Ottawa - Corel Corporation today announced that it has signed WYNIT, Inc., a leading national distributor of computer peripherals and consumer electronics, as a new partner in the U.S. and Canada. Serving customers in a variety of markets including photo specialty and wide-format printing, WYNIT now offers the entire Corel digital media and graphics software lineup including the recently released Corel^® Paint Shop Pro^® Photo X2 Ultimate and Corel® VideoStudio^® Pro X2, along with CorelDRAW^® Graphics Suite X4 and Corel^® Painter™X.

WYNIT is also the exclusive distributor of the Wacom® Cintiq® 21UX which it offers bundled with Corel Painter X. Designed to maximize the creative power of Wacom’s industry leading pen tablets, Corel Painter X is the standard for digital painting and illustration for professional photographers, illustrators and designers.

“Given Corel and WYNIT’s strengths in photography and wide-format printing, this partnership really makes sense for our customers,” said Kevin Thornton, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing, Americas at Corel. “We look forward to working together to deliver solutions that have been designed specifically to serve the needs of these creative workflows.”

“Our reseller customers are continuously seeking to improve their ‘total solution’ offerings,” said Jay LaBarge, vice president, Marketing of WYNIT. “Our relationship with Corel will provide dealers with an outstanding opportunity to better serve the needs of their customers.”

“After more than 35 years The Price Is Right remains one of the most successful game shows in history, and it’s very exciting to expand The Price Is Right experience to revolutionary products like iPhone and iPod touch.” said David Luner, Senior Vice President, Interactive & Consumer Products, FME, North America.

Ludia’s founder and CEO, Alex Thabet said, “We are thrilled to bring The Price Is Right to such truly groundbreaking devices. The intuitive Multi-Touch screen, rich graphics and great sound capabilities all combine for a tremendously satisfying game play experience for iPhone or iPod touch users.”

The Price Is Right game for iPhone and iPod touch features:

• Three game modes:
  • Three Strikes mode: Play solo through multiple shows while avoiding strikes to rack up the biggest winnings.
  • Classic Game mode: Play game sequences as seen on TV for a “true-to-show” experience.
  • Party Game mode: Pass n’ play fun for up to four players with the winner determined by the cumulative value of prizes earned during the game.
• 16 popular pricing games, including Plinko, Cliff Hangers, Punch-A-Bunch and Hole In One.
• A personal trophy room where players rack up achievements and track winnings.
• Authentic theme music, game sounds and announcer audio featuring Rich Fields.

The Price Is Right game is available for $4.99 from the Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

November 18, 2008 – Vancouver, BC – Building upon the sold-out 2008 event, the third-annual Game Design Expo, hosted by Vancouver Film School (VFS), Canada’s premier post-secondary entertainment arts institution, is shaping up to be even bigger and better. Set for February 7 and 8, 2009 at the Vancity Theater at the Vancouver International Film Centre, the weekend will be headlined by Clint Hocking, Creative Director at Ubisoft Montreal (Splinter Cell, Far Cry 2), a popular speaker at industry events, and will feature an exciting lineup of talks and panels with the leading minds in game design.

The event begins with Industry Speaker Day on Saturday, February 7, aimed at game industry professionals and enthusiasts alike. Hocking’s keynote will pave the way for presentations by designers and producers from top companies like Epic, Insomniac, Radical, and Relic. An industry panel with panelists from EA, Obsidian, Propaganda, and more will round out the day.

Tickets to Industry Speaker Day are CDN $75 for the full day and are expected to sell out quickly when they go on sale today, November 18, 2008. For ticket purchases and the latest information and schedule, visit gamedesignexpo.com.

The second day of the Expo, Sunday February 8, will see VFS open the doors to its Game Design Campus for a free, day-long Open House. Sunday’s program is a hands-on look at the acclaimed one-year program at VFS, providing visitors the opportunity to test-drive student- and alumni-created games, take sample classes, and meet faculty and students.

In an event first, the 2009 Game Design Open House will host a special Women in Games panel which coincides with the launch of the inaugural Women in Games $30,000 scholarship to VFS. Other scholarship opportunities will be announced at the Open House as well. Also for the first time, the Open House will include exclusive presentations by representatives from LucasArts, Big Fish Games and Vicarious Visions, giving attendees fascinating insight into the industry from the frontlines.

Those interested are strongly encouraged to register early for the Open House before it fills. Event details and registration are available at gamedesignexpo.com.

Game Design Industry Speaker Day
Saturday, February 7, 2009, 9am-6:30pm
Vancity Theatre - 1181 Seymour Street Vancouver BC

VFS Game Design Open House
Sunday, February 8, 2009, 9am-5pm
Vancouver Film School - 390 West Hastings Street Vancouver BC

VFS is proud to partner with the following event sponsors to realize the annual Game Design Expo 2009: G4techTV, EA, Ubisoft, Annex Pro, Big Fish Games, Obsidian Entertainment, Radical Entertainment, The Georgia Straight, Bizbooks, and Vancouver Siggraph.

Game Design Expo 2009 Speaker Schedule

Day 1: Industry Speaker Day - Saturday, February 7, 2009
Clint Hocking Creative Director, Ubisoft
Matt Searcy Lead Designer, Nexon Publishing North America
Scott Dossett Senior Animator, Epic Games
Ellen Beeman Lead Producer, Microsoft Game Studios
Drew Murray Lead Designer, Insomniac Games
Kelly Zmak President, Radical Entertainment

Panelists
Rory Armes (Electronic Arts), Chris Avellone (Obsidian Entertainment), Clint Hocking (Ubisoft), Josh Holmes (Propaganda Games), Wil Mozell (BigPark), Tarrnie Williams (Relic Entertainment) and Moderator: Victor Lucas (Creator/Executive Producer/Host, Electric Playground, Greedy Productions Ltd).

Day 2: Game Design Open House - Sunday February 8, 2009

Industry Presenters
Matt Manuel VP of Production Operations, LucasArts
Nick Newhard Lead Designer/Producer, Big Fish Games
Jake Birkett Lead Programmer/Designer, Big Fish Games
Brandon Van Slyke Game Designer, Vicarious Visions

Women in Games Panelists
Brenda Bailey (Deep Fried Entertainment), Krissie Franco (Hydrogen Whiskey Studios), Tara Mustapha (Electronic Arts), Susannah Skerl (Hothead Games) and Moderator: Noelle Hunt Bennett (Creative Talent Recruiter, Big Fish Games).

About Game Design Expo
Game Design Expo is an annual event for game industry professionals and enthusiasts hosted by Vancouver Film School’s Game Design program. Since the inaugural event in 2007 and continuing through the sold-out 2008 weekend, Game Design Expo has played host to such industry luminaries as Don Daglow, Ron Gilbert, and Eric Zimmerman, and creative leaders from companies like Bungie, Activision, EA, BioWare, and Crystal Dynamics/Eidos.

About Game Design at Vancouver Film School
Vancouver Film School, founded in 1987, offers a proven education for everything in the entertainment industry. With 13 production-oriented programs and a unique one-year education model, VFS prepares students to join the creative economy. Students in the one-year Game Design program train to be part of any video game development team by learning all aspects of game design, from visual storytelling to level design principles to the production process, ultimately creating playable games themselves.

Capcom®, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, is proud to announce that the much anticipated Super Street Fighter® II Turbo HD Remix for Xbox LIVE® Arcade will be one of the first games to be featured in the New Xbox® Experience with a Branded Destination Experience.

Launching tomorrow, the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix destination experience will provide a central place for Xbox LIVE Arcade gamers to learn about new content, view the latest trailers, and access downloadable content, including picture packs, and both Basic and Premium Themes. The new Street Fighter® Premium Theme features extensive high-definition graphical layers that take over your Dashboard, presenting a fully dynamic and encompassing package for the ultimate social entertainment experience on Xbox LIVE.

“With 1080p high-definition art and graphics, and the ultimate user feature set, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is the perfect game to compliment the New Xbox Experience,” said Christian Svensson, VP of Strategic Planning and Business Development at Capcom Entertainment Inc. “Capcom is dedicated to providing captivating content to the digital space and we’re proud to participate in this new era of Xbox LIVE.”

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix was developed by Vancouver’s Backbone Entertainment
and is rated by the ESRB as T for Teen.

Toronto -

This is the third game in the successful series adapted from the popular Agatha Christie novels and the second release on the wildly popular Wii platform. Based on the novel Evil Under the Sun by the world’s best-known mystery author, this title seamlessly channels the stunning environments, unique puzzles and exceptionally rendered characters into this adventure game friendly platform.

How does a millionaire wind up with a phony diamond? Can Hercule Poirot solve a murder on an exclusive island resort frequented by the rich and famous when everyone has an alibi?

Famous detective Hercule Poirot is back in typical style, turning up at just the right time to begin an investigation into the murder of a famous actress during what should have been the start of a relaxing holiday. Taking on the role of Hercule Poirot, players can scour a stunning tropical island for clues and delve deeper into the mysterious relationships between over 20 unique characters to search out the killer.

Features:

Play as world-renowned detective, Hercule Poirot
Over 20 unique characters to interact with, each with their own motives
Cinematic camera perspectives emphasizing character facial emotions
“Shadowing” ability allows Poirot to stealthily follow suspects from a discreet distance
Advanced in-game hint system, including automatic journal recording
Additional storyline appended to that of the original novel providing a new ending

Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun for Wii will sell for an SRP of $29.99 USD.

Need for Speed Undercover features stunning Hollywood-style live-action in-game movies in which the player is recruited by Federal Agent Chase Linh, played by Maggie Q (Mission Impossible III and Live Free or Die Hard), to go deep undercover in order to infiltrate and takedown a ruthless international crime syndicate. Posing as a wheelman, the player will be required to prove themselves by completing jobs, racing through speedways, dodging cops and chasing rivals.

Need for Speed Undercover also features its signature real-world damage and car customization for over 55 of the hottest licensed vehicles including the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG, Audi R8, Porsche 911 GT2 and the all-new unreleased 2009 Nissan 370Z.

The all-new Heroic Driving Engine delivers an unprecedented level of control allowing the player to execute incredible high-performance moves at 180 mph. The player will need to master the Heroic Driving Engine in order to evade the cops and take out opponents while navigating over 100 miles of open roads, including an expansive highway system. These causeways are the setting for the high-speed, high-stake chase sequences that will push the player to the limit. An enhanced new A.I. mechanic delivers a realistic high-energy action driving experience with ultra-aggressive and intelligent cops using actual high-speed pursuit techniques to take the player down.

Need for Speed Undercover will be available for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system for a MSRP of $59.99. It will be available on the Wii™ for a MSRP of $49.99 and on PCs, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) for a MSRP of $39.99. It is also available on the Nintendo DS™ for a MSRP of $29.99. For gamers on the go, they can download the mobile platform for a MSRP that starts at $2.99.

VANCOUVER November 18, 2008 – Press Release - The ELANS officially put out their call to the entire world for Judges today to the media and industry professionals in video games, animation and visual effects. Anyone from within these industries who wish to preside over the selection of the final nominees and winners of the 3rd Annual ELANS – the awards show that’s become something of a phenom over the past two years with Hosts such as William Shatner and Seth MacFarlane – is invited to apply.

“We went through all of the big award shows’ judicial procedures, even those outside of these industries such as the Oscars, to come up with this year’s process for the ELANS,” says Holly Carinci, Founder & Producer of the ELAN Awards. “We then took what we determined to work the best from each of them to our Board of Advisors and had the luxury of working with some of the top people in these industry sectors to come up with a very good, very fair judicial system that will reflect the decisions of the entire world, not just North America … That was important to us.” The Board of Advisors for the 3rd Annual ELAN Awards is made up of industry luminaries Kelly Zmak of Radical Entertainment, Tarrnie Williams of Relic, Kay Gruenwoldt of N-Gage, Doug Campbell of SPIN West VFX and the prolific Producer/Director from all three sectors, Ian Verchere.

The list of requirements for those interested in becoming a Juror/Judge for the 3rd Annual ELAN Awards put together by Carinici and her Board are:

Must be a professional working in the video game, animation or visual effects industry;
Must agree to be placed on the Jury Panel which determines the Final Nominees and the Winner of an Award Category from the area of their expertise (i.e.: Best Sound must have only panel members who work in Music and/or Sound Departments);
Must speak English fluently;
If a video game professional, they must have immediate access to and be capable of playing on PS2, PS3, Xbox and Wii as well as own a computer capable of downloading and playing PC Games;
If an Animation or Visual Effects professional, they must be able to view HD QuickTime files;
If a media member they must cover the art being decided upon in their award category (i.e.: Technical Innovation categories can only have a Technology Reporter and they must cover that award category’s industry sector).

How the process itself will work: Panels consisting of 4 industry professionals and one media member from all around the world (at least 2 must reside outside of North America) work together through an online voting forum to determine the four final nominees in their assigned award category. The decision must be unanimous. The Head Juror then sends their panel’s final nominees directly to the ELAN’s Award Auditor, Geoff Dodds of Buckley Dodds & Associates who records them and delivers the names directly to the Producers to be announced at a press conference on Monday, February 2, 2009. Each juror then individually and privately sends their choice for the winner of their category out of their panel’s final nominees directly to the ELAN’s auditor who tallies the votes and arranges for the trophy plaques and the winning envelopes to be produced in secret up until they are announced onstage at the ceremony on February 28, 2009.

If you meet the requirements and wish to act as Juror and Judge for the 3rd Annual ELAN Awards, apply by going to the Adjudicative Process page The ELANs web site and fill in the Application to Judge. Judges will be selected, contacted and later announced (not their categories).

Also, submissions are currently open and close on December 5, 2008. The producers have extended the Early Bird deadline to November 28, 2008 in order to accommodate those submissions coming from outside of North America. “Yesterday I assisted companies with their submissions that were from Germany, Scotland and Chile as well as what felt like all of North America,” smiles Carinci. “It’s incredibly exciting for us to see how welcomed we’ve been by the world in our first year going fully international.”

Also welcoming and supporting the ELANS are the Seven Group who’s come onboard as an Event Partner and will oversee the technical setup of the surrounding Galas and After-Party (the ELAN’S after-party invite-only list is already a ‘must get’) as well as the Awards Ceremony itself. Founding Partners Radical Entertainment and Relic Entertainment as well as Associate Partners Blue Arc, Hitachi, sgi, SPINVFX and David Kaye Productions have all gotten behind the 3rd ELAN Awards already with enthusiasm to ensure the show’s growth and to be a part of its global success.

The 3rd Annual ELAN Awards will be held on Saturday, February 28, 2009 at the Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts.

This year’s sale is produced by studioshop, Emily Carr University’s online store. Visit the site before or after the sale for online shopping from home!

Friday, November 21 from 1pm to 8pm
Saturday, November 22 from 10am to 6pm

Concourse Gallery, North Building
Emily Carr University
1399 Johnston Street
Granville Island

Admission is free.

The transaction will result in the elimination of just over $40K of debt in relation to a Secured Promissory Note and reduces further dilution for SVB’s shareholder with the immediate cancellation of 1,800,000 warrants.

“This transaction allows SilverBirch to remain focused on our core game assets: CrossFire, Metin2, and the console games developed and marketed by SilverBirch Studios, Lighthouse, and (*)Red Mile,” said Kevin Astle, SilverBirch interim President and CEO. “The new board of directors has moved swiftly and decisively to re-position the company to capitalize on the potential of these assets for the benefit of all shareholders.”

The divesture of this non-core business substantially completes the Company’s previously announced process of re-focusing on its core strengths in the game industry. The Company’s goal is to become a premier publisher and marketer of Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) and video games for PCs and leading console platforms. This new strategic focus will build upon SilverBirch’s existing operations, including video game developer SilverBirch Studios, Netherlands-based interactive entertainment publisher Lighthouse Interactive, and a co-publishing venture to operate licensed English language online multiplayer games. The company is also acquiring Red Mile Entertainment, publisher of console games Sin City and Heroes Over Europe, in a deal expected to close in early 2009, subject to shareholder, legal and regulatory approvals.

SilverBirch has recently initiated a restructuring plan that is expected to deliver significant savings and drive profitable revenue and growth. SilverBirch continues to review operations to further reduce costs and improve margins to enable more strategic investment in online multiplayer games and
original game content development.

November 24 - Eyeon Generation World Tour: Eyeon Generation is a breakthrough family of products that satisfy the demand for an end-to-end VFX environment and delivers timeline editing with up to 4K disk based playback, backed by 20 years of Fusion compositing development. The Generation workflow seamlessly integrates and collaborates with all eyeon products as well as removing the interoperability bottleneck with other products.

November 25 - Matrox MXO2 – Streamline Your Apple Final Cut Studio Workflow: Discover the Matrox Hardware Advantage with MXO2, a portable, affordable, and complete I/O device for the Mac. Be among the first to see this award-winning device in action.

November 26 - Render Farms 101: From Rendering to Reality in no Time: Want to learn more about render farm management? PipelineFX expert Troy Brooks has extensive experience in film and game development workflows, and will show you why using the right tools will improve productivity and increase content quality while optimizing hardware resources.

November 26 - ZBrush 3 for Artists: Continuing their mission of creating innovative and powerful tools for digital artists, Pixologic introduces a major upgrade to ZBrush with a host of new features, now for Windows AND OS X! Join Technical Specialist Paul Gaboury - space is very limited.

November 27 - AJA Video Systems / Tiger Technology: Two leading video technology companies team up to highlight their latest innovations. Current Kona and XENA owners [or those thinking about buying] will want to check out recently added new support for RED camera, dual boot options (Mac + Win) and much more. Plus, learn how innovative and economical MetaSAN and MetaLAN solutions from Tiger Technology can dramatically enhance your Win, OS X or Linux video workflow.

December 3 - Pro Tools Video Satellite at Vancity Theatre: Be among the first to see a big-screen demonstration of this powerful new HD playback solution from Avid/Digidesign, at the Vancity Theatre. Video Satellite features SD or HD video playback, synced to your Pro Tools session, while maintaining the full track count and processing power of Pro Tools|HD. We’ll also show Video Satellite LE. Both are shipping soon.

December 4 - Collaborative Workflow Explained: A Primer for Video Producers and Editors Join us for a lively panel discussion about the real-world challenges and rewards of moving your production to a collaborative video editing workflow such as Apple Xsan and EditShare. Bring your questions! (note: this seminar is being held in conjunction with the Whistler Filmmakers’ Forum at the Whistler Film Festival.