Featuring Dhaila, a young fairy whose powers are bound to nature, the game will rely on gameplay taking place in an open world where the player will update the origins of Dhaila and help fulfill her destiny. In addition to the main quest, Dhaila could fill hundreds of side quests depending on the choices and actions proposed. Puzzles and large dungeons filled with traps and monsters will be part of her adventure to enhance the gameplay. Furthermore, Dhaila will be accompanied with a friend that can be controlled by another player to help Dhaila during certain puzzles through teamwork.

Orphaned in the fantasy world of Martania, Dhaila possesses unknown extraordinary powers. She has special skills, including one which can absorb the energy of nature directly through its DNA. She can also absorb the DNA of other creatures, making the heroine able to acquire their shape at any time. Living in one of these valleys, the village seems protected by an unknown magical force, more powerful than in other villages. Dhaila will leave to research her origins, while trying to release Martania of the influence of Dysan, a tyrant who has subjugated the people, forcing them to labour under the threat of the dragons he also holds sway over.

Selected as one of the glorious PAX 10, Retro City Rampage from VBlank Entertainment will be showcased at PAX Prime this weekend at booth 3017, where visitors can meet the dev team, play the game and get some fantastic swag.

This unbelievable FREE swag includes:

* Retro cartridge labels (stick ‘em on NES carts)!
* Retro game boxes* (stick your cart in it)!
* Retro plastic case inserts (with BLURST processing)!
*Retro game rental case inserts (“INDESTRUCTIONS”)!

As an added Bonus, the team will also be having a daily draw to win a Retro City Rampage cartridge case in the box! The team does caution, however, that due to the indie budget and a recent price increase on Ramen Noodles, the “box” is a cleverly designed and exciting arts and crafts project. Simply cut out and fold it yourself for some analog fun Alternatively, you could frame it and stick it on the wall of your local museum.

Capcom will be taking up residence at PAX in Booth 652, where you can drop by and try out their upcoming lineup of titles including Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Okamiden and Blue Castle Games‘ Dead Rising 2 – shipping on September 28.

Ubisoft will have three booths at the show. You will find them in spaces 632, 622 and 712. Each booth will feature a variety of Ubisoft’s upcoming releases and lots of fun prizes for booth visitors.

For the first time in the U.S., PAX attendees will get to try out various titles from Ubisoft exclusively for Kinect™ for Xbox 360®, including Your Shape™: Fitness Evolved and MotionSports™, in addition to seeing the first public demo of Child of Eden™. Consumers will also get an opportunity to play H.A.W.X® 2 multiplayer, and see a sneak peak of Outland™, one of Ubisoft’s digital games for PlayStation®Network and Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. In addition, Just Dance® 2 will be available to play onsite at the show.

PAX attendees will have a chance to play Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood, which will be playable on Xbox 360 and the PlayStation®3 at the Ubisoft booth before its November release. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood fans who pre-order the game onsite at PAX will receive an exclusive Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood T-shirt, and there are also opportunities for consumers who fan the Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Facebook page to win Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood posters. Other giveaways include a Just Dance–themed t-shirt for anyone who pre-orders the October release of Just Dance 2 at PAX.

Those who cannot attend PAX in person can check out Ubisoft’s Twitter account for exclusive updates, behind-the-scenes photos and video from PAX throughout the duration of the event. PAX prize packs will also be given out each day of the show via Twitter for those consumers that are unable to attend PAX. To contribute to Ubisoft’s PAX coverage on Twitter, please use the official hash tag “#UbiPax”.

The Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) is pleased to announce this year’s program, featuring an action-packed day of live presentations from Canada’s Hottest Innovative Companies, insightful sessions and facilitated meeting exchanges.

Unique to CIX, this fast-paced, expertly-curated series of presentations offers an up-to-the-minute snapshot of the most advanced technologies and companies at the forefront of the Information and Communication Technology, Digital Media and Clean Technology sectors. Only at CIX will you have the opportunity to engage in a one-day overview of the newest advances in these three important industries as presented by the companies’ CEOs themselves.

CIX features inspiring keynotes and meeting exchanges that offer you the chance to connect directly with the key players bringing exciting new products and initiatives to the marketplace. This year, CIX will include even more platforms for both structured and informal networking among participants, allowing you to develop the real contacts and relationships that lead to partnerships, investments and other opportunities for growth.

Rob Chaplinsky – Managing Director and Co-Founder, Bridgescale Partners
Paul Cummings – Principal, Honda Strategic Venturing
Mike Lee – Vice President, Venture Investments, Rogers Communications
Trond Unneland – VP Managing Executive, Chevron Technology Ventures
Steve Woods – Engineering Director, Google

Benefit from the experience and insight of industry experts with incisive sessions and panel discussions focused on the most pressing questions for today’s innovation economy. Faced with a dynamic and rapidly-changing marketplace, our speakers will provide invaluable tactics and strategies for navigating the new landscape of Canadian industry. Sessions include:

The Rise of Corporate Venture
Trials and Tribulations for Innovative Companies in Raising Private and Public Money in Canada
Canada – The World’s CleanTech Leader?

Fresh TV’s unique programming was recognized yesterday by the 25th annual Gemini Awards with two nominations for television series Stoked and associated website Stoked Interactive along with one nomination for their television series Total Drama Action – both series are TELETOON original productions. The Canadian television awards celebrate the year’s outstanding achievements in English language television.

“All of us here at Fresh TV are stoked to be nominated for this year’s Gemini Awards”, said Tom McGillis, President, Fresh TV Inc. “We’ve assembled a world class team of artists and writers to provide cutting-edge programming for youth worldwide and these nominations are a testament to that.”

Stoked director Faruk Cemalovic earned a nomination for Best Direction in an Animated Program or Series. Fresh TV was also acclaimed for its interactive work with a nomination in the Best Cross-Platform Project, Children’s and Youth category for Stoked Interactive. The project is a collaboration with marblemedia.

Total Drama Action, the second installment in the internationally acclaimed Total Drama franchise, earned one nomination for Best Children’s or Youth Fiction Program or Series.

Total Drama Action currently airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT and Stoked airs on Thursdays at 7 p.m. ET/PT on TELETOON. The latest series from the Total Drama franchise, Total Drama World Tour will premiere on TELETOON on Thursday, September 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

The dreaded Archdemon has been slain and the advance of the darkspawn halted by a lone, heroic Grey Warden. The kingdom rejoices, but at least one question remains: what happened to Morrigan? The sorceress joined the Wardens cause, but it is said her true purpose was not revealed until the eve of the last battle. She vanished into the shadows, and while rumours claimed she crossed over the mountains into Orlais, no trace of her path could be found. She was never heard from again… until now. Nearly a year has passed since the Archdemon’s death, and word has reached the Wardens that Morrigan has returned to Ferelden. She has been sighted in the southern wilderness where she was first encountered, but is it truly her? If it is, then why is she here and what secret does she carry with her? The Warden heads into the forest to find out and tie up this last loose end once and for all.

Key Features:

* Confront Morrigan in this dramatic conclusion to the Origins storyline
* Earn powerful rewards that transfer into your Awakening and Origins campaign
* Import your character from Origins or Awakening or create a new, high-level hero

Witch Hunt will also introduce Ariane, a new character who is a gifted Dalish warrior, and her clan’s best hunter. When an ancient artifact belonging to the clan’s Keeper is stolen, one with a history tied to the very roots of the elven people, Ariane is charged with the task of reclaiming it. She is determined to carry out her solemn duty, and when her task turns out to intersect with the Warden’s quest to find Morrigan she realizes that there may be far more to the artifact’s disappearance than simple theft. There are two more character links, but as of right now they are both “sealed” – perhaps more will be revealed in the coming days?

Unity Technologies has announced that Jesse Schell, CEO of Schell Games, will keynote at Unite 2010. Unite 2010 is Unity Technologies’ fourth annual developer conference for artists, programmers, designers, researchers, publishers and enthusiasts taking place November 10-12 at the historic Marché Bonsecours in Old Montreal, Canada following the Montreal International Game Summit.

Jesse is a lauded author and lecturer on the subject of games design and his Schell Games studio is using Unity to develop ‘The Mummy Online’ in collaboration with Universal and Bigpoint. This Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) is set to launch in Winter 2010.

“I’ve been dreaming for years about a ubiquitous 3D solution for web browsers, and Unity is that solution,” said Jesse Schell, CEO of Schell Games. “It’s changing the face of online game development, and we’re just at the beginning of what is possible.”

“Jesse is perhaps the most inspiring speaker in the games industry. He combines real vision with incredibly thorough analysis of where we are and where we are all going,” said David Helgason, CEO of Unity Technologies. “I’m looking forward to hear what he will have to say, and it’ll set the scene for a conference where no punches are pulled.”

Unite 2010 will offer three days of material including hands-on labs, technical sessions and a matchmaking/speed-dating event to help Unity developers and publishers connect. Book now to get the early bird discount which ends on September 10. In addition, Air Canada is offering a limited number of Unite 2010 attendee special discounted airfares to Montreal, available only to early birds.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announces the launch of The Bachelor: The Videogame on the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ system where players can experience all of the excitement and romance of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette hit reality series. Developed by Montreal’s Ludia, the game is available now exclusively at GameStop stores in the United States through September 30 and afterwards at major retailers nationwide. It is available now in Canada at all major retailers. The Bachelor: The Videogame is rated T for Teen and is available for the Nintendo Wii and DS for $29.99.

Guided by Chris Harrison, host of the hit TV series, The Bachelor: The Videogame features characters based on actual Bachelors and Bachelorettes from the top-rated series, including the most recent Bachelor, Jake Pavelka, and Bachelorette, Ali Fedotowsky. In the game, players compete in a collection of fun mini-game date challenges for a shot at romance. Success is measured with every date as players vie to win the attention and ultimately the heart of the Bachelor or Bachelorette by collecting roses along the way. Players can compete as female contestants for the Bachelor or as male contestants for the Bachelorette.

In single player mode, the game is structured like the TV show. It is comprised of multiple “episodes” where the player competes against the game characters for time alone with the Bachelor or Bachelorette. The Wii version offers multiplayer mode for a fun party game enabling players to compete against their “frenemies.” Opponents can sabotage others’ dates and prevent them from receiving a rose!

During each “episode” or game, contestants go on a variety of Group Dates and a One-On-One Date to earn hearts. These dates include fun challenges, puzzles and mini-games, which test skills such as memory, speed, observation and precision. Players can also unlock personality quizzes and find out which Bachelor or Bachelorette you are most compatible with using the Match Maker.

Beamdog is continuing its expansion of game offerings with the availability of Paradox products on the Beamdog network. Now Beamdog users can enjoy exciting products such as Mount & Blade: Warband, Elven Legacy Collection, Hearts of Iron 3 and Canadian-made titles such as the Sword of the Stars series and the upcoming Supreme Ruler: Cold War. Paradox games are available for purchase now including free trials of many of the games.

“We are very happy to be partnering with Beamdog on their exciting new platform and see this as yet another step in making sure our entire portfolio of games is widely available to gamers worldwide”, said Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive.

“We’re very happy to have the Paradox titles on our store.”, says Beamdog’s Creative Director Trent Oster. “I’ve been a fan of Mount & Blade for years, as few things can compete with the satisfaction one derives from riding down an opponent and hacking them to bits from horseback.”

TVOKids host Gisèle, star of TVO’s early learning programming block, Gisèle’s Big Backyard, will make a special visit to the Ottawa-Gatineau region on Sunday September 12 to launch Rob the Robot, a new animated preschool series premiering this fall on TVOKids.

Gisèle will serve as emcee for the world premiere screening of Rob the Robot at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec. This free family event blasts off at 2 pm and includes a special opening greeting from Gisèle followed by a half-hour episode of Rob the Robot. The screening concludes with a post-show reception in which kids will be able to meet Gisèle, take pictures and receive autographs. Members of the public who are interested in attending the event are invited to RSVP at 613.238.4567 x 28, or by email.

“Meeting the TVOKids audience live and in person is what I enjoy most about my job, so I’m thrilled to be coming to the Ottawa-Gatineau region to meet our fans and introduce them to our new series, Rob the Robot,” says Gisèle Corinthios, host of Gisèle’s Big Backyard. “Every Rob the Robot mission brings kids a discovery-filled, outer space adventure, and there’s always a great story of initiative, cooperation and friendship at the heart.”

Produced by Ottawa-based Amberwood Entertainment and Singapore’s One Animation in association with TVO, Rob the Robot is based on a series of children’s books and stars an inquisitive, problem-solving robot. Each episode sends Rob and his space-exploring buddies, Ema, TK and Orbit, to a new planet to undertake a challenge, like telling time at the Clock Planet, discovering new types of music at the Dance Planet, or learning about climate at the Weather Planet. With every mission accomplished, the crew learns another lesson in teamwork.

Rob the Robot makes its world broadcast premiere on TVOKids on Monday September 13 at 8:30 am ET during the Gisèle’s Big Backyard block and airs regularly weekdays at 8:30 and 11 am. The series is presented as part of TVO’s season-long programming focus on science

Reflecting that there is no one common experience in coping with a cancer diagnosis, the people interviewed for The Truth of It range in age from 20 to 73 and have been diagnosed with different types of cancer including breast, colorectal, lung, testicular, and ovarian. Viewers can choose to watch individual stories or compilations of multiple interview clips that deal with challenges common to the cancer journey such as receiving the diagnosis, telling friends and family, talking to kids, body image, and practical advice. The Truth of It series, with 30 videos currently available, was created in collaboration with accomplished filmmaker Wendy Rowland and Dr. Michael Evans, Director of the Health Design Lab of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

“The Partnership has created this series as part of our work to better understand and improve people’s cancer experience,” said Dr. Margaret Fitch, a psychosocial expert who is Chair of the Partnership’s Cancer Journey Advisory Group and co-lead of the Patient and Family Support Program at Sunnybrook’s Odette Cancer Centre. “By helping health care professionals to tune into the patient’s perspective, The Truth of It will help to enhance patient care – while also serving as a unique resource for people with a personal connection to cancer who can benefit from insight and information from others who have walked the cancer journey.”

Jennifer Smith is one of the people who shares her story in the videos. In 2003 at the age of 38, she was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia and has since undergone chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. She is married and has two children.

“If this resource were available when I was diagnosed, it would have helped me navigate the many uncertainties and range of emotions that I experienced,” said Jennifer. “Because hearing from others in similar situations can be such a helpful way of coping, I’m hoping that other people can learn from my story.”

The Truth of It is part of the growing collection of cancer control resources, information and services available at Cancer View Canada, the online portal launched by the Partnership with and for the cancer control community.

“Technology is radically changing the way people seek answers to their health questions, but hearing about someone’s actual experience — their ’story’ — is still the most powerful tool,” said Dr. Michael Evans, family physician and Director of the Health Design Lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute. “In marrying technology with stories, The Truth of It enables people to engage with other Canadians whose experiences resonate with their own. These firsthand accounts offer a range of perspectives that make this series useful to both patients and professionals.”

The above article can also serve as a reminder of several upcoming fundraiser events that we hope you will help support. The Canary Derby will run in Vancouver/Burnaby on September 25th. This is a soap box derby for technology companies who want to help fund early cancer detection research, and as an added bonus, the derby is a ton of fun.

October 3rd is CIBC’s Run For The Cure, Canada’s largest single day, volunteer-led fundraising event dedicated to raising funds for breast cancer research, and education and awareness programs. Who will you be running for?

For Guild Wars players, you can get involved by supporting the Gamers Give Back resurrection of Pink Day in L.A. (Lion’s Arch), which will take place on October 16th. If you don’t play Guild Wars, you can still support the event via its Canadian Cancer Society donation page.

Dragon Age players - today is the day for the latest DLC chapter. Bioware invites you to delve deep underground in Golems of Amgarrak to save a missing dwarven expedition in search of ancient secrets for creating monstrous constructs. Only you can uncover the gruesome fate that befell them.

Put your Warden back in action and adventure through new environments, meet new characters and defeat never before seen creatures. With an engrossing new storyline and challenging puzzles this is one add-on for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 versions that you don’t want to miss.

* Import your character from Origins or Awakening or create a new, high-level hero!
* Face an all-new terrifying creature
* Earn powerful rewards that transfer into your Awakening and Origins campaign
* An advanced challenge for even the most experienced adventurers

The Canadian Innovation Exchange (December 7th in Toronto) is on the hunt for the company with the most innovative product or services in ICT, Cleantech, and Digital Media. Being recognized as one of Canada’s Hottest Innovative Companies is a tremendous accolade and will enable you to meet with potential partners, customers, investors and your peers in facilitated meeting exchanges.

You will also be able to:

* Achieve broad media recognition as one of Canada’s Hottest Innovative Companies
* Connect with the brightest minds behind the most cutting edge innovations in ICT, Cleantech and Digital Media
* Gain insight into the market as industry experts, visionaries and trailblazers share their knowledge and experience

Submit your profile by Friday August 13th 2010 and receive 50% off your pass to CIX 2010.
(If you are chosen to present you will receive a full refund plus a free additional pass for a colleague to attend CIX 2010). Final submission deadline is October 1st, 2010

Ubisoft announced that it will release a Collectors’ Edition of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood in conjunction with the launch of the game this November 16th. The Collector’s Edition of the game will be bundled with exclusive content and items including (may be subject to change):

- The Harlequin Jack-in-the-Box Collectible (exclusive to GameStop customers only) or The Doctor Jack-in-the-Box Collectible (available at all other participating retailers)
– Two Exclusive In-Game Single Player Maps
– Hard Copy Strategy Map of Rome
– Exclusive Art Book
- Bonus Disc which will contain an exclusive Making-of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Video, a digital Sneak Peak at the Assassin’s Creed Comic, trailers and the Game Soundtrack.

As noted in the features list above, if you pre-order your Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Collector’s Edition from a retailer other than GameStop, you will receive The Doctor instead of The Harlequin.

Once again, though, the European collector’s version far outstrips that which is available to the game’s “home country of development” and in my opinion tells North American gamers that once again those who live across the Atlantic are the favourites, so will be getting loads of cool stuff.

The EU version contains:

Renaissance Collector Chest
Exclusive Codex
Map of Rome
Multiplayer characters cards
Lineage DVD along with Bonus DVD and game soundtrack
2 Exclusive single player maps: Aqua Gear & Trajan Market
2 Multiplayer characters: Harlequin & Officer
Additional bonus content yet to be revealed

For $99.99, The Collector’s Edition will be available for the Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3. Supplies are limited, so pre-order now to guarantee a copy. Note: I tried to pre-order yesterday from our local EB Games outlet, the CE wasn’t even in their system yet, and as of a few minutes ago, it’s still not available at Gamestop.ca’s online store either. Apparently, if you pre-order from Amazon.com you also get Ezio’s Helmschmied Drachen Armour, but I haven’t confirmed if this will be available on Amazon.ca because they don’t have the CE listed at all.

Wicked Interactive Ltd. and Suba Games LLC Inc. are bringing the hit free-to-play MMORPG Fragoria back to the North American market via the Suba Games portal. Fragoria is one of the most advanced web-based massively multiplayer online role playing games—often referred to as a game that expands the boundaries of what a browser-based game can be. To celebrat Fragoria’s North American launch campaign, Suba Games has a month of giveaways, prizes, in-game events, and much more.

The game features beautifully detailed sprite graphics, 18 character classes to choose from, an immersive pet system, multiple PvP (Player vs. Player) modes, character professions, and most importantly, a slew of missions—with full location guiding for every quest. In Fragoria players will indulge themselves in a world full of fantasy and fights. They will compete against others in PvP Modes such as; The Castle, Blade Runner, Fighter Pit, Witch’s Circle, Capture the Flag, Gone Nuts, Last Man Standing, Snow Fortress, Mayhem and King of the Hill.

Together with HMH Interactive, Canadian publisher DreamCatcher Games and JoWooD will release two high-class Adventure Titles in Winter 2010 – Book of Unwritten Tales and Haunted for global distribution for PC DVD.

Book of Unwritten Tales, the award-winning Point & Click Adventure has already been released in the first quarter 2009 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and has received excellent feedback by gaming media and gamers. JoWooD Entertainment will now act as the global distributor and is looking forward to the release of the localized versions of the game. A big emphasis will be put on rendering homage to the great books and movies of the role game and fantasy genre. Therefore JoWooD will hire the best translators and Voice Actors so that the great quality of the animated dialogues is assured. More than 40 characters will wittily interact so that the gamer can solve more than 150 challenging riddles in more than 60 lovingly created settings.

Book of Unwritten Tales will be THE Adventure Release 2010 – release date winter 2010.
Haunted is a new adventure that stands in line with previous games by the genre specialist Deck 13, who is internationally renowned for successful classics such as “ANKH” and “Jack Keane”. The high quality game will inspire gamers with a harmonious storyline and demanding riddles.

Haunted takes the gamer along with the main character Mary, who finds herself all alone on the mysterious streets of London during the 19th Century after her sister’s death. But she soon realizes she is not as lonesome as she thought when she hears her sister’s voice asking her for help. In the course of the game, Mary is also joined by supernatural attendants as ghosts come to support her… – needless to say that the gamer will encounter the typical Deck 13 humor.

“With both of the adventure games Haunted and Book Of Unwritten Tales, we signed two extraordinary Adventure Games that were ‘made in Germany’ and we are proud to distribute these A-Titles globally”, says a joyful Stefan Berger, Head of Business Development JoWooD Entertainment.
“Both the Marketing and the Distribution departments are highly motivated and are looking forward to releasing these real gems. The two games will significantly promote our brands ‘The Adventure Company’ position at the top of the Adventure Game Genre.”

The Canada Media Fund has approved funding for 21 projects (PDF) of the 33 which had applied for funding from the English POV Program. The program budget, at $3.5M, has been fully subscribed, with $2.6M committed to television components and $0.9M committed to digital media components. Twelve of the projects included rich and substantial digital media components, six included VOD/digital distribution (not funded by the CMF), and three included basic digital media components (not funded by the CMF).

Of the approved projects, one was from Atlantic Canada, nine from Quebec, seven from Ontario, and four from Western Canada. Eight of the 21 projects had a broadcaster agreement at the application stage. All projects have until December 6 to complete financing, including broadcaster agreements. It should be noted that these decisions and funding commitments are preliminary, as all requests must undergo a contracting process. Funding is not final until contracts are signed. An updated list will be published once contracting is complete.

The Canada Media Fund is also holding a contest for a chance to win a VIP weekend for two to Montréal, including transportation, two nights’ accommodation, and tickets to the 2010 Prix Gémeaux gala. The objective of the contest to raise awareness amongst the Canadian public about the organization and to draw the connection between the shows they love to watch and the funding agency that supports their creation.

Congratulations to DHX Media Ltd on the sealing of two licensing deals for its pre-school Kid vs Kat series in Latin America with TV Azteca in Mexico and ECTV in Ecuador. The sales come following the second season commission of the series from Disney XD US, Disney XD Europe, and YTV in Canada.

Josh Scherba, SVP Distribution of DHX Media commented: “Our shows have a significant presence in Latin America, and we’re keen to do more business in the region. Kid vs Kat is building a strong fan base, and the commitment from Disney XD and YTV to a second season gives us a solid foundation for further international deals.”

Created by Rob Boutilier, Kid vs Kat won the 2009 Leo Award for Best Animated Programme and airs in over 100 territories DHX Media has sold the show to a number of additional broadcasters including VRAK Canada, ABC Australia, Disney Latin America, Cartoon Network Korea, Disney India, Disney Japan and Nick SE Asia.

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) returns to the Toronto International Film Festival (September 9-19, 2010) with three films—the world premiere of Sturla Gunnarsson’s documentary about Canadian scientist and activist David Suzuki (co-production with Entertainment One); the Canadian premiere of animator Claude Cloutier’s latest short; and Theodore Ushev’s animated tribute to filmmaker Arthur Lipsett.

Award-winning director Sturla Gunnarsson presents a biography of ideas featuring iconic Canadian scientist, educator, broadcaster and activist David Suzuki. At 73 years of age, Suzuki delivered what he describes as “a last lecture—a distillation of my life and thoughts, my legacy, what I want to say before I die.” In Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie, Gunnarsson interweaves the lecture with scenes from the places and the major social, scientific, cultural and political events of the past 70 years of Suzuki’s life. Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie is produced by Entertainment One in co-production with the NFB and in association with CBC.

The short animated film The Trenches is an intense cinematic experience, a powerful anti-war film that asks the question, Why? Created through archival images masterfully contemporized by filmmaker Claude Cloutier’s India ink and brush artistry, The Trenches follows the inner reality of the protagonist, a young soldier on the battlefield, through half-real, half-surrealistic scenes that reveal the symbolic importance of the earth. The Trenches is produced by Marc Bertrand at the NFB’s French Animation Studio.

Theodore Ushev’s Lipsett Diaries is a descent into the maelstrom of anguish that tormented Arthur Lipsett, a famed Canadian experimental filmmaker who died at 49. Narrated by Xavier Dolan, the animated short uses a series of imagined diary entries transmuted into a clash of images and sounds to evoke the artist’s frenzied creations and dizzying descent into depression and madness. Lipsett Diaries is produced by Marc Bertrand at the NFB’s French Animation Studio.

Despite a year of decreased revenues for all other major media in Canada, the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB) today announced that Canadian Online Advertising Revenues for 2009 exceeded budgeted expectations of $1.75 billion, and grew by 14% to $1.82 billion for 2009.

According to IABC’s study (PDF), publisher revenue from Online advertising in Canada has increased at double digit rates in all but one of the past 10 years — building from $98 million in 2000 to the $1.82 billion mark reported above — and is rapidly closing in on Newspaper ad revenue.

Online Advertising now represents 13% of the combined $13.8 billion total spent on all channels.

Of the $1.82 billion, approximately $352 million or 19% of Online ad revenue was received by French Canadian Online publishing properties, representing year-over-year growth of 11%. Search advertising continues to lead in terms of share of dollars booked by Online Publishers ($741 million/41%), followed by Display ($578 million/32%) and Classifieds ($467 million/26%). Together, these three advertising vehicles represent 99% of all of the Online advertising booked in Canada.

Online Video advertising nearly doubled in 2009: growing from $12 million in 2008 to $20 million; while Publisher-based Email advertising lost ground, declining from $18 million in 2008 to just $13 million in 2009. Advertising within the VideoGaming environment in Canada was also reported for the first time in 2009, and sits at $3 million dollars.

2009 Canadian Online Ad Revenue by Advertiser Category was also tabulated, and was as follows:

- Automotive – 12%;
– Packaged Goods – 10%;
– Financial – 10%;
– Technology -9%;
– Retail – 7%;
– Telecommunications – 5%;
– Entertainment – 5%;
– Leisure (Travel, Hotel, Hospitality) – 5%;
– Media – 4%;
– Pharma/Health – 2%; and,
– Other – 31%.

Publishers within IAB Canada’s Annual Revenue Survey have projected that their revenues will continue to grow at an enviable pace, with Online Advertising Revenue in Canada estimated to be $2.1 billion in 2010, or 15% more than the 2009 actuals. This forecast includes a 14% increase to $400 million for French Publishers’ Online advertising revenues.

“It seems incredible that after passing the $1 billion revenue mark just two years ago — and after the worst recession in history — Internet advertising in Canada is poised to break through to the $2 billion mark in 2010,” says Paula Gignac, President, IAB Canada.

“What’s even more impressive, is that Internet advertising in Canada has grown at a double-digit rate in the face of low, no, or negative growth in other countries. To me, that’s a testament to both the rising importance of the Internet within the total media mix, and the growing expertise in Interactive marketing within the Canadian advertising community. Clearly, the few advertising pioneers of yesterday have now been joined by a mass of companies who have not only made the jump to Interactive, but who are also increasing their investment based on positive brand and direct results from the various channels within.”

IAB Canada also has several upcoming events – MIXX Canada takes place in Toronto this September 29th, and there is a full slate of Road Show events taking place across the country between September 30th and October 15th. Check the MIXX Canada site for dates and locations.

The final word today goes to MEGA Brands, who is very excited to announce the international launch of its all-new construction-toy line: Dragons Universe™. The story of Dragons Universe starts on an isolated planet where the soldiers of the Alliance are under attack from the Predavors, an alien race of warlike Dragons. The Predavors have come in search of the Cores, glowing spheres that are the source of all power.

Kids will be immersed into the Dragons Universe brand through a 360 degree marketing campaign including television & online advertising, a microsite, retail events and displays, an online comic book and other exciting initiatives.

The Dragons Universe product line introduces an incredible group of new characters, playsets, and fearsome dragons, including the Small Dragon Eggs and Alliance Pods. At a SRP of $6.99 (USD), this assortment features buildable Predavor Dragons or Alliance Speeders, each sold with a unique storage container. The key collectible of the line is the Large Dragon Egg assortment, at a SRP of $11.99 (USD). Each of these four big buildable Dragons, Clawripper, Blackheart, Torchwing and Tailspike, include removable weapons and real working missile launchers. The included storage container is a large dragon egg.

The Dragons Universe playsets range from SRP of $19.99 to $49.99 (USD), and each one includes characters, Dragons and buildable vehicles to let kids create their own battle scenes. The Rapid Fire Dragon Fighter features the unique Flight Controller for precise aerial maneuvers that doubles as landing gear, real working weapon and Alliance and Predavor characters. The Deluxe Dual-Blast Dragon Hunter ratchets up the action with twin firing weapons, Flight Controller landing gear, and awesome light and sound FX including multiple weapon sounds, light-up Engine Cores and realistic power-up, flight and landing sound effects. The battle rages with two Alliance soldiers and the Predavor Dragon Iceblaze.

The battle reaches epic proportions with the Ultimate Action Dragon Destroyer. The massive Alliance Warbyrd takes on two Predavor Dragons, Bloodclaw and Deadeye, with multiple missile launchers, dual Flight Controllers and incredible sound and light effects. And for the first time, kids can take an active part in the battle with the Dragon Blaster that detaches from the ship to bring true role-play into the world of Dragons Universe.

Interactive Ontario has announced that Jordan Mechner, creator of the Prince of Persia franchise, will deliver the Keynote address at IN 2010. There is an impressive line-up of speakers presenting sessions at this year’s conference. IN 2010 will be divided into the following streams: Mobile, Social Media, Games, Cross Platform and Visionary. Make sure you register soon, the Early Bird tickets are only available until August 20th.

Building on the success of their inaugural event held this past May, the Canadian Video Game Awards will be returning on May 18, 2011 at the Centre For The Performing Arts in Vancouver. If you are in business and considering using Twitter as a tool, then the Twitter for Business Workshop is an event you may want to attend. Lead by social media pros Monica Hamburg and Tanya Roberts, this seminar will be held at the ING Direct Café Boardroom on August 21st and is designed to help you understand how to use Twitter to build your brand and interact with clients.

The second Vancouver BookCamp will be taking place at the SFU Downtown Campus – Harbour Centre on October 1st. This free (registration required) full day event brings together a variety of stakeholders in the publishing industry to discuss digital publishing, digital reading experiences, the book’s evolving role and how publishers can leverage themselves for success in the digital age.

Frima Studio has put Zombie Tycoon on sale on the PlayStation Store for only $2.49 until August 9, 2010. Normally $4.99, Zombie Tycoon is one of the most successful PlayStation Minis of all time and unlike any zombie game you’ve played before!

Frima’s team thought that it was about time to turn the tables on those living dead stereotypes…again and again, you find yourself having to survive some kind of undead apocalypse. Well, no more! In Zombie Tycoon, you get to control your very own horde of ravenous zombies! This unique tale of intrigue and betrayal spans over 10 challenging levels, complete with animated cutscenes, in-game dialogs, and a bunch of humorous references. Equip your slavering, putrescent swarm of undead minions with over 100 quirky items and send them shuffling after humans like wolves on cattle, laying waste to town after town as they spread their blight across the globe.

If you haven’t seen it already, here is the latest trailer for Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. In this trailer, hear from Spider-Man creator Stan Lee as he discusses the latest iteration of his web-weaving super hero.

Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions is scheduled for release on September 1st for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii (developed by Quebec’s Beenox Studios) and Nintendo DS (developed by Griptonite Games). There is a variety of pre-order bonuses available, depending on where and how you place your order.

“Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions delivers an original storyline that bridges four unique worlds,” said Rob Kostich, Head of Marketing, Activision Publishing, Inc. “Each action-packed universe will have its own detailed art design and thrilling missions, challenging gamers to use new skill sets to defeat enemies as they unlock powerful new moves and progress through the game.”

Those waiting for the resurrection of the True Crime franchise will have to wait a little longer. Activision has pushed back the anticipated release date for United Front’s upcoming open-world action title, True Crime®: Hong Kong. Instead of being released in 2010, it will now be making an appearance in 2011, stating that they are giving the dev team more time to polish the title in order to give gamers a high-quality playing experience.

Toon Boom Animation has released its first iPad app. Available for free, Flip Boom Lite will help you learn how to animate and create cartoons on your iPad. Along with the included demo project are features such as:

* Intuitive user interface with collapsible drawing slider, full-screen drawing, adjustable line width
* Brush, eraser, undo, reset view, bright colour selection, scale and translate
* Previous and next drawings display, flexible frame rate and send to photo library

There are also features which are unique to the app version of Flip Boom Lite: Cool Shake to undo a previous action, Magic Grab to reset your drawing to original position and Finger Pinch to scale and translate your drawing.

Also new over at Toon Boom is StoryBoard Pro 2, and along with new features is a new licensing option – Toon Boom is now offering a rental option, letting users rent the software for a full year at a cost of $299.99 USD for either Windows or Mac operating systems. Visit the StoryBoard Pro 2 page to see what’s new in this latest version.

Vancouver’s Sillysoft Games has released the first screenshots of their upcoming turn-based strategy game Castle Vox, slated for PC release in September 2010.

Castle Vox features simultaneously planned turns, as players vie to out-strategize each other on a variety of war maps. Multi-player modes allow both relaxed one-move-a-day games as well as fast speed wars. Board game fans will particularly look forward to Castle Vox, which mixes elements from Diplomacy and Axis & Allies and includes maps spanning many eras and mythologies, such as the American Revolution, Hades, Japan, Napoleonic Wars, Native America, Outer Space, and the Roman Empire. A map editor will let players create their own boards.

Toronto publisher Dreamcatcher Gamers, JoWooD Entertainment and the BVT Group announce that the release of the “ArcaniA – Gothic 4” Playstation 3 version is set for release in the first half of 2011. The successor of the internationally successful Gothic series will be released on current-gen consoles for the first time, additional to PC systems. Xbox 360 and PC versions will hit the stores on Oct. 12th 2010.

The focus during development of ArcaniA – Gothic 4 rested on a well-founded quality assurance. Playstation 3 gamers will experience the same, high quality product as Xbox 360 and PC customers. This has caused the adjustment of the release date but conversely sets the course for an outstanding gameplay experience on all platforms.

Telefilm Canada is pleased to announce the selected feature film projects from minority French- and English-language communities across Canada that have been selected under the Écrire au long and Feature It! initiatives, respectively.

Targeting eligible Francophone and Anglophone writers and producers, these initiatives are part of Telefilm’s Official Languages Activities (OLA) Program to develop market-driven feature film projects and to expand the available pools of these creators:

- Écrire au long targets eligible Francophone creators from Quebec communities outside Montreal and from Francophone communities outside the province of Quebec;
– Feature It! targets eligible Anglophone creators working in Quebec.

Participating writers and producers receive development funding in the form of an advance for a later phase of their projects and take part in four-day workshops to review the fundamentals of film development and scriptwriting with industry experts. In addition, participants will subsequently receive personalized, professional support from scriptwriting advisors or producer-mentors.

Toronto-based Francophone writer Maxime Desmons sees his acceptance into the 2010-2011 Écrire au long program as an opportunity to improve both his project and his scriptwriting skills.

“To participate in Écrire au long and receive financial support from Telefilm for such an early stage of a project increases my credibility as a scriptwriter,” he said. “Working with a mentor who will challenge me and critique my work professionally will make me work even harder on my project and strengthen me as a writer.”

Montreal-based Anglophone writer-producer Debra Kouri raved about her 2009-2010 Feature It! experience and how it helped her project Oh, Christmas Trees.

“In my 12-plus years in the film and television industry, the Feature It! training was the best I have ever received. We had extremely experienced lecturers and industry professionals share their experiences with us. The lessons we learned have already proven invaluable and I’m sincerely looking forward to writing my next draft. I wish this type of training was mandatory for all Canadian writers and producers!”

“At their cores, the Écrire au long and Feature It! initiatives give minority Francophone and Anglophone writers and producers such as Maxime and Debra the hands-on mentoring that is so essential to the fine tuning of their work as fiction feature film creators,” said Sheila de La Varende, Telefilm Canada’s Director of National and International Business Development. “Through this program and others, we are making progress on our goal to enhance industry skills, increase the number of feature-film scripts, and improve creators’ access to our main funding programs for the eventual production of their projects,” she added.

Telefilm collaborated with the following organizations to deliver each initiative’s training components:

- The Creative Women Workshops Association is delivering Feature It! training components and held a four-day workshop session that ran from June 19 to June 22, 2010, in Montreal.
– The Institut national de l’image et du son is delivering the Écrire au long training components and will hold a four-day workshop session that will be held in Montreal from August 30 to September 2, 2010.

Since the launch of the OLA program in 2006, Telefilm Canada has been seeking to expand the talent pool of Anglophone and Francophone creators working in minority official language communities across the country. A total of 36 English-language projects and 48 French-language projects have been supported following calls for entries issued to both of these communities. The Écrire au long and Feature It! initiatives conducted under Telefilm’s OLA Program have received financial support from Heritage Canada through the Interdepartmental Partnership with Official-Language Communities.

This is the fifth and final year for the Écrire au long program, and the fourth and final year for the Feature It! program. Telefilm will review results of both initiatives this fall to determine how best to support the professional development of minority-language Francophone and Anglophone creators moving forward.

SFO-based social web and mobile entertainment company Booyah has officially launched international support for its popular location based app MyTown. Now available exclusively for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad across Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, MyTown is the first to support global check-ins utilizing the recently launched Places Web Service via the Google Maps API.

“Booyah is the premier mobile and social gaming company on top of the exploding location graph,” said Keith Lee, CEO, Booyah. “Our launches in the UK, Australia and Canada are just the beginning of bringing real world gaming to players across the globe.”

MyTown’s location data is provided by the Places Web Service, a feature of the Google Maps API which returns the 20 most popular places near a given location. Blending location-based services and social gaming features, Booyah’s MyTown is the first and largest consumer channel to utilize the Places Web Service.

Currently more than 2.8 million users in the United States are actively buying properties, collecting rent and checking-in to real places in MyTown. Last week, Booyah introduced the product check-in, allowing players to scan barcodes of real-world products to unlock points and earn exclusive virtual items, creating real-life scavenger hunts, brand discovery and engagement.

Calgary’s Rare Method Interactive Corp. has appointed Mr. Joshua Ius to the position of Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Ius obtained his Chartered Accountant designation articling with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He also holds a Master’s in Professional Accounting and a Bachelors of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Management. His background includes both Industry and Public Practice experience.

Rogers Media Inc. and BV! Media Inc. have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Rogers Media will acquire all of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of BV! Media for $0.40 in cash per share. The all-cash consideration of $0.40 per Share values BV! Media at approximately $25 million and represents a premium of approximately 100% to the volume-weighted average trading price of the BV! Media shares for the past 20 trading days on the TSX Venture Exchange.

“We are thrilled to have the BV! Media team join the Rogers family,” said Claude Galipeau, SVP & GM, Digital Media, Rogers Media. “BV! Media has an extensive line of ad solutions that we will incorporate into our existing digital media sales offerings. In addition, the BRANCHEZ-VOUS! network of sites in Quebec will give us greater reach in the Francophone market. Upon closing, Rogers Digital Media will have an impressive set of content offerings and digital sales solutions, including premium brands, exclusive sales inventory on partner sites, channels targeting key demographics, and performance media.”

“We are very pleased with this transaction for many reasons: it reflects BV! Media’s true value and exemplifies our commitment to maximize value for all our shareholders,” commented Gino Coutu, President, Ad network and co-CEO of BV! Media. “Furthermore, it is occurring with a strategic partner that has already demonstrated its respect for our organization and our people, and it ensures total continuity with our trusted partners and clients. This transaction is fully supported by the senior management team.”

“After fifteen years as a successful standalone business we are eager to become part of one of Canada’s largest media companies and to have our team and assets contribute to Rogers’ expansion in both digital media and the Quebec market” commented Patrick Pierra, founder and co-CEO of BV! Media.

This new game is just one of the interactive simulations available for play in the Spongelab Biology educational game portfolio. Last February, Spongelab Interactive took home first prize in the National Science Foundation’s 2009 Visualization Challenge in the Interactive Media Category for their award winning Genomics Digital Lab (GDL) which allows students to explore the story of energy and ‘play the biology’. Currently used in over 65 countries, GDL has been transforming the way students and teachers interact with biology in the classroom, at home and from any internet connected computer they have access to.

Products like Spongelab Interactive’s GDL and the soon to be released History of Biology are helping teachers connect to their students in a fresh new way. “It can be a challenge for students to visualize the parts of the cell and the processes that occur within them; Genomics Digital Lab not only gives students a great visual tool but allows them to explore the biology. Good resources in French are particularly difficult to find, and GDL offers their product in both English and French,” says
Sabrina Amato, Grade 11&12 Biology Teacher, French Public School Board (CSDCSO).

“Our students have changed and so must our education system. It is our duty to prepare our graduates for a technology and innovation based work force. The ability to interact with technology has the potential to play an enormous role in student development and their future success,” says Dr. Jeremy Friedberg, co-founder of Spongelab Interactive.

With enrollment in Science and Math declining it’s critically important that we get students engaged, but is Canada ready? In Texas, the legislature adopted a bill in 2009 that provides funds and supports technology for e-textbooks. States like Indiana and Michigan have purchased software for schools that, much like History of Biology and all Spongelab Biology products, have included metrics and assessment tools to give teachers an accurate understanding of how their students are learning. and progressing through the content, while facilitating grading. In June 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his support in adopting e-textbooks and e-learning. It’s imperative that Canadian Ministries and School Boards also take steps to ensure that our students have access to technology and are supporting Canadian businesses committed to innovative learning and educational assets.

College alliance proves winning combination for game development When Spongelab set out to create the History of Biology in a way that teachers, students and gaming enthusiasts would connect with, we knew that the game had to deal with this subject matter in a very unique way and would require a specific game engine.

The result gained through a solid partnership with Centennial College’s Paula Demacio, biotechnology professor and students from Centennial’s Game Art and Design program; is an interactive on-line scavenger hunt. Alex Maslov, Centennial student and now employee with Spongelab’s parent company, was challenged to build an engine that randomizes types of missions posed to players and how the answers are received to ensure different experiences for each player.

The project has been partially funded by the Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation. The partnership between Spongelab Interactive, Centennial College and its Applied Research and Innovation Centre has proven to be a strong one. The Applied Research and Innovation Centre connects students to businesses like Spongelab Interactive. The results are noteworthy as seven Centennials students contributed to the development of the History of Biology game.

Vancouver ACM SIGGRAPH is pleased to announce its 3rd annual SPARK Animation Conference and Festival, after a very successful SPARK FX Conference and Festival in January. In its third year, this prestigious 3-day speaker series and 5-day film festival is intended to educate and inspire professionals, pioneers and enthusiasts in the world of animation.

Taking place September 8 – 12, 2010, SPARK Animation ’10 will be filled with informative and inspiring learning sessions, panels and presentations. Previous events have attracted a coveted line-up of some of the most talented animators and innovators in the industry from such acclaimed studios as Blue Sky, LAIKA, Disney Animation, DreamWorks Animation, Pixar Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks.

This strong presentation series will be complemented by screenings chosen to exemplify innovation and excellence in the field held in the evenings at the Vancouver International Film Centre,1181 Seymour Street (& Davie).

Early Bird special pricing for this 5-day conference is available until August 15: Members $175 and non-members $225 (HST included). Regular pass admission is $275 for non-members and $225 for members (HST included). A-la-carte tickets for the individual presentations will go on sale on August 30.

Real Madrid midfielder Kaka has been chosen for the cover of EA Sports™ FIFA Soccer 11. The 28-year-old Brazilian soccer hero will be the center-piece of global advertising, marketing and promotional campaigns for the most popular* sports videogame in the world. Kaka is part of an iconic group of 17 stars who will adorn FIFA Soccer 11 worldwide. Kaka will be accompanied by stars from other teams in other countries in territory specific packaging when FIFA Soccer 11 is available in stores September 28 in North America and October 1 in Europe and Asia.

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, or better known as Kaka, is one of the finest soccer players of this generation, having won the Golden Ball and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007. During the 2009-2010 season, Kaka scored 8 goals in 22 appearances for Real Madrid.

“I’ve always been a fan of EA Sports and especially the FIFA series,” said Kaka. “Being on the FIFA Soccer 11 cover is a great honor for me since very few players have this opportunity, and there have been some great players featured on the cover of this truly amazing videogame.”

Kaka started his professional career at the age 15 for Sao Paulo FC. In 2003 he joined A.C. Milan before signing with Real Madrid in 2009. With 133 career goals in 372 appearances and a member of the Brazilian 2002 FIFA World Cup™ winning squad, Kaka has secured his place as one of the best and most skillful midfielders to ever play the game.

“Kaka brings passion, imagination and individual flair to the game every time on the pitch,” said Matt Bilbey, Vice President of Soccer, EA Sports. “He perfectly illustrates a new feature in FIFA Soccer 11 called Personality+ that sees a player’s individual ability reflected in game, enabling clear differentiation for every player. With Kaka’s visionary style of soccer he’s always one step ahead of the opposition, moving into space with an often subtle change of pace and delivering crisp, creative one-touch passes and catching the goalkeepers off guard with strikes often from distance on either foot. His play is unlike any other player in our game and you will feel individual differences like this in each player, in every match.”

Building on FIFA Soccer 10 gameplay that won 50 sports game of the year awards, FIFA Soccer 11 reinvents player authenticity – on and off the ball – for every position on the pitch with Personality+, and introduces new Pro Passing where pass accuracy is determined by a gamer’s ability on the control pad, and player skill, situation and urgency on the pitch. Plus, experience true freedom in man-to-man interactions with 360° Fight for Possession that transforms physical play from just lateral jostling to full 360° collisions.

Stitch Media and Showcase Canada are searching for fresh, new talent to star in their upcoming six-part comedy web series, Moderation Town. Beginning now until August 20th, aspiring actors can upload a video audition of a funny or embarrassing 90-second anecdote about an online encounter, real or fictional, on the Moderation Town Talent Search Youtube channel via the show’s web site.

Moderation Town centres on the quirky local residents of a small, maritime town, who become not-so-internet savvy content moderators when their local factory folds and is replaced with an Internet moderation company.

“We want to hear the most creative, hilarious stories people have experienced online. It could be an awkward Facebook encounter, an odd Chatroulette conversation, or the most atrocious message board flamewar. It doesn’t even have to be true. We just want to see what stories people have and search out new and aspiring actors through this open casting call,” says Mark Mullane, co-writer and director of the show.

Prizes will be awarded for the funniest and most popular audition videos on August 20th. The best auditions will be shortlisted for the chance to win an Apple iPad and a second audition that could lead to a paying role in the show.

Quirky, crude, and awkwardly self-aware, Moderation Town satirizes the worst of Internet culture by revealing how online attitudes affect average, normal people in the real world. The show poses an interesting social commentary on how internet users get away with appallingly hilarious, antisocial behaviour and how this behaviour translates in face-to-face interactions, resulting in the funniest situations this side of The Office.

The show, filming in Nova Scotia, will be directed by Mark Mullane (This Hour has 22 Minutes, Saving Penny) and co-written by Tim McAuliffe (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Corner Gas). Moderation Town is set to launch on Showcase Canada in fall 2010. Moderation Town is made possible by the Independent Production Fund and Film Nova Scotia, kick-starting opportunities for compelling content online.

Iron Will Innovations, the Lloydminster technology company founded to bring revolutionary interface products to the global market, today announced the successful close of a $3MM Series A round of private funding. This initial funding enabled the company to engineer, manufacture, and launch their debut product, the Peregrine glove.

As the company moves into its next phase of growth, Iron Will Innovations has opened a Series B round, with over $2MM in private funds successfully closed thus far. The new capital will allow the company to expand marketing and distribution of the existing Peregrine product and prepare their next generation Peregrine glove which will open up other industries and applications.

In preparation for the next phase of corporate growth, Iron Will Innovations has installed a new C-Level management team. Brent Baier, founder and current CEO, will transition into a new role as CTO, where he will lead the development and evolution of the company’s product line. Current COO Tim Barrett will become the new CEO and Dale Flint the new COO.

“What began as a groundbreaking idea to change the way we interact with technology has evolved into a fully realized product, and I am pleased to see our funding progressing to fuel our next stage of growth,” said Brent Baier, founder and CTO of Iron Will Innovations. “We have continued successfully raising capital during some very tough macroeconomic times, which I believe to be a great indicator of the market’s excitement over our product. As we prepare to move into the next phase of our company’s growth I am pleased to welcome Tim Barrett as our new CEO. Tim has led multiple companies to success, and his strong track record bodes very well for the future of Iron Will Innovations.”

Sony Canada today announced the integration of Rogers Wireless, Internet, and cable products and services into its Sony Style™ retail stores, positioning Sony Style as a premiere communications products destination in Canada. This partnership integrates software and services with hardware to give customers compelling and seamless entertainment solutions.

“Sony Style and Rogers are perfectly aligned in terms of fulfilling our customers’ entertainment and communication needs, and we’re so pleased that our customers are now in the position to realize significant benefits from the Sony Style/Rogers partnership,” said Robin Powell, VP of the retail division at Sony Canada. “Sony Style customers will now have unique access to the combined offerings of Sony hardware and software along with Rogers’ suite of wireless, Internet, cable and home phone services.”

Customers can now select from a wide variety of wireless devices that can be activated in-store with offers on plans and cable/Internet service bundles from Rogers. Sony Style will also offer Rogers Rocket Sticks for Sony VAIO® computers, and Rogers Cable solutions, including Rogers HD receivers and HDPVR boxes, for Sony BRAVIA® LCD HD TVs.

Further differentiating itself from other wireless retailers, Sony Style will offer and demonstrate totally interactive entertainment solutions that bring Rogers’ wireless, cable and Internet services together with Sony’s cutting-edge hardware products. “We’ll show our customers how easy wireless photo sharing is; capturing a photo with a Sony Ericsson Xperia™ X10, then sending it wirelessly to a Sony VAIO computer to edit and file, and in turn viewing it in beautiful HD on a Sony BRAVIA LCD HDTV”.

Telus today announced the availability of Remote Recording, an enhancement to Telus’ Optik TV service that allows customers to manage Personal Video Recorder (PVR) recordings using the Web or iPhone while on the go.

Starting on Friday, August 6, Telus Optik TV customers can record, delete, and manage the content on their PVR, as well as view and search the interactive programming guide using any Web connection from any location, or while on the go via an application for the iPhone. The Remote Recording application will be available on additional smartphone platforms like BlackBerry and Android in the near future.

“Telus is continually pushing the envelope to offer our Optik TV customers unmatched innovation, functionality and convenience,” said Telus President and CEO Darren Entwistle. “With Remote Recording, Optik TV customers can manage their PVR while on the go and never have to miss their favourite shows again.”

The Remote Recording application is available for download for free to all Optik TV customers with a PVR, at no additional charge to their monthly package.

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.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies is the latest game for the Nintendo DS family of systems. The game combines imaginative game play with social fun, setting players out on an epic adventure. Maps allow players to find otherwise inaccessible special dungeons called grottoes, which can contain rare items or enemies. In Tag Mode, treasure maps and customized greetings can be exchanged automatically by players who come within range of one another. For a complete list of participating GameStop/EB Games locations across Canada please visit the Dragon Quest product page on the GameStop web site.

Ubisoft Montreal has announced an Assassin’s Creed comic book mini-series is currently in development and due for release this fall. Developed by Eisner Award nominees and Shuster Award-winning illustrators Cameron Stewart (Batman & Robin, Seaguy and Catwoman) and Karl Kerschl (Superman and The Flash), the Assassin’s Creed comic mini-series will be unveiled during a panel to be held on July 22, 2010 from 3:30–4:30 p.m. in Room 7AB at Comic-Con International: San Diego.

Moderated by G4TV’s Morgan Webb, the panel entitled “Assassin’s Creed: Behind and Beyond the Brotherhood” will include details of the new comic series and the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood video game release. Featured panelists will include Stewart and Kerschl, along with Jeffrey Johalem, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood video game scriptwriter. Stewart and Kerschl recently visited Saint Petersburg, Russia on a research trip for the upcoming project. That visit, along with the teaser video released today, will give fans an inkling on where and when the new Assassin comic series will be taking place. Additional details on the project will be revealed at the Comic-Con panel.

The new comic series is part of Ubisoft Montreal’s UbiWorkshop initiative that encompasses a number of the studio’s projects related to leveraging Ubisoft intellectual properties in entertainment mediums outside of video games, such as comic books.

“We always thought that the Assassin’s Creed universe would be perfect for transmedia initiatives like this new comic series,” said Mathieu Ferland, transmedia senior producer at Ubisoft Montreal. “We are excited to have the fantastic and acclaimed artists Cameron Stewart and Karl Kerschl working on the project. Ubisoft is looking forward to showing Assassin’s Creed fans what these talented artists have been up to at next week’s Comic-Con panel.”

Following last week’s news that Zombrex Dead Rising Sun, the full feature film based on Capcom’s popular video game, Dead Rising, will be distributed in Europe and North America, we are pleased to confirm more details on when and where fans can view Inafune-san’s directorial debut. Split into a number of episodes that will be distributed over a number of weeks, Zombrex Dead Rising Sun, will be made available as a free download exclusively on Xbox Live from August 4th, before going live on www.deadrisingsun.com a week later. As an added bonus, certain episodes will begin with interviews featuring Inafune-san where he will provide insight into the film making process. The movie will also be available on the North American Dead Rising 2 Zombrex Edition as mentioned below.

The full schedule is as follows:

Canadian Dead Rising 2 fans will also be very happy to know that they will be able to nab the North American exclusive Dead Rising 2 – Zombrex Edition on day one of launch – September 28, 2010 – for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 for $79.99. Enclosed in a two-disc Steelbook case with its own special pack front, the Dead Rising 2 — Zombrex Edition will include cool collectible items and content that will dig deep into the Dead Rising 2 experience.

Available for both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, there are some variations between the two editions:

PS3 Dead Rising 2 – Zombrex Edition

- Exclusive Two-Disc Steelbook case includes:
– Dead Rising 2 game disc
– Blu-Ray Disc featuring a High-Definition 24 minute “Making of” featurette
– Complete box contents include:
– Steelbook case (described above)
– Zombrex “Syringe” pen
– Zombrex “Prescription” notepad (25 pages)
– Zombrex “Safety” card
– Zombrex “Prospectus” Sales Brochure (16 pages).
– Dead Rising 2 Hardback Artbook (48 pages)
– Voucher for XMB Dynamic Theme

X360 Dead Rising 2 – Zombrex Edition

- Exclusive Two-Disc Steelbook case includes:
– Dead Rising 2 game disc
– High-Definition game disc with 83 Minute “Zombrex Dead Rising Sun” motion picture and 24 minute “Making of” featurette
– Complete box contents include:
– Steelbook case (described above)
– Zombrex “Syringe” pen
– Zombrex “Prescription” notepad (25 pages)
– Zombrex “Safety” card
– Zombrex “Prospectus” Sales Brochure (16 pages).
– Dead Rising 2 Hardback Artbook (48 pages)

ActiveState, the dynamic language experts offering solutions for Perl, Python, and Tcl, today announced a new Perl Developer Kit (PDK) designed to making it easier for developers to create, build and deploy Perl applications.

ActiveState Perl Dev Kit (PDK) provides essential tools for building and deploying Perl applications. PDK features cross-platform wrapping and application builders for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris*, AIX*, and now HP-UX* plus a suite of tools to speed development and improve code quality across teams. The comprehensive feature set includes PerlApp, PerlCtrl, PerlMSI, PerlNET, PerlSvc, PerlTray, Coverage Analyzer, Filter Builder, Graphical Debugger, PerlCritic and VBScript Converter.

ActiveState Perl Dev Kit 9 now includes:

* Support for the latest version of Perl and ActivePerl 5.12
* For ActivePerl Business, Enterprise and OEM Edition customers, PDK 9 now gives developers the ability to cross-wrap applications to HP-UX, HP’s UNIX operating system, along with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris and AIX.
* Support for 64-bit PerlNET, making it possible to build .NET components using Perl

A 21-day free trial of ActiveState Perl Dev Kit 9 is available for download. One user license pricing starts at $295 US but is being offered at introductory pricing for $245 US through August 15, 2010.

PDK 9 supports ActivePerl 5.8, ActivePerl 5.10 and the new ActivePerl 5.12. * Cross-wrapping to Solaris, AIX, HP-UX requires a minimum of ActivePerl Business Edition used in conjunction with PDK. In April 2010, ActiveState released ActivePerl 5.12 for both its Community and Business Editions. ActivePerl Enterprise Edition for 5.12 will be available before the end of 2010.

Teletoon Canada Inc. has announced its fall 2010 lineup for Teletoon, Teletoon at Night and Teletoon Retro. Launching on Monday, September 6, 2010, Teletoon’s new slate is full of comedy and action, with just the right amount of thrills, chills and belly-aching laughter.

“From kids and young adults to parents and families, we are bringing viewers of all ages more excitement and entertainment through a host of new series and returning comedy and action favourites this fall,” said Carole Bonneau, Vice President, Programming, Teletoon Canada inc. “In addition to breaking new ground with productions like Skatoony and My Babysitter’s A Vampire, we’re also bolstering our programming repertoire with a roster of new series, movies and the latest seasons of our hugely popular titles.”

The Teletoon lineup from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. consists of a wide-array of new programming, including the live-action/animation hybrid game show Skatoony, acclaimed reality-show parody Total Drama World Tour, the highly anticipated new series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, the return of fan-favourites Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and a new season of the hit series Johnny Test among other comedy and action series. Just in time for Halloween, Teletoon is also broadcasting My Babysitter’s A Vampire, the network’s first live-action feature as well the Canadian premieres of Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo and Scooby-Doo! Curse Of The Lake Monster.

Teletoon at Night, the network’s post-9 p.m. block, boasts a programming slate for young adults looking for a smart and irreverent comedy fix. This fall, the block features two new hilarious series The Dating Guy and Archer along with the unpredictable comedy of the Teletoon At Night Pilot Project and new episodes of the celebrated sketch comedy series Robot Chicken. For the nostalgic, Teletoon Retro brings back a blast from the past with returning classics such as The Smurfs, ThunderCats, The Flintstones and The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show.

Ernst and Young have selected the Cofounder, President, and CEO of ParetoLogic as a finalist for their prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year award. Elton Pereira leads ParetoLogic as an expert in the security and utility software industry. The enormous growth of ParetoLogic coupled with Pereira’s commitment to charity and community earned him his position in the Information Technology category.

Also named as nominees this year for the Quebec Region are Antoine Carre, Founder & President of leading videogame quality assurance and localization services provider Laboratoires Bug-Tracker Inc. and Éric Brunelle, André d’Orsonnens, Bertrand Pelletier of Druide Informatique Inc., designers and distributors of consumer software, including the well-known program Antidote.

“Our Québec finalists are entrepreneurial leaders and visionaries who have created and built market-leading businesses,” says François Dufresne, Partner and Director of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in Québec. “Their accomplishments have taken business excellence to new heights, helped create jobs and contributed to the vibrancy of communities across Canada.”

Nominees for the Atlantic Region include:

John Chisholm, President of Arcadia Entertainment, a television production company specializing in international factual content for National Geographic and other broadcasters that focus on ocean and expedition themes.

Michael Donovan, CEO of DHX Media Ltd., a studio with more than 28 years of experience creating, producing and marketing Canadian film and television programming.

Andrew Ayre, CEO of videogame and software developer Other Ocean Interactive, who has studios in Newfoundland as well as the USA.

SaskTel has rolled out an innovative DRM-Free music download service powered by LiveWire Mobile Inc. , a leader in managed personalization services whose head office is in Littleton, MA, with an office in Montreal.

The new service features music tracks from a broad range of major music labels. The company’s 550,000+ wireless subscribers have the option to purchase their music tracks individually or as part of a bundle with other assets ranging from wallpapers and ringtones to ringbacks and mobile apps. Consumers can browse the full range of applications and make their purchases from the SaskTel integrated online storefront, custom developed by LiveWire Mobile. The high quality downloads are available unencrypted in up to 256 Kb/s for purchase and delivery across both PC and mobile channels.

Telefilm Canada has announced that five Canadian directors will premiere at the 63rd edition of the Locarno Film Festival, held August 4 to August 14, 2010. Two features, Curling from filmmaker veteran Denis Côté and L.A. Zombie (Germany / USA / France) from director Bruce Labruce, have been accepted to the prestigious International Competition, where they will be among the 20 films from around the world competing for the “Pardo d’oro” prize (The Golden Leopard). The Festival’s official line-up was unveiled yesterday in the Italian-Swiss town of Locarno.

“Locarno has a long and important history as a hotbed for the new generation of international filmmakers,” said Sheila de La Varende, Director, National and International Business Development at Telefilm Canada. “So many Canadian productions competing on this prestigious world stage is proof of our unique voice and artistic vision.”

“Under three different artistic directions at the Festival, my work has always been encouraged and respected,” said Canadian filmmaker and Locarno veteran Denis Côté. “Without Locarno, the international visibility for my films would have been altogether different. It manifests as highly cinephile, which I am eternally grateful.”

Denis Côté has won five awards in five years at Locarno, including for the films Les États Nordiques (2005), Nos vies privées (2007) and Elle veut le chaos (2008).

Other Canadian films selected to present at this year’s Festival include:

Filmmakers of the Present Competition – competition for emerging filmmakers
Ivory Tower – Adam Traynor
Jo pour Jonathan – Maxime Giroux
You are There – Daniel Cockburn

Jeonju Digital Project (short films): Les Lignes ennemies – Denis Côté

Again this year, Telefilm organized screenings in Montreal for programmers at Locarno to present Canadian films submitted for the 2010 edition of the Festival.

Last week, from July 2 to July 10, six Canadian films were presented at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic. Catherine Martin’s Trois temps après la mort d’Anna made its world premiere in the Official Selection, the only North American film featured in the Festival’s Competition this year. Meanwhile, Patrick Demers’ feature film debut Jaloux had its world premiere in the Forum of Independents Competition.

Other Canadian films at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival included:

Open Eyes – features the latest outstanding work: Les Amours imaginaires – Xavier Dolan

Horizons – featuring recent productions from around the world: Chloe – Atom Egoyan

Another View – featuring films with unusual artistic approaches: Tucker and Dale Vs Evil – Eli Craig (Canada / USA)

Focus on Belgium: Mr. Nobody – Jaco Van Dormael, (Canada / Belgium / France / Germany)

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.

The TRON universe is coming to additional platforms than previous transmissions revealed. Disney Interactive Studios today announced the development of TRON video games for Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system. These games complete the TRON video game portfolio this year from Disney Interactive Studios, joining the previously announced TRON: Evolution for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

Set during the era between the two TRON films, TRON: Evolution conveys a story of significant events within the TRON mythology. The game features an epic adventure across the massive digital TRON world filled with high-mobility disc-based combat and light cycle action. The TRON: Evolution games will be released in Holiday 2010 before the “TRON: Legacy” film hits theaters on December 17 in Disney Digital 3D™ and IMAX® 3D.

TRON Evolution – Battle Grids (Wii), TRON: Evolution (DS) and TRON: Evolution PSP are action packed games set within the combat arenas and mysterious cities of the TRON world. All game versions give fans a unique way to battle and explore the TRON universe alone or with friends and family.

“These games offer unique experiences within the TRON universe that are ideal for their individual platforms,” said Craig Relyea, senior vice president of global marketing, Disney Interactive Studios. “TRON is an exciting, dynamic property that appeals to interactive entertainment fans of all ages.”

The TRON games for Nintendo platforms (TRON: Evolution – Battle Grids for Wii and TRON: Evolution for DS), include games and art styles appropriate for a wide audience, including families and kids. While Propaganda is the primary developer, the studio has partnered with n-Space Inc. and SuperVillain Studios, both located in the USA, to deliver this wide range of games for the new generation of TRON titles.

Propaganda’s other new title, Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned (2011) is an epic action-role playing game that lets players decide what type of pirate legend they want to become. Will they become Legendary, or Dreaded? Set before the blockbuster films, the game is a deep action-RPG that lets players carve out their own story in the Pirates of the Caribbean universe. In development for the PS3, Xbox 360 and the PC, Armada of the Damned casts players off on a journey where they will encounter numerous memorable characters, both original and familiar.

Transgaming has just announced that new titles for the Mac are now available at GameTree – Disney fans can now pick up Toy Story 3 and Disney Princess Enchanted Journey at GameTree Online for $29.99 and $21.99 respectively.

Here is a look at the E3 2010 trailer for Warhammer 40K: Space Marine, coming to the 360 from Relic Entertainment.

A new 3D version of Assassin’s Creed will be released by Ubisoft for the just-announced Nintendo 3DS. Ubisoft has also announced that the following titles will be available when the new handheld units go on sale: Hollywood 61; Battle of Giants™: Dinosaur Strike; Driver® Renegade; Assassin’s Creed™ Lost Legacy; Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory™ and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon™.

As one of the top independent publishers on the Nintendo DS™ and Wii™, Ubisoft is also one of the first major publishers to invest hieavily in development for 3D. “Nintendo has created a new portable console that will allow easy and affordable access to 3D technology,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. “The portability and freedom from glasses of the Nintendo 3DS™ allows our creative teams to craft unique new and immersive games for all types of gamers.”

Ubisoft’s Nintendo 3DS line-up spans different genres of video games, allowing early adopters of the new console to find the style of games that they most enjoy:

* Hollywood 61 (code name): Live the thrill of mastering tailor-made mind games and become the obsession of a criminal mastermind in the first interactive 3D movie. Solve the deadly mystery with 150 classic and 3D puzzles.
* Battle of Giants™: Dinosaur Strike: 150 million years ago, Nature’s fury was unleashed, forcing Dinosaurs to fight for their survival. Dive into spectacular battles and deal powerful blows to your worst enemies. Master your fierce dinosaur and rule the cataclysmic Jurassic world!
* Driver® Renegade: The first and exclusive action driving game on Nintendo 3DS that lets you experience the intensity of urban car chases. As former cop John Tanner, you work outside the law to fight crime in the gritty streets of New York and defeat the 5 crime lords who own the city.
* Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory™: Sam Fisher, the renowned secret agent is back in this redesigned version of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. Experience one of the most acclaimed games in the Splinter Cell franchise for the first time in 3D.
* Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon™: Lead the Ghosts, the most elite special forces unit in the US Army, across multiple tactical missions to prevent a war from breaking out.
* Assassin’s Creed™ Lost Legacy: Driven by curiosity and a desire to understand the origins of his Order, Ezio Auditore travels East in search of the lost castle at Masyaf, the ancient seat of the Assassins.

Ubisoft has also released more information about Shaun White Skateboarding, which will bring skateboarding to a wider audience, allowing players to transform a dull, lifeless city into their own extraordinary skating playground.

“When we started making the game, we knew we wanted to give players a sense of how skaters see the world – everything is an opportunity,” said Nick Harper, Creative Director. “What looks like a handrail to us is really a grind. A park bench is a place to trick, an alley is a quarter pipe, etc. We’ve taken that idea and expanded it. We wanted to put our own twist on the genre and craft the type of game that allows players to be creative and still have a lot of fun.”

Players begin their journey in a dull and gray city that’s stretched over massive districts. As players skate and complete challenges, the city comes to life – new areas are revealed, better skate lines are created and buildings are transformed. Players can stretch and twist handrails to dizzying heights, empty fountains to create bowls, morph streets into ramps and much more. Creativity is rewarded with points, skateboarding gear and fresh, new skating opportunities. With 80+ skate tricks hand-picked by Shaun (including a Shaun creation called the “Armadillo”), players can pull off authentic skate moves from the get-go and jump online to challenge friends in co-operative or adversarial modes.

Meanwhile, over at the Banff World TV Festival, marblemedia has announced it will produce Splatalot, a hilarious medieval-themed physical game show geared to the 8-12 year-old audience, for YTV in Canada, BBC in the U.K. and ABC in Australia. The 26-episode series features Canada’s largest extreme obstacle course with more wipe outs and spills ever imaginable. It will be shot north of Toronto this summer, and delivered spring 2011.

“We’re very excited to be working with our long-time partner, Corus Entertainment, as well as with our new partners at the BBC and ABC, on this first-time multi-broadcaster collaboration,” said Matt Hornburg, the series Co-Creator and Partner, marblemedia. “Splatalot is all about the hilarity of watching contestants get splattered, with the best spills instantly replayed in slow motion. With oversized props, cool special effects and lively characters, it’s sure to be a highly-entertaining adventure.”

Three versions of the series will be shot and customized for each of the participating countries, with two hosts selected from Canada, the U.K. and Australia respectively. Each episode will feature a different group of 12 thrill-seeking teen contestants, dubbed Attackers, competing in three cringe-inducing rounds: Cross the Moat, Storm the Castle, and Steal the Crown. The Defenders of Splatalot, an international squad of six medieval-themed gladiators, will do their best to protect the castle from the Attackers – only leaving one to be crowned Prince or Princess of Splatalot.

“Kids and their families will be in for a real treat with this new side-splitting series, and with over 300 contestants in the first 26 episodes, Splatalot gives our viewers a real chance to participate,” said Jocelyn Hamilton, Vice President, Programming and Production, Corus Kids. “We look forward to working with marblemedia and partnering with two other like-minded countries, the U.K. and Australia, on this fun show.”

Controller CBBC Damian Kavanagh said: “This should be a fantastic show with lots of humour and physical comedy, and should prove a big hit with our audience. It’s been fascinating to collaborate and share ideas with producers in other markets.”

Head of Commissioning and Development, ABC Children’s Television, Carla de Jong said: “We’re thrilled to be partnering on a series of this scale with other like-minded broadcasters. Splatalot, which will feature Australian hosts and teens, is sure to make a splash with our ABC3 audience, who we know love comedy and spectacular physical challenges.”

marblemedia is developing an interactive online environment, where the splat-stick comedy will continue with a series of flash games, taking the Splatalot experience to the next level. The website will offer games such as Master Splatter, a strategy game where players create their own sludge-filled obstacle course for an army of invaders; Splatapus, a highly addictive game with puzzle-like levels where players take on the role of Defender and wipe out the Attackers in the most splat-tastic ways possible. International distribution of Splatalot will be handled by Distribution360.

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) today released highlights from the Canadian Television Fund (CTF)’s final program year, which ended on March 31, 2010.

“The board, staff, and stakeholders spent the past year working together towards a successful transition to the Canada Media Fund,” said Valerie Creighton, President and CEO of the Canada Media Fund. “While ensuring the CTF’s programs successfully delivered almost $328 million in funds to Canadian productions, we also engaged our stakeholders across the country to participate in an extensive consultation process which informed the creation of the policies and programs of the new Canada Media Fund. We would like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed their time and ideas to this process.”

The following are highlights of the CTF’s funding results from 2009-2010:

* Revenues for 2009-2010 were $325 million, with a 6% increase in the contribution from cable and satellite service distributors and a stable contribution from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
* Administrative expenses were limited to 4.2% of revenues, including costs incurred by both the CTF and the Television Business Unit at Telefilm Canada, which administers the CTF’s programs.
* Total CTF funding for all streams was 14% higher than in 2008-2009 and 23% higher than the average of the four previous years.
*Production funding was $307 million, representing an increase of 21% over the average of the four previous years.
* 476 production and 352 development television projects were funded, with total budgets of over $1 billion and $22 million, respectively; this resulted in the creation of over 2,400 hours of new Canadian programming. The ratio of CTF funding to total television budgets continues to be approximately 1:3.
* In the English market, six of the top ten programs posted average minute audiences of more than one million viewers; in the French market, the top ten programs posted average minute audiences of more than 1.1 million viewers.
* The CTF disbursed 69% of its production funding through licence fee top-ups and 31% through equity investments.
* The $10 million Digital Media Program supported 43 English and 34 French digital media projects related to CTF-funded television shows.
* The $10 million Production Incentive supported English production in Atlantic Canada (4 projects) and British Columbia and the Yukon and Northwest Territories (35 projects), where volumes had dropped significantly below their historic averages.

Stéphane Cardin, VP of Industry and Public Affairs, announced the creation of a new publication that reports on audiences to each individual show supported by the funding agency. The CMF Audience Reports launched today present data on average minute audiences to individual programs funded by the CTF that aired during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 broadcast years. These reports are available as an interactive web interface and downloadable PDFs from the CMF web site.

The CTF 2009-2010 Annual Report will be available in fall 2010. The CMF 2009-2010 Audience Report will be published in spring 2011. Ms. Creighton also mentioned that the CMF will soon announce plans for the next phase of its ongoing consultation with the industry. Details will be provided as soon as they are available.

While the Canadian entertainment and media (E&M) market declined by 2.7% in 2009, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) expects a rebound in 2010 and beyond, with growth averaging 5% compounded annually through 2014, according to the PwC report Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2010-2014, which provides forecasts and analysis on 13 major E&M industry segments in 48 countries. The global E&M industry will also grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5% over the forecast period to 2014, reaching US$1.7 trillion, up from US$1.3 trillion in 2009. However, Canada will grow faster than the US with a 5% CAGR, compared with a 3.8% CAGR in the US.

- In Canada, Internet access spending at a 12% CAGR (compared to 8.8% in the US and 9% globally) and Internet advertising at a 11.7% CAGR (compared to 7.7% in the US and 11.4% globally) will be major drivers for the industry.
– TV subscriptions will grow at a 6.8% CAGR (6.5% in the US and 6.8% globally), and consumer spending on video games will increase by a 6.6% CAGR (6.4% in the US and 10.6% globally).
– Overall consumer end-user spending on media, excluding internet access spending, will increase in Canada at a rate of 4.3% CAGR (3.7% in the US and 4.1% globally), while advertising will rise at a 3.1% CAGR (2.6% in the US and 4.2% globally).

“The next five years will see digital technologies increase their dominance across all segments of entertainment and media as digital transformation accelerates says Jerry Brown, an associate partner in the Canadian Entertainment & Media (E&M) practice for PwC. “While the industry has a long history of experimenting and adding formats which have offered consumers new choices, the current advances in technologies and consumer behaviour are unprecedented in both their speed and their simultaneous impact across all segments.”

The fastest growing region throughout the forecast period is Latin America growing at a 8.8% CAGR during the next 5 years to US$77 billion in 2014. Asia Pacific is next at a 6.4% CAGR through to 2014 to US$475 billion. Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) will grow at a 4.6% CAGR to US$581 billion in 2014.

Overall, global advertising will increase at a 4.2% CAGR from US$406 billion in 2009 to US$498 billion in 2014. Internet advertising will join television advertising in 2014 as the only media with spending in excess of US$100 billion.

The Canadian advertising market will continue to recover. While PwC sees growth in digital platforms, traditional media, including television and publishing continues to attract the majority of advertising spending. Indeed, TV advertising in Canada will increase at average annual growth of 3.8% to US$3.4 billion in 2014. The demise of the conventional television advertising market appears to have been exaggerated with US$2.1 billion of expected advertising revenue in 2014, increasing at a CAGR of 2.4%. Speciality television growth will be slightly stronger at a CAGR of 4.8%

“The big story in 2009 was the recession’s impact, which led to a broad pull back in advertising spending. The exception was internet advertising, which grew at a double digit pace,” says Michael Paterson, partner and Canadian co-editor of the Global Entertainment and Media Outlook at PwC. “As Canada’s economy is recovering ahead of the US economy, we expect that the Canadian advertising market will rebound more quickly. Increased demand and opportunities for Internet and mobile advertising along with sustained spending on traditional advertising platforms will drive growth.”

Global consumer/end-user spending fell by 0.5% 2009 as declines in recorded music, consumer magazines, newspapers, consumer and educational books, and business-to-business publishing offset the gains in TV subscriptions and license fees, filmed entertainment, and video games.

In Canada, consumer spending on digital media will grow quickly, complimenting spend on traditional forms of media. However, in the music, newspaper and magazine publishing industries, digital media is presenting new business challenges as overall traditional revenues are slowly declining. However, Canadian consumers will still spend over US$3.3 billion on these segments which is a substantial part of the total spend.

TV subscriptions – Subscription fees in Canada will increase at a CAGR of 6.8% to US$9.1 billion by 2014, driven by the expansion of digital cable, Video on Demand (VOD) offerings and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV).

Film – Canadian box office spending will continue to grow at a CAGR of 5.3%. Higher growth will occur in paid online rentals and digital downloads to own, which will contribute to a US$4.1 billion Canadian film entertainment market in 2014.

Video Games – After a decline in 2009, video game spending by Canadian consumers will grow at a CAGR of 6% to US$1.7 billion in 2014. The strongest growth will in online and wireless games where convenience and interactivity enhance the consumer experience.

Mobile Internet access will expand dramatically in Canada and spending will grow at a CAGR of 45% from US$238 million to over US$1.55 billion in 5 years, driven by a 48% annual increase in mobile Internet subscribers as the number of smartphones increases.

In 2014, as the proliferation of smartphones and other connected devices continues, 10 million Canadians will have access to the Internet via their mobile devices including readers such as the iPad. This will put continued pressure on providers to support all of these new data demands.

“Using the Internet is now one of the great unifying experiences of the current era for consumers everywhere-and their expectation of Internet-style interactivity and access to content will continue to expand, especially mobile content,” says Brown.

Brown concludes, “Creativity and innovation have always been associated with entertainment and media and now is the time for the industry to embrace new and emerging opportunities. However companies develop their future visions they will need to deliver an ever expanding customer experience and be flexible to capture revenues across all platforms. Those who do will be the leaders in this exciting but challenging industry.”

Calgary’s MoboVivo has partnered with San Francisco developer AppOxy to launch the first TV Everywhere app for phones and devices running Google’s Android operating system. The apps will be available from Google’s Android Market for all compatible Android mobile phones. The apps provide access to MoboVivo’s myScreens, which features a digital locker allowing users to shift screens from their mobile phone to computers, iPhones and televisions.

The TV Everywhere app is the latest addition to MoboVivo’s portfolio of TV apps available for Android, iPhone, iPad and other mobile platforms. These apps include new and innovate features which allow users to view TV shows, connect with their friends on Facebook, and obtain more information about other programs.

“The apps MoboVivo builds for broadcasters, producers and DVD distributors are paying for themselves within 4 months,” says Trevor Doerksen, the company’s CEO. “The path to revenue with our TV shows apps is obvious, and we expect others like the newly released Android TV Everywhere app and emerging opportunities on new app platforms to deliver similar return on investment for our customers.”

On the heels of its YellowPages.ca™ mobile app reaching a milestone one million downloads, Yellow Pages Group (YPG) announced today that the free app is now available for download in the iTunes App Store for the recently launched Apple iPad. YPG is the first Canadian local commercial search provider to build and customize an application for the iPad.

“Yellow Pages Group continues to provide consumers with interactive ways to shop for and find local goods and services across a number of mobile platforms,” said Stéphane Marceau, Chief Marketing Officer at Yellow Pages Group. “The iPad’s tablet format represents a new way for Yellow Pages Group to provide Canadians with access to local business information to help them with their purchase decisions.”

Tales from Space: About a Blob is a game about an innocent little creature that grows and grows until it eats the whole world. In development since January of 2009, the game features a monster movie setting and theme, a retro-inspired art style and puzzle-focused platforming gameplay.

“Players will interact with the game environment using unique growth and absorption control mechanics, experiencing the world at vastly different scales as they progress. Both single-player and co-op play will be supported.” said Ryan MacLean, CEO of DrinkBox Studios. He continued: “We’re extremely excited to be releasing the game on the PlayStation®3 system.”

49 Pixels has announced plans for an open forum which will allow for the gathering of people and facilitate an open conversation in regards to Canada’s digital economy. Please see the the Pixel to Product blog for complete conversation details. The first online conversation is scheduled for Friday June 18th at 4pm ET.

Grammy Award winning recording artist, producer and musician Pharrell Williams brings his unique blend of pop, hip hop and soul to headline the soundtrack for United Front Games‘ True Crime: Hong Kong, the company’s forthcoming open-world/action game. Also on the soundtrack is up and coming R&B, pop and jazz singer Rhea who frequently collaborates with Williams and has performed with N.E.R.D. With orders to “do whatever it takes to become one of them,” players assume the role of undercover detective Wei Shen as he engages in visceral, fast paced martial arts combat, explosive gunfights, high-octane action driving and acrobatic free-running chase sequences in order to infiltrate and bring down one of Hong Kong’s most notorious Triad organizations. In order to survive, Wei must think like them, fight like them, and even kill like them.

The Mass Effect™ 2 phenomenon rages on! BioWare™has launched a demo for Mass Effect 2 on Xbox Live® and PC. Designed to help introduce the rich Mass Effect fiction to all-new players, the demo features the first two missions of the game as well as one bonus mission, totaling over 90 minutes of the action-packed game play and rich storytelling that have made Mass Effect 2 one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time. BioWare is releasing the demo with a “Story-so-far” video, narrated by actor Martin Sheen, that provides a recap of past events and plot twists in the Mass Effect universe.

In the demo, players step into the role of Commander Shepard and must escape from a Cerberus space station under siege. Players can jump ahead to a later mission where they must rescue Subject Zero, a hardened, dangerous criminal from a heavily guarded prison ship. Once they play the demo, players will be able to create a save and carry over their character along with the experience points, story decisions, achievements and weapons earned into the full version of the game – picking up right where they left off, on both PC and Xbox 360.

BioWare also announced today that the new DLC chapter “Overlord”, which will add five new areas and two new achievements will be available on June 15th for 560 Microsoft points and on PC for 560 BioWare points. Also on June 15, BioWare is releasing a new premium theme based on Omega and new avatar items for Xbox Live will follow on June 17.

“Mass Effect 2 is one of our greatest achievements to date at BioWare,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Co-Founder and Group General Manager of the BioWare Group, and Senior Vice President of Electronic Arts. “The Mass Effect team continues to deliver on our promise to add exciting new content to the universe for our loyal fans, and we’re also excited to be able to give all gamers a chance to experience this amazing game through a free demo!”

Down at E3, Target and Ubisoft have teamed up for an exclusive preview of four upcoming family fun games. Target’s Bullseye Lounge will feature two upcoming video game adaptations of the hit television game shows, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?™ and Hollywood Squares™. Playable on Wii™, these demos will offer Expo attendees a chance to engage in competitive gameplay. The new Who Wants To Be A Millionaire video game is created by Ludia and is based on the Disney-ABC Domestic Television hit game show, which will premiere its ninth season in syndication this fall. The Millionaire video game, on display in the Bullseye Lounge at E3, will put the brains of expo attendees to work as they compete against one another to answer increasingly difficult trivia questions. Visitors to the Bullseye Lounge will be able to experience the drama and intensity of the pop culture game show sensation first-hand, as they test their trivia knowledge and give their “final answers.”

Hollywood Squares, also created by Ludia and licensed by CBS Consumer Products, brings the laughter and entertainment of the classic comedy game show to the Wii. Participants can go head-to-head in a unique rendition of the show that combines tic-tac-toe, virtual celebrities (including Brad Garrett, Kathy Griffin, Martin Mull, Jeffrey Tambor and host Tom Bergeron) and ultimate bluffing to provide hours of humor for all ages.

Speaking of E3 – where I obviously am not, because if I was, I’d be getting the newly announced Xbox 360 (insert sigh here) – Big Park’s Charmie Kim gave a great demonstration of the upcoming Vancouver-made title Joy Ride during this morning’s Xbox press conference – and while I’m still not totally convinced that Kinect is something that will be a hit in the Village Gamer house, Charmie certainly looked like she was having fun.

Also unveiled during this morning’s Microsoft XBox presentation was  EA Sports Active™ 2 for Kinect™, which has an MRSP of $99.95. Currently in development at EA Sports in Burnaby, it will be available in North America on November 16th along with the previously announced PlayStation®3, Wii™, iPhone® and iPod touch® platforms. The EA Sports Active 2 console-based fitness programs will deliver true fitness results with an innovative heart rate monitor, wireless tracking, as well as a new online hub to track and share workout data. EA Sports Active 2 will deliver a fitness experience that achieves authentic, measurable results, wherever you are.

“Delivering EA Sports Active 2 on Kinect for Xbox 360 is a natural fit for fitness and the ability to track full body movement will create a fluid workout experience that delivers real results,” says Andrew Wilson, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Development, EA SPORTS. “It is the perfect complement to our EA Sports Active suite of fitness products and is indicative of our commitment to deliver new experiences for new audiences. We’re excited to expand on the top rated fitness franchise on the market.”

Kinect for Xbox 360 tracks full body movement with true 1:1 motion that will register exercises never before possible and create seamless workout experiences, without ever having to use a controller. Users will have complete freedom of motion for a deeper, more effective workout, similar to the experience of the EA Sports Active 2 Total Body Tracking system on the PlayStation 3 and Wii that uses wireless motion sensors in leg and arm straps. Unique to Kinect for Xbox 360, users will have the ability to navigate workouts with voice and gesture recognition, which allows for a seamless, fluid workout experience. Included in the packaging is the innovative EA Sports Active heart rate monitor that provides constant on-screen monitoring, allowing users to capture intensity and optimize performance over time. Additionally, along with the PlayStation 3, users will also have the ability to download new workouts and exercises to their Xbox 360 console through Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network to keep their workouts fresh and maintain motivation*.

EA Sports Active 2 products will offer the same, high-quality exercise experience which users found with EA Sports Active, and will experience over 70 new exercises and fitness activities including exercises not possible before the Total Body Tracking wireless control system. EA Sports Active 2 provides total body conditioning using progressive exercise in new programs. A 9-week program provides a fitness roadmap to help keep users motivated and on track of their fitness goals. Additional mini-programs will also be available to add on, keeping workouts fresh and inspiring. The EA Sports Active built-in personal trainer will walk users through their workout and provide continued encouragement with feedback to ensure an optimal workout experience.

Also from E3, here is the newly unveiled trailer for Klei Entertainment’s Shank:

I will be posting more news about E3 Announcements over the next little bit, as I sort out the Canadian press releases that are coming in with all of the other releases.

In the meantime, Ayogo Games has released a new Facebook title – check out Healthseeker, which was developed for the Diabetes Hands Foundation, and several Canadian games have made it through round one of the voting for the Golden Joystick Awards. The following titles have made the short list:

Strategy: Dawn of War 2: Chaos Rising
Action: Assassin’s Creed 2 and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction
Downloadable: Assassin’s Creed 2: Bonfire of the Vanities
Fighting: Fight Night Round 4 and Punch Out!!
One To Watch: Mafia 2 (contains Canadian-made components)
Online: Need For Speed World
Portable: Assassin’s Creed 2: Bloodlines and Assassin’s Creed 2: Discovery
Racing: ModNation Racers, Need For Speed: Shift and Need for Speed: Nitro
RPG: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins, Awakening and Mass Effect 2
Shooter: Bioshock 2 (contains Canadian-made components)
Sports: FIFA 10, Skate 3 and FIFA 10 World Cup South Africa
Soundtrack: Mass Effect 2 and Assassin’s Creed 2

I am actually shocked that Dragon Age: Origins, with its incredible soundtrack, did not make it through to the second round of voting; then again, I’m also surprised that out of the huge number of Canadian games originally nominated, there aren’t more that made it through to this round.

Gamers and soccer fans from around the World joined forces to set a Guinness World Record for the most players to compete in a football video game. 82 players took turns on the controller as England and the USA drew 2-2 in a game of EA SPORTS 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa in front of hundreds of soccer fans who had gathered in Trafalgar Square to watch the opening ceremony and first match between the host nation and Mexico. With the World Cup trophy under wraps until Sunday July 11th, it was left to Guinness adjudicator, Gaz Deaves, to present both teams with the World Record Certificate. 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is out now on PS3, PSP, X360 & Wii.

Astral’s Family Channel and Playhouse Disney Canada today announced the commissioning of new episodes for two Canadian Original Productions. Family Channel has ordered a second season of live-action comedy, Wingin’ It, from Temple Street Productions while Playhouse Disney Canada has commissioned, from Radical Sheep Productions, new episodes of the animated series Stella and Sam, for both the English language network and the newly-launched Playhouse Disney Télé. Slated for broadcast in 2011 both series will begin production on new episodes in Toronto later this summer.

“For Family and Playhouse Disney we are dedicated to finding shows that resonate with our key audiences and engage with them in ways that are consistent with our brand. For Family that means using humour and interesting characters to offer kids the ‘never a dull moment’ experience; for Playhouse Disney that means leveraging characters and concepts that infuse our programs with learning while being fun and highly entertaining,” said Michael Goldsmith, Director, Original Programming. “Wingin’ It has already struck a real chord with Family viewers and is performing extremely well, while Stella and Sam, with its stunning visual style and beloved source material, is sure to be a perfect fit for our Playhouse Disney viewers across Canada.”

Hard-hit by the economic downturn, Canada’s computer and electronic product manufacturing industry is on a slow path back to its pre-recession performance, according to The Conference Board of Canada’s Spring 2010 outlook on the industry.

“Last year, the industry experienced its first decline in profit levels since the tech bust at the beginning of the 21st century,” said Maxim Armstrong, Economist. “Profits are expected to dip again this year, before a more sustained recovery takes hold beginning in 2011.”

Tumbling demand in foreign markets – particularly the United States – reduced industry exports by 16 per cent in 2009. Combined with a dropoff in domestic sales, industry revenues fell by more than 10 per cent last year. Manufacturers cut costs in response – notably by eliminating 20,000 jobs in the 12 months between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the third quarter of 2009. Profits fell to $1.7 billion in 2009, a 17 per cent drop from 2008 levels.

In 2010, production is expected to rebound modestly as demand improves and excess inventory is moved. However, costs are forecast to grow faster than revenues, leading to a further reduction in profits, to $1.4 billion. In 2011, healthier corporate profitability and consumer confidence are expected to lead to a strong rebound in production and a return to profit growth.