Village Gamer

EA Mobile™ has announced the availability of EA SPORTS™ FIFA Soccer 11 in the App Store™. The popular soccer franchise features over 30 officially licensed leagues, 35 authentic stadiums, 500 licensed teams and more than 15,000 players from around the world for thunderous matches on the iPhone and iPod touch.

“With FIFA Soccer 11 for iPod touch and iPhone, we have tapped into what makes this game so universally loved delivering an engaging and genuine soccer experience for fans and casual players alike,” said Travis Boatman, Vice President of Worldwide Studios for EA Mobile. “With the latest release of FIFA, we’ve unlocked the horsepower of these new devices, stepped forward the expectation of what can be achieved and delivered the best footy experience out there.”

FIFA Soccer 11 features new dual control options providing gameplay sophistication for veterans and simplicity for casual players. The game features unprecedented ball-control and fluid animations with 360° player movement while gesture-driven skill moves dazzle the opposing team with defense-splitting passes, rifling shots, penalty kicks and pro-style tricks.

Players can also pick between two modes, either electing to play as their favorite team and battle the entire league or trying their luck in a tournament knockout. FIFA Soccer 11 features officially licensed teams and the world’s best players enabling gamers to play with their favorite superstars including Real Madrid’s Kaká and Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney.

FIFA Soccer 11 is available today from the App Store for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch.

Toronto-based start-up DrinkBox Studios today announced that their alien-invasion-themed co-op platformer Tales from Space: About a Blob will be released in early 2011 as part of Sony Computer Entertainment America’s “Pub Fund” program.

Developers looking to release a game through the Pub Fund initiative must be prepared to build it to completion and commit to a period of console platform exclusivity. In return, approved developers receive a development-budget-matching royalty guarantee from SCEA. A number of popular PlayStation®Network games, including Burn Zombie Burn by DoubleSix and Joe Danger by Hello Games, have already been released through the program.

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DrinkBox CEO Ryan MacLean had this to say about the initiative: “Pub Fund has been a good fit for us. The royalty guarantee and other Pub Fund terms have allowed us to confidently focus on finishing our game while retaining ownership and artistic control over the project. Working with SCEA has been a great experience in general: The advice they have given us over the course of development has helped us build a better game. We’re excited to be working with them on this project!”

Moncton software developer DOVICO Software has announced DOVICO Planning & Timesheet, a new software product from the makers of the industry leading DOVICO Timesheet. Building upon DOVICO’s Time Tracking foundation and user experiences, this new product answers the need for customers who want quick answers to simple questions such as: ‘Who is available and who is not?’, ‘How long will this project REALLY take to complete?’, ‘How much will this project cost us?’.

“Our goal for DOVICO Planning & Timesheet was a simple and easy project planning tool that satisfies a manager’s need to have a good insight into employees’ current and future availability – while keeping our core time tracking features in place.” said Bob Gorham, Product Manager at DOVICO. “Equally important is the ability to uncover what is keeping everyone occupied and , more significantly, a method to try ‘what if scenarios’ when planning a project and seeing the impact of these before moving ahead.”

DOVICO Planning & Timesheet: It’s easy to try and the first 30 days are free.

Immediate Benefits

* Determine whether you should take on a project or not.
* Ensure that your proposed project plan is accurate and profitable.
* Know which of your employees are being under/over utilized.
* Easy transition from a spreadsheet template such as MS Excel, simply copy and paste!
* Affirm that your best talent is working on your mission critical projects.
* Save time and costs in the planning process with our innovative tool that unites project planning and resource utilization.
* Reduce project overruns with our project forecasting tools so you can fix any issues proactively.
* Shorten billing cycles and get paid sooner.
* Deliver projects on time and on budget.
* Easily shift project priorities with our resource reassignment tools.
* High employee adoption with our intuitive time tracking solution.

I just received information from DFAIT that due to its relationship with San Diego’s high tech industry organization CommNexus, Canadian companies are welcome to apply to participate at MarketLink, which takes place in San Diego this November 17th & 18th. The deadline for interested companies to apply is October 22nd 2010. In conjunction with this invitation to participate, Verizon Wireless is looking for companies who specialize in these areas:

Privacy/identity management
Collaboration tools
Personal health & wellness monitoring
Consumer Cloud-based services (content sharing, gaming, etc.)
Mobile security
Mobile Services and Applications marketing tools
Mobile Application Development enablers (API management, porting, voice APIs, context awareness, mash-ups, etc)
Customer Analytics
In-car mobile experience
Hardware innovation
Voice innovation

Random House of Canada is pleased to announce its move into the mobile screen space with a first-of-its-kind app based on interesting and fun facts from new and bestselling books from Random House of Canada and McClelland & Stewart.

Conversation Starters is a first in the book publishing industry, an insightful collection of fun and interesting facts from new & bestselling books presented in an easy-to-use Did You Know format. Created for both the iPAD and iPhone/iPod touch, this free application has a leading edge mobile user experience and design technology with a personality of its own, engaging users both 1:1 with the app and 1:many when users of the app take what they have learned and share with others to spark conversation.

Conversation Starters allows people to boost their knowledge and keep the conversation flowing, and to share facts and tidbits with friends through email, Facebook and Twitter. Users can also read an expanded selection from each book with just one click, and to keep reading, they can easily connect to online retailers.

“This is just the beginning of our foray into the rapidly growing mobile space” says Lisa Charters, SVP, Director, Digital for Random House of Canada who oversaw development of the app. “We want to reach and engage with readers, providing them content from our books on the go and in an interactive fun way. We set out to build a unique app that people would keep coming back to on a regular basis. Conversation Starters is also another way we can help readers find the next right book for them and to help spread the word of mouth about our authors and their books.”

Deborah Hall, Managing Director at Web2Mobile, who worked with Random House of Canada on the development of the app commented, “Conversation Starters combines the best in breed digital content with a robust and innovative technology platform created by Web2Mobile. Our team is really proud of this project design and immersive digital experience unique for both the iPhone/iPod and IPAD platforms.”

Along with the launch of this app, Random House of Canada has optimized key content areas of the Booklounge.ca site for small mobile screens – the highest trafficked pages on the site such as bestsellers, new releases, and books in the news can now be found here http://m.booklounge.ca.

The iconic Mega Bloks® system, beloved by parents and children around the world, turns 25 and to mark this milestone, MEGA Brands is launching its biggest promotion and giving North American families the chance to win $25,000 towards their children’s future.

“We want to celebrate Mega Bloks®’ 25th birthday by giving back to the families who have helped us become the world leader in preschool construction toys,” said Stephane Boulay, Marketing Director at MEGA Brands. “We are thrilled to provide families with the chance to win $25,000 towards their children’s future, one of 25 Mega Bloks® prize packs valued at $500 each, as well as offering them $5 off their next Mega Bloks® purchase, which is all available in over 700 thousand 80-piece Mega Bloks® bags throughout North America.”

From October 1 to November 30, 2010, North American families can participate in Mega Bloks®’ birthday contest through two possibilities: in-store and online. At all major retailers in North America, participants can simply purchase the award-winning 80-piece Mega Bloks® bag and peel off their in-pack peel off contest card to instantly get the chance to win the grand prize of $25,000 for their children’s future or one of 25 Mega Bloks® prize packs valued at $500. Participants also have another chance to win one of 25 Mega Bloks® prize packs valued each at $500 by going online and registering at www.megabloks.com/25.

The 25th birthday promotion is one of the many marketing initiatives supporting Mega Bloks®’s 25th Birthday. The company is also celebrating this occasion through retail events at Toys “R” Us throughout North America, a Mega Bloks® 25th Birthday feature shop in Toys “R” Us Canada, and a new and exciting Mega Bloks® iPhone and iPad application for preschoolers ages two to five.

For those few of you who have not yet experienced the #1 RPG title, Bioware has just announced Dragon Age: Origins – Ultimate Collection. With an overall value of $114.00, this all-in-one package is retailing for $49.99 USD for the PC version to $59.99 USD for the console versions. It is interesting to note that the Ultimate Collection is not yet listed on Canadian retailers such as GameStop or Amazon, but it is available at their American counterparts, as well as in the EA Store. The Ultimate Collection includes:

Dragon Age™: Origins

Discover the groundbreaking RPG, winner of more than 50 awards including more than 30 ‘Game of the Year’ awards! You are a Grey Warden, one of the last of a legendary order of guardians. With the return of mankind’s ancient foe and the kingdom engulfed in civil war, you have been chosen by fate to unite the shattered lands and slay the archdemon once and for all. Explore a stunning world, make complex moral choices, and engage in bone-crushing visceral combat against massive and terrifying creatures.

Dragon Age™: Origins – Awakening Expansion Pack

The story of the Grey Wardens continues as you are named Commander of the order. As your first duties you have been entrusted with rebuilding the order as well as uncovering the secrets of the darkspawn and how they managed to endure. Fight new enemies, learn new skills and spells, and explore an all-new area of the world, Amaranthine.

All Seven Content Packs

Extend your adventure, collect new rewards, gain new party members, and more as you delve deeper into the Dragon Age™ saga.

* The Stone Prisoner
* Warden’s Keep
* Return to Ostagar
* The Darkspawn Chronicles
* Leliana’s Song
* The Golems of Amgarrak
* Witch Hunt

~ Key Features

* A limited-time offer of the 2009 ‘RPG of the Year’ Dragon Age: Origins, the Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening expansion pack, and all nine additional content packs
* Critically acclaimed winner of more than 50 awards including more than 30 ‘Game of the Year’ awards

Electronic Arts Inc. has introduced a comprehensive insights suite which provides marketers with actionable consumer data based on their activity in and around EA games. A first of its kind, EA’s insights suite is a cross-platform tool which pulls together campaign performance, brand impact, social buzz, and where available, ROI, across all platforms on the EA network – mobile, social, online and console. Over time, advertisers will be able to benchmark their performance against their competitive set.

“One of the biggest challenges for marketers is comprehensively evaluating and learning from their investments across disparate audiences, platforms and content,” said Elizabeth Harz, Senior Vice President of EA’s Global Media Sales team. “Our insights suite is the solution. For the first time, our partners will have actionable insights as a result of their marketing communications to key audiences across all of our content and all of platforms. I can’t wait to get this into our partners’ hands.”

The rich feature set offers many benefits for advertisers, such as:

* Overview of key campaign performance indicators such as impressions, clicks, unduplicated reach, demographic profiles, and social media buzz
* Segmented audience insights based on cross-platform demographic, psychographic and social data
* Ability to drill down into the factors that impact campaign effectiveness including audience engagement, audience profiles, type of creative, measured over time
* Assessment of the social media sentiment and change in the brand conversation the campaign generates Read the rest of this entry »

Toronto-based ScribbleLive has launched the latest version of its live content management system (CMS) to help journalists spread news in real time. Social media services deliver information at a rapid pace. ScribbleLive enables media companies to harness the immediacy of these technologies while maintaining the control required in the newsroom to cover developing news events in a new style that meets the needs of its audience – fast, engaging and collaborative.

ScribbleLive is a comprehensive live CMS platform that enables media companies and large organizations such as Reuters and Hearst Television, to report on developing news stories like natural disasters, sporting events and election results in an entirely new way online. Journalists can now report story elements from e-mail, SMS, Twitter, voice call or the ScribbleLive web interface – whether in the newsroom or out in the field. The result is dynamic content that provides real-time updates, including multimedia, to readers as the event unfolds.

The event pages reside on ScribbleLive’s servers, but otherwise maintain a seamless appearance with the organization’s existing website – to both visitors and search engines. After the event, the searchable webpages remain, so readers can look back on the way the story unfolded – a unique opportunity to see a “rough draft” of history as it was first written.

“People want news delivered quickly – They are turning to social media sites such as Twitter to access breaking information, rather than waiting for news outlets to push stories through editorial review,” said Michael De Monte, co-founder and chief executive officer, ScribbleLive. “ScribbleLive changes the traditional linear flow of the newsroom to a more dynamic, collaborative process that empowers real-time reporting and audience engagement while ensuring editorial control and journalistic integrity. With our tool, journalists are able to tell stories in a completely new way.”

This latest version of ScribbleLive offers powerful new features that:

* Let journalists leverage mobile devices to create stories in the field via enhanced publishing capabilities through SMS and voicemail, as well as mobile apps for iPhone and BlackBerry
* Better harness information from Twitter with advanced filters
* Employ SSL to improve data protection
* Allow syndication of posts to multiple web properties
* Lay the groundwork for a revolutionary new way of telling stories and engaging with readers online Read the rest of this entry »

Sean Doherty, president and founder of New Brunswick-based Freelance Games, is proud to announce the release of its first independent game for the XBOX 360 – Starchon.

In development for over a year, Doherty is happy to see the game released to the public. “Starchon has a tremendous amount of depth and innovation for a game classified as a ‘shooter’”, says Doherty. “It’s hard to believe that Starchon actually started as a PC game back in 2005. It’s been a huge amount of work and consumed endless amounts of time. But, everyone agrees that the final product is well worth the effort.”

The arcade game’s description is as follows: The Engage the Pigia horde and defend the Super Defense Carrier while you destroy everything in your path. Unlock 5 game-altering playable starships, plus more than 39 components including weapons, shields, engines, and power generators. Over 80+ sectors of glorious victory.

“Starchon is a fun and engaging game in the spirit of classic arcade fun. This is one game that you won’t be worried about your kids playing,” says Doherty. “This style of game is more like how games used to be when I was growing up, but Starchon has been updated for today’s XBOX high definition gaming experience.”

Doherty is considering plans for Freelance Games’ future. “Starchon is the first game in the Starchon universe, but it will not be the last. I want this title to be the beginning of a series of independent video games for us,” says Doherty. “Today’s gaming platforms allow independent developers to publish games side-by-side with the big studios. It’s a great opportunity.”

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Starchon can be purchased by surfing to the XBOX Live indie games forum, and searching for “Starchon”. In addition to being available directly through the Games Marketplace on Xbox 360 consoles, the game can be queued for download at the Xbox 360 Marketplace site. The price of the game is 80 Microsoft Points (equivalent to about $1).

EA SPORTS™ FIFA Soccer 11 is available in today in Canadian stores. Localized into 18 languages and available in 51 countries, FIFA Soccer 11 is the most popular sports videogame in the world (based on total sales in 2009 according to the NPD). It will be available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, Wii™, PC, Nintendo DS™, PlayStation®2, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), iPhone® and iPod® touch. FIFA Soccer 11 for Wii will be available throughout North America beginning Oct. 4 and on Nintendo DS throughout Europe and Asia on Oct. 8.

FIFA Soccer 11 reinvents player authenticity–on and off the ball–-with all-new Personality+. Individual abilities are now reflected in-game, allowing clear differentiation for every player on the pitch. Plus, players will experience true freedom in man-to-man interactions with 360° Fight for Possession that transforms physical play from lateral jostling to full 360° collisions and 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.

My Live Season premium service for FIFA Soccer 11 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, which enables subscribers to feel the weekly pulse of soccer with dynamic updates of real-world information, will be available beginning Sept. 29. The My Live Season premium service will feature weekly updates of player form, transfers, injuries, suspensions, fixtures, results and league standings for Barclay’s Premier League, La Liga BBVA, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and Serie A. My Live Season is valued at $4.99 for the ongoing season on PlayStation Network and 400 points on Xbox Live Marketplace for each individual league. A package of all leagues is available for $9.99 for the ongoing season on PlayStation Network and 800 points on Xbox Live Marketplace.

FIFA Soccer 11 will feature Online Pass (restrictions and conditions apply), a one-time use registration code with each Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 copy sold new at retail which allows access to online services and features.

Those of you who are fans of The Sims and Army of Two will be pleased to know that Rios and Salem will be making a crossover appearance in MySims SkyHeroes. Here’s a sneak peek at their adventure:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMblHqPUXpg]

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

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

Among the new features included in Wwise 2010.2:

* New Wwise effects: Tremolo, Flanger, Guitar Distorsion, Meter
* Side-Chaining
* Convolution Reverb
Read the rest of this entry »

Unless you’ve been living in a zombie-proof bunker somewhere in the backwaters, you know that Capcom’s Dead Rising® 2 will be infesting all major retailers in North America today. The second installment in Capcom’s zombie action series introduces you to a new setting, a new hero, a new combo weapons mechanic and thousands more flesh-eating zombies. Launching on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC this week, Dead Rising 2 promises to increase the carnage with tons of zombies on screen at any given time and countless new objects including everyday items players can combine to create superior zombie-killing combo weapons.

Dead Rising 2 will introduce players to a new protagonist named Chuck Greene whose Motocross background and tragic past has brought him to America’s new gambling playground, Fortune City. He is there to compete in “Terror is Reality”, a gruesome game show that dares contestants to survive zombie-filled environments for big money prizes at the delight of TV audiences around the globe. Chuck’s motivation for taking part and risking life and limb is his daughter Katey, who since being bitten by a zombie, requires a daily dose of Zombrex to prevent her from turning into one of the living dead. During his time in Fortune City, a zombie outbreak occurs and Chuck is blamed for the incident.Over the next 72 hours, he must survive the onslaught of the undead and clear his name. Pitted against two fearsome threats – tens of thousands of zombies and the constant countdown of the clock – while potentially rescuing other survivors of the zombie apocalypse, Chuck must also unravel the greater conspiracy behind the outbreak and just as importantly, find the Zombrex necessary to stop Katey from joining the ever growing zombie horde.

Developed by Blue Castle Games in close collaboration with Capcom, Dead Rising 2 takes the acclaimed gameplay the series is known for and pushes it to a new level in zombie-destroying fun. Chuck is quite the handyman and he uses it to his advantage as players are able to take everyday items and combine them with a roll of duct tape to build the ultimate combo weapons to annihilate the undead. A piece of wood and a lawnmower become a Portamower, the handheld mower that cuts zombies down to size in an instant; while a garden rake and car battery combine to create an electrified zombie prod. The more combo weapons a player uses, the more Prestige Points (PPs) they will gain along the way in order to level up Chuck. Read the rest of this entry »

Rogers Media announced today that Citytv.com is launching the first iPad video application by a Canadian television broadcaster. The new Citytv Video app will feature shows from its primetime broadcast schedule along with CityLine and Breakfast Television Toronto. The ad supported Citytv.com video app for iPad is available free from the App Store on iPad.

“How Canadians interact with traditional television is evolving. They want to watch their favourite shows when and where they want to on their preferred device – whether it’s a television, smartphone or a tablet,” says Claude Galipeau, SVP & GM, Digital Media, Rogers Media Inc. “Rogers has a reputation for innovation in Canada. Launching the first Canadian TV iPad application reinforces Rogers’ commitment to deliver seamless entertainment experiences for our customers. In addition to catching-up on their favourite shows online, on Citytv.com, through Rogers Video On Demand and RogersOnDemand.com, audiences can now access the easy to use and convenient iPad option.”

With the launch of the Citytv iPad video app, Rogers Media is advancing its strategy of bringing multi-screen branding opportunities to its advertising partners. The Shorts in the City app for iPad and iPhone, which launched in May of this year, is another example of a multi-screen programming initiative.

The app gives Citytv fans the ability to catch up on full-length television programs and clips on their iPad. The Citytv app also includes a number of convenient features, such as a TV schedule and a notification service that allows users to be reminded when their favourite shows are available on the app and on TV. Other features include the ability to share video links on Facebook, Twitter and via email. The app also saves your viewing history and favourites.

American PC game distributor CompuExpert has announced that the company has signed a deal with Capcom to be the exclusive North American PC distributor for Dead Rising 2, the highly anticipated sequel to 2006’s critically acclaimed survival horror action game developed by Blue Castle Games (now Capcom Game Studio Vancouver).

Set several years after the Willamette incident of the original game, Dead Rising 2 takes place in Fortune City, a glamorous entertainment playground where people attempt to escape from reality and the threat of zombie outbreaks by winning at games of chance. Players take on the role of Chuck Greene, a former national Motocross champion and handyman who is willing to do anything for his daughter Katey, including fighting the undead.

The original Dead Rising forced gamers to fend off hundreds of zombies at any time by using everyday objects like bowling balls, shower heads and traffic cones. Dead Rising 2 will pack even more zombies on screen, as well as additional new items that Chuck can use to make customized weaponry, such as explosive footballs or chainsaws strapped to kayak paddles.

Dead Rising 2 for the PC will be available at Gamestop, Best Buy, Amazon and other PC game retailers tomorrow, September 28th. The game has been rated M for Mature by the ESRB.