Village Gamer

The Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) is working with Nordicity to carry out a study of the video game industry in Canada.  ESAC is calling on all Canadian video game studios to complete a survey that will help evaluate the size, composition and economic impact of this industry on the Canadian economy. Read the rest of this entry »

Canada ranks second-to-last among its peers in venture capital investment and business R&D spending, according to The Conference Board of Canada‘s ranking of innovation among the world’s leading economies. And the rest of the report card doesn’t get much better, as Canada ranks 13^th in the 16-country How Canada Performs benchmarking.
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Sage North America announced today the results of its mobile survey, which recently polled 476 small and midsized businesses in Canada. The Sage SMB Survey on Mobile Devices (PDF) showed that Canadian business owners find the use of mobile technology to have a positive effect on their company’s productivity. Eighty-three per cent of respondents said that mobile technology has had a positive effect on their businesses, while just one per cent found mobile technology has negatively impacted their business. Moreover, 78 per cent of respondents are using devices to access work-related information. Read the rest of this entry »

IAB Canada has announced the second in a series of reports, compiled by two respected, longstanding IAB Canada Member companies, addressing Competitive Online Advertising Trends in Canada. Prepared by comScore and Kantar Media, in partnership with IAB Canada, these reports are fueled by the two companies’ extensive Canadian paid display advertising tracking databases. The two new reports consist of 2012 year-end top-lines of key display advertising trends for several leading categories. Read the rest of this entry »

The various benefits that can be generated for producers and broadcasters by second screen initiatives as well as the potential impacts of these initiatives on the television production chain are the focus of the white paper entitled The Second Screen and Television — Benefits and Impacts (PDF 5MB). This 20 page report is the second in a series of three white papers dedicated to the second screen phenomenon. Prepared by Evolumedia Group, co-published with the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and funded by the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) is currently available as a PDF in English and French on the CMF and Evolumedia websites. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite flatlining global technology mergers and acquisitions (M&A) volume year over year in 2012, Canadian volume was up 21% according to Ernst & Young‘s Global technology M&A update. The report highlights that risks such as incorrect valuation were top of mind as equities markets fluctuated and buyers believed many company values remained high. But deal volume held steady as macroeconomic pressures forced companies to clarify what’s important. Read the rest of this entry »

Although some computer users may actively seek pirated software in hopes of saving money, they are taking a big risk because the chances of infection by unexpected malware are one in three for consumers and three in ten for businesses, according to a new study (PDF) commissioned by Microsoft Corp. and conducted by IDC. As a result of these infections, the research shows that consumers will spend 1.5 billion hours and $22 billion identifying, repairing and recovering from the impact of malware, while global enterprises will spend $114 billion to deal with the impact of a malware-induced cyber-attack. Read the rest of this entry »

The freelance talent pool has grown stronger, a new survey suggests. Nearly seven in 10 (69 per cent) of advertising and marketing executives interviewed by The Creative Group said the calibre of independent creative professionals has increased in the last five years; among those, 22 per cent said it has increased significantly. Respondents cited “access to specialised skills or knowledge” as the greatest benefit of using freelancers. These findings and additional information, including tips for working with freelancers and questions to consider before pursuing a consulting career, are accessible in a new infographic from The Creative Group, a specialised staffing service for interactive, design and marketing professionals.  Read the rest of this entry »

The immersive game industry stands on the cusp of dramatic change following two years of specialized research conducted by Interactive Games Ontario 3D (iGO3D), an alliance of Ontario universities and leading game companies launched in early 2011. With total funding valued at C$635,000, iGO3D’s findings include everything from developing a better understanding of stereoscopic 3D (S-3D) gaming to pioneering new techniques in S-3D visual game design. Read the rest of this entry »

comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the 2013 Canada Digital Future in Focus report. This annual report examines how the prevailing trends in web usage, online video, digital advertising, mobile, social media and e-commerce are defining the current Canadian marketplace and what these trends mean for the year ahead. Read the rest of this entry »