a-glance view of their reading life, including new books opened, read and finished, passages shared, awards earned and more.

Check-Ins: Another ground-breaking feature called Check-Ins, enables readers to check-in with characters and locations inside books, enabling them to mark important milestones and win awards. For example, readers reading Alice in Wonderland can check in with or meet Alice for the first time, or check-in to the Rabbit Hole and tell their friends on Facebook.

Awards and Rewards: Readers can unlock fun and surprising awards that celebrate achievements in their reading life. Awards like ‘The Papillion’ which is earned by the power social sharers, ‘The Twain’ earned by those that read daily, and ‘The Witching Hour’ for readers who read into the wee hours of the night – once an achievement has been earned the reader can than publish and share with friends on Facebook. Award winners can also be rewarded with special offers from Kobo or its partners, just by reading!

Personal Book Cover: As your personal Reading Life evolves Kobo creates and automatically updates your own personal book cover – a mosaic of your reading life that you can easily share with your friends on Facebook.

Perhaps it is because in smaller, independent studios everyone is accountable for the success (or failure) of their creations, and this in turn leads to working at improving their publicity efforts as well as their end product. The sharing of opportunity is something else I see much of between the indies, and it’s because of this that I have been able to discover and share information about studios and Canadian-made products that I may have never found if it weren’t for the folks on Twitter passing on leads and links to me, because I, too am an independent, and appreciate the assistance I am given and battle daily to catch up on indie titles I need to play and review, as well as keep up on the news. One such discovery was sent my way yesterday by Celsius Game Studio.

Chaotic Box touts itself as a one man game making machine. The man behind the machine is Torontonian Frank Condello, and true to the independent genre, he is Chaotic Box’s developer, 2D/3D artist, music & sound designer. Chaotic Box has released four titles for the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad: Flooid, Pollywog, Pinch n Pop, and his newest title, Silverfish, which is currently on sale in the iTunes App Store for $1.99 USD.

According to the game’s info page, Silverfish pits the gamer against swarms of menacing space bugs that the player must weave through and defeat with powerful detonations, combining pure arcade action with stunning visual effects. Silverfish currently offers three game modes with more on the way, leader board and achievements, Retina Display graphics, intuitive swipe-anywhere controls and an original soundtrack.

DreamCatcher Games is happy to announce the release of Learn Science for Nintendo DS™ just in time for the holiday season! Learn Science let‘s kids learn while having fun. Learn the basic principles of: Light and Sound, Physics, The human body, Biology and Geography while playing a variety of engaging mini-games. Unlock new mini-games by scoring high marks in Career Mode and then perfect your skills by mastering unlocked mini-games in Game Mode on one of 3 difficulty levels. Kids can challenge their friends in multiplayer mini-games, or they can co-operate and challenge the AI.

Features:

· Learn the basic principles of: Light and Sound, Physics, The human body, Biology and Geography
· Integrated age check with traffic light system offers gaming fun for every level of knowledge
· Two different in game guides to help with explanations and examples
· Multiplayer mode: Hot seat, Single card and Multi card for common learning with parents and friends through mini games

Learn Science is priced at $19.99 USD and is available in retail stores across North America. Rated ‘E’ for everyone.

Get Set Games has just announced that their hit title Mega Jump will be coming to Android in the next couple of weeks. Mega Jump is compatible with Android 2.0 and up and will be free to download. Mega Jump for Android makes use of OpenFeint’s great social gaming features including global high scores and unlockable achievements.

Mega Jump has been downloaded by more than 7.5 million people worldwide in the App Store, and the studio is looking forward to inviting Android gamers to join the mix. The exact release date has yet to be decided, but you can be sure that once I know, you’ll know.

Congratulations again to Vancouver start-up Ayogo Games Inc., who won the prestigious “Hottest Digital Media Company in Canada” title at nextMedia in Toronto last week.

Ayogo’s latest Facebook® game, called HealthSeeker™, was the entry that helped win the hotly-contested award. The game is built on Ayogo’s GoodLife Gamification Engine™, and aims to help people living with diabetes habituate healthier behaviour around diet and exercise. Michael Fergusson, CEO of Ayogo, was excited to accept the award.

“Gamification is touching all areas of our lives, especially online,” said Fergusson. “I’m proud that Ayogo, and our GoodLife Gamification Engine™, is being recognized for being at the forefront of this exciting new trend, and for using the power of constructive play to help make people’s lives better.”

Xona Games, that very talented and award-winning indie team who has been creating some of the most critically-acclaimed indie arcade games to date, announced today that the first of its two Xbox LIVE Indie Games launching this week, Decimation X3, is now available for only for 80 Microsoft Points ($1 USD)! Having been chosen to be a main title featured in the Indie Games Winter Uprising, Decimation X3 features intense shoot-em-up action in a ridiculously affordable package.

Decimation X3 is the thrilling sequel to one of the most popular 2D-retro shooters on Xbox LIVE Indie Games, Decimation X, which is one of the top-rated Indie Games in Japan (currently #3 out of approximately 1,500). Get ready for intense local four-player action, never-ending waves of enemies and a continual rain of power-ups to significantly improve your offensive and defensive capabilities. Featuring decidedly retro pixel art graphics, an overload of explosion particle effects, normal and challenge game modes, 60 frames per second and a hypnotic trance beat soundtrack from Imphenzia, Decimation X3 is everything an arcade junkie could wish for and will put your reflexes to the ultimate test.

The Indie Games Winter Uprising is a celebration of the best that Xbox LIVE Indie Games have to offer, and was recently expanded from just the first week of December to the entire month. Orchestrated by a group of fellow developers longing to promote the higher-quality games that can be found on the platform, the Indie Winter Games Uprising takes place during December and features 14 top-tier games that they hope will elevate the impression of the Indie Games channel.

Ubisoft has announced that Your Shape: Fitness Evolved will offer new exclusive workouts and fitness programs available on the Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360®.

“When we started working on the development of Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, we contacted several renowned fitness experts and trainers”, said Claudine Cézac, game’s producer for Your Shape: Fitness Evolved. “Each trainer insisted on the fact that in order to keep people motivated, it would be important to consistently bring new varieties of exercise to the game. That’s why from the very start, we thought of Your Shape: Fitness Evolved as a comprehensive fitness program that players would be able to enrich at their will. There are many different ways to work out and get in shape, and that’s what we want to offer with the add-on content.”

The add-on content for Your Shape: Fitness Evolved will include personalized workouts, dance-related fitness programs, and a variety of cardio and toning exercises, expanding the overall gameplay experience. The first installment of add-on content will become available in early December 2010 and will include:

• The “Toned Body Program”, to strengthen all your muscles and get a firmer body
• “Cardio Boxing Platinum”, a new advanced level of the Cardio-Boxing class

The second installment will come shortly after and include:

• “New Year New You”, a specific program to get back in shape after Xmas and New Year’s celebrations
• “Dance Workout: Bollywood”, a high impact dance workout using popular Bollywood dance moves.

All extra workouts and programs will be offered individually or in bundle packages. In the first half of the calendar year, over 12 new fantastic workouts for Your Shape: Fitness Evolved will be released on Xbox LIVE. All of these extra workouts and programs will be offered individually or in bundle packages. In the first half of the calendar year, over 12 new pieces of add-on content for Your Shape Fitness Evolved will be released on Xbox Live. Pricing will range from 320 to 560 Microsoft points.

Decimation X3 has been selected as part of the Indie Games Winter Uprising, a week-long celebration of the best that Xbox LIVE Indie Games have to offer. Orchestrated by a group of fellow developers longing to promote the higher-quality games that can be found on the platform, the Indie Winter Games Uprising takes place the first week of December and features 12 top-tier games that they hope will elevate the impression of the Indie Games channel.

Decimation X3 is the thrilling sequel to one of the most popular 2D-retro shooters on Xbox LIVE Indie Games, Decimation X, which is one of the top-rated Indie Games in Japan (currently #2 out of approximately 1,500). Get ready for intense, never-ending waves of enemies and a continual rain of power-ups to significantly improve your offensive and defensive capabilities. Featuring decidedly retro pixel art graphics, an overload of explosion particle effects, 60 frames per second and a hypnotic trance beat soundtrack from Imphenzia, Decimation X3 is everything an arcade junkie could wish for and will put your reflexes to the ultimate test.

The spiritual prequel to Duality ZF and built upon the same engine that was a semi-finalist for technical excellence in the 3rd Independent Game Developer’s Competition, Score Rush is an intense 2D, four-player, dual-stick, bullet-hell, score-running shooter. It features unlockable difficulty modes, several mid-bosses and bosses, and tons of smaller enemies. It is visually intense with a hard rocking soundtrack created by Dragon Music Productions. Collect both types of power-ups – those that upgrade the main weapon and those that add deadly appendages to your ship – to rack up insane scores. The bigger the enemies are and the faster you kill them, the more points you get.

Just in time for the holiday season, Toronto developer Big Bad Brush Inc. has announced the launch of their much anticipated second game, Kung Fu Santa, which is available now for the iPhone, iPod and iPad.

Kung Fu Santa is a unique concept with a fun factor of 100! This arcade style game features game center and retina display capabilities. Playing as the kung fu master himself, the user will have to jump between moving candy cane poles and save all the presents, while avoiding dangers such as poison goo, bombs, and evil elves!

The evil elves have stolen all of Kung Fu Santa’s presents and plans to sell them all for money. Greedy little things aren’t they? But alas, Kung Fu Santa is here with his superior Kung Fu moves!

Game Features:

* Game Center: Master the boards
* Retina Display: High Resolution Sharpness so you can see Santa’s skills
* In-Game highscores
* Collect presents and gold
* Beautiful and colorful illustrations
* Tap on candy cane poles or swipe left and right to move
* Collect presents and fill up Christmas bag!
* Avoid dangers and stop Evil Elves!

EA Mobile™, Harmonix Music Systems Inc. and MTV Games have announced that Rock Band™ Reloaded is now available on the App Store. The iPad™-exclusive HD version and the version for iPhone® and iPod touch® offers players an initial powerhouse set list of songs from artists including Nirvana, Billy Idol, No Doubt, Nine Inch Nails and Vampire Weekend. More than 20 songs will be available today with new tracks launching throughout the holidays. Plus, for the first time, Rock Band Reloaded players now have a “5th Way to Play” by singing directly into their iPhone, iPod touch and iPad utilizing new vocal recognition features.

Rock Band Reloaded is the experience fans have been waiting for, innovating on the popular franchise and bringing the entire band onto the iPad and iPhone for the first time,” said Travis Boatman, Vice President of Worldwide Studios for EA Mobile. “These games bring a deep Rock Band experience to mobile players in very cool and creative new ways. Innovative vocal recognition features, social integration connecting players to their friends and challenging gameplay modes will drive forward the mobile music genre and provide the best music experience to players.”

New vocal recognition features introduce players to a unique way to play by singing directly into their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad to earn points. Players can showcase their inner rock star by picking from a setlist of songs that include “Hella Good” by No Doubt, “Kryptonite” by 3 Doors Down, “Your Decision” by Alice in Chains, “White Wedding” by Billy Idol, “In Bloom” by Nirvana, “A-Punk” by Vampire Weekend and many more. In addition to the songs included with the initial purchase, free (internet connection required. Data rates may apply) tracks are available in the Music Store along with Premium Packs by The All American Rejects, Third Eye Blind, Blink-182 and other top-selling artists available through In App Purchase.

For the first time on iPad, Rock Band Reloaded packs delivers device-exclusive features including a Multiplayer mode where players can challenge friends live in a head-to-head split-screen environment. Flexible controls provide for ultimate customization of all play styles. The iPad game’s new “Big Drums” layout increases the interactivity of this fan-favorite instrument. Songs are now more accessible to players with custom playlists in Quick Play and quick replay using an “Encore” feature.

Other game features include a new Expert mode for experienced players along with a World Tour mode that enables players to rock six cities and 36 events earning up to 50 awards and achievements all while living the Rock N’ Roll dream. By logging into Facebook, players have access to the News Center where they can find out when new songs launch, follow friends’ exploits and directly challenge their friends’ accomplishments with a simple touch of the screen. And for those just looking to jam, get “the band” together via local WiFi and Bluetooth and play live on guitar, bass, drums, or vocals with up to three bandmates using their own iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. (Vocals/voice feature not available on the 1st generation iPod touch. Microphone required to play vocals/voice on the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod touch. Headset required to play vocals/voice on 1st generation iPhone)

PadWorx Digital Media, Inc. is pleased to announce that you can now come face to face with a revolutionary new vision of Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future in the most immersive edition ever of Charles Dickens’ timeless classic A Christmas Carol, available now in the iPad App Store for $4.99 USD – a portion of which will be donated to charity.

“We’ve taken Charles Dickens’ most famous story and infused it with unique steampunk illustrations and animations,” said Jeffery Alan Schechter, CEO of PadWorx Digital Media, Inc. “As a visual style, steampunk conjures up images more usually associated with H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. By bringing this incredible style to ‘A Christmas Carol for iPad’ we’re giving readers and families a brand new way to experience the joy and wonder of this inspiring classic.”

Through 130 pages of lovingly abridged text, readers will help power the story forward. Whether turning the key in Scrooge’s door and watching as the door knocker changes into the deceased Jacob Marley, powering up and manipulating an assortment of wonderful steam powered devices, or just marveling at each chapter’s ‘mechanical‘ page-turning contraptions, A Christmas Carol for iPad’s animations, illustrations, original score, and sound effects will draw you into the story’s unforgettable lessons of darkness, despair, joy and life. As with PadWorx’s debut title Dracula: The Official Stoker Family Edition, A Christmas Carol for iPad includes hidden Easter eggs of bonus content: the complete 1910 silent movie version of A Christmas Carol by Thomas Edison Studios as well as the full 1938 Orson Welles radio adaptation of the holiday tale – and is fully endorsed by the Dickens family.

Using simple on-screen controls, create fun and realistic looking aliens from pictures taken with the iPhone camera or that are already stored in the iPhone, iPad or Touch photo library.

Easily share aliens on Facebook, Twitter or email from within the app. Save aliens to the photo library and then send them via MMS. Shake the device to see before/after versions of the alien or toggle between before/after portrait and side-by-side views.

Alien Booth features a cool, interactive interface that includes a fingerprint scanner, animated laser image scanner, sound effects, detailed help screens with tips and more.

Alien Booth is fun at parties – it’s a great way to meet new people and share contact information. There’s virtually no limit to the wild alien effects that can be created with Alien Booth. And the aliens make great avatars for use on social networking sites.

How it works:

1. Take a picture or choose one from the photo library.
2. Position the markers over the eyes and mouth.
3. Press “GO” to see the face magically transformed.
4. Adjust the color of the alien.
5. Share with friends and family.

Alien Booth is available exclusively through the iPhone App Store in the Entertainment category.

Quebec’s Frima Studio and Bolt Creative, a San Francisco-based developer of original iPhone applications and games, have announced that the best-selling game Pocket God will officially make its way to Facebook later this fall.

Originally developed by Bolt Creative for iPhone and iPod Touch, the Facebook version of Pocket God is being developed by Frima Studio and will feature a brand new way to experience the colorful, death-inducing, all-powerful and hilarious universe of Pocket God across the world’s most popular social network. With all-new socially integrated features, episodic updates and a host of hilarious ways to both dispose of and resurrect the immortal pygmies of each island, the Facebook iteration of Pocket God will offer a fresh experience for both fans of the iOS versions, and those looking for an omnipotent new twist in online social gaming.

“There were very few partners who could truly understand the essence of what Pocket God has become to its legion of devoted fans,” said Dave Castelnuovo, CEO of Bolt Creative. “Frima knew exactly what needed to be done in order to take Pocket God from being an application for millions of individuals, to a shared experience for hundreds of millions more.”

Pocket God throws players into the role of an almighty deity, commanding a small island full of god-fearing followers who unquestionably bend to the user’s whim. Benevolent players can choose to feed and care for their subjects while vengeful gods will have more fun torturing the Pygmies in a variety of wacky ways that have entertained players since the title’s iOS debut.

“Working in the Facebook space, we simply could not have asked for a more exciting and irreverent franchise so perfectly suited for the world of social gaming,” said Steve Couture, CEO of Frima Studio. “What Bolt has created has become more than just a game or an application; Pocket God is a true pop culture phenomenon with millions of fans across the globe. Everything fans have grown to love about this game and its characters has been happily fed to the sharks and tossed into the volcano, only to be resurrected onto Facebook in a way that fans are truly going to love.”

Pocket God will officially move into a closed beta later this year on Facebook, with exclusive access being given only to some of the game’s already rabid fanbase.

Florida-based EPIC Weapons announced today that it has launched the auction for the Grey Warden Sword and Darkspawn Greatsword as seen in BioWare’s Dragon Age. Each sword is embedded with a Game-to-Gear RFID chip for easy identification and certification, and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and wall mount. Each participant who registers will be guaranteed the opportunity to purchase a Grey Warden Sword or Darkspawn Greatsword (of their choosing) with delivery following the auction winners in the order of sign-up. All auction participant shipments will be completed prior to any Christmas or introductory offers.

Epic Weapons will be offering a Christmas introductory offer for the first 200 Grey Warden Swords and Darkspawn Greatswords.

Grey Warden Sword:

The chantry teaches us that it was the mages who brought the horror of the blight down upon the world of Dragon Age. Twisted and corrupt, the magisters of the Tevinter Empire decayed into the malformed Darkspawn and were driven underground. There, they spread. The ancient dwarven kingdoms were all but obliterated, leaving their ancient empire a festering breeding ground for these twisted creatures. When they rose to the surface, in countless hordes, led by an undying draconic Archdemon, the first blight began, and the world stood on the brink of destruction.

That is, until the Grey Wardens. Men and women of every race, these battle-hardened veterans counted mage, warrior, commoner and king among their ranks, sacrificing all to turn aside the Blight, and restore some semblance of peace to the land. Blades much like this were forged with the Warden’s iconic gryphon symbol, remember the mighty flying mounts the Wardens once rode into battle. While the gryphons are extinct, the Wardens fight on, grimly remembering that in war, victory, in peace, vigilance and in death…sacrifice.

Darkspawn Greatsword:

Of the brutal, corrupt “race” known as the Darkspawn, the Hurlocks are by far the most numerous. While they share some physical similarities to humans, their unnerving grin, pallid skin and beastial nature mark them as anything but. Constantly fighting amongst themselves like packs of animals, the Hurlocks pose less of a threat than they could, until the awakening of an Archdemon unites them under a single purpose.

Marching to the surface in endless swarms, these inhumanly strong creatures arm themselves with wickedly sharp blades, often coated with their own blood, blood that infects any who taste the razor sharp edge. The mighty greatswords wielded by the strongest of the Hurlocks makes for a terrifying sight on the battlefield. A single Darkspawn wielding one of these might blades can scythe through opponents, cleanly cutting through armor, flesh and bone while leaving a deadly infection that will finish off any unlucky enough to survive the initial assault.

Toronto’s Game Bridger Entertainment has announced an update to their new free-to-play parkour racing game, FreeJack. The free update, which is available now, brings new character clothing items and “MyRoom” decorations, in addition to the all-new track “CosmosJack”, and an achievement system with more than 50 in-game achievements for players to collect.

Set in the dark recesses of space, “Cosmos Jack” lets players run along planetary rings, vault over orbiting satellites, and even grind through a wormhole! Upon their return from orbit, FreeJackers will be happy to discover that they can now unlock and collect more than 50 in-game achievements. The achievements are earned by completing various in-game tasks, with each one offering a valuable reward. This substantial free update is available now.

FreeJack is a free-to-play parkour racing game for Windows PCs supporting Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Players race head-to-head across the urban metropolis of New Jack City in high-octane foot races, chaining together stylish flips and tricks into combos to increase their speed and cross the finish line first!. Players can personalise their character with fresh outfits and running gear and even customise their own unique in-game living space with cool furniture and accessories to show off to friends! FreeJack also supports online leaderboards, a club/clan system, in-game friend lists, and more.

iStockphoto today announced that voting for the new “Stockys” award competition is now open to the entire iStock community. The Stockys were created to recognize excellence in stock photography, illustration, video and audio in 10 categories including Technical Achievement, Stockiest Stock and Coolest Abstract.

Throughout the first part of November, iStock has collected more than seven thousand submissions and the company’s panel of judges has chosen 20 finalists for each category. iStock’s community of more than 6 million members will select the winners in each category by popular vote and everyone who votes will be entered for a chance to win $2,000 cash and 2000 iStock credits.

While iStock has held competitions to honor its artists’ work in the past, those awards were segmented by medium. The Stockys take things in a completely new direction and focus on the different aspects of great stock rather than the specific file type. This allows the competition to focus on what matters most – great content and the ability to help tell a story or define an idea, feeling or concept.

“The concept of stock has come a long way in the decade and we wanted to create a contest that would reflect that,” said Kelly Thompson, COO of iStockphoto. “We have fantastic artists and this is our way of showcasing their amazing talent and rewarding the best of the best regardless of how that talent is manifested.”

Each type of file available on iStockPhoto is eligible for every part of the competition. The complete list is as follows:

* Technical Achievement
* Artistic Vision
* Best Composition
* Funniest File
* Coolest Abstract
* Concept Execution
* Stockiest Stock
* Most Emotionally Evocative
* Story Telling
* WTH (What the H*ck?)

The results of the competition will be announced on December 13. The winning contributor from each category will be awarded a $2,000 cash prize. An additional $3,000 will be awarded for “Best in Show,” as selected by iStockphoto judges.

Congratulations to all of the Canadian nominees in Machinima.com’s Inside Gaming Awards 2010:

Game of the Year: Mass Effect 2 and Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood
Best Trailer: Deus Ex: Human Revolution E3
Best MultiPlayer: Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood
Best Animation: Shank
Best Game Play Cinematography: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction™
Most Compelling Character: Jack (Subject Zero) – Mass Effect 2
Best DLC: Lair of the Shadow Broker – Mass Effect 2 and Dead Rising® 2: CASE ZERO
Best Control: EA Sports MMA
Best Original Score: Mass Effect 2
Best Weapon: Chainsaw Bike – Dead Rising 2

Record songs, share them online, and jam with your friends in real-time over Xbox LIVE in Drum Studio: Platinum Edition. The follow-up to the multiple award-winning Drum Studio expands upon the original virtual drum recording tool with all-new graphics, Xbox 360 Avatar support, and extensive online features. Players will be able to meet online, chat, share songs, listen to each other play, and jam together in real-time. Lead Programmer Darren Joe says, “Music has always been about sharing. Drum Studio put music creation in the player’s hands. Now, Drum Studio: Platinum Edition allows players from around the world to share their creations with each other.”

Drum Studio: Platinum Edition also features all new art by graphic artist Terry Wong (Cirque Du Soleil, National Geographic, Electronic Gaming Monthly) and full Xbox 360 Avatar support, allowing players to turn their Xbox 360 Avatars into full-fledged animated virtual drummers. It features the same simple yet powerful song recording interface as the award-winning original and hundreds of high-quality drum sounds to choose from. Players can play with any combination of one to four Xbox 360 drum kits or controllers.

The original title in the series, Drum Studio, received widespread critical acclaim & multiple awards upon its release, including an Editor’s Choice Award from teamxbox.com, who declared that it “takes music games to a whole new level”. You can get the original Drum Studio game now from Xbox Live Indie Games for 80 MS Points.

Once again the clock tells me that it is high time I head for my day job at “the salt mine” but before I go, I’d like to draw attention to two events currently underway – the first is Desert Bus for Hope – which, according to the event’s FAQ, is an “internet telethon by accident – you give donations to Child’s Play, and we play Desert Bus.  It’s really boring and mind numbing and generally unpleasant. The more you donate the longer we play. To keep you and us amused, and to increase the donations we auction off  and give away prizes, have celebrity guests stop by, and become your monkeys. Want us to sing “Still Alive?” Sure, we’ll do it for a $20 donation.  We play 24 hours a day until you stop donating.” Be sure to visit the site and check out their Challenges, Giveaways and Auctions.

The second event is happening at Velocity, the University of Waterloo’s Start-Up Incubator. The involves a group of coders who, beginning on November 20th, locked themselves in for seven days with, to quote “food, energy drinks, and beanbag chairs” during which time they will attempt to write an app a day for seven days. The group has promised video summaries of each day, and according to the Project’s site, the participants firmly believe “that seven smart people with perfect communication, mutual trust, and an agile mindset can get more done in a day than anyone would believe. And if all that isn’t enough, we have no intention of being timid. We’ll choose difficult problems, and we’ll probably fail once or twice. If we didn’t, we would know we didn’t shoot high enough. We’ll work insanely hard, probing the limits of human creativity and team productivity.”

EA Sports Active 2 is now available in North America and will be available worldwide on November 19th. EA Sports Active 2 is a new suite of digital fitness programs available on multiple gaming consoles focusing on improving muscular strength, endurance and flexibility, while providing an intense cardio workout.

Featuring the Total Body Tracking wireless control system that combines a heart rate monitor and motion tracking technology, EA Sports Active 2 provides an effective workout that delivers accurate, measurable results. Additionally, users will now be able to track and share their workout stats, including heart rate on the new EA Sports Active 2 online hub (Internet connection and EA account required).

A recent study conducted by the University of Victoria in British Columbia concludes that EA Sports Active 2 workouts meet recommended exercise guidelines for exercise intensity and caloric expenditure put forth by public health guidelines, including the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the leading authority on exercise science in North America.

EA Sports commissioned a study of the EA Sports Active 2 Mountain Gravity pre-set workout to determine the efficacy of its product line. The study tested 15 physically active adults between the ages of 23 and 33 to determine the relative exercise intensity and caloric expenditure of EA Sports Active 2. Results of the workout met both the ACSM guidelines for effective physical fitness, which recommend that individuals exercise at an intensity between 64 per cent and 94 per cent of their maximum heart rate or 40 percent to 85 percent of their maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), as well as burn a minimum of 200-300 calories per session, five days per week, in order to maintain proper fitness and to aid in weight control.

“The EA Sports Active 2 Mountain Gravity pre-set workout met public health guidelines for an effective workout,” says Ryan Rhodes, Professor, University of Victoria, Behavioural Medicine Laboratory. “The results indicated that EA SPORTS Active 2, when used on a regular basis as part of a healthy, active lifestyle, can improve fitness and favorably affect body composition.”

EA Sports Active 2 will feature more than 70 new exercises and fitness activities including exercises not possible before the Total Body Tracking wireless control system. Using heart rate data that is displayed on-screen, users will be able to capture the intensity of their workout, allowing them to optimize their performance and reach their fitness goals more quickly. A new 9-week program provides a fitness roadmap to keep users motivated and on track to achieving their fitness goals. Users will also have the ability to download new workouts and exercises to their online connected PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360® systems to keep their workouts fresh and maintain motivation (Internet connection and EA account required).

EA SPORTS Active 2 is available on PlayStation®3, Kinect™ for Xbox 360® and Nintendo Wii™. The title will be available at a later date for the iPhone® and iPod touch®. EA SPORTS Active 2 has been rated “E” by the ESRB and has an MRSP of $99.95.

EA Sports™ has also announced that EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp for the Wii™ is available in retail stores across North America. EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp is a football-based training program that simulates the football drills and conditioning workouts of an NFL training camp. Developed in collaboration with NFL strength and conditioning coaches, users will experience the thrill of competition while challenging friends and family in authentic NFL football drills. EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp with Total Body Tracking includes a heart rate monitor and wireless motion tracking that delivers an accurate, challenging workout with measurable results. Users can also track and share training results via the EA Sports Active online hub.

EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp delivers an authentic NFL experience that is fun and engaging, while providing a challenging workout. It includes over 70 drills and challenges designed to improve strength, power and conditioning, as well as reaction skills, agility and first step quickness – key areas of focus for NFL players. Users can train in the environment of their favorite team, as they step into their stadium and train alongside their favorite players.

EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp provides a fun, competitive experience where users can go head-to-head in multi-player mode in NFL training camp drills such as the QB Window Challenge and Field Goal Challenge. For further challenge, users can get their game on in the NFL Combine 60 Day Challenge, a progressive exercise program that provides total body conditioning. In addition, as part of NFL PLAY 60, the NFL’s commitment to youth health and fitness, kids and families can choose NFL PLAY 60 drills and exercises, specifically designed for them.

EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp joins the EA Sports Active 2 suite of interactive fitness products that focus on improving muscular strength, endurance and flexibility, as well as improving cardio. EA Sports Active 2 is in stores today in North America on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Kinect™ for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the Wii.

EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp is rated “E” by the ESRB and has an MRSP of $99.95.

Note – Both titles carry the following disclaimer: “This product is not a medical device and not intended to affect the structure or function of the human body beyond such affects normally associated with general fitness equipment and is not intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of any disease.”

Relic Entertainment has released a new video for Dawn of War II: Retribution. This new video takes a look at the Eldar Race, which was revealed for the first time during last weekend’s Games Day UK.

Montreal’s Audiokinetic Inc. has released the latest version of Wwise, its award-winning audio pipeline solution. Wwise 2010.2 introduces new features and enhancements.

Among the new features included in Wwise 2010.2:

* New Wwise effects: Tremolo, Flanger, Guitar Distorsion, Meter
* Side-Chaining
* Convolution Reverb

The new Convolution Reverb is now available as an Add-on to Wwise. This new option includes a library of high quality Impulse Responses. This new Add-on is sold separately or as part of the Wwise PowerPack that also includes: Wwise, Wwise Motion, SoundSeed bundle, McDSP bundle.

“This new version offers more advanced DSP options. This is an important step forward for game developers and the audio professional community” said Simon Ashby, VP Product Strategy at Audiokinetic. “Our goal is to enable audio creators to give players the best experience possible. With a growing variety of optimized Add-ons available for Wwise, it’s simple for the audio department to articulate and realize the full potential of their artistic vision. ”

Wwise has been licensed for over 250 titles to date. Details on the new features in Wwise 2010.2 and pricing are available on Audiokinetic’s web site.

“We’re delighted to partner with NIVEA on Your Shape: Fitness Evolved,” says Alain Corre at Ubisoft. “Video games offer the potential to reach diverse audiences and deliver tangible benefits to the consumer, going beyond pure entertainment. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved is an innovative and efficient fitness program for men and women who are looking to get into better shape. The NIVEA workout provides additional values for female players looking for a complete inner and outer beauty experience.”

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved will be the most innovative and complete fitness program available this autumn. Taking advantage of Microsoft’s Kinect, controller-free games and entertainment for Xbox 360 tracking capabilities and Ubisoft’s proprietary Player Projection technology, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved puts the player in the centre of the game, offering an immersive and rewarding fitness experience for men and women to stay in shape and reach their personal goals.

“At NIVEA we are very enthusiastic about this new and innovative partnership,” comments Jean-Francois Pascal, Director Global Business Unit Body Care at NIVEA. “With Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, our consumers will be encouraged to combine skin care with fitness in the most innovative and easy way, which will enable them to feel good in their body. For 100 years NIVEA, has been known and trusted by consumers for its skin care expertise and reliable products. NIVEA’s body-shaping products help make the most of your figure by improving the skin’s texture and firmness and reducing the visible signs of cellulite. However, we know that a holistic approach is required for best results: a combination of highly effective body care products, fitness training and a healthy diet. That’s why the integration of the NIVEA Work Your Body Fitness Room in Your Shape: Fitness Evolved completes the offer.”

The LPSO Dancing Dog is an interactive pet that plugs into the computer or an MP3 player and boogies to the music on girls’ digital playlists. It also functions as a speaker and lights up and flashes to the beat creating instant Littlest Pet Shop fun. In addition, the LPSO Dancing Dog comes with a secret code to LPSO.com that unlocks special virtual in-game gifts. The LPSO Dancing Dog will carry an approximate retail price of $24.99.

Also on retail shelves this month will be the LPSO Starter Pack, which will allow girls to collect toy versions of their beloved LPSO.com star characters. Girls can assemble up to six of their favorite in-game characters such as Felina Murchent, the fashion-forward kitty who purrs with style and sass and Woolma O’Chic, the charismatic artiste who creates the trendiest designs available in LPSO fashion. Each LPSO Starter Pack pet will also come with a unique LPSO.com code to unlock a 30-day Premium Membership subscription as well as virtual gifts for a girl’s in-game pet. The LPSO Starter Pack will carry an approximate retail price of $9.99 for each of the six characters including a one-month Premium Membership for each pet purchased.

“Hasbro and EA have created an integrated suite of Littlest Pet Shop Online products that takes girls’ affinity for collection, meaningful play and social engagement to a new level,” said Valerie Jurries, Global Senior Vice President of Marketing at Hasbro. “Whether listening to music, spending time on the Internet or just hanging out, these latest LPSO offerings have been designed to allow girls to have their Littlest Pet Shop pets tag along right beside them.”

Adding to the fun and excitement of Hasbro’s new LPSO toys, EA will roll out major enhancements in LPSO.com this month, including the new “Collect-a-Pet” feature which will allow girls to unlock “Reward Pets” when they complete certain in-game activities such as performing multiplayer pet tricks, starting dance parties, or completing a challenging level in one of the many games. The LPSO.com “Reward Pets” will be a very special stand-out addition to girls’ online pet collections as many are inspired by their adorable on-shelf toy counterparts. The LPSO.com “Collect-a-Pet” feature will debut with four “Reward Pets” that will be accessible to all LPSO.com players like the Spotted Dalmatian, inspired by the Dalmatian that comes with the Littlest Pet Shop Rescue Tails Centre playset, also arriving at retail this fall. Additionally, 15 special edition pets such as a Strawberry Hamster and a Candy Zebra will be available exclusively to Premium Members.

“We anticipate the ‘Collect-a-Pet’ feature to be a big hit with our Littlest Pet Shop Online players as it really speaks to the core play pattern of the brand, which is all about building a delightful collection of wonderful pets,” said Chip Lange, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Hasbro Division at Electronic Arts. “With collection as a main pillar of gameplay within LPSO.com, girls will now have the opportunity to add to their virtual Littlest Pet Shop family, just as they have enjoyed doing with their toy collection over the years.”

Littlest Pet Shop fans can create an LPSO.com account and play for free under Basic Membership or purchase a Premium Membership subscription with exclusive features and benefits for $5.95 per month.

Bringing together gaming and fitness industry leaders, this partnership marks the first foray into the video game business for Men’s Health and Women’s Health and the first in-game magazine partnership for Ubisoft. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved will deliver dynamic, interactive, customizable and convenient at-home workouts, created by Men’s Health and Women’s Health fitness experts.

The programs from Men’s Health include “The Sleeve-Busting Arms Workout,” and “The Ultimate Men’s Health Fat Loss Workout.” The workout programs from Women’s Health include “The Perfect Legs and Butt Workout,” “The Toned Arms and Shoulders Workout,” and “The Skinny Jeans Workout”. All workouts are designed so that users can integrate free weights into the programs.

“Microsoft’s Kinect platform allows us to deliver precise fitness instruction and form-based feedback into the home,” said David Zinczenko, Editor-in-Chief of Men’s Health and Editorial Director of Women’s Health. “We’re excited to partner with Ubisoft to further expand the Men’s Health and Women’s Health brands beyond the pages of the magazines and give gamers everything they need to shape up.”

“Most people probably don’t associate killer abs and weight loss with video games, but, now they can,” said Tony Key, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing at Ubisoft, U.S. “The partnership between Ubisoft’s Your Shape: Fitness Evolved and Men’s Health and Women’s Health leverages their fitness know-how to develop the most effective workouts possible.”

As part of the partnership, the game will be co-marketed by Men’s Health, Women’s Health and Ubisoft. In addition, some of the featured workouts from Men’s Health and Women’s Health will be available as a free application on Apple’s iPhone and iTouch devices.

“We are really excited to work with Bohemia Interactive to bring this new content to gamers,” said Steve Milburn, Marketing Director, of Meridian4. “With new playable content and new weapons, vehicles and units, Arma 2 : British Armed Forces is a great addition to the Arma 2 family.”

“The ongoing enthusiasm and incredible passion of our community continues to inspire and encourage us” said Marek Spanel, Bohemia’s CEO, “to that end, we’re excited to invite them back to Takistan for another slice of tactical action. This downloadable content is both an answer to their wishes and evidence of our commitment to providing quality post release support and content to the already huge Armaversum.”

Less than two months after Operation Arrowhead successfully routed the Takistani military regime, NATO coalition forces face a large-scale outbreak of guerilla insurgency. A mechanized force of British troops are about to deploy and embark upon a large-scale counter-insurgency campaign, which will define the future of the coalition presence in Takistan: Operation “Crimson Lance”.

The development of the brand new content has demanded engine updates, resulting in unique features and new gameplay options. The fully modeled artillery and mortar strikes, and the extension of the engineer class to include new duties – such as vehicle repair and bomb disposal – add a new depth of realism to the most authentic mil-sim available. This brand new faction, with a large number of units, vehicles and models, will redouble the allied efforts in this volatile Central-Asian nation.

Along with the DLC and a must for its installation, Bohemia have also released Patch v1.54 for Arma 2 – Operation Arrowhead. Along with a variety of tweaks and fixes, this patch brings a number of specific new features, such as: a taste of the British Armed Forces units, vehicles and weapons; improvements and fixes alongside engine upgrades with the extension of the Engineer’s role and the ability for players to effectively operate and command artillery and mortar units.

Arma 2 – British Armed Forces key features:

* New vehicles and weapons
* Modern British troops in multi-terrain, desert and woodland camouflage
* Personal weapons: L85A2 and L86A2 rifles, L110A1 machine gun, LRR and AW50 sniper rifles, N-LAW AT launcher
* New vehicles: Jackal 2 MWMIK all-terrain vehicle, modernized FV510 Warrior
* New helicopters: AH11 Wildcat (multi-role), HC3 Merlin (transport)
* British versions: off-road car, Chinook HC2 transport helicopter, Apache AH1 gunship
* Desert and woodland paint schemes of the ground vehicles
* New single player campaign
* Player will command a mobile observation team of British troops into battle with Takistani insurgents. Short campaign will focus on depicting asymmetrical warfare with a guerilla force and counterinsurgency operations.
* Multiplayer modes
* Cooperative scenarios featuring the British units, vehicles and equipment.
* Engine Improvements
* Extension of the Engineer’s role
* Ability for players to effectively operate and command artillery and mortar units.

Set in the visually attractive environment of rugged Central Asia, Arma 2: British Armed Forces will add even more depth to the already extensive size of the most realistic combat simulation experience available. Unprecedented freedom of movement, action and tactics – together with hundreds of models and epic sandbox-style maps – creates the most authentic military simulation game: war without the training wheels.

System Requirements:

Windows XP/Vista/W7
Intel Core 2.4 GHz or AMD Dual-Core Athlon 2.5 GHz
1 GB (2 GB for Multiplayer)
DirectX 9.0c
Nvidia Geforce 8600GT or ATI Radeon 3650 or faster with Shader Model 3 and 512 MB VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
550 MB free disk space

Requires Arma 2 – Operation Arrowhead installed on your PC
Requires Arma 2 – Operation Arrowhead Patch V1.54 to be installed

“The avid Space Empires audience pushed us to expand from the PC to Facebook. We have been extremely pleased by the response to the new social network version of the game both in terms of excellent reviews and the exceptional take up of the game by the Facebook community. Accordingly we are expanding to the iPhone and the iPad platforms which will allow us to make the game available to these popular and growing social game audiences”, said Strategy First’s President Emanuel Wall.

Big Stack Studios has released a new game in the iTunes App Store. In Dead of Night, you will travel back to the 19th century and direct the vampire army through their conquest of Europe. In this 40 level quest you will capture villagers with your vampiric gaze and defend your legions from those of Van Helsing and the Werewolves. This title, which is OpenFeint-enabled, blends elements of castle defense and line-drawing gameplay and is available now for $ 0.99USD.

The Zellers store located at 8925 Torbram Road in Brampton will be holding an in-store BattleTag event with the game’s producer, Gael Seydoux, who will be on hand to talk about the new game and answer questions. The event will run from 10:00a.m. until 3:00p.m.

The Canada Media Fund will begin a new round of consultation sessions with the industry 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.

If you wish to attend one of these sessions, you are asked to 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 by CMF in the coming weeks.

Scheduling site Tungle.me has once again expanded its services, allowing users to add their Facebook Events to their Tungle.me account. With this new integration users can now see their entire schedule in one, simple calendar view, allowing them to factor Facebook events into their availability, thereby avoiding those pesky double bookings. As users RSVP to new Facebook Events, those events will be added to their Tungle.me calendar, automatically updating available time slots.

This past Saturday marked a momentous occasion for Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada and its long-standing partner Future Shop as they celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Future Shop Future Leaders Scholarships program. And what better way to celebrate than to give the gift of education to 25 Boys and Girls Clubs youth across Canada. Presented with scholarships based on their outstanding contribution to their Boys and Girls Club and local community, good academic standing and financial need, the deserving 25 recipients will use their bursary to pursue their careers and life goals through higher education.

“We are thrilled to be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Future Shop Future Leaders Scholarship program,” said Pam Jolliffe, President and CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. “These scholarships assist our youth in pursuing and accomplishing their educational goals as they grow to become the leaders of tomorrow, and for that we are grateful for the generous support of partners like Future Shop.”

Since the program was created in 2001, 520 young people have received scholarships totaling more than $1.69 million. Each student receives a $3,000 cash award towards their tuition and a $1,000 Future Shop gift card to provide needed technology and school equipment like computers.

“This is a proud moment for Future Shop as it is a true reflection of our ongoing commitment to improving the lives of youth and families across the country,” said Cheryl Grant, Community Relations Manager, Future Shop. “Programs like the Future Shop Future Leaders Scholarship program make a difference by giving youth a real chance at achieving their educational dreams.”

Results of an online survey conducted between March 3rd and 26th for SAS Canada by Leger Marketing show that the vast majority of Canadian executives at large and mid-sized organizations say that social media has the potential to impact their corporate brand and as a result are placing more importance on its use. One in six say that social media is the most important means for their organization to engage the public about their brand, while 31% say it plays a major role and 43% say it plays a limited role. Just 10% of organizations don’t bother engaging in social media. These are some of the findings of a SAS/Leger Marketing survey of more than 1,000 Canadian executives conducted earlier this year.

Provincially, Alberta and Ontario, and Quebec executives are more on board than those in Atlantic Canada; with about one in five executives (20, 19, and 15% respectively) saying social media is their most important means of communicating with the public. Just 6% of Atlantic Canada’s executives feel this way. In the public versus private debate, public sector executives are more likely than private sector executives (21% versus 14%) to say social media is their most important means of public engagement.

“Our research is showing that governments in Canada are increasingly embracing social media,” said Dr. Alison Brooks, Director of Public Sector Research for IDC Canada. “Deployment costs are low, participatory gains high, and the ease and immediacy of impact make the technologies hard to ignore. Add this to the fact that much of the fear-mongering about the risks to privacy, security and information management posed by social media have been dispelled and you have a recipe for forward thinking government organizations intent on leveraging social media channels.”

At the industry level, which represents respondents from both the public and private sector, finance and banking leads the way with 28% saying social media is the most important means of communicating with the public about their brand. One in five advertising, media, and communication companies (21%) say the same, while only 6% of the health services/pharmaceutical industry say it is their most important avenue for public engagement. Nationally, 16%t of respondents agree.

“Our research has found that the public sector has some of the most aggressive social media strategies of any market segment,” said Tim Hickernell, Lead Research Analyst with London-based Info-Tech Research Group. “Social networks are the new citizen meeting places, where government can quickly survey the needs of the citizenry. Social channels are also proving to be extremely effective for government outreach and education, because social sharing spreads the desired messages much further than traditional media channels.”

Nationally, 10% of executives interviewed say social media is a waste of time. From an industry perspective, 15% of construction, manufacturing, real estate and legal executives say it is a waste of time. At less than half as many, 7% of retail execs agree. At 7%, the private sector was also more skeptical than 12% of the public sector, saying that social media is a waste of time.

“Consumers are now, more than ever, keeping a close eye on our brands as they continue to engage with social media channels at unprecedented rates,” said Lori Bieda, SAS Consultant and former Marketing Executive. “With corporate trust at the lowest it’s been in several years, consumers are relying on social media and their social networks to shape their buying decisions, making social media a powerful medium that businesses can’t ignore.

Ontario, for all of its leading edge social media commitment, is also the most skeptical province when it comes to social media in general, with 14% saying it is a passing fancy that will be gone in a few years, this compared to just 3% in Atlantic Canada, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and 5% in Quebec. On the industry side, the advertising and communications communities are more likely than the construction/engineering/manufacturing or food/retail industries to say it will all be gone in a few years (21% versus 6% each, respectively). Nationally, 9% say social media is a passing fancy.

“The true sentiment of brands is ‘out there’- in a more public form than ever before – and delivered at speeds that can make or break brands,” added Ms. Bieda. “Mining social media data well will empower marketers, PR professionals, researchers and customer experience experts to drive business forward.”

Additionally:

* 60 % of execs say their organization often or sometimes monitors social media channels for mentions about their business.
* 20% rarely monitor social media and 12% never do it.
* 12% of public sector execs say people who use social media are a vocal minority whose opinions don’t matter much.
* 6% of private sector executives feel the same. Nationally 8 per cent say this.
* 51% of construction, engineering and manufacturing executives say social media has no impact on their business.
* 14% of health services / pharmaceutical executives feel this way.
* 50% of executives say they don’t have the resources to monitor social media.

Super Channel Canada has announced that submissions are now open for its Feature Documentary Award, which aims to provide Canadian documentary filmmakers with an opportunity to make the leap from producing hour-long documentaries for broadcast to producing feature length documentaries intended for theatrical release.

Two winning projects will be selected, and each of the winners will receive the following:

* A senior documentary producer with experience in feature-length documentary will mentor the winners with regard to their treatments, marketing materials, potential buyers and approaches to pitching. Winners will receive 15-20 hours of their mentor’s time.

* Each winning team will receive a budget of $3000 to be used to create the maximum benefit to their project. Part of the budget must be allocated toward the cost of the team attending the Toronto Documentary Forum (TDF) at Hot Docs. The remainder of the budget can be used for research, shooting and/or editing a trailer, creating marketing materials, or other justifiable expenses.

* The program will commence in late September, and the winners will work with their mentors to prepare their projects for pitching in time for the TDF in May 2011. Winners of the program will attend the TDF as Observers, and will use this opportunity to meet with potential broadcasters, executive producers or other potential partners. Winners are welcome to apply directly to the TDF to pitch formally from the stage during the conference, but acceptance to the TDF curated pitch is entirely at the discretion of the TDF. The program concludes when the TDF is over. Please visit the TDF website for more information.

Advance tickets for our local SIGGRAPH chapter’s Spark Animation conference go on sale tomorrow. There isn’t very much information available yet, but word at last night’s Making of ModNation Racers event was that there will be Early Bird prices available, so check the site tomorrow for more details.

Starting today, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has its own iPad app, available free of charge at the iTunes Store or at the NFB’s download page. One of the first Canadian film apps for the iPad, the NFB app allows users to enjoy over 1,000 NFB documentaries, animated shorts and trailers, streamed over Wi-Fi and 3G wireless networks. It includes a selection of films in 3-D and stunning high definition. Users will also be able to download and store a film for up to 48 hours, for off-line viewing.

The app has the same features as the NFB’s iPhone app but has been optimized to take advantage of the inherent qualities of the iPad:

• Watch over 1,000 free movies
• Access a kids’ channel with fun and educational content for children
• Store films for up to 48 hours for off-line viewing
• Browse films by channel/category
• Search for films by title
• Bookmark your favourite films
• Browse related content while viewing a film thanks to split-screen technology

The NFB’s iPad application builds on the success of its popular iPhone app, launched last fall. The NFB’s iPhone app was selected as one of the best apps of 2009 by iTunes Canada and named Best Use of Content in 2009 by TheAppleBlog. Since its launch in October 2009, the NFB’s iPhone app has been downloaded more than 235,000 times, with 821,000 film views, as of June 1, 2010.

Fans of  Dragon Age: Origins will be pleased to know that Issue 2 of the Dragon Age comic book series  from IDW has been released and is now on store shelves. You can get an inside look over at Issuu’s web site.

CTV announced today that the Gemini Award-winning series FlashPoint will present a special Season 3 sneak peek episode on Friday, July 16 at 10 p.m. on CTV. A quick-hit teaser of a third season locked and loaded with hard-hitting storylines, painful decisions, and Team One’s toughest adversaries yet, the mid-summer primer is a can’t miss target for FlashPoint fans. Earlier this month CTV announced the pick-up of a fourth season which will begin production in Toronto for the 2010/2011 season. Following its television broadcast, the Season 3 sneak peek will be available on demand on the CTV Video Player at CTV.ca.

In the Season 3 sneak peek, entitled “Unconditional Love” (July 16), Team One must resolve a standoff at a seedy motel with a fugitive whose shot two police officers and taken a teenager, Paul Wilder (Devon Bostick, BEING ERICA), hostage. At first, Paul seems like a good kid in a bad situation, but as the team digs deeper it uncovers chilling secrets that reveal Paul is far from innocent. What began as a standoff ends as a desperate chase through the city’s sewer system, and it’s up to Parker (Enrico Colantoni) to stop Paul from making a mistake that will change him forever. Meanwhile, Ed (Hugh Dillon) discovers that his cop brother Roy (Colin Cunningham, Da Vinci’s Inquest) might have been responsible for one of the officers getting shot… and that his wife is, unexpectedly, expecting.

Also launching on Friday, July 16 is FlashPoint: Training Day, an interactive, online simulation game that gives FlashPoint fans the chance to become virtual members of the Strategic Response Unit (SRU). Adopting the role of a rookie recruit, website visitors enter FlashPoint: Training Day and explore SRU training with tactical and strategic training modules, including real time negotiations with a hostage taker. FlashPoint: Training Day uses actors from the show to create a realistic training environment, bringing players inside the SRU. Players undertake a recruitment test and training modules and eventually the final tests to see if they have what it takes to become an SRU officer.

Starbucks Canada will turn on free Wi-Fi with one click on July 1 as a part of its ongoing commitment to enhancing the customer experience. Customers with Wi-Fi-enabled laptops, tablets and mobile phones will have unlimited Internet access to surf the Web, connect with social networks, search for jobs or work at their neighborhood Starbucks. Most recently, the free Wi-Fi benefit was limited to two hours a day and only available to members of the My Starbucks Rewards program. The new, unlimited Wi-Fi offering features a one-click entry point, so a username or password will not be required. more than 750 company-operated Canadian stores will now have free Wi-Fi. Bell is the Wi-Fi provider in Canada and has worked with Starbucks since 2005.

Congratulations to Vancouver’s Mingleverse Laboratories, recipient of the “Most Innovative use of 4G WiMAX in a Mobile Broadband Application” Award by the Stanford Centre for Professional Development. Andy DiPaolo, Senior Associate Dean, School of Engineering, Stanford University, authorized the presentation of the Stanford certificate to Mingelverse. Mingleverse was selected from a field of highly select finalists consisting of private industry, startups, and university applications.

Robert Katayama, manager for this Stanford event stated, “Mingleverse has demonstrated an application that really shows why next-generation mobile networks are so exciting. Their application showcases the richness of voice, video and digital media interaction and collaboration that is possible when you have true broadband on mobile devices.”

“Mingleverse virtual telepresence could be the ‘killer app’ for 4G Mobile. The ability to connect 2 to 50 people instantly to talk live while sharing media live in a fun, life-like, 2D or 3D virtual room is a real breakthrough for socially networked youth to mingle between countries,” said Ron Stevens CEO and Co-Founder of Mingleverse. “The raw speed, low-latency and throughput of 4G allows Mingleverse’s rich media sharing and scalable 3D voice technology to really perform”, Stevens said. “Tens of thousands of people from 191 countries have already experienced Mingling but to have all this on a mobile platform is a real game changer.”

Mingleverse has deployed a beta version of its service to Windows PCs and Macs and this week has successfully demonstrated its service on Android. Android, iPad and iPhone 4 versions of Mingleverse are under development and will soon be available for release later this summer. Users can access Mingleverse directly through mingleverse.com or via the recently-launched Facebook Application.

Mingleverse, a member and participant of the Clear 4G WiMAX Innovation Network, used the Innovation Network in the beta demonstration of its award-winning product. “It was great to have Mingleverse demonstrate its award winning application on our 4G WiMAX Innovation network,” said Todd Lewellen, Director, Developer Program for Clearwire. “Combining the speed and power of true mobile broadband, Mingleverse has clearly demonstrated the advantages of application development on a 4G network.”

“With so much communication migrating towards social networks, Mingleverse is well positioned to be the tool that people use to share their pictures, video, media, and lives with their friends and families in real-time virtual get-togethers”, said Derek Kerton, Chairman, Telecom Council of Silicon Valley.

“Congratulations to Mingleverse for their accomplishment at the Stanford University 4G WiMax symposium,” said Kevin McGinnis, Director of Product Management and Development for Sprint. “Sprint is thrilled to see developers taking advantage of the capabilities of the Sprint 4G network to create innovative and useful apps for both consumers and business users.”

The Amber Alert GPS Global Monitoring System has now been launched from coast to coast across Canada and is powered by the Rogers Wireless™ Network. The corporate objective is clearly focused and direct in providing Canadian families easy to use GPS monitoring and security for the safety of their children and other vulnerable family members. In brief, this new system provides a child safety blanket across Canada for families to access, tailor to their needs, and easily manage from both their computer and or their cell phone.

The Amber Alert GPS 2G device incorporates state-of-the-art next generation GPS and Cellular communications technology. Currently one of the worlds smallest GPS device one of the many features include an SOS button, which the user can press in the event of an emergency. Once activated the device sends a text message to the parent or care-giver along with up to 5 pre-determined family members with a map location for immediate response. The system will continue to send messages every five minutes with an updated location of the child until the parent or caregiver cancels it. The system is developed for parents of children between the ages of 2 and 12, families caring for children suffering from Autism, and also for the care of elderly suffering from Alzheimer’s.

“The world has changed, no longer can we assume that our loved ones are safe at all times” said MobileLBS President, Keith Pitts. “The Amber Alert GPS System gives parents and caregivers the peace of mind and comfort that they are doing everything they can to insure their loved ones safety. The Amber Alert is easy to set up and use. It incorporated advanced features such as geo-fencing and destination alerts to maximize parental awareness.”

“MobileLBS will provide us with a much needed direct sales and support presence in the Greater Toronto Area” said Amber Alert GPS Canada President Kenneth Corey. “Keith and his team are knowledgeable industry experts with over ten years’ experience with GPS based solutions. We are pleased to have them represent Amber Alert GPS in Canada”.

Tech company growth in Waterloo Region has burgeoned over the past two years, with a 21 percent increase reported in the recently published 2010 edition of the Waterloo Region Tech Directory and State of the Industry report. Full release of the 2010 Tech Directory will coincide with the Communitech 2010 Tech Leadership Conference slated for Wednesday, July 14 in Waterloo Region.

“We’re pleased to see this proof point of growth in the technology sector in Waterloo Region, especially in a time when many other opportunities contracted due to economic challenges,” said Iain Klugman, president and CEO of Communitech, the organization that commissions the annual State of the Industry report. “One of the key drivers for this is digital media, which for the first time is mentioned in the report and which, along with Information, Communication and Technology, and software companies, now comprises 50 percent of the high-tech companies.”

The study, based on a survey and an inventory of technology firms in Waterloo Region and area in January and February this year, says that the number of tech companies in the region has now hit 700 compared to 550 in 2008. Total invested venture capital in Waterloo Region tech companies exceeds $300 million, and tech firms account for $18 billion in annual revenues. It’s the first time that digital media has been mentioned in the report.

“The rise of interest and investment in the digital media sector reflects the emphasis being placed on this sector by the Canadian Digital Media Network along with increased focus from government and business,” said Klugman. “It’s great timing for this groundswell of support since we are currently attracting tenants to the Communitech Hub hosting digital media start-up companies.”

Other key findings in the study include:

- Majority of regional tech firms are small to medium enterprises with 51 percent having between 1 and 5 employees;
– Waterloo Region boasts 25 publicly-traded tech companies,10 of which have headquarters elsewhere;
– Four of the five top 50 Canadian merger and acquisition deals were with Waterloo Region-based companies.

The Waterloo Region continues to have 2,000 tech job openings and currently has 30,000 people employed in tech companies. Advance copies of the Waterloo Region 2010 Tech Directory are available at the Communitech offices in the Accelerator Centre, and will be available in full at the Tech Leadership Conference.

The goal of the game is to quickly serve as many customers and collect tips and bonus points in each of the 35 timed levels. Using the bonus points earned from each level, players are able to purchase items to upgrade the bar and their bartending skills. By the end of 35 levels, the small, one roomed bar the game starts with will be transformed into a full fledged bar. Featuring an original score, stunning graphics and a deep story line, BarStar is an immediately addictive and engaging game.

“The gameplay is obviously something we have strived to keep engaging and entertaining throughout the entire experience,” says Wes Tam, founder and CEO of GlitchSoft. “Our biggest accomplishment was the innovative, multi-touch approach to mixing drinks that brings you deeper into the game.”

Features include:

- 35 levels of frantic bartending gameplay
- Mix drinks using our innovative multi-touch system. Drinks include beer and wine in the early levels and cocktails including Screwdriver, Caesar and Strawberry Daiquiri in the advanced levels.
- 12 unique customers and 4 secret guest stars with different styles and tastes
- Bar and skill upgrades based on performance with over 200 upgrades (??)
- Made especially for your iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch

BarStar is available internationally, and is currently on sale at an introductory price from the App store for $2.99.

Today at E3, Ontario game developer Silicon Knights announced its exciting collaboration with McMaster University, the Art Gallery of Hamilton (AGH) and Mohawk College. The partners will work to create a new research institute around interactive digital media that will pioneer and shape cutting-edge advances in the interactive entertainment arena. The initiative, called “Eight: The Hamilton Institute for Interactive Digital Media,” will be located at McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton and will debut in 2011.

The joint venture centers on the development of the “8th Art,” art that develops technology and creativity beyond the moving image, i.e. film, and adds interactivity. The Institute’s focus will be on the creation and integration of new technologies, new design and innovative artistic concepts for digital media applications. “Eight” will provide a nucleus where staff of Silicon Knights and the AGH and faculty and students at Master University and Mohawk College can move seamlessly between organizations on shared research projects and digital media development. Staff of Silicon Knights and AGH could participate in research, course development and teaching at the new Institute.

“By adding interactivity to moving images such as film (the ’7th art), we are creating what Silicon Knights’ has dubbed for many years as the ’8th Art’,” said Silicon Knights President Denis Dyack. “We have been promoting the ’8th Art’ for many years, and are beyond excited to have aligned with three outstanding partners – McMaster University, AGH and Mohawk College – that share the same vision, and understand the need to grow the talent and resources in this arena.

The partnership brings together several prominent groups whose talents and synergies will result in a groundbreaking initiative. Silicon Knights brings its development and creative expertise, which complements the talented faculty at McMaster, a leading research-intensive university with a track record of world-class research and education capabilities. AGH, a leading public art gallery that positions digital art as one of its key artistic activities through research exhibition and education, has a solid track record of engaging, stimulating and enriching the community through art, and this expertise will be compounded by talented faculty and staff at Mohawk College, with its keen focus on and responsiveness to industry and market trends.

McMaster University’s President, Peter George, believes the partnership will be a catalyst in developing a critical mass of expertise in digital media. “We want to be known as the “8th Art” university, but to achieve that distinction will depend on effective collaboration with great partners,” he said. “Capitalizing on one another’s strengths will create unlimited opportunities for research commercialization, education and training, and economic development and job creation for our region.”

The council of Canadian Academies has identified new media as having the greatest momentum and the highest growth prospects of Canada. Worldwide the digital media sector is one of the fastest growing industries in the knowledge economy, projected to be valued at US $2.2. trillion over the next five years. This program will help grow the innovation and commercialization efforts in this key strategic sector of the new knowledge and creative economy.

“Mohawk College is pleased to be a part of this exciting new initiative that will bring together the best and brightest in the field of digital media,” says Mohawk College president, Rob MacIsaac. “It’s an initiative that will build on Mohawk’s long-standing partnership with McMaster University, draw on our college’s strengths in applied learning and research and leverage our ability to stay responsive to employer needs and industry trends.”

“Many innovative art forms today already incorporate practices and techniques from other disciplines, said Louise Dompierre, president and CEO of AGH. “A key difference here is this partnership extends to the entire process from research, production, dissemination, training and marketing of the end product. It will be most enriching for artists, students and the community to have the opportunity to work closely with world renowned researchers in science and technology and for the AGH to present their accomplishments as it proceeds in the context of an art gallery.”

CreativeMix is offering the chance for you to promote your creative project or venture this November 4th at CreativeEX, the exhibition at CreativeMIX – Vancouver’s annual ideation and creative collaboration conference.

They are looking for proposals from creative people who want to showcase their creativity and innovation in an engaging and interactive environment. If selected, you will get to use one of ten 10‘x10’ display walls, and will be given two conference passes, a dedicated page on the conference website, a special feature on both the blog and e-mail newsletter, and be interviewed on the main stage. This exhibition package is valued at $800. I like the whole offering – except for that “interview on the main stage” part…

The conference has also put out a challenge to graphic designers for confidential design submissions:

“Design our poster and you could win $250 plus a whole bunch of promo-love. This September we’ll be distributing 400 posters around Vancouver and we’re looking for a fresh take on this year’s design. If you’re a graphic designer and have been looking for a new way to market your talent then here’s a great way to spread the word. Winning this contest would be a great addition to any designers portfolio because the competition will be tough and we’ll be promoting the winning design (and designer) through our social networks (aka brag). If you’re already totally awesome then why don’t you prove it; we dare you.”

Next week Canadians will find out if their city has made it onto the new MONOPOLY: Canada game board. Before the online voting was blacked out a few months ago, do you remember where your Canadian city ranked on the leaderboard?

Mr. Monopoly and the Hasbro team will reveal the 22 Canadian cities that were voted onto the new Monopoly: Canada game board in a live event from Ottawa on June 22nd, beginning at 11a.m. ET.

The BCTIA has sent out a request for input in regards to the formal submission the Association is developing for the federal government’s Digital Economy initiative. This submission, which is due on July 9th, will build on previous position papers that the BCTIA has developed with input from its members, including excerpts from the Advanced Technology paper, prepared as part of the Business Council of BC Outlook 2020 Discussions, and their recent TechTalentBC labour demand study.

In preparation for the consultations, the federal government has drafted a very good discussion paper that is split into 5 sections; each section asking very pointed discussion questions. The BCTIA submission will focus on two key sections: Growing the information and communication technology industry, and building digital skills for tomorrow. Your input is requested to develop this paper. The BCTIA needs you to help fine-tune the recommendations and add real-world experience and evidence that will support the claims and recommendations outlined in the BCTIA paper.

Tecmo Koei Canada Inc. has announced Warriors: Legends of Troy, a tactical action game where two great armies clash not over home and country, but for the love of a single woman. The fates of these civilizations now stand upon the razor’s edge.

3000 years ago, a poet sang of heroes strong enough to stand alone against an army.

For love, they sailed the world.
For family, they made the greatest sacrifices.
For honor, they stood and faced the will of gods,
And fought a war which shook the earth.

In the age when Zeus Almighty ruled over immortals and men, what begins as a truce between two cities quickly erupts into a massive war that will shake the very foundations of Olympus.

Game Features

* Choose Sides: Do battle as the Trojans or the Greeks. With two unique storylines, players will see the war from two unique perspectives.
* Epic Battlefields: Clash with legions of soldiers on glorious battlegrounds that reach for miles throughout the ancient world.
* Strategic Carnage: Do anything to survive. Grab a sword from a fallen enemy and hurl it at a soldier bearing down on you. Smash an opponent with shields, and then run your spear through him. Or just throttle them with your bare hands.
* Legendary Battles: Battle larger-than-life heroes and even confront mythical creatures sent by the gods themselves.
* Brutal History: Among the inspirations for the game are The Iliad, Homer’s epic poem from the 9th century BC, and in-depth research of the ancient battlefields of the Trojan War.
* Ancient Heroes: Play as infamous heroes such as Achillies and Odysseus from Greece, as well as Hektor and Paris from Troy.

Warriors: Legends of Troy will be available this fall for the PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

Easy Projects .NET announced today a comprehensive update to its web-based project management and collaboration suite, Easy Projects .NET Version 7.0. Designed and developed with extensive user feedback, this new version of Easy Projects .NET focuses on delivering an improved web-based project and resource management functionality. The update introduces several new features aimed at optimizing the end-user experience and efficiency. Easy Projects .NET Version 7.0 represents the company’s dedication to its clients by delivering software built to suit the needs of businesses and organizations world-wide.

New features include:

• Improved user experience – usability improvements to the interface, built-in video tutorials, shortcuts and contextual menus make end-user workflow easier and more efficient.
• Resource workload display during activity assignments – provides project managers a visual representation of how the particular user is utilized over the current month on all projects.
• Weekly View grid for Time Logs – allows users to quickly add billable and non-billable time log entries for the entire week.
• Improved batch operations – quickly select and un-select all projects/activities when performing batch operations such as delete or copy activities.
• Changing user roles for all projects
• Polish translation
• Optimized activity and project progress – provides project managers accurate, up to the second information on their on-going activities and projects.

“It is our fundamental belief that listening to your client’s feedback is crucial in creating effective and successful software.” says Vadim Katcherovski, CEO and founder of Easy Projects .NET. “In developing this new version, our goal was to analyze and improve on the existing functionality of Easy Projects .NET. The feedback we gathered from our users over the course of last year has tremendously helped us in achieving that goal.”

Easy Projects .NET Version 7.0 is available as a hosted or in-house solution starting at $24.99/month per user or less – with a Free Trial sign-up available.

Cross Media Toronto has revealed a stellar line-up of industry executives and technology experts who will be speaking at its event this July 21st. In partnership with NATPE, the MaRS Discovery District, and the CFC Media Lab, headline speakers include SVP Director Digital for Random House of Canada Lisa Charters, Head of Agency Relations for Google Canada Sabrina Geremia, Senior Business Development Manager for RIM Pete Watson and CBC’s Director of Digital Music Steve Pratt. Other special guests include Akamai’s Chief Strategist Chris Van Noy, and Transmedia Consultant Dr. Siobhan O’Flynn.

Senior Vice President for Random House of Canada Limited, Lisa Charters is responsible for the development of new ebusiness initiatives and digital strategies, as well as overseeing online sales and promotional efforts to continually enhance value and expand the company’s relationship with readers. Random House of Canada Limited is a division of Bertelsmann AG’s Random House, the world’s largest publisher of fiction and nonfiction for all ages, in a full range of formats that include hardcover, trade paperback, mass market paperback, audio, electronic and digital.

Sabrina Geremia is Head of Agency Relations for Google Canada. She is an international marketer, sales leader and integrated communications specialist. She joined Google in the UK in 2006 to set up the UK Consumer Products and Healthcare sales team. After returning to Canada in 2007, she began working with a wider range of customers spanning from CPG and Finance to Media and Entertainment. In 2009 Sabrina built the Canadian Agency Relations strategy and team. This team works with large media and creative agencies to help them make the most out of their relationship with Google.

In addition, Steve Pratt, Director of Digital Music at CBC and the director of CBC Radio 3, will be speaking at Cross Media Toronto’s event. Radio 3 is a multi-platform unit of Canada’s public broadcaster that focuses on emerging Canadian music.

These featured heavyweight media industry executives and technology experts will discuss specific ways their respective media sectors can begin to collaborate with one another. Cross Media Toronto is designed to give attendees an opportunity to network with other media sectors as well as learn how the other sectors function in order to foster cross media collaboration in the emerging digital landscape.

”We want the gaming people to meet the TV people, the publishing people to meet the web video people, and everyone to meet the advertising people, but let’s be honest, in the end, it’s all about the money,” says conference founder, Gavin McGarry, a veteran digital media executive. He was part of the global content team at the web video start up JOOST, and former head of Cross Platform Business Development for ENDEMOL. Currently McGarry runs Jumpwire Media, a cross media agency that helps companies profit from the emerging digital platforms.

Conference co-founder Jennifer Harkness has been in the media and event business for over 20 years. Jennifer was the Executive Director of the Banff World TV Festival and is currently Head of Development, Factual and Reality, at Temple Street Productions and has advised on international events such as NATPE and KidScreen .

The amount of development that went into Assassin’s Creed II is mind-boggling. With over 230 features and a dev team of over 300, just the massive amounts of data to keep a rein on would bury the uninitiated. Patrick stated that through the entire development process, the most important things to pay attention to are your game play pillars and the need to keep an honest perspective. He said that your game play pillars are used to create the challenge, while your supporting features give meaning and depth to the core, while exotic features are used to change the pace of the game.

Patrick also drew attention to the importance of play tests and making the most of the test feedback in the development of your title. Using a two-fold process of Qualitative and Quantitative Reporting will give developers a very good perspective of what gamers like or do not like, as well as how they are playing your game. The Quantitative portion focuses on data tracking and usability reports, which provide concrete information to orient discussion on data instead of personal opinions. Meanwhile, the appreciative, or Qualitative reports, give context to the data you’ve collected, and you can see what is working, what isn’t, and what changes need to be made so that the gamer can more fully experience (and enjoy) the mechanics of the game.

Patrick also touched briefly on the upcoming Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and how everything learned in the two previous Assassin’s Creed development processes helped the team work quickly through a very short ten month production window. A big part of this was the strength, scope and depth of the team’s design documents. He stated that it is very important to keep your documentation up-to-date right through until the end of the project. Paying attention to your development documentation will cut down on needless questions and distractions, as well as force you to think and keep track of the vision for your title. As has been stated in many, many game dev seminars – it is cheaper to fail on paper than in production – and Patrick reiterated this by saying how important it is to challenge every feature you want in your game on paper first. This is not a perfect process, but it will reduce risk to your bottom line. In reply to a question asked from the audience, Patrick noted that features drove a large part of the story, and have a big part in the future of where the Assassin’s Creed franchise is heading in the future. Too bad he wouldn’t expand on that future…just where is Assassin’s Creed III going to take us? Curious gamers want to know.

SIGGRAPH Vancouver has two more upcoming events which may interest you. The first is Alice in Wonderland – Creating Underland on May 25th at the Empire Theatre on Granville. This session features two presentations, the first with animation director David Schaub (Sony Pictures Imageworks), who will give you a look behind the talent and tools that were used to create Alice In Wonderland. Mr. Schaub will focus primarily on the standard creative elements of the show, but he will also provide insight into the surprising challenges and innovative technical solutions that were used to breathe digital life into over 30 inhabitants of Underland including the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen and the Cheshire Cat.

The second Creating Underland session will be presented by freelance Visual Effects Supervisor Carey Villegas, who will focus on the process of photographing the “live-action” component of the film, as well as the many challenges that he and Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Ken Ralston faced in post production while creating the visual and stereo 3D effects. A screening of Alice in Wonderland will follow the technical presentations. Tickets for this event are $20.00 for non-members and $15.00 for members.

The other upcoming SIGGRAPH Vancouver event, just announced last night, will focus on The Making of ModNation Racers. Featuring Clint Hanson, Lucas Granito and James Grieve from United Front Games, this panel presentation will take place on June 29th at the VanCity Theatre. Tickets will be available to members for $10.00 and $20.00 for non-members. As of press time, this event had not yet been added to the SIGGRAPH Vancouver web site, so you’ll have to check the association’s site later for ticket availability.

Interactive entertainment company Ludia and FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) have announced the availability of The Price Is Right game ($9.99) for the Sony PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system on the PlayStation®Network. Players can now “COME ON DOWN” for their shot in Contestant’s Row, bid on items in 19 different pricing games, test their luck with spinning The Big Wheel, and experience the winner-takes-all tension of the Showcase.

“We are pleased to extend our tremendously successful The Price Is Right game to PlayStation 3 systems via the PlayStation Network,” said Alex Thabet, Founder and CEO of Ludia Inc. “This first game release is just the beginning for Ludia games on PS3™, and further reinforces our multiplatform game strategy.”

The Price Is Right for PS3™ features:

* 19 favorite pricing games to play including Plinko, Cliff Hangers, Punch-a-Bunch & many more.
* Rich graphics, including stages, The Big Wheel, and other game elements combined with all the familiar music and sound effects to create a true-to-show game experience.
* Original, fully customizable 3D player avatars: choose hairstyles, clothing, accessories and more.
* Two game modes: single player and multiplayer.
* Unlock bonus items as a reward for progress in the game.

“The Emmy Award-winning The Price Is Right is the #1 daytime game show on television, and one that holds a consistently solid fan base” added Olivier Delfosse, Director of Interactive for program licensor FME. “We are delighted to continue to work with Ludia to bring an authentic brand experience to an even broader public of PlayStation 3 systems owners.”

Mobile Game Studio invites you to travel The High Seas on your iPhone. This new action packed game will put you in the boots of a treasure hunter. Fighting against the mighty pirates, lethal castles and deadly whirlpools you sail the seas in search of treasure chests. Pass through the Caribbean and Arctic on your quest for the title of a first class treasure hunter.

The High Seas brings you into a whole new world, full of action, danger and mystery. Each level will present you with a new challenge; a number of gold. You are to collect the set amount of gold, but the mighty pirates will do everything in their power to protect their loot. Take a stand against your enemies with your cannons, which follow your command at the touch of a button along with a steering wheel you rotate to guide your ship across the seven seas. The sea is also against you on your quest as they put deadly towers, castles, icebergs and whirlpools in your path. The Ghost Armanda will bring your skills into question along with the mystical ghost towers. The title of treasure hunter never looked so far away.

At an official ribbon cutting ceremony at ParetoLogic’s Victoria head office, company executives unveiled PC Health Advisor to the public. The new software packs a huge number of features and tools to optimize, secure, and maintain Windows PCs. With ParetoLogic’s successful track record, indications are that PC Health Advisor will help millions of customers and their computers.

“We are absolutely ecstatic about PC Health Advisor and the ways it can help people,” said Elton Pereira, ParetoLogic’s President, CEO and Co-Founder, at the program launch celebration. “This is the software that our users have been asking for.”

PC Health Advisor raises the bar for system utility and optimization software. Included in the digital multi-tool are a registry cleaner, privacy scanner, and malware process detector. The registry cleaner detects and removes problems in the Windows registry to improve performance, speed and system stability. The privacy scanner locates personal information and then permanently erases it. Computers continually record a user’s actions, the files accessed, and websites visited. PC Health Advisor removes this privacy and security risk. The malware process detector, as the name implies, searches for active malware on the system. This ensures that malware does not annoy users with pop-ups, or endanger them with keyloggers or Trojans.

“We’ve integrated truly essential functions,” said Ted Deng, Senior Project Manager at ParetoLogic, “not only are vital optimization features included but we’ve also added completely new tools and controls.”

These tools include direct access to Windows customization options, a process manager, duplicate file finder, Startup Manager, and BHO Manager. The software pairs ParetoLogic’s user-friendly interface with an array of technologies that have traditionally been the exclusive domain of highly trained technicians. All told, the toolkit gives Windows users unrestricted control over their computers, and instant power to clean, tweak, and fine-tune them.

“The software is so powerful, but the interface so easy-to-use,” said Pereira with a smile, “PC Health Advisor might end up giving some users a reputation as a computer whiz.”

With a new management team firmly in place, Vancouver’s Rainmaker Entertainment continues to evolve as a multifaceted animation studio with its focus on creating, developing and producing its own animation projects. To that end, the company has unveiled its first slate of proprietary projects, it was announced today by Catherine Winder, President and Executive Producer of the company.

“Rainmaker is fully utilizing its resources – creative talent, storytelling and technical and artistic skills – to bring an exciting and entertaining array of ideas to the global animation film, television and home entertainment markets,” said Winder. “We have over 200 talented artists who are eager to set the company on a new course, leveraging our expertise in CG animation and our breakthrough animation techniques. Our team is also comprised of top notch development veterans and, with our production acumen, we’re now ready to take Rainmaker to the next level in realizing our goals as a full fledged animation studio.”

Rainmaker Entertainment, which purchased Mainframe Entertainment and its mainstay and groundbreaking TV property ReBoot, the first ever CG animated series, have released the following details about its new slate and updates on the creative staff working on the projects:

Ogo, in development as a theatrical animation movie, is based on Canada’s famous water monster, believed to reside in Lake Okanagan in the South Central interior of British Columbia. The movie is a comedy that pokes fun at all idiocracies of the monster’s lore and its impact on modern life. The story is about a little girl who reveals the monster’s existence to the world and then must do everything in her power to protect it. Ogo is written by Jacob Medjuck, formerly an animator at DreamWorks Animation, Walt Disney Interactive, Sony, Warner Bros and Fox and currently an independent filmmaker. Rainmaker is actively seeking distribution partners for Ting & Juma as well as Ogo and Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes.

Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, being developed as a series of animated holiday specials for the television and home entertainment/DVD marketplace, is based on the 1939 children’s classic written by American author DuBose Heyward. Rainmaker has acquired the rights to the book, in which Heyward tells the story of a country bunny who always dreams of being one of the five Easter bunnies chosen by the old, kind and wise Grandfather Bunny. Bernice Vanderlaan (Disney’s “Life With Derek”) has been signed as the writer on the project. Vanderlaan has also written over 30 episodes for PBS Sprout’s preschool blocks, including its holiday special “Preschool Musical on a Stick”. She has also co-created and produced several imaginative children’s programs including Disney’s “Flash Forward”, Family Channel’s ” Hello, Mrs. Cherrywinkle” and GMTV’s “Rockabye Bubble”. David Snowden and Alison Fine, who won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for “Bob’s Birthday”, are also on board as Consulting Directors.

Ting & Juma: The Movie rounds out the initial Rainmaker development slate. Ting is a tiny frisky alien with an attitude, while Juma is a forest dweller with a thirst for creativity and adventure. Rainmaker’s artists created the characters and have already produced several short films of their exploits together. In the movie, Ting and Juma team up on a journey story to find Ting’s home. Rainmaker is currently taking pitches from writers for the project.

Open Text Corporation has been awarded a 2010 SAP® Pinnacle Award in the category Global Software Solutions Partner of the Year. Pinnacle Awards are granted to leading SAP partners that have excelled in enhancing the customer experience, addressing critical issues such as accelerating co-innovation and improving return on investment. Winners were selected based on over 230 nominations in 27 categories received from partners and SAP employees. Open Text received the award at a special awards ceremony held on the eve of SAPPHIRE® NOW, SAP’s international customer conference currently underway in Orlando, Florida.

“The SAP Pinnacle Awards reflect the strong success we are seeing globally in helping customers in a wide range of sectors from energy to financial services to government agencies connect their content with SAP solutions,” said Patrick Barnert, Vice President, SAP Solutions at Open Text. “The fact that we’ve now won an SAP Pinnacle Award three years running underscores that this is a highly effective partnership and that Open Text is committed to bringing real business results to customers. We look forward to even greater success in the coming year.”

Nova Scotia’s Innovacorp has won one of the highest international honours for its work in helping new businesses. Stephen Hartlen, Innovacorp’s interim president and CEO, accepted the National Business Incubation Association’s international award for its work in the business incubation industry on May 18, at the association’s annual international conference, also taking place in Orlando, Florida.

“This award represents the hard work of our dedicated and professional staff, and our partners and clients,” said Mr. Hartlen. “Combined with our compelling economic, client satisfaction, and leading indicator measurements, this award tells us that our High Performance Incubation business model is globally competitive.”

Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Bill Estabrooks, acting on behalf of Economic and Rural Development Minister Percy Paris, congratulated the corporation on receiving this distinction.

“Innovacorp plays an important role in business growth in our province,” said Mr. Estabrooks. “It helps Nova Scotia-based knowledge companies sell their technologies and succeed in the global marketplace. This helps create good jobs and grow our economy.”

Innovacorp helps Nova Scotia entrepreneurs prosper in the global marketplace through its High Performance Incubation business model, which is based on a unique approach of incubation infrastructure, business mentoring, and seed and venture capital investment. Its key industries include information technology, life sciences, and clean technology.

“We continuously refine our business model and assess ourselves against other models around the globe,” said Dr. Jacquelyn Thayer Scott, chair of Innovacorp’s board of directors. “It’s very gratifying when the premier international organization in our sector recognizes what we do as being best in class.”

Absolute® Software Corporation, the leading provider of firmware-based, patented, computer theft recovery, data protection and secure computer lifecycle management solutions announced today that it has partnered with Trend Micro™ to include Computrace® LoJack® for Laptops in select bundles to be offered by Trend Micro. Offerings will be available for the back-to-school shopping season.

The combination of LoJack for Laptops and Trend Micro Internet Security offers joint customers a more comprehensive computer security package. With Trend Micro, computers are protected against online theft and viruses. With LoJack for Laptops in place, customers can be assured that if their computer is stolen, the Absolute Theft Recovery Team can gather evidence and work with local law enforcement to get their computer back.

“Computers have become the blue-prints to our lives. We do our banking there, store our passwords, and record our lives in pictures and video – everything to do with who we are. If your computer is stolen, it can be a scary occurrence, but it doesn’t have to be,” said Mark Grace, vice president of consumer business at Absolute Software. “With Absolute on your side, you have your own investigative team standing by to take action. We can delete your sensitive data, render the computer useless, send messages to the thief, conduct a full investigation and physically recover your computer – all while working with local police to help catch the thief. Without Absolute, you’d have little chance of seeing your computer again. Absolute greatly increases your chances of recovering your stolen device.”

“For Trend Micro, our customer’s personal online freedom directs how we design our products and solutions,” said Tobias Lee, vice president of consumer marketing, Trend Micro. “We’re pleased to partner with Absolute Software and offer our mutual customers an extra layer of mobile and laptop security.”

Multiplied Media Corporation has announced the availability of an enterprise build of their award-winning Poynt application. BlackBerry smartphone users on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) will have full access to the benefits and features of the Poynt application.

Poynt is a convenient and timesaving GPS-enabled application that connects users to local businesses, people, restaurants and movie theaters at the moment they want to find or acquire products or services. Poynt gives consumers the ability to move beyond discovery of their local area to view movie trailers and show times, book dining reservations, compare local gas prices, view directions on a map, click-to-call a business or view a website.

“Poynt is an effective tool in reducing business costs and enhancing workforce productivity through fewer directory assistance calls and the ability to quickly set up business lunches or find meeting locations,” said Andrew Osis, CEO of Multiplied Media. “The new BES build allows BlackBerry enterprise administrators to easily manage distribution and updates of Poynt to their colleagues, connecting them with the local area to get quick search results, turn-by-turn directions and mapping, or detailed location information.”

“Poynt is a very useful application and we are pleased to now be able to give our organization access to it,” said Gavin Wilson, Senior Support Analyst at Oxford University Press. “We appreciate that Multiplied Media delivered a well-packaged BES build of the app that is easy to deliver to Oxford University Press’ Blackberry users.”

Multiplied Media has turned off update notifications in this enhanced enterprise build to ensure BES users do not need to download the app directly when an update becomes available. Poynt offers two versions of its Enterprise build to ensure BES users can fully utilize the application whether it’s through a desktop manager or BES connection only. Poynt is currently available for BlackBerry® smartphones in Canada, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Spain.

The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, has announced the appointment of Ram Krishna Raju as a member of Telefilm Canada.

“I am delighted that Mr. Raju has accepted this appointment,” said Minister Moore. “Telefilm Canada will undoubtedly benefit from his strong leadership, dynamism, extensive knowledge, and experience in the digital and information technology industry.”

As founder of e-academy Inc., Mr. Raju has built and led, since 1997, one of the world’s leading providers of hosted electronic software delivery solutions and software licence compliance for the education market. This company is recognized by leading software companies such as Microsoft, Adobe Systems, and several other major software developers.

Prior to that, Mr. Raju worked at Dalhousie University as a Professor of Information Systems and as a Manager of the Computing and Information Systems Department, where he established a university computer store that has remained profitable since 1984. His work in this field was recognized in 1995, when he was elected Vice-President of the Canadian Association of Campus Computer Stores to represent more than $125 million in purchasing power in negotiations with hardware and software companies. Mr. Raju holds three degrees from Dalhousie University: a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Science, and a Master of Business Administration.

Yahoo! Canada continues its vision of becoming the centre of peoples’ online lives by delivering customized content across multiple platforms and innovative new products to Canada’s World Cup 2010 fans. As Canadians prepare to join hundreds of millions of soccer fans from around the world this June and July to celebrate the world’s biggest sporting event, Yahoo! Canada is creating an online home for Canadian soccer fans who want to access all the action from their desktop or web-enabled device.

“It’s a big year for sports in Canada, and Yahoo! Canada is excited to continue providing original content and real-time coverage and insights for Canadians around the events that matter most to them. Whether it’s the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, and now the World Cup, Yahoo! Canada is as passionate about providing leading online sports coverage as Canadians are about cheering for their favourite teams and home town athletes,” says Max Tremblay, Director of Marketing, Yahoo! Canada.

Yahoo! will provide sports fans with customized online and mobile experiences during World Cup 2010. Canadians can follow all the World Cup action online. Later this month, Yahoo! will also launch a comprehensive mobile site for Canadian soccer fans.

Yahoo!’s reign as a technology leader continues by kicking up the science for this year’s World Cup and offering the following innovations for fans:

* New Shortcuts in Yahoo! Search results that will launch in more than 25 markets throughout the summer. These Shortcuts will provide rich information such as photos, videos, schedules, live scores, stats, team information and news, right on the Search results page.
* Real-time scores, schedules and breaking news, all of which fans can have at their fingertips by downloading the Yahoo! Toolbar with World Cup coverage. The toolbar can be customized with a country-themed skin to support any competing team.
* Yahoo! Sports World Soccer 2010, a pick’em style fantasy soccer game available to Canadians that allows fans to select winners for each match of the World Cup.
* Yahoo!’s first global online penalty shootout contest — Yahoo! Penalty Shootout is set to launch at the end of May. Soccer fans will be able to compete with friends, other fans, and sworn soccer rivals from around the world for a chance to win the Yahoo! Sports Pass, tickets to any four premier sporting events in the world over the next four years.
* Predictalot from Yahoo! Labs is a fun experiment that puts the “wisdom of the crowd” about the World Cup to the test. Predictalot allows fans in every country to make millions of interesting predictions, like “How many teams from Europe will advance to the quarterfinals?” or “Will a country that has never won before win it all this year?”

Both Yahoo!’s PC and mobile platforms will allow fans to get breaking news and analysis, scores, player stats, live commentary and video from Yahoo! Canada Sports and will include:

* On-the-ground reporting from South Africa by award-winning sports writers Martin Rogers, who spent seven years as a soccer writer for the London Daily Mirror, covering the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and international soccer; and Yahoo! Sports editorial team members Dan Wetzel and Les Carpenter.
* “World Soccer Roundup”, a daily video news show that will recap top stories and give information on upcoming World Cup events.
* Dirty Tackle, a leading soccer blog from editor Brooks Pecks and contributors Richard Whittall and Ryan Bailey.

And in very late-breaking news from the INplay 2010 conference happening right now in Toronto, Shaw Communications has announced that they will be adding a new digital media programme to their Rocket Fund. Further details will be available via the Rocket Fund’s web site this coming Monday, May 24th.

When it comes to fast draw there are only two types of people: the quick…and the dead! Now you have the chance to find out where you stand, or lie, as the case may be. You’ll go up against the best quick draws in the business, including one of the world’s fastest, Wes Flowers.

Unholster your Wii Remote™ and show’em who the fastest draw really is, in this live action shooter – a first for the WiiWare service! Once you’ve mastered your shootin’ skills, take on all your friends to see which of you really has the quickest draw.

You’ll need some serious speed and awesome accuracy to take on these gunslingers…so get ready for some real fast draw action! Fast Draw Showdown is available today in North America and later this month in Europe, exclusively on WiiWare for 500 Wii Points™. Fast Draw Showdown is rated T by the ESRB.

Montreal – Ludia’s new title Hell’s Kitchen Vs., which is based on the U.S. TV phenomenon where world-renowned chef Gordon Ramsay puts aspiring chefs through rigorous culinary tests is also now available on WiiWare. The game recreates the show’s pressure-cooker atmosphere as two players battle head-to-head in an arcade-style kitchen challenge. Try to conquer your opponent in each time-management test, while taking the heat of Gordon Ramsay judging and rating your performance at every stage of the game. Designed for 1 or 2 players, Hell’s Kitchen Vs is rated E by the ESRB and costs 800 Wii Points to download from the WiiWare store.

London ON – Big Blue Bubble also has a release out on WiiWare today. Pub Darts is a simple darts simulation which uses the Wii Remote™ controller’s unique controls to mimic dart-throwing motion. The game is set in a local pub where the players will settle in to play some of their favorite dart games, including 501, Cricket, Around the Clock, Killers and Baseball. Controls function just like throwing a real dart. Players are able to create their own personal profiles, including selecting their avatar image from a collection of creative characters and the design they would like displayed on the dart flights. Pub Darts is rated E by the ESRB and is downloadable for 500 Wii Points.

Also out today is Big Blue Bubble’s first Fighting Fantasy game book, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, now available on iPhone and iPod Touch for $2.99usd. For the first time ever, you have the opportunity to explore the world of Titan on a portable screen bringing the adventure with you wherever you go.

Experience the book that started the massively popular series which has sold over 15 million copies worldwide and set a new standard in roleplaying excellence. This exciting game plunges you into a thrilling adventure to the top of Firetop Mountain and its vast treasure, ruthlessly guarded by a powerful Warlock. Will you have the courage, tact and skill to survive where none have returned to tell the tale?

Following the successful Nintendo DS launch of the game of the same name, Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain for iPhone and iPod Touch takes a different approach bringing Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson’s legendary game book to your favorite handheld device. Scroll through the pages effortlessly by tapping the screen to flip pages, roll dice by shaking your iPhone and experience the breathtaking tale that has sold millions of copies.

Fighting Fantasy readers will be excited to know that Big Blue Bubble will be releasing four more titles in the series. In January, look out for Deathtrap Dungeon as it makes its iPhone debut providing the user with the same level of adventure, excitement and ease of use that The Warlock of Firetop brought.

Fighting Fantasy fans will love the classic story and original illustrations with a technological twist. No more dice, pencils, or bookmarks. All the special features are built in!

Features…

• Tap the on screen buttons to flip pages (No papercuts!)
• Shake to roll the dice using the accelerometer
• Inventory items selectable via touch-screen
• Game-save feature allows you to retrace your steps
• Beautifully painted illustrations

Montreal via London UK – It seems that Salem and Rios, stars of the action-shooter Army of Two: The 40th Day have caused a fair bit of havoc during their promotional tour of the city. In this latest video the pair are seen speaking with BBC 1Xtra’s Rampage Crew – Mike Anthony and Treble T – getting Kara Tointon to do their make-up, signing copies of the game for fans (including The Inbetweeners star and robot dance maestro Blake Harrison), rocking out with music act Pint Shot Riot, and generally getting into trouble all over the city.

The trailer utilises the same incredible CGI technology last seen when Salem and Rios headed to EA’s Montreal studios. Army of Two: The 40th Day is out on January 15th 2010 on Xbox 360, PS 3 and PSP and has been rated M by the ESRB.

Burnaby – Independent startup studio Interdimensional Games Inc (iDGi) has launched an Alternate Reality Game (ARG), through which a new video game Intellectual Property will be announced. Through the ARG, iDGi has discovered how to export human consciousness into an entirely different dimension. Company officials claim that a proprietary invention accessible from their website will be capable of allowing anyone to travel interdimensionally.

“We invented this gateway to help our efforts in crafting a compelling interactive experience,” says iDGi Founder Vidal Desertch. “We never intended to make this tool available to the public, but after realizing its awesome potential…well, we simply couldn’t keep it a secret any longer.” Vidal makes it clear that the technology is limited, and it’s not entirely certain where – or when – your consciousness may end up once it crosses the dimensional threshold, or what form it may end up becoming.

“This technology is made possible from our satellite ‘iDGi-1′, which we have positioned very close to the moon’s orbit. When the moon eclipses the sun, casting the earth in shadow, in that precise moment, interdimensional travel is possible.”

The company is also launching a public forum and a blog, entitled “Culture and Philosophy”, through which the iDGi team will begin sharing views and opinions, as well as information about the new, as yet unannounced, video game IP.

Toronto – Sony Canada today announced an exclusive partnership with the Ontario Science Centre, as the lead sponsor of its new Creative Science program; a series of fun and interactive workshops that aim to inspire young people to be innovators in science and technology.

“At Sony, we believe that anything you can imagine, you can make real,” says Doug Wilson, President and COO of Sony of Canada Ltd. “We are excited to inspire youth to be innovators of the future. Together, the Ontario Science Centre and Sony Canada will create fun, hands-on programs that foster excitement about innovation in the fields of environment, science, communication and technology.”

Science Centre visitors will use Sony products and technologies in workshops that explore topics such as the science of electronic music mixing and video filmmaking. And as part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability, Sony Canada will support Creative Science workshops focused on the environment, such as how to use recycled materials to create new products.

“We are delighted to welcome Sony Canada as the lead sponsor of this exciting program” said Lesley Lewis, CEO of the Ontario Science Centre. “Creative Science workshops offer our visitors access to new technologies in an engaging, hands on environment. Through our partnership with Sony Canada our visitors will be inspired and challenged by innovative ideas and activities in Creative Science workshops.”

Vancouver

Canada houses more than 260 videogame and digital entertainment studios and an ecosystem of more than 60 universities focused on gaming studies. With this accomplished community of national and international talent to draw from, Vancouver’s GDC Canada is the premier event for professionals to discover new insights into developing popular international titles, managing established franchises and taking advantage of thriving digital distribution models.

“GDC Canada provides the perfect opportunity for game development teams to share knowledge for developing established franchises and guidance on taking advantage of new game distribution models,” says Izora de Lillard, event director. “GDC Canada really benefits from the incredibly talented community here, and we can’t wait to see what useful and insightful content they bring with them when GDC returns to Canada in early May.”

The session formats for this year’s content include 25 and 60 minute lectures, panels, and roundtables. The GDC Canada advisory board will rate sessions based on the criteria of concept, depth, organization, credentials and takeaway. The topics for this year include:

– Business/Production
– Digital Distribution
– Game Design
– iPhone Games
– Programming
– Social and Casual Games
– Visual Arts

Victoria – VIATeC is pleased to announce the opening of the nomination period for the 2009 VIATeC 25. The VIATeC 25 is an annual listing of the largest technology companies headquartered or founded in Greater Victoria based on revenue. To be eligible for inclusion in the VIATeC 25 please check our guidelines.

Companies listed on the VIATeC 25 will be announced at the exclusive VIATeC Christmas Party on December 17 where members will gather to celebrate the end of another successful year. Results will also be published on the VIATeC website and in the media.

For more information or to submit a nomination please contact Michelle. Cut off for nomination submissions is December 14, 2009.

To RSVP for VIATeC’s Members Only Christmas party on Dec 17 at Sauce Restaurant & Lounge from 3:30 pm please email our office.

Vancouver – Pixar Canada, who launched their new web site this week, has now announced some of the job openings for their new Vancouver studio. They are currently looking to fill openings for Layout Artist, Production Manager, Manger of Finance and Manager of Information Systems. Upcoming openings include positions in their IT and Software Engineering departments. Future positions to be filled in 2010 include those who work in Modeling, Shading, Rigging, Animation, Lighting, FX, Simulation, Art, Production Staff…and an ex-Navy SEAL? At least they aren’t looking for a partridge and a pear tree…

Calgary – Digital Alberta has announced their New Year’s Evolution event with strategic innovation practitioner, international lecturer and author Alexander Manu. Held in partnership with the Canadian Marketing Association and Telefilm Canada, New Year’s Evolution will take place on January 19th at Calgary’s Theatre Junction Grand and Velvet Lounge. Tickets are $55 for DA or CMA Members and $95 for Non-Members.

Toronto – Ubisoft has made a contest out of announcing where their new Toronto studio will be located. Employee #1 has started posting clues on his FaceBook page with a link to this video on YouTube:

The first person to guess the address of Ubisoft Toronto’s new studio location wins a copy of Avatar The Game (from Employee #1 – you must enter via his Facebook page).

Terrace - Rusty Axe Games, a developer and publisher of downloadable game software, is proud to announce the release of Real Estate Empire 2 version 1.0!

Real Estate Empire 2 is the sequel to our popular game, Real E$tate Empire! For the real estate mogul in everybody, Real Estate Empire 2 contains over thirty different levels packed into four different scenarios.

Real Estate Empire 2 features a streamlined upgrade and renovation system that makes the game easier to pick up and play. Real Estate Empire 2 also features a new goals based system that has players leveling up through a variety of different scenarios and goals. The much requested feature of renting has been added – do you wait for good renters who won’t damage your newly renovated bungalow or do you get somebody in there to start paying the mortgage today?

Real E$tate Empire 2′s user friendly difficulty system allows players of all ages and capabilities to enjoy the game. Players will be entertained for hours while learning about real estate management at the same time!

Real Estate Empire 2 is the real estate game that teaches you how to win… at the real estate game!

Gormley – Digital Leisure has announced that two of their latest titles are now available in North America. Copter Crisis, a chopper sim which puts you in the pilot’s seat is available in the WiiWare Store for 500 Wii Points. As a member of the elite Helicopter Rescue Squad, you’ll be assigned to respond to any type of emergency anywhere at any time. You’ll have to complete various missions with the latest in helicopter rescue technology. When you’re ready, you’ll be tasked with executing rescue missions all around the Black Rock Canyon. Your Wii Remote controller becomes the control stick as you guide your copter along the canyons while avoiding rocks, severe weather and even anti-aircraft fire. Rescue lost hikers, deliver supplies to remote areas, assist on scientific missions and even blast your way into underground cavern systems. Complete all of your objectives and rise through the ranks to take on the toughest rescues and unlock 10 bonus missions. Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play allows you to enhance your flight experience with 10 additional copters, which can give you access to unlimited missiles, larger fuel tanks, cargo holds and even mid-air loops.

Sudoku Challenge!, designed exclusively for the Nintendo DSi™ Shop can be downloaded for for 500 Nintendo DSi Points™. With over 100,000,000 unique Sudoku puzzles, you’ll never see the same puzzle twice in Sudoku Challenge! Get started by selecting the classic nine-by-nine Sukodu gameboard or really take up a challenge with Grand Sudoku by completing five intersecting Sudoku boards simultaneously – A first for the Nintendo DSi™! With three difficulty options even the most novice player to complete a Sudoku with ease. It’s time to get your thinking cap on and see how many Sudoku puzzles you can conquer!

Vancouver – NGRAIN, a leading provider of interactive 3D equipment simulation solutions for maintenance training and support whose head office is in Vancouver, has announced that the company is opening an office in Richmond, Virginia. The NGRAIN Virginia office will provide direct support to the company’s local and East Coast customers, which include the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security armed services.

“Military organizations are increasingly turning to simulation technology as a way of cost-effectively delivering enhanced maintenance training and support programs. This has resulted in the dramatic growth of our business,” said Paul Lindahl, CEO, NGRAIN. “With the rapid adoption of NGRAIN’s cost-saving Virtual Task Trainer solution and NGRAIN Producer software, the time is right to open a Virginia office. We are looking forward to becoming a larger part of the Washington, DC and Virginia modeling and simulation community.”

Over the past year the United States Coast Guard (USCG), United States Marine Corps, US Army, and US Air Force have continued their commitment to training transformation by selecting NGRAIN® Virtual Task Trainer and NGRAIN® Producer software to provide personnel with enhanced learning and improved maintenance support. In use across the armed services, the NGRAIN Virtual Task Trainer is a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software-based solution that leverages 3D simulation to deliver installation, maintenance, repair and — most recently– medical training.

“NGRAIN equipment simulation solutions give our maintainers increased access to critical maintenance training, helping our personnel perform better,” said LCDR Aaron Waters, Section Chief, Advanced Distributed Learning, Force Readiness Command, USCG. “We welcome NGRAIN to the DC area and look forward to the years to come.”

NGRAIN delivers solutions to a host of industries worldwide, including Aerospace & Defense, Energy, and Technology. With its proven, award-winning solutions, NGRAIN has proved to be one of the most trusted names in the realm of 3D technology. NGRAIN’s customer base includes all branches of the United States and Canadian militaries, Lockheed Martin, Standard Aero, CAE and other industry leaders.

Assassin’s Creed II has received an overwhelmingly positive reception from gamers around the world and from the video game trade press with to date an average user rating of 94% on Gamespot.com and over 91% average critics score according to GameRankings.com.

Assassin’s Creed II invites players to become Ezio, a privileged young noble in Renaissance Italy who’s been betrayed by the rival ruling families of Italy. Ezio’s subsequent quest for vengeance plunges players into a captivating and epic story that offers more variety in missions, surprising and engaging new game play elements, diverse weapons, incredible depth and lasting appeal and a profound character progression that will appeal to fans of the original Assassin’s Creed as well as entice players new to the brand.

Edmonton - BioWare™ has announced that it has set a new record for site traffic at DragonAge.com and new user registrations at its social networking site, Social.BioWare.com. With the release of Dragon Age™: Origins, the BioWare community has grown to a record 5 million registered users, propelled by outstanding word-of-mouth buzz amongst fans of the 90-rated role-playing game. As of October 13, 2009, DragonAge.com became the most highly trafficked web site in the EA network in 2009, including the main hub, EA.com. Dragon Age fans also drove the game’s Facebook® fan page to 30,000 fans since the page launched in June 2009, making it the fastest-growing EA property on Facebook – a remarkable feat for a new original intellectual property. The soon-to-be-released Mass Effect™ 2 saw a 33% increase in site traffic with the announcement of the Collectors’ Edition on November 4th, and a release of a video featuring the enemies of Mass Effect 2 on November 5th. Today, BioWare is re-launching MassEffect.com with a new design and more connectivity to BioWare’s social networking community at Social.BioWare.com, which has registered over 500K sign-ups in just five weeks, since its launch on October 13, 2009.

“We want to thank our fans for their enthusiasm and ongoing support. The passion within the community is not only helping drive momentum for Dragon Age referrals but our actively engaged fan base is eager for future content releases, which we are committed to deliver,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA. “We could not be more excited about the outstanding community growth. The connection we are fostering with our fans is direct and personal. This tremendous community will help set the stage for an incredible Mass Effect 2 launch on January 26th.”

Vancouver – IUGO Mobile Entertainment is pleased to announce that their latest title, A.D.D. has finally been approved! After sitting in Apple’s review queue for nearly 6 months, IUGO’s frantic, fun and controversial game is available in the App Store for $2.99usd. A.D.D.’s content has been paired down through several Apple cuts, but still offers over 70 mini games chock full of humor, wit and charm. “We are going to work on redoing most of the mini-games Apple asked us to cut to bring the mini game count back to over 100, “promises Sarah Thomson, IUGO’s Director of Business Development. “We’re super stoked the game is finally available to our users and we hope the wait was worth it!”

Brace yourself for high impact, fast-paced gaming! A.D.D. is just Another Dumb Distraction. Blast through 70+ mini games jam-packed with humor, culture, controversy, and personality. Clean and quirky graphics combined with truly unique games will push your device and brain to the limits.

Features:

* 70+ mini games bursting with character
* 3 gameplay modes: Quickplay, Practice and Hardcore
* Eclectic, entertaining artwork
* Games that will max out the unique controls of your device
* Hours of replayability
* Online worldwide high scores

Gormley – Digital Leisure announced yesterday that their latest WiiWare title, Copter Crisis, will be available in North America on Monday November 30 for only 500 Wii Points.

As an elite Helicopter Rescue Squadron pilot, players are assigned to respond to any type of emergency anywhere at anytime. As the most recent member joining this elite rescue squad, rookies have to complete training missions and become familiar with the latest in helicopter rescue technology. Once the Captain thinks his latest trainee is ready, players are tasked with executing rescue missions all around the Black Wolf Canyon.

The Wii Remote™ becomes the control stick as players guide their copters along the canyons while avoiding falling rocks, severe weather conditions and even anti-aircraft fire! Tasks include rescuing lost hikers, delivering supplies to remote areas, assisting on scientific missions and even blasting your way into hidden underground cavern systems. Complete all of the objectives to rise through the ranks, taking on the toughest of rescues in more than 30 missions. Copter Crisis uses the Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play and can connect up to 10 additional military copters at one time.

Picture the scene. You move into a new house and you have visions of how you want every room, except for one. Sure, there are some items you know you need in that room but, other than that, it’s a blank canvas. Who do you call? How about the ‘Home Sweet Home’ team? Learn about your clients to ensure you are designing the perfect room for their tastes. Next, choose the furniture, choose the colors and patterns and place items around the room until the design is perfect. Then direct your build team of workers to assemble it all in front of your eyes! With simple controls, a fun graphical style, and an easy to use interface, Home Sweet Home allows you to nurture your creative side.

Remember – a house is not a home until its ‘Home Sweet Home’!

“The sort of title that you just know is destined for great things, and makes you proud to be a casual gamer. An original, eye-catching blend of puzzle-solving and real-time strategy mechanics based on an innovative concept – 4.5 stars” – Gamezebo.com

“Home Sweet Home is an original game to make your life, crazier, funnier, and brighter. The game features an attractive idea and combines different game styles.” – GameMile.com

City Rain was originally a concept game, built on the Microsoft XNA Game Studio platform by Mother Gaia Studio, Brazil. The strategic urban-planning game quickly captured the attention of game developers and players, winning the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2008 (Paris), and becoming a finalist in the 2009 Independent Games Festival at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2009 in San Francisco, Calif.

“As a fan of both SimCity™ and Tetris®, I immediately fell in love with City Rain based on its fun reference to those two classic games, but also because it introduces a meaningful and relevant purpose that educates players on how to think about creating ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ cities and communities,” said Alexandre Renaud, founder of Ovolo Corporation and executive producer for City Rain. “The entrepreneurial and creative spirit I witnessed when I visited Brazil convinced me that City Rain was the first game I wanted to produce,” added Renaud.

City Rain Synopsis

Best described as “SimCity-meets-Tetris”, City Rain produces buildings that fall from the sky, which must be quickly place on a grid. Players are challenged to master the art of urban planning on the fly, requiring quick reflexes and a logical building placement that ultimately helps the community thrive and the ecology survive.

New Features in City Rain Commercial Version

• New story plots and dialogs
• User profile management
• New music soundtrack by Premium Beat.com
• Support for XBOX Gamepad
• Updated interface and improved artificial intelligence (AI) and gameplay
• Upgraded online ranking to compare and challenge other RAIN agents worldwide
• Customizable settings for time, turns, speed, board size, and block frequency

Pricing and Availability

City Rain is available now for purchase (DRM and Region free) direct from Ovolo Corporation, Inc. Pricing is US $9.95, and for purchase via PayPal, as a direct download for PC. Support for other platforms is planned for a future date.

System Requirements

• OS: Windows XP Service Pack 3 or Windows Vista Service Pack 1
• Processor: Pentium 1.6 GHz or Athlon 1600+
• Memory: 512Mb
• Hard Disk: Up to 600 MB of available space may be required
• Graphics: From Geforce 3 (MX series not supported) or Radeon 8500 series (The graphics card should supports DirectX 9.0c and PixelShader Model 1.1)
• Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
• Internet Access to install and use the online ranking

Well now you don’t have to thanks to Zynga’s new game for the Facebook platform called FarmVille, which was released to the general public this year.

FarmVille puts you directly on the farm with a nice piece of land to call your own. You start the game by customizing your farmer’s look from suspenders to glasses. As soon as you get your virtual farmer looking snazzy you’re taken to your farm where your job is to plow some land and plant some seeds. Zynga must have spent some time thinking of this concept because it’s really quite unique.I know comparisons can be made to the other farm games on Facebook or other systems, but we’re here to look at FarmVille itself.

This game is identical to farming and because it’s played in real time and mimics the pains/pleasures of farming. Once you have farmed some plots of land you’re asked what kind of plants/trees or animals you would like to grow and are only limited by the amount of coins in your virtual account. Each type of plant/animal has a certain amount of grow and harvest time. Strawberries grow in 4 hours so you’ll find that if you plant these, you will have to come back to your farm so you can cash in your crop. If you don’t, they will wither and die. This is a unique mechanic because it makes you think how farming fits in your schedule like a real farm. You can’t just plant and walk away, this game requires a little attention each day since each crop of produce is different. With this mechanic Zynga has been able to increase their ADU (Average daily users), but at the same time it is strangely satisfying when you are harvesting and thinking what to grow next.

With an Experience System, your farmer will level up and be granted new items like barns, decorations and new types of things to grow as you try become the best farmer. Looking at how the social side of the game impacts the user, you can invite any of your Facebook friends with or without FarmVille to become your neighbours and help you get a bigger piece of land for your farm (you need 8 to get the first upgrade and 10,000 coins). Being neighbours is more than just saying you are, because every once in a while your neighbours will ask you to come clear weeds or take care of pesky crows. Completing these tasks will gain you XP as well as send a message to the friend that you helped out. If you feel like helping your neighbours even more, you can send them gifts they can grow on their farm. One thing I wished was that you could help others harvest their crops just like a real farmer would.

As a former farmer boy I relate quite closely to this game in terms of the planning and execution of the main game mechanics. It really is like having a real farm. I thoroughly enjoy this Facebook game and recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting distraction involving time management games.

Keep up the good work Zynga – who says good games can’t be free.

Fully compatible with Ultimate Terrain and also with most other FSX titles for the region that have been released up till now, Tongass Fjords X brings you a whole new FS world – an addition to Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X that will turn approximately 80 000 square kilometres of Southeast Alaska and northwestern British Columbia into the beautiful piece of nature that it really is.

You get a flying environment that puts you in the pilot seat flying around some of the most stunning landscapes you may find in the real world. You not only get the actual coast lines, lakes, islands, roads, rivers and glaciers installed on your FSX, but in addition some very talented people have added “things to see and things to find” for you in that rugged area of fjords, mountains, lakes and sea.

You will be able to visit many of the US Forestry Service cabins used by hunters, fishermen and hikers hidden near the many lakes and fjords. These cabins are meticulously recreated by Bill Womack, who also recreated Sitka and Petersburg airports as well as landmark objects of Sitka and along the Sitka and Petersburg harbour front. The developers have added moving ships and boats, created by Mitsuya Hamaguchi and Larry Silsbee in many different locations, not just in harbours. Spot and then follow them with your Beaver!

What else is new in this upgrade:

• The eastern British Columbia portion of Tongass Fjords by about 8,000 square kilometers to include the Spectrum Range and areas around Bob Quinn Lake airstrip (CBW4). Previously, flying from Telegraph Creek south to Bronson Creek would mean looking out over the default landscape; that’s no longer the case and it is now a beautiful area well worth exploring.

• Four additional unlisted airstrips have been added in the British Columbia mountains: two mining strips at the proposed Galore Creek mine, one mining strip at Schaft Creek, and a small airstrip at Yehiniko Lake. All four airfields have unimproved, sloped runways with dirt or gravel surfaces. See the list of “Destinations” for their location or select the corresponding flight situation included with Tongass Fjords X.

• Probably the most obvious improvements are the 17 local photo-real areas that cover settlements and bays inside the Tongass Fjords X coverage area. Using 1-m aerial imagery allowed the developers to place buildings and structures in their correct locations and also highlight the beautiful mudflats and tidal areas that cannot really be portrayed with generic textures. Each photo-real area includes all seasonal variants as well as night lights, and blends seamlessly with the surrounding landscape.

• while the FS9 version has generic textures for the glaciers the FSX version uses a semi-photorealistic approach (actually, a hybrid between generic and photoreal). You won’t see every crevasse but the main features of each glacier, especially the dark bands of sediment, make for a nice enhancement. Moreover, the number of glaciers shown in detail has vastly increased and stands at more than 250

• FSX allows for the placement of ambient sounds, with some limitations. While they didn’t create a complete “sound environment” the developers did include appropriate sounds in several locations so keep your ears tuned

• All main paved roads now have moving car traffic

• Lakes and rivers now freeze automatically based on the season

Do not wait any longer and plunge yourself into the monstrous roars of tanks and blaring sounds of war in the realistic tank simulation world of Steel Fury: Kharkov 1942, recreated from archives and photo references of the real-life events that took place during the World War II from May 12 to 28 in 1942.

GAME SUMMARY

Steel Fury: Kharkov 1942 is based on real-life events that took place from May 12 to 28, 1942, which engaged the Red Army in the fight of their lives. During a vicious German counterattack that began on May 17, 1942, three Soviet Armies were surrounded and were forced to fight in what has become known as the “meat grinder.” Through the monstrous roar of tanks and military vehicles, and the blaring sounds of war, players will experience bitterness at the loss of their comrades during battle and elation when they are victorious.


FEATURES

Historical Authenticity: Missions are based on true historical events recreated from archives and photo references, including the interiors and exteriors of vehicles and tactical markings. The player has access to vast battlefields without obstructions from impenetrable forests or other obstacles, allowing them to choose any path available to achieve victory!
Fear and Fury Filled Missions: Throughout 30 playable missions in three unique single-player campaigns, experience large scale battles with numerous active vehicles.
Vehicles: Interact with and command all units involved in the advance against the enemy, including: more than 40 different realistically modelled vehicles, with three playable tanks: T-34/76 mod. 1941, Mk.II ‘Matilda’ III, and the Pz. IV Ausf. F2.
Take Full Control: In first and third person views, assume crew positions for Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver, and Hull Gunner.
Realistic Game Physics: The advanced game engine allows for precise calculation of ballistics and collisions models. Objects can be destroyed and the terrain is deformable. Both player and AI controlled vehicles are subject to realistic physics.
Realistic Environments: The game engine supports dynamic lighting, featuring night-time missions and different weather conditions. The engine’s particle system allows for realistic smoke and water effects, as well as debris from explosions.
Damage Model: Everything in the path of a tank-round can be destroyed. Vehicles can damage buildings and knock down trees. Due to the advanced game engine, impacting shells create craters and trenches take damage when tanks run over them, deforming the terrain.
Difficulty Levels: Players can adjust the level of complexity the game offers. Missions gradually raise the difficulty level by introducing more vehicles, troops, and harder to achieve mission goals. Thanks to training missions, the player can easily learn how to control their tank and supporting AI troops from all crew positions.
Editors and Utilities: Players have the ability to create custom missions and make modifications. Easy-to-use editors make it possible to add new vehicles and weapons to the game.

WWII Battle Tanks: T-34 vs. Tiger allows players to experience the power of some of the most advanced tank weaponry of its time, as German and Russian forces battle head on during critical World War 2 campaigns. Its historically accurate representations of environments and vehicles (interiors and exteriors), realistic physics, and Internet and LAN multiplayer gameplay for up to sixteen players, promises to engage simulation fans in true-to-life tank warfare.

GAME SUMMARY

WWII Battle Tanks: T-34 vs. Tiger takes place in Belarus during the summer of 1944, in which the Soviet Union launched ‘Operation Bagration’, the Belarusian offensive, against the retreating German Wehrmacht. After Kursk, this was the most significant struggle of the two tank armies that resulted in the complete destruction of the German Army Group Centre and the Soviet recapture of all territories within their 1941 borders.

Experience the battlefield from within the Russian T-34 and the German ‘Tiger’ tanks, with fully animated 3D interiors and playable Driver, Gunner, and Commander positions. The tanks’ dynamics include: realistic physics, accurate ballistics, and elaborate damage models. Interior models feature historically accurate gun-sight optics.

The vast Belarusian landscape of the early 20th century – with its rolling hills, villages, and large forests – was carefully recreated from historical reference photos and maps. The rich battlefield environment features AI controlled Russian and German tanks, infantry, armoured-personnel carriers, anti-tank guns, and airplanes.

Stunning special effects such as: explosions, fires, and smoke, and the ability to completely destroy vehicles and buildings, all combine to create a lifelike combat environment. The action can be viewed from various camera angles in first or third person. WWII Battle Tanks: T-34 vs. Tiger includes two single-player campaigns and two multiplayer modes (skirmish and team-play) for LAN and Internet play for up to 16 players.

FEATURES

• German and Russian Campaign missions are based on ‘Operation Bagration’, the codename for the Soviet Belarusian Offensive during World War II
• Playable Tanks: The Russian T-34/85 and the German Sd.Kfz. 181 ‘Tiger’ Ausf. E.
• Control your tank from fully modelled and animated 3D positions (driver, gunner, and commander)
• The Napalm Engine’s 3D technology allows for impressive effects, such as: dynamic shadows, glow, and bloom, self shading, bump mapping, and specular maps
• Stunning realistic graphics and vast landscapes to explore
• Interactive environment with various levels of destruction – buildings, trees, and vehicles can be damaged or destroyed by cannon, MG fire or ramming attacks
• AI Controlled Vehicles: T-34/85, T-34/76, Tiger, Sk.Kfz.251, M3A1,ZIS-5, Opel Blitz, ZIS-3, Pak. 40, IL-2, FW-190
• Multiplayer LAN and Internet for up to 16 players with Skirmish and TeamPlay modes
• GameSpy® Arcade ready for online multi-player sessions and uses DirectPlay™ technology for direct IP multiplayer connections via LAN and Internet
• TrackIR™ support immerses the player in hands-free first person views for all available crew positions.

System Requirements:

Microsoft Windows XP/Windows Vista®
CPU 3.0 GHz
1 GB RAM (2 GB for Vista)
1x speed DVD-ROM drive or better
2GB of free Harddisk space
nVidea GeForce 6600 or ATI Radeon 9600 (128 MB)
DirectX version 9.0c. DirectX 9 Compatible Sound Card

In-Game Screenshots Courtesy of Lighthouse Interactive

Spore is the first of its kind for the simulation genre of video games. Playing this game takes you through the journey of being a small little cell fighting for survival slowly evolving into an actual creature that will allow you to create a tribe, civilization, and even as far as outreaching to space. I guess the sky isn’t the limit with this game.

The interface for Spore is very easy to use. A simple drag and drop interface is used for creating creatures and objects of all types. The possibilities are endless! When in a 3D world, normal WASD keys can be used to navigate as well as the mouse. The true test was to see if I could use WASD, Click-Navigation, and Mouse-Navigation — this game passes that test! You can use all 3 traditional navigation methods.

A big part of this game is the artificial intelligence. Your own creature has AI as well as your enemies and allies. One of the cool concepts I love about this game is your ability to make friends or foe. You can approach another creature that knows nothing about you. If you sing to it, you can make friends. If you bite it, it’s going to bite back and be a foe. So what if there’s a creature that you approach that already doesn’t like you? Simple! You can either be mean to it and kill it off or you could be the better creature and make friends with it. How cool is that?

Along with the artificial intelligence, choice plays a big role in the game also. I don’t think you could possibly play the game and get the same outcome multiple times. For example, when you create your first creature you start out as either a herbivore or carnivore. If you select a carnivore creature and put a mouth that can filter feed plant organisms you can alter your diet habits into an omnivore. Another example is how your species is ranked. Is it a friendly species or is it a angry species? It all depends on how you interact with other creatures.

So how about those graphics? They’re pretty cool actually. There is a certain level of realism along with a certain level of cartoony feeling. There are many different visual settings that you can set to really polish off the look of the game. The game even comes equipped with a depth of field and blur setting! That’s the first time I’ve ever seen those types of settings, personally.

The animations used in this game have been a huge selling-point for it — even before the first screenshots were released. Each creature you create has procedural animation. What does this mean? Simply that, “your creatures and vehicles move based on how you construct them. They behave and interact based on your input and by their in-game encounters. That means there’s no pre-determined path you must follow; the game evolves based on your decisions.” It’s pretty cool seeing your creatures come to life as you create them. I can’t much explain this anymore; you’ll just have to play it to experience this one for yourself.

The music is very limited in this game — the most you hear is sound effects and voice sounds coming from the creatures you create. Creatures make a lot of vowel sounds. Lots of “Oohs”, “Aahs”, and “waka wakas.” I found this to actually be slightly annoying. There’s not many variations of these sounds so you hear them repeatedly over and over! It just makes me want to turn on my own music and mute the game completely. This is my personal opinion though.

Of course there’s online playing! Unlike most games, this one only connects to the servers to grab different creatures. So instead of playing in real-time with someone in California or Germany, you’re just playing the characters from other people in California or Germany for example. I really wish they would let us play in real-time, though.

Overall, I give this game a rating of 5/5 stars! The developers did a very nice job with this game and I was very impressed with it from the press release to the actual game-play.

System Requirements:

FOR WINDOWS XP
* 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
* 512 MB RAM
* A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
* At least 6 GB of hard drive space

FOR WINDOWS VISTA
* 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
* 768 MB RAM
* A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
* At least 6 GB of hard drive space