Toon Boom Animation and Sci-Fi industry community MyOuterSpace.com are joining forces to make the greatest talent in the creative galaxy come forward and shine! This contest will challenge your creativity and originality and show the universe your support for MyOuterSpace.com. With the animated William Shatner starring in your lead role and three audio voiceovers to choose from, this is your opportunity to showcase your skills as a top-notch animator. Watch this video for more information about the upcoming contest, which will open for entries in August 2010:

Not exactly a contest, but still worthy of mention, the Gemini Awards are looking for your best artwork. In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Canadian Gemini Awards, organizers are creating a very special piece of Canadian art. According to their web site, they are looking for a unique way to tell the story of the 25 years of excellence in Canadian programming behind us, and many more years of innovation to come. This will take shape with ‘Gemini Nights’ which will in part be made up of user submitted images that are iconic in nature and instantly recognizable. It could be a show title, a screen shot from a promo poster, a character everyone knows, or a logo that speaks to success. Organizers ask that images be submitted by Wednesday, August 4th via their online form. Take note that you must have rights to any images which you submit for consideration.

Want to pitch a product to and get feedback from the likes of Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and TELETOON? Get yourself over the Ottawa International Animation Festival’s web site and find out all of the details. The deadline to apply is September 1st, so don’t delay.

Pitch Participation Requirements:

* Project synopsis, including target audience, technique, format, rough budget, (1-2 pages)
* One episode synopsis
* Bios of key executives
* Short paragraph indicating your current stage of development and any additional information (i.e. interactive components, merchandise, etc.)
* Concept art (2 or 3 images)

XMG Studio would like you all to know about the upcoming launch of Cannon Cadets, its latest mobile game available for iPhone and iPod Touch users, rocketing into Apple’s App Store in early August 2010.

From the award-winning company that brought you Drag Racer, Little Metal Ball and Marine Sharpshooter, XMG Studio’s Cannon Cadets is a supremely addictive physics game with 80 visually stimulating and diabolically devious levels to challenge children and adults alike.

In this new game, you are Rocketboy, who must save your team of Cannon Cadets from Gordo, an evil lab monkey, and his robot army, that are determined to rid the universe of all that is fun. Players will shoot their cadets at the robots, trying to knock them out while dealing with complex structures that follow advanced physics rules including rolls, slides and hinges!

Each level is a new challenge, from basic structures to complex Rube Goldberg-esque machines that will test the skills of even the bravest cadet. As players advance, the Cannon Cadet team members will need to rescue fun new friends and add to the player’s arsenal of special powers to use against Gordo.

Features of Cannon Cadets include:

- 80 beautifully illustrated mind twisting levels on four unique planets
– 4 playable characters (RocketBoy, RocketGirl, Pop, and Granati)
– Hidden Bonus Levels
– Amazing game physics including hinged and moving objects, as well as complex chain reaction style challenges

Other Ocean Interactive invites you to challenge the speediest puffins on the island for the title of Fastest Flyer in Puffins: Let’s Race in their latest Nintendo DSi release. Race against the clock or go head-to-head with your opponents in a battle to the finish line. Use cleverly placed power-ups like the squawk shot to get ahead of the pack and claim victory. Race through four different game modes on eight different tracks to prove your skill, or challenge up to three of your friends via local wireless play. Do you have what it takes to become the race champion of Puffin Island, or will you be left behind with the rest of the flock? Let’s Race! is available now on DSiware for 500 DSi Points.

VanArts presents an Animation & Story Development Masterclass on September 24 & 25th in Vancouver with instructors Story Artist Matthew Luhn and Animator Andrew Gordon, both from Pixar Animation Studios. This exceptional opportunity will offer participants a rare and exciting opportunity to learn from the industry’s top talent. This class has toured the world, and this is one of only two North American stops in 2010.

Geared toward animators and storytellers, experienced professionals, students, and enthusiasts alike, this masterclass provides you with the tools needed to create your own stories and feature-quality animation, plus offers a great opportunity to meet and network with others in the industry. The course will be held at the Fletcher Challenge Theater – Simon Fraser University, 515 West Hastings Street in Vancouver. Registration for this two day masterclass is $499.00, with early registration highly recommended.

Maid Marian Entertainment Inc. announces a major update to Sherwood Dungeon, its free-to-play, browser-based MMO game that all bow-loving players will appreciate.

As a completely new addition to Sherwood Dungeon, players will gain access to Bow & Arrows at level 21. Players will earn two additional equipment slots for these items, as well as the ability to purchase magic arrows (Fire, Ice, Poison, Night) from the local weapons merchant. In addition to the new weapons, this update includes numerous changes such as AI improvements, economy and item rebalancing, and a complete dungeon overhaul, replacing old maps with new ones.

Fitting the grassroots nature of Sherwood Dungeon, this update was made possible through the direct support and feedback of Sherwood Dungeon’s loyal fan base, which beta tested the update and helped work out any bugs. Lacking the need for a high-end gaming PC, a credit card or login, Sherwood Dungeon proves that high-end fantasy gaming doesn’t need a box, a download, or a monthly subscription fee to deliver high quality gaming for casual MMO players. To join the more than one million players continuing development of this high-quality, 3-D experience, visit the Sherwood Dungeon MMORPG web site.

EA Sports announced today that there are now two ways to play FIFA 11 Wii—traditional 11 versus 11 football matches plus a new street football mode. Hit the pitch for a Wii-specific take on customary 11 versus 11 football matches with over 30 officially licensed leagues, 500 teams, more than 15,000 players to choose from. Or, hit the streets to compete in 5 versus 5 street matches with the world’s elite players.

FIFA 11 Wii features numerous gameplay enhancements that bring the beautiful game to life on the Wii console. An all-new attacker vs. defender trick system creates head-to-head battles as you move up the pitch, performing dozens of elaborate new tricks to throw the defender off-balance. The new button-based shooting mechanic puts control back in the users’ hands – and with new shot types and animations you’ll find all-new ways to score each game. Blast, finesse, chip or tap it by the keeper for the goal that lifts your team to glory!

Hit the Streets with players decked out in street wear. Each player boasts a distinctive style of play with unique abilities to match. Use the wall to jump past defenders or bank passes to teammates. Choose to play arcade style and you can build up and then activate your power meter to blast shots, ignite a speed burst or send shockwaves over your opponents.

Challenge your rivals in the hottest locales around the world, everywhere from Brazil to London to the streets of France. The stage is set for victory with a soundtrack that brings the culture of the area to life. Plus, for the first time on Wii, test your game in an indoor setting. Customize the game to suit your style of play. Choose from different match types—first to score, Tug of War or timed—and from a variety of different goals to test your skills, including elevated nets for lofted touch shots, wall goals for continuous action and mini nets to test accuracy.

Autodesk, Inc. has released three new training modules as part of the Autodesk Animation Academy 2011 curriculum (terms & conditions) for secondary schools. The modules provide students with tools and a curriculum to help develop the skills needed to create mobile game applications. Separately, Autodesk has also announced new instructor certification for Autodesk Softimage software, as well as a new cost-effective cross-certification program for trainers wanting to teach multiple Autodesk Digital Entertainment Creation (DEC) products.

The three new Animation Academy modules provide students with an easy learning path to help master 3D tools for interactive content creation. The modules are designed to be used with Academy Award–winning Autodesk Maya software, and focus on storytelling and game creation using both Unity3D game engine and Maya Cloth and Fur. The modules add 180 hours of free training material to the Animation Academy program, which now comprises four full semesters of coursework.

* Environmental Storytelling — Students learn to model an environment inspired by an historical event. A character model is included along with an overview of the pipeline for mobile game production.
* Game Creation — Students learn how to create a game with the assets created in the Environmental Storytelling module. They can export their level and props directly into the Unity3D game engine.
* Ricky 2.0 Superhero — Pre-existing modules in the series enable students to hone their animation skills based around a unique character named “Ricky the Rat.” In this newest character module, students learn how to use Maya Cloth and Fur.

This new material extends Autodesk’s latest post secondary games curriculum, which was released in March 2010. All curricula created for the Autodesk Animation Academy are now available on the online Autodesk Education Community, where students and educators can also download free (subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies the software) copies of Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Softimage, Autodesk MotionBuilder, Autodesk Mudbox and Autodesk SketchBook Pro software.

Carl Callewaert, Lead 3D Instructor at The Gaming and Animation Institute of Fredericton and Director of Animation at motion capture company Measurand, worked with Autodesk to co-develop the new game creation modules.

“I have been teaching Autodesk technology for over 10 years, and I was eager to extend my experience teaching college-level game design to high school students,” said Callewaert. “These new courses provide students with the building blocks for creating their own game, a valuable knowledge base that will help prepare them for future real-world job opportunities and further studies in the game development field.”

Callewaert adds: “Autodesk has done a great job in making this curriculum and their tools accessible to high school students. Any student can download a free copy of Maya software and begin to create games immediately — it’s that easy.”

The Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI) program — offering coaching, mentoring and accreditation services for instructors teaching Autodesk software — is now available to instructors of Autodesk Softimage software. Qualified program candidates will receive an ACI Workbook along with access to downloadable training guides and online courses to help prepare for three online certification tests. After the exams are completed, candidates are required to attend and pass a three-day observational assessment seminar to qualify as an ACI.

A new, cost-effective cross-certification program helps trainers certified in 3ds Max, Maya, Autodesk Flame, Autodesk Lustre or Autodesk Smoke software apply for certification on other Autodesk DEC products by passing the application-specific certification exams, all without having to participate in another training workshop.

Telefilm Canada announces its support of the 35th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, held from September 9 to September 19, 2010. Telefilm Canada’s participation enables TIFF to deliver a first-class event to a growing audience of film aficionados and industry members, in addition to providing prime networking and business development opportunities to Canadian and international representatives from the audiovisual sector.

“The Toronto International Film Festival is an internationally recognized and immensely respected film festival, bringing the world’s attention to the filmmakers it showcases during its eleven days of programming while also offering valuable development and business opportunities to emerging and established film talent alike,” said Sheila de La Varende, National and International Business Development Director at Telefilm Canada. “We are proud to once again support the Festival, and are pleased to see that Canadian titles will be prominent in this year’s selection, including on opening night.”

This year’s opening night Gala film will be the world premiere of the Telefilm-supported Score: A Hockey Musical. Written and directed by Michael McGowan (One Week, Saint Ralph) and starring Olivia Newton-John and songwriter Marc Jordan alongside newcomers Noah Reid and Allie MacDonald, the film also features cameos from Nelly Furtado, George Stromboulopoulos (The Hour with George Stromboulopoulos, CBC), Evan Solomon (CBC), legendary hockey-dad Walter Gretzky, and hockey star Theo Fleury among others.

The 35th edition of the Festival will also mark the return of industry initiatives such as Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS!, a pitching competition open to aspiring Canadian filmmakers, and TIFF’s Talent Lab, an artistic development program that provides emerging talent with the opportunity to learn from the world’s best film artists. The Festival’s full schedule will be made available online as of August 26, 2010.

Open Text Corporation has announced the availability of Web Site Management 10.1, featuring usability enhancements to accelerate common tasks and make it easier for website managers to integrate with corporate information and resources along with a sample project that speeds up delivery of new websites. It also offers integration points to many consumer social applications including Facebook and Twitter as well as enhanced native social capabilities with Open Text Social Communities.

The latest release of Web Site Management is the next iteration of Web Solutions 10, a major release introduced last year. A key member of Open Text’s industry-leading portfolio of Web Content Management (WCM) products, Web Site Management is a powerful, easy-to-use Web site application that empowers employees to keep content fresh and relevant and offers extensive multiple-language support and social tools.

“At the core of an engaging Web experience is vibrant, relevant content and an immersive social community integrated with internal business processes and infrastructure,” said Lubor Ptacek, Vice President of Product Marketing at Open Text. “Web Site Management makes this possible with rapid implementation, a strong reputation for usability, and a useful set of integrations with content sources. As demonstrated by the release of 10.1, our strategy is to continue building on these strengths.”

One of the focus points for Web Site Management 10.1 was to not just make it easier for editors and administrators to complete website management tasks, but to actually accelerate daily editorial work. For instance, a new redlining component allows editors to quickly and easily make an editorial assessment of page content. Enhanced drag and drop capabilities allow editors to change the order of content in lists and visualize results of edits immediately. A new asset management panel with SmartEdit, and drag and drop speeds up work with digital assets.

On the back-end, Web Site Management 10.1 features a number of enhancements to servers for management and delivery of content, including a new graphical user interface that aligns the different server components. A new online help for administrators offers advanced search functionality and a clear navigation structure so information can be found more quickly and easily. Also contributing to lower support and training costs and allowing faster deploying of new sites is a new best practice project that provides an extensive set of pre-defined content classes and templates, along with SAP Portal examples.

On the integration front, Web Site Management 10.1 allows users to fully tap the extensive social capabilities in Open Text Social Communities (formerly Vignette Social Media) and lets them take advantage of Open Text Media Management 7 for managing digital media assets from across an enterprise. It also enhances third-party application integration with extended portlet connectors. Using a new HTTP connector, any type of social media component, such as Facebook or Twitter, can be added and administered.

Score Media Inc. and NuLayer have launched theScore iPad Edition, and it’s already up at the top as one of the leading free sports apps just days after launching in Apple’s App Store. TheScore iPad Edition offers the latest stats, news, scores and standings from every major sports league, while integrating the best content from The Score’s multiplatform properties – The Score Television Network, theScore.com, Hardcore Sports Radio (HSR) and ScoreMobile all in one app.

A hybrid of Score Media’s leading sports app, ScoreMobile, and it’s newly relaunched website, theScore.com, theScore iPad Edition brings iPad users the best of both platforms while offering original video and audio content from The Score Television Network and HSR.

“theScore iPad Edition takes advantage of all the great features the iPad has to offer and leverages its native performance and flexible web views,” says Jeff Brenner, Co-Founder, NuLayer. “It’s an awesome app that provides a socially-integrated way to explore the sports world. Fans are going to love it.”

theScore iPad Edition is the perfect companion for watching sports on TV or sitting around with your friends discussing the latest trade and stories of the day. It also gives users unlimited and immediate access to up-to-the-minute stats and entertaining content including:

* Real-time scores, breaking news and updates
* Original digital video segments available exclusively to iPad users like The Score’s hit web show, The Break and The Footy Show, a news program and podcast dedicated to covering all of the latest soccer news and highlights
* Integrated social tools for sharing articles, blog posts and videos
* The Score’s entertaining television content offering unique interviews with top athletes along with iPad exclusives from The Score’s world renowned reporter Cabral “Cabbie” Richards as well as the popular, irreverent NBA web show, The Basketball Jones
* A slick interface designed specifically for the iPad with an intuitive and clean navigation structure

Trailpeak, Canada’s premier interactive trail mapping network, has unveiled two features to support hiking, biking, climbing and paddling enthusiasts who visit the site for information on trails across Canada and the U.S.

Trailpeak’s innovative “hyperlocal widgets” feature allows visitors to customize their individual outdoor-adventures webpage, according to location and preference of the user. The gallery of hyperlocal widgets to choose from includes new and popular local trails, outdoor events, weather conditions, Craigslist, and Google maps.

“Our hyperlocal widgets feature has been designed to simplify information-gathering,” said Kurt Turchan, founder of Trailpeak. “Instead of searching different pages of our site for trail, event or member information and browsing external sites such as Craigslist and YouTube, we bring it all together on one page.”

The Trailpeak widgets page can be adapted by the user to include information and locations of particular interest to them. For example, a user in Calgary can track events in that city and can also go to the widget gallery and add the events or classified advertising widgets for Banff.

Trailpeak has also developed a video feature that allows members to upload video content by simply copying and pasting the embed code from any YouTube or Vimeo video. “We can’t wait to see the footage that our members will be providing for the benefit and enjoyment of their fellow adventurers,” said Turchan.

Next month, Turchan, and four Trailpeak editors will embark on a 10-day tour of Newfoundland and Labrador to explore some of the world’s most breathtaking scenery. The team will be equipped with hands-free, high definition head cams, allowing them to capture the landscape and trail conditions of a variety of adventures such as shipwreck survivor trails, sea kayak routes and hikes on Fogo Island and Terra Nova National Park. Video footage and trail data collected by the team will be added to Trailpeak’s database of over 10,000 outdoor trails and GPS logs across Canada and the U.S.

Outdoor enthusiasts and armchair travellers have been sourcing Trailpeak.com for information on thousands of trails ranging from tranquil paddling trips to spine-tingling downhill-mountain biking adventures for almost ten years. There is no fee to browse trail listings and video content on the community website that is maintained by hiking, biking, climbing, kayaking, canoeing, skiing, and snowshoeing enthusiasts across Canada and the U.S.

According to the Entertainment Software Association, female gamers are one of the industry’s fastest growing demographics, with women currently accounting for 40% of the overall gaming audience. Silicon Sisters plans to capture and grow this rapidly expanding market by tailoring games to these players’ daily lives and personal interests. Their target customers — women of all ages, from tweens and teens to hard-working women worldwide — comprise an audience that the company’s all-female design staff inherently understands.

“We’re not interested in ‘pinkifying’ games, which is how girl games are typically designed,” says Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch, Silicon Sisters’ CEO. “It’s no coincidence that the games I and many other female gamers are most drawn to have had women involved in their development. Girls and women game differently than boys and men. Silicon Sisters has studied these differences so we can make games that truly appeal to and resonate with the female audience.”

It’s an objective perfectly suited to the founders’ backgrounds. During their combined 18 years in the industry, both have been vocal champions of female representation among video game developers and audiences. The former COO of Deep Fried Entertainment, Bailey Gershkovitch chairs the Vancouver chapter of Women in Games International (WIGeh) and sits on GDC Canada’s Advisory Board. Forbes, previously an Executive Producer at Radical Entertainment, has delivered eleven top-selling games and is a veteran industry advocate for girl gaming preferences.

“The video game industry is experiencing a rebirth of sorts,” says Kirsten Forbes, Silicon Sisters’ COO. “PC online gaming is up, social networking has become pervasive, and mobile platforms are ubiquitous. Women are adopting games on these platforms in droves. It’s time to get serious about delivering quality games into this burgeoning market.”

Silicon Sisters’ predominantly female team, which includes noted designer Brenda Brathwaite as a consultant, is working on two projects for PC and mobile platforms. This summer, company representatives will attend Casual Connect, GDC Europe, and GamesCom to pursue publishing opportunities for their own properties, as well as potential work-for-hire projects that correspond to Silicon Sisters’ corporate vision.

TransGaming, Inc. is crossing the Atlantic and entering the European market after securing its first in a number of active agreements to deploy GameTreeTV in the European market before the end of 2010. The first deployment will be with a European Managed Service Operator (MSO) who will begin releasing the new generation of set-top boxes to their subscriber base of multi-millions of households. Financial terms were not disclosed due to confidentiality reasons. TransGaming will be working closely with this MSO over the next few months to prepare for the commercial launch of GameTreeTV, which is currently slated for late 2010.

“This agreement is a major milestone and demonstration of TransGaming’s leading role in revolutionizing the delivery of high-end interactive content in the digital home,” said Vikas Gupta, President and CEO of TransGaming. “We are excited that European consumers will be the first to enjoy the ability to play great games directly through their set-top box and conveniently will be able to transact their games through a variety of consumer friendly business models.”

The GameTreeTV Gaming Platform is an on-demand video games service that gives consumers access to high quality games directly from the comfort of their living rooms through any Intel CE Media Processor based device. Consumers will be able to access a broad assortment of well-known, popular arcade, puzzle, family and adventure style games from the growing library at GameTreeTV. TransGaming first unveiled its GameTreeTV platform at the Intel Developer Forum in September last year while announcing a strategic collaboration agreement with Intel Corporation and an investment by Intel Capital.

Developers are invited to sign up for TransGaming’s Content Developer Program in order to gain access to their SDK game emulation tools, documentation, and hardware requirements to bring your games direct to consumers through the GameTreeTV Games Platform.

Big Blue Bubble Inc. announced today that Home Sweet Home Online, the next evolution in the Home Sweet Home series is released on Facebook.

Do you think you have what it takes to be a home decorator? Now you can with Home Sweet Home Online! Build your dream home and show it off to your friends and the rest of the Home Sweet Home users.

Home Sweet Home Online gives the player complete freedom when it comes to designing rooms, kitchens and bathrooms. They can paint objects different colors and they are not restricted to a grid when placing items. This freedom combined with thousands of furniture pieces allows the player to create a virtually infinite amount of different rooms!

Travel to your friend’s homes to see what ideas they come up with. You can even travel to their friend’s homes and check out what they’ve done. Meet new and interesting people and become an active part of the Home Sweet Home community!

The player can also play mini games to earn coins, unlock new furniture by gaining experience, and visit virtually everyone else’s home to rate their rooms get decoration ideas. With weekly updates of new content and features, players will continually try to outdo each other and win the Room of the Week prizes.

Features:

* Beautiful graphics and a vast variety of items at the players disposal
* Rate each other’s rooms for prizes
* Exciting mini-games help earn coins
* Unique furniture unlocking system
* Travel from neighborhood to neighborhood to find the latest trends
* Complete freedom when create rooms
* Buy new rooms, kitchens and bathrooms to create an even larger home!

The REAL Hockey Experience on Wii™, the unprecedented NHL® 2K11 cross-country tour is bringing the excitement to the Vancouver area on Thursday, July 22 and Friday, July 23.

Phoenix Coyotes center, Kyle Turris, will return to his hometown of New Westminster on Thursday, July 22 to face-off with fans as they get exclusive hands-on play with NHL 2K11 months before it launches exclusively for the Nintendo Wii system.

Traveling throughout the northern United States and Canada, The REAL Hockey Experience on Wii™ brings the excitement of NHL hockey to fans in a custom-designed NHL 2K11 recreation vehicle rigged with portable video game gear created especially for fans and gamers. The trail of pucks, prizes and playable demos will also feature appearances by NHL stars throughout the tour, including Vancouver Canucks® forward and NHL 2K11 cover athlete Ryan Kesler, Los Angeles Kings® defenseman Jack Johnson, New Jersey Devils® forward Travis Zajac and more.

Lower Mainland enthusiasts can meet up with the NHL 2K11 tour bus at the New Westminster Best Buy store at 805 Boyd Street on July 22 from 1 – 4pm, or at the Richmond Best Buy store (5300 No. 3 Road) on July 23rd, again from 1 – 4pm.

An Alien invasion, a clumsy janitor, a vat of rubber and a burst of radiation lay the groundwork for the latest release of “Elasticr, the Stretchiest Superhero” game for the Apple iPhone.

The games hero Elasticr could very well be the distant cousin of Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four or Helen Parr, aka Elastigirl with his powers of super body elongation, allowing him to fling himself acrobatically around a room to avoid evil aliens, devious traps and sharp spikes as he struggles to save the human race.

In the latest version of Elasticr, Montreal’s Dlux Studios has added twenty additional levels along with a level chooser, full OpenFeint integration, and significantly more hair gel to manage Elasticr’s super sized pompadour. The Elasticr app’s physics engine creates realistic flying, bouncing and stretching effects unparalleled in the app store.

Fun for kids from five to one hundred, Elasticr’s is rated 4+ and is both suitable and enjoyable for children. Higher levels will test the skills of gamers of all ages as Elasticr encounters increasingly difficult obstacles such as disappearing hand holds, spinning blades and numerous chances for electrocution. Please ignore the smell of burning rubber…

To experience the most fun with rubber since the first rubber band was shot across a room at a co-worker, find the Elasticr arcade game in the iTunes app store for only $0.99. Elasticr is compatible with all iPhone’s and iPod Touch devices running iOS 3.0 or higher. Go ahead and run it on your iPad too… Elasticr is more than happy to stretch onto the bigger screen for you.

As the iOS game market continues to expand, game developers are looking for ways to further promote their most popular games via a variety of methods, including mobile advertising, cross promotion in newer games, and pricing changes. With proper promotional support, changing an app’s price to free for a limited time can greatly build a game’s audience and improve its chances to grow revenue virally following the sale.

Get Set Games, creator of the successful Addicus game, recently faced this scenario with its Mega Jump title. Mega Jump was performing well in the charts, regularly pulling in over 2,500 downloads a day. However, the game struggled to break through the barrier and gain viral success, facing the same problem that every other app in the iOS ecosystem faces – getting discovered by players. Their solution was to temporarily make Mega Jump free and promote it on OpenFeint’s Free Game of the Day.

Downloads of the game jumped dramatically during the promotion, from 2,500 a day to over 1 million downloads while free for 3 days. The game went to #1 on the charts in over 25 countries. And the momentum continued once the game changed back to paid – with revenue growing 170% for the 3 weeks following the promotion.

“We wanted to feature Mega Jump on OpenFeint because we thought the network had truly viral promotion capability. We knew we’d get a bump in sales, but wanted to test this theory,” said Derek van Vliet, Co-Founder of Get Set Games. “The promotion was an amazing success. It’s been a great ride for our studio and has dramatically increased our revenue stream.”

“Free Game of the Day was a great experience for Get Set Games,” said van Vliet. “OpenFeint has created a very easy to use program that really helps drive game downloads.”

Free Game of the Day consistently drives games to the top of the charts. Of the 30 games featured in May, 13 reached in the top 25 and 9 more reached the top 50 in the U.S. app store. Developers interested in being considered for Free Game of the Day can visit the Free Game of The Day site to find out more.

Rusty Axe Games is proud to announce the availability of Dungeon Demon, a map design and editing tool for tabletop RPG, wargame and computer game map development. Early adopter pricing at $19.99 is available until Aug. 30, 2010 when Dungeon Demon will return to its normal purchase price of $29.99.

Dungeon Demon features:

* Free upgrades forever
* An easy to use editor that blends rapid tiling with object placement. The tiling tool allows users to rapidly drag out ground, floor and wall layers before using the stamper to drop down individual objects.
* Dungeon Demon ships with roughly 200 pieces of professional, royalty free artwork that you can use in your own map designs, and additional art packs are available. Royalty free licensing for commercial computer game development is available and include source art files in 32-bit alpha file formats for inclusion in game engines.
* Up to 9 user definable layers with no map dimension size restrictions!
* Dungeon Demon blends tiling and simple object placement to give you the best of both worlds in a fast and easy to use object oriented map editor. The grid system enables rapid tiling of wall and floor sections and graphic objects can be placed at any position in the map.
* Export maps as bitmaps or in XML format for use in computer games. Print maps directly from dungeon Demon or import bitmaps directly into your favorite paint program for further touch up.
* Use the legend tool to annotate your maps. Easy to use XML template system allows computer game designers to add additional map data with the legend tool.

EA Black Box has announced that Need for Speed™ World, the massively multiplayer online action racing game, will be available for digital download on July 27 for the PC. Need for Speed World combines the rush of illicit street racing, deep RPG style progression and vehicle customization into an immersive, socially-connected Need for Speed experience. Players can compete against any one of their friends, family or pick from thousands of top ranked players to challenge in intense online battles and police pursuits across 150 miles of sprawling open world.

Players can pre-order the Need for Speed World Starter Pack (Conditions & restrictions apply to this preorder offer. See the EA Store for details) today to gain early access to the game on July 20. Gamers will also unlock exclusive cars, earn double XP, reserve their driver names and have VIP status permanently displayed in their driver profile before the game officially launches.

On July 20, the Need for Speed World Starter Pack will be available for $20. The Starter Pack includes a credit for $20 worth of SpeedBoost (the in-game currency), full access up to level 50 and a bundled assortment of power-ups including Nitrous and Traffic Magnet to help players get started. Players can also purchase additional items like power-ups, double XP periods and even rental cars starting at just a few cents. (Conditions & restrictions apply. See details at point of purchase.) A free client download of Need for Speed World will also be available to give gamers a sample of the intense street-racing action with access to all races, pursuits and career progression up to level 10.

NBA Jam Session, an interactive basketball festival will travel across Canada this summer and bring free basketball activities to fans of all ages and skill levels. From August 21 to October 10, NBA Jam Session will make weekend stops in Halifax, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto. Check out the tour’s Facebook page for regular tour updates.

“Basketball is more popular than ever in Canada following the record-breaking TV viewership of Game 7 of the NBA Finals,” says General Manager of NBA Canada Dan MacKenzie. “NBA Jam Session will allow fans in Canada to experience the NBA like never before through a great mix of basketball and entertainment.”

Free Saturday activities for fans at each NBA Jam Session visit will include:

- Appearances by NBA players, legends, mascots and dancers
– Performance by a world famous Harlem Globetrotter
– A free photo for each fan with The Larry O’Brien Trophy
– An NBA Fit clinic to teach attendees how to get in shape
– Dancing instruction from NBA dancers
– Measure up stations that give fans a chance to compare height, hand and shoe size with NBA players

Sunday activities at each NBA Jam Session visit will include:

- A full day 3-on-3 tournament. There is a $60 entry fee per team and registration is required.
– There will be four age divisions: Under 12 will be co-ed as well as separate male and female divisions for players ages 13-15, 16-18 and 19+
– The winners of the 19 and over tournament will win a trip to Toronto for the National Finals at Air Canada Centre during a pre-season Toronto Raptors game
– Registration will be on a first come, first served basis and will open July 23 at 10:00 a.m. EDT

The NBA Jam Session Tour Schedule:

Halifax (Waterfront) August 21-22
Montreal (Crescent St.) September 11-12
Winnipeg (The Forks) September 18-19
Calgary (Olympic Plaza) September 25-26
Vancouver (Granville Sq.) October 2-3
Toronto (Yonge-Dundas Sq.) October 9-10

NBA Jam Session partners include: American Airlines, Colgate-Palmolive, EA Sports, Family Channel, Gatorade, HP, Life Science Nutritionals, Parmalat Canada Inc., Rogers Communications and Spalding.

Toronto-based international eCommerce solution provider PayPro Global has announced that it has secured $1.7 million USD in funding. The new funds will be used to further develop the PayPro EasyCommerce platform, through technology and infrastructure advancements, support marketing efforts, and drive sales.

Enabling PayPro Global to make a huge investment in eCommerce technologies development has the potential to dramatically improve the way modern online software sales are managed, providing vendors with a safer, more efficient alternative. Well known as an innovative eCommerce provider, PayPro uses cutting edge technologies to deliver the best tools and services for selling software online.

PayPro’s EasyCommerce platform was designed to help sellers grow their business in global markets. PayPro services reduce the possible risks of online transactions, and ensure high sales conversion rates and customer satisfaction rates, using techniques available only through PayPro.

“The success of PayPro Global is directly related to the success of our client’s online software businesses, and this drives our continued development and expansion of the PayPro EasyCommerce platform,” said Matthew Silverman, CEO of PayPro Global. “This is an unprecedented opportunity for us to go far beyond building the most reliable, safe, advanced, and easy-to-use system for selling software online.”

Since its foundation, PayPro Global has put great effort into constructing a powerful end-to-end eCommerce solution with flexible architecture to meet the demands of companies of all sizes worldwide. The EasyCommerce platform includes comprehensive sales data reporting functionality that lets clients build custom reports and easily identify methods for improving sales. In addition, PayPro is known for providing personal attention to its clients and advising clients on effective ways to increase revenue.

Alien Concepts‘ newest project, At Risk: The Turtle Survivor Challenge, commissioned by the Toronto Zoo’s Adopt-A-Pond Programme is now live. A downloadable free title, this flash game is aimed primarily at kids to teach them about turtles that live within city parks.

“It has lots of educational content about the threats that face turtles and turtle conservation efforts, but it’s fed to the player, we hope, in a way that’s not pedantic or intrusive upon the gameplay. The gameplay we tried very hard to make on par with other sidescroller-type games that kids and adults alike would be familiar with, and features high-end graphics,” said Alien Concepts Studio Director Jamie Richards. “All of the animations are pre-rendered frames from fully-3D scenes constructed in Maya, and there are even several short movie clips of the player’s turtle avatar performing various actions at different points in the game.”

The Adopt-A-Pond Wetland Conservation Programme provides teachers, students and community groups with information resources and educational opportunities to conserve, restore and create wetland habitats.

Corel Software is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a contest. Enter your best illustration, painting or photo created with Corel software and you could win an Ultimate Design Studio or other great prizes – even those who vote on entries can win prizes. All entries must be submitted in the original Corel software format and must be received by August 31, 2010. There is a limit of one (1) entry per person, and the contest is open to residents of  Canada (excluding Quebec), the UK, USA and Germany only.

Toronto social media analytics company and former MaRS client Sysomos has been acquired by Marketwire Inc. MaRS extends its congratulations to everyone at Sysomos, and is proud to have been a part of Sysomos’ success. MaRS’ influence on the “lab to market” success of the social media start-up is evidence of the centre’s ability to work with entrepreneurs to grow and scale their ventures into global market leaders.

Sysomos became a MaRS client in 2006, following its birth in 2005 as an advanced research project for content aggregation and analysis at University of Toronto’s Department of Computer Science. Spearheaded by then faculty member Nick Koudas and graduate student Nilesh Bansal, Sysomos took advantage of MaRS advisors and mentors to help with their business development and was introduced to other key Canada-based resources including Scott Vanderwel, Head of Monitor Canada’s Toronto office and volunteer advisor at MaRS; Vanderwel later joined the Sysomos board.

“We’re grateful for the work that MaRS did over the years to help us move the company forward,” said Koudas, President and Co-Founder of Sysomos. “We are also grateful for the counsel and high degree of engagement Scott demonstrated as a member of our board.”

The Sysomos platform brings business intelligence to social media by providing the ability to contextually analyze conversations across a variety of media channels. The Sysomos technology is an advanced social media monitoring and analytics platform, collecting and processing more than a billion new online conversations a month. This industry-leading platform allows major brands to quickly discover the tone of social media conversations and provides the ability to see what’s happening, why it’s happening, and who’s driving the conversations.

Sysomos, now profitable with 25 employees, has added an impressive set of organizations to its client list, which includes boutique and international agencies, mid-sized companies, and some of the world’s biggest brands such as Hill & Knowlton, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Disney and Shell; now becoming part of Marketwire, Sysomos has the opportunity to offer even more to its clients and to the 11,000 clients in Marketwire’s portfolio.

“The progress Sysomos has made in terms of refining its product and establishing a strong position in a highly competitive market since we first met Nick’s team is impressive,” said Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, CEO of MaRS. “This is a terrific example of a great technology transitioning from lab to market, and in being acquired by Marketwire, scaling internationally – with high value job creation in Ontario.”

Electronic Arts Inc. would like its FIFA fans to know that the football engine which drives the award-winning EA Sports™ FIFA gameplay on the PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360® has arrived for FIFA 11 PC. Two years in development, the console game engine has been optimized for PC, delivering next generation console-quality gameplay, game modes and visuals to FIFA 11 PC.

“The EA SPORTS FIFA franchise is committed to investing and innovating for PC and this is a watershed moment,” said Executive Producer Kaz Makita. “We are delivering to FIFA 11 PC the high quality gameplay, innovative game modes and stunning graphics that have made FIFA the highest rated sports game on the PlayStation3 and Xbox 360 and winner of over 50 sports game of the year awards.”

The physics-based, data-driven technology behind the EA Sports football engine will deliver true freedom on the pitch with individuality of player control and movement, sophisticated ball touches, and physical interaction between players. FIFA 11 PC will feature the market-leading true 360° dribbling system that gives players precise control of the ball and next generation animation technology that delivers Skilled Dribbling, enabling skilled dribblers to face defenders and use highly responsive lateral dribbling to skip past them. Plus, Physical Play has been improved using collision sharing, creating a varied, less predictable, and extended fight for possession between players.

Canadian publisher Dreamcatcher Games has released its latest Nintendo DS title. The Legend of Kay (previously released for the PS2) takes players to the mythical island of Yenchling, which is located in the Chinese Sea. For generations, this island was home to a variety of animal societies, all living in peace. Then one day Emporer Shun of the mighty gorillas attacked the rest of the island without provocation, destroying the peaceful existence of so many.

For the young cat Kay, an apprentice at the local Dojo, the attack caught him at practice and wiped out his entire town before he could respond. Travel across the vast island of Yenching as Kay on a quest to protect your fellow cats, and unravel the incredible secret that lies hidden in the volcano fortress of emperor Shun.

Ubisoft is very pleased that its stellar line-up of future titles which were showcased at this year’s E3 received multiple awards in diverse categories. Ubisoft was also named “Best Publisher” by Eurogamer.

Highlights of Ubisoft’s E3 showing were: Ubisoft’s core titles were among the most anticipated of the show with Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood and Ghost Recon Future Soldier receiving numerous nods and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood ranking first in a study of consumer purchase intent by Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR)/Gamer Metrics.

Ubisoft again showed its leadership on new technologies with the quality of Your Shape™: Fitness Evolved for KinectT™ making a noted impact on participants thanks to Ubisoft’s patented Player Projection technology. Ubisoft reinforced its leader position in the casual segment, announcing Just Dance® 2 and revealing Michael Jackson: The Experience, a major announcement which garnered massive interest from mainstream media outlets. Setting itself out as one of the most creative developers in the industry, Ubisoft was praised for innovative projects such as Child of Eden, Project Dust and Mania Planet.

“It is a real satisfaction for the immense creative efforts of our development teams to have been recognized by critics and gamers,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. “This year’s E3 was a stellar opportunity for Ubisoft to create excitement with our consumers about our upcoming line-up.”

Awards for Ubisoft’s line-up following E3 2010:

Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood

Number 1 ranking in study of consumer purchase intent by Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR)/Gamer Metrics, June 2010 Best Action Game – IGN Best Sequel – Game Chronicles Reason to Live – GamesRadar
Best Multiplayer Game – GameInformer
Yahoo! Best of E3 2010 – Yahoo! Games
Best Trailer of E3 – Kotaku
Best Online Multiplayer – Game Critics Awards
Best of E3 – The BitBag

Tom Clancy™’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier™

Reason to Live – GamesRadar
People’s Choice – Gamespot

Michael Jackson: The Experience

Best Game Announcement – Eurogamer

Your Shape™: Fitness Evolved

Best Kinect Game – OXCGN
Best of E3 – Gamepro

Mania Planet

Best Surprise – Big Download

Battle Tag™

Boldest Move Runner-up – Kotaku

Driver San Francisco

Best Gameplay Mechanic Runner-up – Kotaku

Shaun White Skateboarding

Family Friendly Seal of Approval – Family Friendly Video Game

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game

Best Downloadable Game – 1UP

Child Of Eden™

Best Motion-Control Game – IGN
Best Music/Rhythm Game – IGN
Best Visuals – VGChartz
Best Surprise – VGChartz
Best Rhythm Game – E3 Editors Choice- Gamespot
Best Motion Control Game – E3 Editors Choice- Gamespot
Game of the Show – Eurogamer
Best of E3 – Gamepro

A recent release on the iTunes App Store reminds us all of how communication and social interaction is moving into the 21st century. Available as a free download from the iTunes app store today, the Gotham Lofts MOBILE HOME™ app for the iPhone and iPod Touch platform marks a first for the Toronto area condominium community.

The app allows residents to view the current building notice, contact property management and building services, manage a list of neighbor contacts from their address book, and view the building’s location and track their own location with a fully functional Google map. The response from residents and management alike has been extremely positive, and versions of the app for the Android, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile platforms are in the works.

Additional members to the MOBILE HOME™ family are expected to be added rapidly within the remainder of 2010 and beyond.

After eleven years of making PC games, Quebec-based ApeZone has released its first iPhone game, SoliScare. Use the solitaire skills you’ve honed while killing time at work on your Windows PC to whack Zombies, smack Ghosts, and mash Monsters on your iPhone. As you work your way through the game, you will travel to graveyards, haunted castles, and other spooky locations. Put the beat down on things that go bump in the night, collecting all 37 ghosts, zombies, and classic movie monsters by making extraordinary card runs. As your skill level increases, you can unlock 100 unique, hand-crafted levels and use coins to purchase in-game enhancements, giving you a new experience each time you play. SoliScare is available in the iTunes App Store for 99 cents.

Frima Studio announced today that the Summer of the PlayStation Mini is officially here with the arrival of Widgets Odyssey on the PlayStation Store in North America for only $1.99 USD. As a PlayStation Mini title, playable on both the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Widgets Odyssey takes players on the first of two interstellar puzzle-platforming adventures that will continue in Widgets Odyssey 2, also releasing later this summer.

“The launch of Widgets Odyssey marks an exciting day for puzzle-platforming fans everywhere, and we’re also happy to be kicking off a series of summer releases for the PlayStation Minis platform from Frima,” said Steve Couture, CEO and co-founder of Frima Studio. “The Minis platform has allowed us to deliver our proudest creations to players on both the PSP and PS3 without them having to break the bank. We couldn’t be happier to continue the tradition this summer with both installments of Widgets Odyssey, as well as our upcoming action-epic, Young Thor.”

In Widgets Odyssey, five robots aboard their space vessel have just one simple mission: to save the universe from the tyrannical Yagor and his evil henchmen! Armed with the abilities of Spad, Cosmo, Bruce, Helmut, and Monk, players will guide each robot along their exciting adventures filled with puzzles, mazes and minigames. Players can also look forward to the continuing adventures of the ‘S-Space’ crew in Widgets Odyssey 2 when it launches later this summer.

Ratrod Studio Inc. is proudly announcing their latest iPhone game title “Drift Mania Championship” which has been developed in collaboration with the official Drift Mania Canadian Championship league (DMCC). This exciting video game will be available worldwide in mid July 2010 for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The game is rated 4+ (for everyone) and can be purchased on the Apple App Store.

Already entering its 5th season, DMCC is the only professional drifting series and sanctioning body in Canada developing over 600 drivers, hosting 10 competitions from Vancouver to Quebec and capturing hundreds of thousands of fans every year. Like real drifting, the Drift Mania Championship video game is a combination of driving skills, style and showmanship. It’s all about loss of the rear wheel traction while keeping the race car in total control.

“It was very exciting to collaborate with Ratrod Studio on this project. We have been able to develop this adrenalin-packed drift game that everyone has been waiting for!” says Eric Belec (DMCC, President).

Drift Mania Championship includes a global online leader board which keeps track of everyone’s best scores and season point totals. Challenge your friends by submitting your high scores for each circuit and expose your achievements to the world. Play often to increase your overall career score and become the next Drift Mania world champion. The top 100 positions for each category are displayed on the official Drift Mania website (Leader boards).

The game features stunning 3D graphics with realistic drift controls including a variable throttle system and hydraulic handbrake. Users will be able to select between 5 vehicles, each with their own performance specs and the ability to personalize their car. The game includes 3 different circuits to master and 3 levels of difficulties. So whether you are a casual or advanced gamer, you will be able to enjoy hours of challenging game play to suit your skill set.

Drifting is a very unique Motorsport where points are allocated on 4 main criteria: speed, line, angle and impact. Players will need to qualify on the podium to unlock different circuits and cars. They will also be able to choose between 3 different camera views and watch their performance highlights using a replay system that shows off their best combos. The game soundtrack features bands from the Good Fight Music label including “I Am Abomination” and “Conditions” latest albums. Users also have the ability to listen to their own songs from their personalized music library.

Ratrod Studio also announced an upcoming update for their popular iPhone game “Mike V: Do or Die – Skateboarding” that was nominated at the “2010 IMGA Awards” and a free “Do or Die Lite” version which will also be available mid July 2010.

EA Sports has unveiled a new feature for FIFA 11 called Creation Centre, which will provide football fans with the tools to customize content in FIFA 11 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 in new ways. Craft your own football player and create the team of your dreams using the online web-based application,  choosing his appearance, accessories and attributes and then create an original team with a distinctive crest and kits, complete with home stadium.

Fans will be able to share their created players and teams with friends and download into their console to play online, in Tournaments and in Kick-Off matches in FIFA 11. In addition, fans can choose player attributes and manage their created team’s formations and tactics right from the web. Creation Centre will launch when FIFA 11 is available in stores on Sept. 28 in North America and Oct. 1 in Europe and Asia.

“Having the ability to customize content in FIFA 11 to the degree where you are creating players and teams, choosing player attributes and managing team tactics effortlessly from the web opens up a world of possibilities of original content that fans will be able to create,” said David Rutter, Producer of FIFA 11 on Xbox 360 and PS3. “Creation Centre will perfectly compliment the official league and team licenses that are the hallmark of the FIFA franchise.”

Also new this year in FIFA 11 is Custom Audio, which enables fans to assign chants for every team and league in the game. Fans can set their home club’s chants to play during player introductions, halftime, and after goals – even hearing their name echo in the stands of Old Trafford or San Siro with created chants for their Virtual Pro. Plus, fans now have the ability to play music from their hard drive in game. FIFA 11 will be available in stores for the PlayStation3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii, PlayStation2, Nintendo DS, PSP and mobile on Sept. 28 in North America

Kudos Coins, a revolutionary new way to transmit money online while expressing approval or gratitude, is now available to the public. Developed by a graduate of Waterloo University’s prestigious Computer Science program, Kudos Coins allows users to offer congratulations and monetary rewards to others via the web. With Kudos Coins, web users may send and receive money while staying in touch with one another. Kudos Coins offers other features as well and is geared toward social networking and creative-content websites.

With Kudos Coins, users may send rewards to anyone they please using a simple interface. The service can be accessed from any computer or web-capable mobile device. The user purchases the desired number of Kudos Coins and sends them to whomever he or she pleases. The recipient is then able not only to enjoy the esteem his or her work has earned, but also to redeem the coins for real money. Recipients may exchange one thousand Kudos Coins for one dollar (US).

Kudos Coins is primarily marketed toward social networking websites and owners of creative content published on the World Wide Web. The Coins provide customers a way to reward others for their services or creations. Content creators will find this a new and convenient way to earn support for their works. If, for example, a Kudos Coins account holder were to see a video he enjoyed on YouTube, he could express his approval by sending the video’s creator a certain number of Coins, along with a personalized message of support. The coins are then transferred from the viewer’s “Bucket” to the creator’s.

Another feature of Kudos Coins is the “Leaky Bucket,” which allows account holders to request information or services and set aside a selected sum of Kudos Coins to be transferred upon completion of the request. The “Kudos Maps” feature allows users to be notified when new offers are available near them. The “Linked Account” system permits Kudos Coins accounts to be linked with other social networking accounts.

Kudos Coins aims to integrate payment and social networking for the convenience and enjoyment of its users. In addition to the functions described above, the application may also be used as a voting or rating system, a means of spreading product awareness, or a way of collecting funds for charitable causes or group events.

Kudos Coins is currently capable of being embedded in any webpage, and accounts may be linked to accounts for a number of popular social networking, creative-content, or commercial websites, including AOL, Blogger, eBay, Facebook, Flickr, GMail, ICQ, MySpace, Slashdot, Twitter, Vimeo, Windows Live, and YouTube. Kudos Coins hopes to add accessibility to other sites in the future. The Kudos Coins application is indicated by a green “thumbs-up” symbol.

There is no charge to sign up for a Kudos Coins account or to send or receive money, however a small fee is applied when purchasing or redeeming the Coins and a PayPal account is required to use the Kudos Coins system. Software indexer Softpedia has certified Kudos Coins’ software to be free of any adware or spyware.

Strategic mobile consultant and developer Xtreme Labs is celebrating the 10 millionth recorded download for their clients’ Blackberry-exclusive apps. As the creator of over 100 mobile applications for an array of clients, Xtreme Labs has dozens of additional apps currently under development. “We’re extremely busy at the Labs,” says Farhan Thawar, VP of Engineering at Xtreme Labs. “Our reputation is preceding us when it comes time for potential clients to choose a strategic partner for mobile applications.”

Their membership in RIM’s Elite Alliance program has added even more cache to Xtreme Labs’ already stellar reputation for building exceptional Blackberry mobile applications. “Being part of RIM’s Elite Alliance enables Xtreme Labs to receive specialized technical, marketing, and sales support as well as insight into upcoming innovations in the BlackBerry ecosystem,” says Thawar.

Some of Xtreme Labs’ clients include Microsoft, NBA Digital, Dictionary.com, AccuWeather, and Urbanspoon, “With the increasing popularity of mobile platforms, companies want to be a part of the latest trend, in this case company-specific mobile applications,” says Sundeep Madra, Co-founder of Xtreme Labs.

In keeping with this demand, Xtreme Labs has launched a practice focused on tablet platforms, including the Apple iPad. With 3 million iPads sold in 80 days, and 11,000 iPad apps already in the App store, Xtreme Labs is embracing Apple’s latest creation. Says Madra, “The iPad has caused an even greater surge in popularity of the development and use of mobile applications. We see the iPad as a growth platform not just for Apple, but for us as well.”

Waterloo’s Desire2Learn Incorporated is expanding its client-focused commitment with the establishment of its newest subsidiary, Desire2Learn Australia Pty Ltd., providing local presence for both clients and prospects in the Asia-Pacific region.

Brisbane Grammar School, Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu – The Correspondence School, Curriculum Council of Western Australia (CCWA), amongst others, are part of the growing list of clients in the region who will benefit from having direct access to Desire2Learn personnel in the area.

The Desire2Learn Australia Pty Ltd. team, who have extensive backgrounds in international education and eLearning, has been hired within the region. Heading up these efforts are: Chris Jones – Regional Sales Director and Ian Smissen – Director, eLearning Strategies.

“We are very pleased to be announcing the establishment of our subsidiary in the Asia-Pacific region,” states John Baker, President & CEO, Desire2Learn. “This region has demonstrated its leadership in adopting eLearning technology. We are looking forward to the continued growth of our local teams and helping clients achieve their goals and vision.”

A new global survey commissioned by global workplace solutions provider Regus revealed that 34 percent of Canadian businesses have successfully used social networks to win new business, reinforcing the impact that social media has had on corporations. That said, Canada lags slightly behind the global average in this regard, with 40 percent of businesses globally having successfully leveraged social media tools for business development.

Up to now, relatively little analysis has been available regarding the real use businesses are making of social networking and whether true revenue potential can be generated through this channel. To glean whether businesses globally believe that social networking is ready to take its place among an array of marketing tools, the Regus survey asked business leaders not only whether they had achieved any customer wins using social networking, but also whether they believed the channel was effective enough to be awarded its own portion of marketing budget. Proving the faith businesses have in the social networking medium is seen in the revelation that more than a quarter of businesses worldwide (27 percent) have set aside a proportion of marketing budget specifically devoted to social networking activities.

Globally, social networks are still used for their original purposes. The most popular use of social networks is staying in touch with business contacts, with 58 percent of respondents globally declaring they use networks in this way. Joining special interest groups is also popular (54 percent).

Although a number of skeptics (34 percent) believe social networking will never become a significant method of connecting to customers and prospects, 51 percent of companies globally organize, connect to or manage customer groups via social networks. Fifty four percent of firms use social networks to find useful business information. Surprisingly, however, only 22 percent of respondents had found new employment through social networking, in spite of the specific job search functions of networks such as LinkedIn.

In Canada specifically, although 28 percent of businesses have set aside a proportion of marketing budget devoted to social networking activities, results deviate marginally from the global average. Fifty three percent of respondents used social networking to keep in touch with contacts, slightly below the global average of 58 percent. Only 49 percent declared that they used social networks to source relevant information (globally 54 percent), while five percent fewer respondents than average (51 percent) declared that the main usefulness of social networking in business is to organize, connect to and manage customer groups.

Wes Lenci, Regus regional vice president for Canada, comments, “Our global survey has revealed that social networking has finally become a mainstream business tool. Although there is a core group of sceptics globally, who do not believe that social networks will become a significant method of reaching customers and prospects, a significant proportion of firms are devoting real marketing budgets through the medium to acquire new customers and keep existing ones.

“While the most popular function of these networks remains that of keeping in touch with contacts, businesses are also successfully acquiring new customers, supporting their retention efforts and interacting with customer groups. With approximately 33 percent of the country logged onto Facebook and more than two million Canadians on LinkedIn, reservations towards using social networks professional seem misplaced. This survey indicates that organizations who have not yet ventured into the world of social networking may be missing out on sizeable business opportunities. This is particularly the case in the Netherlands (48 percent), India (52 percent), Mexico (50 percent) and Spain (50 percent), where the highest level of new customer acquisition via social networking was reported.”

The survey also analyzed company size differences and found that overall small companies were a little more likely than average to use social networking. In Canada, 60 percent of medium and 34 percent of small companies successfully found new customers through social networks, compared to only 15 percent of large companies. More small companies (30 percent) also actively devote marketing budget to this activity than the global average (27 percent). Bucking the global trend encountered by the survey, employees of larger firms were the least likely to have found employment via social networking (15 percent) compared to small (17 percent) and medium (20 percent) firms.

On a sector basis, consultancy businesses were exactly on average, with 40 percent of respondents having found new customers through social networking. In this sector 29 percent of companies also actively devoted a part of their marketing budget to social networking activity and 56 percent used social networks to find useful information. Unsurprisingly, fewer skeptics than average were found in the consultancy sector (23 percent) than average (34 percent).

Skate 3 will be dishing up a virtual Hawaiian skateboarding vacation tomorrow with the release of Danny Way’s Hawaiian Dream, an enormous skater’s paradise designed by the skating legend himself. Inspired by the tropical paradise of Hawaii, this all new Skate 3 downloadable content comes loaded with everything from original street terrain to flowing skate parks and of course Danny’s signature Mega-madness. Danny Way’s Hawaiian Dream content pack will be available on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network for 560 MS points or $6.99. The DLC will also include new challenges, create-a-skater gear, an all-new Danny Way playable character, and new achievements and trophies.

While skate fans are busy in Hawaii, I’ll be on a mission with Dragon Age’s Leliana as Bioware adds a new chapter to the Dragon Age: Origins saga. Leliana’s Song will allow gamers to play as the roguish bard in a tale that can lead only to treachery – and the reasons which led Leliana to The Chantry. For 560 MS Points ($6.99 PSN), play through Leliana’s Song to earn a new reward that can be transferred over to your original Dragon Age: Orgins and Awakening campaigns. So now you know what I’ll be doing tomorrow after work.

New media makers interested in developing a creative project or reflective essay related to this year’s theme are encouraged to apply to the Interactive Screen Scholarship Intensive, which takes place at The Banff Centre this August 14 to 20th. Participants will benefit from valuable mentorship across a broad range of new media interests. Applications for projects in all stages of development, from early concepts through to fully developed prototypes, are welcome.

Scholarships are available for up to ten Canadian and international applicants and include focused mentorship and public presentation opportunities, a travel stipend of up to $550, and full financial
support for program tuition, meals, and shared accommodations on The Banff Centre campus. Please visit the Scholarship Information Page to apply.

Local (Vancouver) indie game designer Alex Vostrov (Rocket Bear Games) has officially announced his new game. According to his site, the new game will be called Infested Planet, and is “an innovative real time strategy game where you face a humongous horde of mutating aliens with just 5 marines” will hit the gamer waves in the Fall of 2010.

Corus Entertainment and Treehouse are pleased to announce the world premiere of the first ever Dr. Seuss inspired animated series, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! on Saturday, August 7 at 5:30 p.m. ET starring Martin Short as the voice of the Cat.

Produced by Portfolio Entertainment Inc. and Collingwood O’Hare Productions, in association with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Random House Children’s Entertainment, Treehouse and PBS Kids in the U.S., The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! is based on Random House’s bestselling beginner book collection, The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library.

“We are thrilled to introduce the first ever animated series based on the whimsical adventures of Dr. Seuss, starring Canadian comedian Martin Short,” said Jocelyn Hamilton, Vice President, Programming and Production, Corus Kids. “A delightfully entertaining show that opens young minds to science and nature discoveries, this series is sure to appeal to preschoolers’ curiosity for exploration and the world around them.”

With Cat as their guide, best friends Sally and Nick are transported to all corners of the globe, making natural science discoveries of all kinds. Along for the ride are Cat’s two energetic helpers, the mop-headed zany duo: Thing One and Thing Two. Booting around in Cat’s one-of-a-kind custom vehicle, the Thinga-ma-jigger, the group can travel to the bottom of the sea, shrink down to the size of a bee to discover how honey is made or find out why owls sleep during the day.

In the first episode, Show Me the Honey, Sally and Nick have run out of honey. Luckily, the Cat knows just where to get more. They visit Queen Priscilla Buzzoo who invites the gang to join her in the bee dance to learn how honey is made.

Beginning on August 7, back-to-back 30-minute episodes of The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! will air Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. throughout the month of August. Beginning on Tuesday, September 7, viewers can catch this series in its regular time-slots Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:30 a.m. as well as Saturdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Beginning on August 23, viewers can visit Treehousetv.com to catch clips of the show, access 30 different colouring pages as well as six online games.

Vancouver’s Tangible Interaction has launched The Social Media Portal, a sleekly designed touch-screen kiosk that helps unlock the virtual potential of real world events. Where people socialize, congregate or gather in the real world, the Social Media Portal acts as gateway to the virtual world. It generates site-specific content — such as photos and accompanying messages — and uploads it instantaneously to existing social networks, custom web sites, or unique graphic creations.

Many campaigns begin online and climax with a real world event. The Social Media Portal makes it easy to creatively and conveniently take the excitement and spirit of the event back online. It’s the missing link in a campaign cycle that transforms brand experience from online to offline back to online.

The Social Media Portal extends the life and dimensions of a campaign at an event or for extended periods. Clients can install it at a dedicated site or house it in-store. They can use it to entertain and dazzle, inspire meaningful feedback from valued customers — or both. Tangible Interaction can customize the Social Media Portal to realize inventive branding experiences for its clients.

Currently the Social Media Portal takes high quality photos and instantly posts them with messages to a personal or brand account on Twitter, Facebook and Facebook Pages. People can also email photos and text. The elegant design and intuitive interface make for a fun experience.

Future versions will feature audio recording, custom photo overlays, face recognition (for dynamically positioning graphics on a portrait), on-site printing, green screen (for dynamically changing backgrounds), augmented reality, ability to tag content with text, vote, rank, and so on.

2K Sports today announced The REAL Hockey Experience on Wii™, an unprecedented NHL® 2K11 cross-country tour featuring NHL players, an array of fan-friendly giveaways and contests, and hands-on play with NHL 2K11 months before it is released exclusively for the Wii system. Traveling throughout the northern United States and Canada, 2K Sports will bring the excitement of NHL hockey to more than a dozen cities in a custom-designed NHL 2K11 recreation vehicle rigged with portable video game gear created especially for fans and gamers. The trail of pucks, prizes and playable demos will also feature appearances by NHL stars, including Vancouver Canucks® forward and NHL 2K11 cover athlete Ryan Kesler, Los Angeles Kings® defenseman Jack Johnson, New Jersey Devils® forward Travis Zajac and more.

“We really wanted to do something fun for this year’s NHL title to recognize our loyal fans across Canada and the United States,” said Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. “Hitting the road and enabling hockey heads hands-on time with NHL 2K11 before it ships, as well as giving them access to some of hockey’s premier players, is a great way to showcase our game and passion for the sport.”

2K Sports unveiled the NHL 2K11 recreational vehicle and tour experience at this year’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles. The tour then traveled to Las Vegas for the NHL Awards’ red carpet ceremony and later returned to Los Angeles for the NHL Entry Draft. The tour is now making its way eastward, stopping in cities rich with hockey tradition, including Vancouver, Calgary, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Philadelphia and Boston (at this point I wonder why Montreal is not on the tour list…). It will conclude in New York for the celebrated launch of NHL 2K11 in September.

“The 2K Sports team really outdid themselves this year with The REAL Hockey Experience concept,” said Ryan Kesler. “When they asked if I would join them on the tour, I knew I wanted to be part of it. I’m really looking forward to meeting fans this summer and playing NHL 2K11. I hope they let me borrow it for a night!”

Fans can enjoy the tour’s party-ready gaming kiosks with playable demo copies of NHL 2K11 before the title’s release. The vehicle’s interior has also been redesigned to support multiple Wii units for on-the-road competition, as well as outside for additional pick-up-and-play action. Fans in each city are encouraged to stop by and compete for prizes, as well as submit their photos online.

The REAL Hockey Experience on Wii Canadian tour dates are:

Calgary: July 17-18
Vancouver: July 22-23
Edmonton: July 26-27
Winnipeg: July 30-31
Toronto: August 17-18
Ottawa:August 22-23

As I mentioned earlier this week, Hot Wheels also has a cross-country promotion happening this summer. Hot Wheels® and the FAZZT Race Team are excited to announce a partnership that is sure to race straight to the hearts of IndyCar fans across Canada. This July, at the Honda Indy Toronto and Honda Indy Edmonton, FAZZT Race Team driver and the only Canadian scheduled to race in all IndyCar races this year, Alex Tagliani, will be racing in a brand new Honda IndyCar, customized in Hot Wheels style. The car will be unveiled for the first time at the Honda IndyFest on July 14th at Yonge and Dundas Square in Toronto.

“Hot Wheels is about providing thrilling vehicle experiences to boys of all ages who are looking to fuel their passion for speed, power and performance,” says Melissa Chau, Hot Wheels Assistant Brand Manager for Mattel Canada. “We are so excited to see this vision brought to life through our partnership with the FAZZT Race Team and Canada’s very own Alex Tagliani.”

Tagliani’s racecar, fire suit and his pit crew’s uniforms will all be designed by the Hot Wheels creative team with an entirely new, custom design scheme that reflects Alex’s fearless and competitive driving style on the racetrack. “This year, we are thrilled to expand our presence on the track with this one-of-a kind racecar look that only Hot Wheels can provide,” says Chau.

“Some of my earliest and favourite memories of when I was a little boy are of racing with Hot Wheels cars,” says Tagliani, who has been racing professionally for 14 years. “Decades later, it’s a huge honour to have my very own life-size Hot Wheels racecar. I am looking forward to getting on the racetrack and crossing the finish line in my awesome Hot Wheels ride, in front of my fellow Canadians.”

The unveiling of the No. 77 Hot Wheels car will take place on July 14 at the Honda IndyFest event at Yonge and Dundas Square in Toronto. The Honda Indy Toronto takes place July 16-18, 2010 and the Honda Indy Edmonton the following weekend, July 23-25. Additionally, a 1:64 scale replica version of this limited edition car will be available for fans to purchase in 2011.

Also happening over the coming months is the Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™ Road Trip across Canada this summer. The life-size Hot Wheels® colour-shifting Ford Mustang and the Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™ Trailer will zoom across the country visiting over 50 festivals, camps and family events in various towns and cities. The Road Trip runs all summer long from July to September, giving Canadians of all ages a chance to change the colour of the car themselves. Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™ cars use thermochromatic paint – a revolutionary colour memory technology that creates multi-coloured changes – adding a new element of excitement and surprise to the classic Hot Wheels® car.

The Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™ Road Trip kicked off in Toronto on Tuesday, June 29th – the last day of school – at Yonge and Dundas Square, where fans got a Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™ Mustang. Kids who attend the launch event and Road Trip stops can change the colour of the car, play with Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™ toys and will also receive a special Hot Wheels® collector booklet, T-shirt and more.

“We are very excited for Canada to see the super cool life-size Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™
Mustang in their town or city,” says Melissa Chau, Hot Wheels® Assistant Brand Manager for Mattel Canada. “These little cars have had a big impact on children and adults alike and it’s great to showcase the Hot Wheels® brand on the grassroots level and remind Canadians why generations have grown up playing with, trading and collecting Hot Wheels®”.

Hot Wheels® Road Trip 2010 Schedule (stops are subject to change)

Nova Scotia

· Bedford, Bedford Days – July 1
· Halifax, RBC Multicultural Festival – July 2
· Halifax, RBC Multicultural Festival – July 3

New Brunswick

· Miramichi, Rock ‘n’ Roll Festival – July 4

Quebec

· Montreal, K.I.D.S. Day Camp – July 7
· Montreal, Macdonald Day Camp – July 8
· Terrebonne, Zellers – July 10
· Brossard, Toys ‘R’Us – July 11

Ontario

· Kanata, Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex – July 12
· Ottawa, Dovercourt Summer Day Camps – July 13
· Brockville, Brockville YMCA – July 14
· Toronto, Avenue Road Child Care – July 15
· Toronto, Ontario Place – July 16
· Thornhill, Toys ‘R’Us – July 17
· Mississauga, Toys ‘R’Us – July 17
· North York, Sears, Fairview Mall – July 18
· Mississauga, Wal-Mart, Square One – July 18
· Toronto, Wild Water Kingdom – July 19
· Toronto, Beaches Recreation Centre – July 20
· Toronto, Bob Abate Community Recreation Centre – July 21
· Toronto, LaserQuest – July 22
· Toronto, Toronto Zoo – July 23
· Burlington, Zellers, Burlington Mall – July 24
· Stoney Creek, Wal-Mart – July 24
· Brantford, Wal-Mart – July 25
· Sudbury, Science North: Dynamic Earth– July 28
· Sault Ste. Marie, Science North: Summer Science Camps – July 30
· Thunder Bay, Community Day Fort William Historical Park– August 1
· Toronto, Ontario Place – September 3 & 4

Manitoba

· Winnipeg, YMCA Winnipeg South Branch: Kinder Camp – August 4
· Winnipeg, Zellers, Kildonan Place – August 4

Saskatchewan

· Regina, The Queen City Ex – August 7
· Regina, The Queen City Ex – August 8

Alberta

· Edmonton, City of Edmonton Camps – August 11
· Calgary, Taste of Calgary – August 12 – 15
· Calgary, Toys ‘R’Us – August 15
· Calgary, TBD – August 17
· Calgary, Southland Leisure Centre Summer Camps – August 18
· Calgary, Village Square Leisure Centre – August 18

British Columbia

· Vancouver, TBD – August 22
· Vancouver, Douglas Park Community Centre Summer Camps – August 23
· Vancouver, False Creek Community Centre Summer Camps – August 24
· North Vancouver, North Vancouver Central Baseball Association – August 25
· Vancouver, TBD – August 26
· Vancouver, Toys ‘R’Us – August 29

Sony Computer Entertainment Canada (SCEC) has expanded its entertainment content by offering PlayStation®Network video delivery service to Canadian customers in English and French languages. PlayStation Network, available via the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system and the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system, allows members to purchase or rent movies and purchase TV shows, including the latest new releases, straight to either device.

More than 1,000 movies and TV shows will be available in High-Definition (HD) or Standard Definition (SD), with movies available to rent from CA$3.99, movies to purchase from CA$9.99, and TV shows to purchase from CA$1.99. The movies are from major studios, distributors and content providers including 20th Century Fox, Alliance Films, E1 Entertainment, Maple Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), National Film Board of Canada, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Starz Digital Media, Universal Pictures, and The Walt Disney Studios. TV shows will be available from major cable networks and studios including 20th Century Fox, HBO®, Marvel, MTV Networks, NBC Universal, NHL, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and Starz Digital Media.

Notable movie titles available at launch include “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Crazies,” “Earth Keepers,” “From Paris with Love,” “Hot Tub Time Machine,” “Legion,” “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” “Shutter Island,” “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” and “The Wolfman.” Noteworthy TV titles available at launch include “Astonishing X-Men,” “Breaking Bad” season three, “Jersey Shore” season one, Stanley Cup games, and “True Blood(sm)” seasons one and two. Additional content will be added on a weekly basis.

“The launch of PlayStation Network video delivery service in Canada reinforces our mission to have the PS3 system be the most content-rich entertainment platform in the living room. It’s also important that we provide our French and English-speaking customers with an easy way to access and enjoy their favorite new release movies or TV shows, whether at home or on the go,” said Stephen Turvey, General Manager for Sony Computer Entertainment Canada.

“Expanding into the Canadian market is a big win, marking continued momentum with our international expansion efforts. Our extensive industry relationships, coupled with technological leadership, serve to highlight our position as a top digital provider,” added Michael Aragon, General Manager, Global Digital Video Distribution and Operations for Sony Network Entertainment.

The video delivery service is fully integrated within PlayStation Network, using existing PlayStation Network log-in information and wallet system details. Customers can search for movies and TV shows by name, or can browse categories such as “New releases” and “Movies.” The PS3 system’s progressive downloading allows viewers to start watching a selection shortly after the download begins. They can also access certain games or other content on the PS3 system while the download is taking place.

To celebrate the debut of PlayStation Network video delivery service in Canada, customers who visit the store today through July 14 will receive a complimentary (one per household) download of “Charlie’s Angels.”

Domino’s Pizza Canada and Cellflare Inc. today announced the release of the Domino’s Pizza mobile application for Palm and Android devices. Available to download free in the Android Market and Palm® App Catalog, users can locate their nearest store by GPS or address and receive Domino’s Pizza mobile app, exclusive daily coupons and flyers specific to their location. Turn by turn directions are available for pick up, or the locations direct phone number is supplied to enable customer ordering.

Each Domino’s Pizza mobile application download will receive exclusive offer of $4.00 off a large pizza as a thank you, when purchased at regular menu price. The offers are valid at participating Ontario locations only and not valid with any other offer. The Regional Market Test is in Southern Ontario, bounded by Mississauga, St. Catherines and Kitchener.

“Mobile is a rapidly growing segment of our business, one that we expect to grow for years to come,” says John Popkey National Director of Marketing for Canada. “A major growth agent for our company over the last year has been online ordering in the digital space. Our mobile ecommerce website will be released in Q4 with the help of our parent company in the U.S. this will increase conversion as our customers have been requesting this convenience with our launch of email coupon offers in Q4 of 2009.”

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.

Updated with link: Mattel Canada is taking the new Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™ collection for a road trip across Canada this summer. They are stopping over at 50 Canadian community festival events between now and September. Mattel Canada’s Assistant Brand Manager Melissa Chau will officially launch the summer tour tomorrow morning at Toronto’s Yonge and Dundas Square. The summer road trip is meant to show off the new life-size Colour Shifter Ford Mustang, and kids who attend the launch event tomorrow can help change the colour of the car, play with Hot Wheels® toys and also receive a special Hot Wheels® collector booklet, T-shirt and more.

Tickets for Interactive Ontario’s IN 2010 are now on sale, with Super Early Bird and special rates for those delegates who attended the event last year expiring on July 16th. This cross-platform, multi-stream conference about the business and ideas of interactivity will take place from September 12-14 at the Carlu in Toronto. The conference will be divided into the following streams:

Mobile: The IN Mobile stream will present sessions from case studies to discussions about the latest and greatest key developments, the current status and future development trends in wireless technology.

Social Media: Social Media at IN will focus on the creative and business opportunities in a sector which is continuously reinventing itself through user-generated content. Showcasing leading-edge projects and discussions about the newest communication platforms, these sessions will explore marketing, collaboration, information sharing, and experimental crossovers.

Games: The video games industry continues to be one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. With an eye toward intellectual property, which is exploitable along multiple entertainment verticals, this stream brings creative, production and business perspectives to the table at IN 2010. Industry veterans will discuss current trends, explore leading-edge projects and examine the challenges and opportunities that exist in crossover projects.

X-Platform: This stream focuses on the opportunities that lie in the digital media content space as it continues to grow by showcasing the interconnectedness of various interactive sectors within cultural and digital media industries. This stream highlights the potential creative and business opportunities that exist between platforms.

Visionary: The visionary stream is dedicated to showcasing thought-leaders. Made up of the innovators, originators, inventors and explorers of big ideas. These forward-thinkers share their vision and in turn, incite new ways of thinking about business models, interactivity, and technology.

A release date has been set in zombie blood for Dead Rising 2. Fans of this survival-horror title from CapCom and Blue Castle Games can assimilate the persona of motorcycle racer Chuck Greene on September 28th. Dead Rising 2 is listed at Future Shop for $59.99 (Xbox 360) and $64.99 (PS3), while Best Buy lists both versions at $59.99. Neither store lists a PC version, and the CapCom US store doesn’t yet list Dead Rising 2 at all. GameStop Canada also neglects the PC version, but it does offer the strategy guide for pre-order.

CapCom also confirmed late last week that Zombrex Dead Rising Sun, a motion picture inspired by the Dead Rising universe, will be distributed free of charge in both Europe and North America this summer. Written and directed by Keiji Inafune, Capcom’s global head of research and development, Zombrex Dead Rising Sun follows two brothers as they try to escape the zombie outbreak that has hit Japan. Exploring the darker side of human nature and filmed entirely on location in Japan, Zombrex Dead Rising Sun, both pays homage to the zombie movies of the 1960s and ‘70s and provides links with the videogame world of Dead Rising®.

Zombrex Dead Rising Sun will be released digitally in a series of eight episodes which Dead Rising and zombie movie fans can watch for free. Featuring an English voice over, the episodes will also be available as separate versions with French, Spanish and Italian subtitles.

Vancouver indie studioAll Seeing Eye Games has launched its debut title exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Drum Studio, available for 80 Microsoft Points, allows players to play, record, edit, save and playback their own song creations on their Xbox 360 drum kit. It utilizes the full potential of the drum kit to put the power of music creation in the players’ hands.

Game Designer Joel Cappelletto says, “Drum Studio takes music games to a new level with its creation and customization tools. We’re very excited to finally share it with the world.”

Drum Studio does away with playing along to pre-determined drum lines. Instead, players create their own jams on drums they’ve customized from a library of over 320 sounds. A simple & elegant recording interface allows players to layer in multiple tracks and hone their songs to perfection before they save the song, kick back, and watch an animated drummer play back their creation.

The past few years have seen the music game genre explode into a cultural phenomenon only to fizzle out in its own stagnation & over-saturation. Drum Studio aims to push the genre forward in meaningful ways with its robust customization & creation tools and re-ignite some of the passion players felt that first time they sat down at a plastic instrument peripheral.

The dev team over at Montreal’s Gamerizon Studio are celebrating as their sports title Chop Chop Tennis ™ has become the company’s third iPhone game in a row to generate over 1 million downloads on the App Store.

Chop Chop Tennis™ became the #1 downloaded sports game in over 40 countries late last week and during the weekend when it was offered free for a few days. It also reached the top 5 overall downloaded apps in most countries (including #2 in the US and #3 in China ). Chop Chop Tennis is available for a special price of $0.99 for a limited time only on the App Store.

Gamerizon’s first two iPhone games – Chop Chop Ninja™ and Chop Chop Runner™ also reached the magic number earlier this year.

“Reaching the 1 million level is in itself no small feat,” said Alex Sakiz, CEO of Gamerizon. “But when you can do it three times in a row with your first three games, it’s clear you’ve got something very special going on.”

With around 4 million downloads in the last 3 months, the Chop Chop™ series is quickly becoming one of the world’s top gaming franchises on the iPhone/iPad platforms. The next instalment in the series, Chop Chop Soccer™ is scheduled for launch towards the end of July 2010.

Manpower has launched an innovative suite of online and social media tools designed to enhance employee engagement and their overall job search experience, including video interviewing technology, candidate-centric resources, and mobile applications to access up-to-the-minute information.

“These Manpower solutions are leading the way candidates and employers interact”, says Byrne Luft, Vice President of Marketing for Manpower Canada. “The ability to recruit talent and service clients is significantly advanced with the development of these online tools”.

At the core of this innovative strategy is the introduction of Manpower’s video interviewing technology called, “Candidate Studio”. An integral part of our candidate pre-screening process, this new initiative will bring candidates to clients in a way that will change the industry’s recruitment perspective. An industry first, this innovative web-based video tool allows clients to preview candidates from any location, including their smartphones, to gain intuitive impressions in a quick and convenient way.

“Traditional recruiting programs and methodologies are often too slow, too expensive and take up valuable time, and results in higher cost-per-hire, decreased candidate quality and satisfaction, and higher turnover. This technology will address these issues, and expedite the recruitment process in an effortless way that will ultimately impact the quality of hire that we deliver to our clients”, says Luft.

Manpower is also the first staffing firm in Canada to invest heavily into search engine job optimization to attract talent to our career site. Manpower has customized landing pages for every possible search that job seekers might perform.

By shifting the focus from linear recruiting, and adopting a relationship approach, Manpower has access to larger candidate pools. Manpower’s presence within various social media networks (such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Craigslist, and Facebook) allows them to reach passive and active candidates and build more highly sustainable relationship networks.

Manpower’s talent landing pages have been created to serve as job-seeking “portals”, offering industry specific resources, and the chance to interact via “Live Chat” with an expert recruitment professional. These pages also allow access to career-building resources that ensure candidates find ideal jobs that are aligned with their goals and career aspirations.

This philosophy extends beyond Manpower’s online social communities with an interactive kiosk located at Manpower’s flagship office in Toronto, which enables individuals to research, access and apply for jobs 24 hours a day. This is yet another example of how Manpower is focused on assisting businesses and individuals in navigating through the changing world of work.

UBM TechWeb Game Network has opened the submission process for the 2011 Independent Games Festival to be held at GDC 2011 in San Francisco next March.

The longest-running and highest-profile independent video game festival, summit and showcase is now accepting entries to the 13th annual Festival, with deadlines in the Main and Student Showcase categories by October 18th and November 1st respectively, and finalists to be announced on January 2011.

All games selected as finalists will be available in playable form at the IGF Pavilion on the GDC show floor, and will compete for nearly $50,000 in prizes, including the Nuovo Award, Excellence in Design, Art, Best Student Game, the Audience Award and the $20,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Winners will be announced on stage at the high-profile Independent Games Festival Awards on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

GDC 2011 also includes the 2011 Independent Games Summit, which is entering its fifth year and offers two days of inspiration and practical lectures and rants from the top minds in the independent games world.

Continuing to honor the best and brightest of the indie gaming community, the Independent Games Festival is expanding in its thirteenth year to recognize the new opportunities open to mobile and handheld game developers. Responding to developer feedback, games made for Apple’s iPhone and iPad, the Android operating system, Nintendo DS/DSi, PlayStation Portable, and all handheld devices will compete in the same traditional IGF categories. They will also be eligible for a new Best Mobile Game award, honoring innovation, achievement and artistry in handheld gaming.

Other changes to the 2011 festival include an expanded focus on alternative elements in independent gaming, with the number of finalists for the IGF Nuovo Award — honoring abstract, shortform, and otherwise esoteric ‘art games’ — increasing from five to eight games in total.

The modifications continue to expand the Independent Game Festival’s global importance as the largest and most all-encompassing showcase of independent game talent across the wide spectrum of artistically- and commercially-aimed development. Notable former IGF winners include World of Goo, Braid, Castle Crashers, Everyday Shooter, Darwinia and Audiosurf, with IGF 2010 prizewinner Limbo a key game in Xbox Live Arcade’s ‘Summer of Arcade’ line-up and 2010 nominee Joe Danger a recent, acclaimed release on PlayStation Network.

Brandon Boyer, Chairman of the IGF, said of this year’s event: “Expanding the IGF to include mobile and more artistic experiences is our way of recognizing the constantly evolving landscape of indie game development, and the advancement of the expression possible in the medium itself. I’m more excited than ever to see what the indie community creates for this year’s festival, and wish all the entrants the best of luck!”

Submissions to the competition are now open to all independent game developers; important dates for IGF 2011 are as follows:

– June 28th, 2010 – Submissions are Open
— October 18th, 2010 – Submission Deadline, Main Competition
— November 1st, 2010 – Submission Deadline, Student Competition
— January 3rd, 2011 – Finalists Announced, Main Competition
— January 10, 2011 – Finalists Announced, Student Competition
— February 28 – March 4, 2011 – Game Developers Conference 2011
— February 28 – March 1, 2011 – Indie Games Summit @ GDC 2011
— March 2 – March 4, 2011 – IGF Pavilion @ GDC 2011
— March 2, 2011 – IGF Awards Ceremony (Winners Announced!)

“We’d like to invite all fans of history and strategy to come out to our booth at Origins and give Hegemony a try,” says Rob McConnell, lead programmer at Longbow Games. “We’re going to have multiple game stations available where guests can play the full game as well as free demo cds to take home and big discounts for those who purchase Hegemony at the show.”

Hegemony: Philip of Macedon lets you conquer the ancient Greek world in this PC RTS war game that follows the rise of Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. Players campaign continuously, unfettered by load screens, across a satellite-accurate map of ancient Greece encountering the full range of warfare from reconnaissance to raids to field battles to mountain blockades. The game also features:

* Innovative supply system – Siege and starve the enemy by cutting their supply lines or burning their crops, all the while building and protecting your own supply network to support your growing empire.
* Steeped in history – In-game pedia and 100+ historical objectives recreate the rise of the Macedonian empire.
* Detailed and Stylized World and Map – Transition smoothly between the detailed 3D world and the stylized board-game map while maintaining complete control over your empire.
* Subjugate your enemy – Chase down and capture routed enemy units to create slave gangs to work your mines or build your forts. But don’t leave them unguarded or they could rebel and wreak havoc in your empire’s heartland!
* Conquer the seas – Build or capture a fleet of triremes to protect your coastlines, raid enemy merchants, or drop an army at your enemy’s backdoor.

After passionate campaigns across the country and more than one million votes from Monopoly fans from Kelowna to Kawartha Lakes, 22 of Canada’s favourite cities now have a home on the new Monopoly: Canada Edition game board. Chatham-Kent, Ontario now represents the coveted Boardwalk spot, with Saint-Jean-Sur Richelieu Quebec capturing Park Place to round out the prestigious dark blue property group in the popular game invented by Charles Darrow in 1935.

“We are thrilled to celebrate Canada Day with this new all-Canadian edition of the world’s favorite family game brand featuring cities voted by Canadians!” said Michelle Sinclair, Brand Manager of Games & Puzzles for toy and game-maker Hasbro Canada. “We hope that Canadian Monopoly fans will enjoy playing on a game board that includes an interesting mix of our cities featuring all of the dynamic cultures, sights and history of this country.”

Votes were cast during a six-week period in early 2010. The first four weeks of voting determined 20 of the 22 cities featured in the game, picked from 65 pre-selected cities based on the population size of the province in which they resided. The remaining two spots were reserved for a wildcard vote for any city across Canada. Ten cities with the most nominations for the wildcard faced off for two weeks in February 2010 and Beauceville, Quebec and Banff, Alberta earned the brown property spaces on the game board, traditionally occupied by Baltic Avenue and Mediterranean Avenue.

The following 22 cities earned spots on the Monopoly: Canada Edition game board, and are listed with the highest rent properties first:

- Dark Blue: Chatham-Kent, Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu
– Green: Calgary, Sarnia, Edmonton
– Yellow: Windsor, Quebec City, Trois-Rivieres
– Red: Medicine Hat, Gatineau, Shawinigan
– Orange: Kawartha Lakes, Chilliwack, Montreal
– Magenta: Kelowna, North Bay, St. John’s
– Light Blue: Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver
– Brown: Beauceville, Banff

Along with the 22 property spaces featuring great Canadian cities, the game will include updated Chance and Community Chest cards that highlight events and culturally relevant scenarios from Canada. Players may take flight at the International Balloon Festival in Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, skate along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa or win big at the casinos in Niagara Falls. The new Monopoly: Canada Edition also features an Electronic Banking unit with cards instead of cash. Players can collect rent and buy their favourite Canadian cities with the touch of a button!

Today, the Monopoly brand provides entertainment experiences for players around the world. Whether they play the board game, digital or online games, or participate in casino or lottery gaming, there is a Monopoly experience to fit every lifestyle. Stemming from the strategic alliance between Hasbro and Electronic Arts Inc., EA has created digital versions of Monopoly which are available for download for mobile phones or free online at Pogo. Monopoly is also available for console gaming systems, including the Nintendo Wii™, Xbox 360™, PlayStation®2 and PLAYSTATION®3. The new Monopoly: Canada Edition will be available in stores across the country, in both English and French on June 28th, 2010 for an approximate retail price of $39.99.

SEGA® of America’s Super Monkey Ball™ 2, which was developed by Other Ocean Interactive, has been updated with two brand new mini-games. The first mini-game, Monkey Target, is a high-flying experience that launches you into the atmosphere. From there, it’s up to you to guide your character back down to a safe landing while grabbing as many bananas as possible along the way. Monkey Golf lets you hit the links with your simian friends and play your way through a full 18-hole course. Remember to watch out for those sand traps!

Artificial Mind & Motion and 505 Games have released the official launch trailer for Naughty Bear, which comes out this coming Tuesday (June 29th) for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game features seven episodes, each with a set of four challenges, and as players make their way through the episodes, they will unlock special costumes that can later be used to their own advantage in multiplayer campaigns (see below). Competitive online play gives players the opportunity to experiment with new traps and power-ups. The Paint Trap covers opponents in fluorescent paint, preventing them from taking refuge from Naughty Bear by hiding in the woods. Power-ups like the Rage Capsule makes players stronger, while the Speed Capsule makes players run faster.

While killing bears is certainly extremely naughty, terrorizing foes through a wide variety of creative tactics helps players achieve the most Naughty Points possible in Naughty Bear. With over 250 ways to be naughty, gamers can quickly build up and maintain their points multiplier. Players can also amp up on Naughty Points by ensuring other bears witness naughty acts, or by leaving injured bears to wander and frighten others into a state of intense anxiety. Clever scares are awarded even more points, so cunning players will be rewarded for their efforts through the game’s complex AI and responsive game engine.

Weapon choices in Naughty Bear also give players extensive gameplay options. From baseball bats, bear traps and guns to frozen legs of meat and even heavy machinery, the bears provide Naughty with plenty of ways to achieve sweet justice.

Naughty finds himself facing a motley assortment of foes as the bears call for reinforcements in each episode. Through sabotage, Naughty Bear can also lure in new victims as they rush to the scene to correct his acts of vandalism. As Naughty’s rage progresses throughout the game, police officers and ninjas are only the first line of defense for the island’s inhabitants. Naughty will face foes from all corners of the world and beyond as they unite in their attempts to try to put a premature stop to his brutal vengeance.

Current mulitiplayer modes include:

Assault mode, which pits two teams of red versus blue bears against each other as one team attempts to destroy an iconic statue in the Island of Perfection while the other team tries to protect it. Each team rotates from either defending or attacking the statue in two-minute rounds. Teams can use any tactic, including the strategic use of traps, barricades or hiding in the woods, to prevent their opponents from destroying the statue.

Cake Walk, where players attempt to hold the Glorious Golden Cupcake for as long as possible. Holding the cupcake puts the player in a vulnerable position where he can’t attack or defend himself. A typical game starts with a mad dash to the prize and then, once someone has the Cupcake, it’s a battle to maintain possession as long as possible. The player that holds the Glorious Golden Cupcake for the longest period of time wins.

The Golden Oozi of Doomness is a gun with unlimited ammunition, and the only way to gain points in this mode is by using it to kill enemies. This unique scoring system makes players work as a team one moment to destroy the current wielder, and then backstab each other to steal the prized gun. The winner of this mode is the player that racks up the most kills using the Golden Oozi.

The Jelly Wars scenario features cooperative gameplay and intense strategy as there is no coming back from the dead in Jelly Wars mode! Three players take on the roles of Daddles, Cozy and Sunbeam and bring jelly desserts to a giant mixing machine in order to create the most awesome jelly of all time. Watch out though, as Naughty Bear will try anything to stop them! The bears will have to protect each other, transport delicate objects, call back up, repair objects and heal others while Naughty attacks them, disables their tools and hides their jellies. The winner decided when the bears collect five jellies if Naughty Bear annihilates them all first.

Another made-in-Canada humour-based game will also be hitting the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 soon. Hothead Games‘ highly-anticipated and long-awaited Ron Gilbert title DeathSpank is scheduled for release to PSN and XBL on July 14th. Anticipated cost for the downloadable Action/RPG game is $15.00 on PSN or 1200 MS Points on XBL. Upon completion of the “Confirm Your Download” Level, players will be launched into an epic story of puzzle-solving, justice-dealing and loot-collecting, whereby those handling the controller can vanquish evilness either alone or with the aide of sidekick Sparkles The Wizard. At least he’s not a vampire…named Sparkles…there’s already been enough of that in the current entertainment market.

With DeathSpank complete, Hothead Games can now turn its full attention on Swarm, which is the basis for a recently announced agreement between Hothead and Ignition Entertainment. Heading for a major cross-platform release in 2011, Swarm was conceived via The Great Canadian Game Competition, which was sponsored by Telefilm Canada, and has since Swarm has gone on to become “a unique comedy action game in which players control entire herds of strange, daft little characters as they clash in chaotic and hilarious situations.”

EA Sports announced today that Oklahoma City Thunder small forward, Kevin Durant, will be the cover athlete for NBA EliteE 11. A 2010 NBA All-Star, Durant became the youngest player in NBA history to lead the league in scoring this past season, and he helped lead the Thunder to an impressive 50 win season and an NBA Playoffs berth. NBA Elite 11 is currently in development under the EA Sports™ brand by EA Canada in Burnaby and will be available worldwide this October for the PLAYSTATION®3 and Xbox 360®.

NBA Elite 11 introduces significant gameplay changes that promise to revolutionize the basketball videogame experience. Hands-On Control is an innovative new control scheme that allows for one-to-one responsiveness of a player’s movement and actions on the court, as opposed to predetermined animations from the past that require users to wait while a scenario played out before making the next move. Hands-On Control is unique to NBA Elite 11 and it is used to manage everything within a player’s offensive and defensive arsenal, including: dribble moves, dunks, drives to the basket, fadeaways, mid-air adjustments, blocks, steals and more.

“I’ve always been a fan of EA Sports,” said Durant. “This has been an exciting year for me and the team, and capping it off with being on the cover of NBA Elite 11 is cool.”

“Durant is a game changer,” said Jordan Edelstein, VP Marketing, EA Sports. “There has never been a player his size with his skill set, and there has never before been a basketball videogame like NBA Elite. Just like we see Durant as the future of the NBA, NBA Elite 11 represents the future of basketball videogames by providing a gameplay experience you simply won’t find anywhere else on the market.”

Picked second overall in the 2007 NBA Entry Draft, Durant has accumulated an impressive list of accomplishments in his short professional career, including being named the 2008 T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year. Additionally, he will be representing the USA in the 2010 FIBA World Championships this summer in Turkey. Durant is only the third player in EA Sports history to be featured both on the pack of an NCAA and an NBA licensed product. Durant was featured on the cover of NCAA March Madness 08.

Victoria’s NetroMedia has added Apple iPad streaming to its suite of online broadcasting services. This new feature was launched as part of the company’s Multi-platform strategy, in order to maximize online streaming media coverage.

Released in early 2010, the iPad is Apple’s latest addition to the Tablet PC market, achieving an impressive one-million sales in its first month. It is considered by Apple to be a “magical and revolutionary” device designed for easy Internet surfing and media consumption.

Streaming to the iPad (Apple iOS) is done using H.264 video compression with AAC (Main Profile level 3.1) audio via RTSP/RTP. NetroMedia uses packetizing technology to prepare the stream for iPad viewing.

The encoding profile used to reach Apple’s iPad can also be used to serve the iPhone, PC and Mac computers. Both on-demand and live streaming are supported. 24/7 access to an online self-management streaming portal is included with NetroMedia’s services. This is where users manage and provision channels “in the cloud”, as well as analyze their project’s usage statistics.

Earlier this year NetroMedia announced the transition from bandwidth-based services to a pooled-bandwidth environment across channels. This move prepared the ground for a cost-effective Multi-platform streaming solution, in additional to increasing the distribution of unused bandwidth within accounts.

CIX, the Canadian Interactive Exchange has sent out their annual call for showcase presentations. Submissions deadline is October 1st, so companies who “consider themselves to be the very best in the fields of ICT, Digital Media and Cleantech should complete a profile in order to be selected to present live at CIX in the showcase of Canada’s Hottest Innovative Companies.” CIX takes place at Toronto’s at MaRs Discovery District on December 7th.

Complex Games has announced that BattleBears -1, a prequel to Skyvu Pictures’ BattleBear Zombies, has been sent off to iTunes for release approval. Check out this trailer for a preview:

There are two Canadian creations out on Nintendo’s DSiWare today. First up is Puffins: Let’s Fish from Other Ocean Interactive. Available for only 500 Nintendo DSi Points, this E-rated title lets gamers dive into the deep blue sea and fill their virtual bellies with delicious fish. Puffins: Let’s Fish is an action game that has you swimming the beautiful ocean in search of a puffin’s favourite meal: the elusive capelin. However, the ocean can be a dangerous place, and you’re not the only one hunting for food. Throughout 18 underwater stages and two game modes, you’ll be avoiding sharks, jellyfish and other fearsome predators who are very interested in making you their next meal.

Today’s other new DSiWare title comes from Digital Leisure. Also available for 500 DSi Points and rated E (with cartoon violence) is Mega Words, where you need to put on your thinking cap and see how many of the hundreds of puzzles you can solve in Mega Words. Three classic puzzlers are included in this puzzle pack: Word Scrambler, Anagram Hunt and Hangman. There’s no need for erasers here! These portable editions feature extensive dictionaries to challenge novices and expert players alike. See how fast you can unscramble words, sharpen your vocabulary and stretch your mind with Mega Words.

Winnipeg-born Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks will be the new face of the NHL® 11 videogame from EA Sports™. With last year’s title featuring Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane, NHL 11 marks the first time that EA SPORTS has put back to back players from the same team on the cover of the NHL franchise. The 22 year old’s image will be on the front of all packaging when NHL 11 is available in North American retail stores this September for the PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360® with an MSRP of $59.99.

“I am really excited to be on the cover of NHL 11,” said Toews. “It’s been an amazing year for me and the team, and it’s nice to end it by being a part of a game I played growing up. The NHL games have always been great, so it’s an honor for me to be a part of the EA Sports family.”

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary with NHL 11, the EA Sports NHL® franchise has won 22 Sports Game of the Year awards over the past three years and is poised to raise the bar yet again. With a revolutionary real-time physics engine that brings an unprecedented amount of realism to the franchise, gameplay innovations like broken sticks and a revamped face-off system, as well as the addition of the Canadian Hockey League, NHL 11 is set to be the most complete hockey videogame ever created.

After being selected third overall in the 2006-07 entry draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, Toews has emerged as one of the most skilled centers in the NHL after just two seasons. After helping lead team Canada to a gold medal win during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Toews locked up the Conn Smythe, given to the most valuable player in the NHL playoffs, after playing a crucial role in leading the Chicago Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup championship since 1961. Toews is currently the youngest captain in the NHL, and has registered more than 65 points in each of his first two seasons.

“Jonathan Toews is one of the best centers in the NHL today,” said Jordan Edelstein, Vice-President of Marketing for EA SPORTS. “He is a great ambassador for the sport of hockey and his impact on the sport this year is undeniable. It’s great to have him in the EA SPORTS family.”

The Green Girls, a group of four web-savvy fifth grade students from Meadowvale Village Public School, are receiving top marks-and a visit from Mayor McCallion-for a website they designed as part of the Green Website Challenge, an educational competition created by Bullfrog Power®. Asking students to design a website exploring the topic of renewable energy, Bullfrog hoped to increase awareness of clean energy and conservation among young people through the Challenge. The Girls’ website, “Green energy: It’s our future now,” was selected the top site and will be linked to Bullfrog’s website as well as the City of Mississauga’s and act as a platform for educating Mississauga residents about green energy and electricity generation.

“We are very impressed by the quality of all submissions and the hard work that everyone put in to creating the websites,” said Tom Heintzman, President, Bullfrog Power. “The Green Girls developed a creative and informative site that will help more young people learn about renewable energy and how it can help us create a cleaner, healthier environment for them-and for future generations.”

Bullfrog Power and the City of Mississauga teamed up to launch the Green Website Challenge in December 2009. Over 40 students got involved in the project, submitting more than a dozen entries for consideration. Through the Challenge, students were able to learn about how energy from renewable sources compares to energy from non-renewable sources and use their web skills to help educate other Mississauga residents about conserving energy. The Challenge’s panel of judges included Heintzman and the City of Mississauga’s Manager of Energy Management, Rajan Balchandani, and Manager of the Environmental Group, Brenda Osborne.

“This is a great way to get our youth involved with our community,” said Hazel McCallion, Mayor, City of Mississauga. “Introducing these ideas to our children ensures they become invested in protecting our environment. In Mississauga we have made it a priority to lead and promote the use of technologies that help reduce our carbon footprint and preserve our natural environment.”

In recognition of their winning submission, the Green Girls and their entire class will receive a special visit from Mayor Hazel McCallion. During the visit, McCallion and Heintzman will present the Green Girls with plaques to celebrate their accomplishment. The Green Girls and their class will also receive a complimentary trip to the Ontario Science Centre where they will participate in the Action Earth program, which explores how humans are affecting the environment. All students who participated in the Challenge will receive certificates of achievement for their web design efforts.

Through its Best Buy for Kids program, Best Buy Canada has donated $50,000 to develop a Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Canada national program that is already showing great promise in select communities across the country. The new Teen Mentors Program takes a unique approach by having teens aged 15-17 become mentors for children in elementary school. Teen mentors will act as role models for the children in the program, helping them with their homework while developing a friendship with the younger students. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada’s Teen Mentors Program is a natural fit for Best Buy for Kids, developing life and leadership skills in the teen mentors while helping the elementary school children succeed and reach their full potential.

“This program arrives at a critical time for children in Canada” says Bruce MacDonald, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada. “It will allow us to provide much needed mentorship to children across the country. Our teen “Bigs” will play a valuable guiding role to their “Littles”, while also developing their own skill set as volunteers.”

Some Big Brothers Big Sisters local agencies have already experienced the positive results of matching teen role models with children, and currently offer a variation of the In-School Teen Mentors Program in schools. With the funding from Best Buy, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada will expand this program across the country, reaching over 600 students.

Holland Bloorview Kids’ Rehabilitation Hospital has put out a call to budding film-makers to enter filmpossible, a unique online video contest which will showcase the possibilities for children living with disabilities. Film-makers have until Aug. 31 to submit their videos.

Using any type of video recorder, including cell phones, Holland Bloorview is challenging film-makers of all ages and abilities to show us their own creative twist on bringing visibility to disability.

“Filmpossible is a unique opportunity for film-makers to dispel myths, perhaps by showcasing achievements or showing changes we can make,” said Christa Haanstra, Senior Director, Communications and Public Affairs. “By entering this contest, you can help Holland Bloorview change the way the world views childhood disability.”

Working with a class from the Claude Watson School for the Arts, two Holland Bloorview youth ambassadors, Gabriella Carafa and Crystal Chin, helped kick start the contest by creating videos promoting filmpossible. Gabriella has a neuro-muscular disorder that affects her mobility and she uses a wheelchair.

“When I was younger, I used to fear growing up. I thought my adulthood would be spent struggling to do daily tasks of living and never experiencing things that able-bodied people my age would,” said Gabriella, 21, of Toronto. “Holland Bloorview helped me to see the possibilities for people with disabilities. With this contest, we will be able to reach more people to show them what can be achieved.”

While the contest closes August 31st, entrants can increase their chances of becoming a finalist by entering early and encouraging their friends and family to visit filmpossible.ca and vote for their video. Three of the six finalists will be chosen by online public voting, open throughout the entry period. Another three finalists will be selected by a panel of celebrity judges. Winners will be determined by a final round of online public voting in October.

Films will be reviewed by a jury consisting of an eclectic mix of people who have come together to embrace this important cause, including experts from the film industry, high profile comics, a singer and an acclaimed journalist and author. First prize winner will receive $5,000; second prize is valued at $500; and third prize is valued at $300. Three honourable mention prize winners will each receive a Flip Video Camcorder donated by Cisco.

Competition judges include:

- Trevor Boris, Much Music personality
- Ian Brown, Feature Writer, The Globe and Mail and best-selling author of The Boy in the Moon, about his disabled son, Walker
- Allen Braude, Co-Director, Learning, Toronto International Film Festival, Sprockets programmer
- Justin Hines, singer /songwriter working on his fourth studio albums. He has appeared on radio and in documentaries focusing on both his successes as an artist with Larsen’s Syndrome and being a philanthropist
- Nikki Payne, award-winning comedian and actress, whose lisp and cleft lip give her an affinity with Holland Bloorview’s issues
- Tania B. Reilly, Programming Manager, Canadian Film Centre Worldwide Short Film Festival
- Karen Shopsowitz, award-winning independent filmmaker. Her most recent credit is One Summer at Camp Winston, a documentary about a camp for children with complex neurological disorders

In Canada, one in five Canadian families is raising a child with a significant emotional, behavioural or developmental disability; in Ontario alone, there are almost 230,000 kids with disabilities. However, not everyone has had the opportunity to spend time with children with disabilities. “This can sometimes lead to misunderstandings about how kids with disabilities experience life. That’s why filmpossible challenges people to create videos that bring visibility to disability,” said Haanstra. “Let’s work together to create a world where these children can live as full participants.”