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  • Award Nominations, Demo Reels and Product Announcements

15th February 2010

Award Nominations, Demo Reels and Product Announcements

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appboyEdmonton – A Smartphone as an x-ray machine? “There’s an app for that.” This phrase is starting to become as commonplace as saying “hello” when answering the phone. According to Gartner Research, Smartphone consumers are estimated to spend more than $6 billion and download over 4.5 billion mobile applications this year. With the mounting popularity of this phenomenon, AppBoy launched an easy-to-use, revolutionary social network that aims at connecting mobile app developers and users.

“AppBoy was developed to help developers get their apps discovered and to help users navigate through the thousands of available apps to find the ones they like,” says Thorren Koopmans, Director of Operations for AppBoy.

With more than 100,000 apps on the market, it’s difficult for app entrepreneurs to stand out. AppBoy gives app developers of multiple platforms (Android, iPhone, Palm and Blackberry) an opportunity to easily showcase their work and market their creations to mobile app lovers. Through personal developer profile pages created on the site, developers can share their ideas and even create their own app store. Apps sold through the social network also earn the developer a share of the profits.

AppBoy also has a lot to offer for those who aren’t building their own apps. Any user with ideas that are useful, smart or just plain entertaining can submit them to the website. Visitors to the social network have the ability to vote and comment on submissions. If the ideas generate enough votes, AppBoy rewards the user $250 and creates the app.

“We already have a great value proposition for both developers and end users, but we’re just getting started. There are big updates coming that are going to make AppBoy that much better.” Read the rest of this entry »

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10th February 2010

Canadian Innovation and New Releases

Congratulations to the teams of Assassin’s Creed 2 and FIFA 10 for making the shortlist in the BAFTA Game of the Year nominations. The public are invited to vote in this category, so I hope you’ll head over to the vote page and support our Canadian products. The Awards ceremony will take place on March 19th at the London Hilton.

IUGOVancouverIUGO‘s fantastical and ridiculously fun dual stick shooter, Daisy Mae’s Alien Buffet is now available in the App Store for the introductory price of $1.99 USD.  Daisy Mae’s peaceful, simple life in her little desert trailer park will never be the same. A full scale alien attack on earth has begun and Daisy becomes the unlikely heroine outta nowhere. Take hold of the steering wheel and help Daisy Mae shoot and blast her way to victory in this fun and quirky dual stick shooter. Aliens: you have been served!

Features:

* More aliens than you can shake a stick at!
* The baddest selection of weapons known to folks ’round these here parts
* Purty graphics and fancy sounds effects
* Sassy costumes to unlock for Daisy Mae’s alien hoedown
* Daisy Mae “taunt” moves to kill the aliens dead in their tracks
* Control options to suit every varmint’s needs
* VIP points to be earned towards an additional costume
* Global leaderboards
* Auto save

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OMDCToronto – The Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) proudly announces that it has invested $2.9 M in funding support through its Entertainment and Creative Cluster Partnerships Fund (PDF) to leverage an additional $7.1 M from 94 partners to support 17 innovative projects.

The Partnerships Fund was designed to help Ontario’s entertainment and creative industries invest in smart ways to grow and increase their competitive advantage in the global marketplace. The industries eligible for funding include book and magazine publishing, music, film, television, interactive digital media and commercial theatre. Read the rest of this entry »

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9th February 2010

New DLC for Mass Effect 2, EA Announces Perspective 2011 Titles, VX2010

Bioware CorpEdmontonBioware has added to the Normandy’s armory. According to the Mass Effect 2 web site, the new Cerberus Assault Armour and M-22a Eviscerator Shotgun DLC are now available for free through the Cerberus Network on both the PC and Xbox 360.

Cerberus Assault ArmorCerberus Assault Armor
Cerberus assault armor is designed for shock troops, who are expected to turn the tide of battle against creatures or forces that would decimate normal soldiers. The troops demanded three things in its design: shields, armor thick enough to last against a superior foe, and a rechargeable pack to extend a heavy weapon power cell. The only drawback of the armor is its weight, which the troops carry as a point of pride. They have a saying: “Out of shape going in, in shape coming out.”
Increases heavy weapon ammo capacity by +10%
Increases shields by +10%
Increases health by +10%

M-22a Eviscerator Shotgun
The M-22a Eviscerator Shotgun is a longer-range shotgun with armor-piercing loads. This design also violates several intergalactic weapons treaties, so the M-22a is not distributed to militaries.

EA GamesEA has released their Key Titles Schedule for Fiscal Year 2011, and while this is only working schedule, there were some title announcements that mean our Canadian EA studios are going to be busy, busy, busy.

As expected, there will be new additions to the EA Sports franchises – FIFA 11, NHL 11, EA Sports Active, NBA 11, NBA Jam and of course Need For Speed – but what gave me the happy gamer warm fuzzies is the announcement that there will be a new Dragon Age chapter in Q4 2011. There will also be additions to the Monopoly family plus a few genre-only announcements, such as a news sports title. Read the rest of this entry »

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8th January 2010

News From IUGO, D-Box, Meridian4 and more

Vancouver – Following IUGO’s massively successful Zombie Attack! Zombie Attack Bridge Defensegames, ZA! and ZA! Second Wave, the indie studio has launched a free version of ZA! Second Wave titled Zombie Attack! Bridge Defense. As the titles suggests, the lite version contains the bridge map for users to sample kill a variety of zombies with cool new weapons. Second Wave features more maps and hordes of challenges in the full version. IUGO also recently unveiled their web site’s nice new design – head on over to check out its shiny awesomeness and all of IUGO’s titles today – and don’t forget to vote for IUGO and other great Canadian games, publishers and studios in our Reader’s Choice Canadian Video Game Awards – only one week left to vote!

palmAt CES: Palm released details about their developer kit for webOS during their 3D gaming announcement at the Expo, where they introduced several graphics-intensive game titles for webOS, from leading game developers EA Mobile™, Gameloft, Glu Mobile and Laminar Research. Demonstrated at Palm’s CES event, the games will be available today in the Palm App Catalog for Palm Pre customers.

“We are very excited about the potential of webOS as a platform for mobile 3D gaming,” said Katie Mitic, senior vice president, Product Marketing, Palm, Inc. “This is a key application category, and we’ve worked closely with some of the leading game developers to deliver a great game experience for our customers.”

“Recent improvements to Palm webOS represent major advancements in enabling world-class mobile gaming,” said Travis Boatman, vice president of Worldwide Studios for EA Mobile. “These innovations have allowed us to quickly bring our best IP to the platform.”

The developers introducing titles today have had early access to the Palm webOS Plug-in Development Kit (PDK), which extends the Palm webOS Software Development Kit (SDK) with a set of tools, documentation and APIs that let developers write plug-ins for their webOS applications. The PDK lets developers easily integrate C and C++ code into their webOS applications, enabling new functionality, including immersive 3D games. A public beta version of the webOS PDK is scheduled to be available to all developers in March.

“The performance of the platform allowed us to create these great games in a limited timeframe,” said Baudouin Corman, vice president of publishing, Americas, Gameloft. “webOS allows us to deliver an outstanding gaming experience, and we look forward to bringing our best games to Palm customers worldwide.”“We expect the plug-in model to play an important role in the evolution of the webOS platform, just as plug-ins have with web browsers,” said Mitic. “And with this plug-in, we are making it super-simple for developers to bring the hottest games to webOS.” Read the rest of this entry »

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4th January 2010

Back To Work Monday With New Releases

GormleyDigital Leisure has announced that their newest title, Fast Draw Showdown, designed exclusively for Nintendo’s WiiWare™ game service is now available for download.

When it comes to fast draw there are only two types of people: the quick…and the dead! Now you have the chance to find out where you stand, or lie, as the case may be. You’ll go up against the best quick draws in the business, including one of the world’s fastest, Wes Flowers.

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Unholster your Wii Remote™ and show’em who the fastest draw really is, in this live action shooter – a first for the WiiWare service! Once you’ve mastered your shootin’ skills, take on all your friends to see which of you really has the quickest draw.

You’ll need some serious speed and awesome accuracy to take on these gunslingers…so get ready for some real fast draw action! Fast Draw Showdown is available today in North America and later this month in Europe, exclusively on WiiWare for 500 Wii Points™. Fast Draw Showdown is rated T by the ESRB.

MontrealLudia’s new title Hell’s Kitchen Vs., which is based on the U.S. TV phenomenon where world-renowned chef Gordon Ramsay puts aspiring chefs through rigorous culinary tests is also now available on WiiWare. The game recreates the show’s pressure-cooker atmosphere as two players battle head-to-head in an arcade-style kitchen challenge. Try to conquer your opponent in each time-management test, while taking the heat of Gordon Ramsay judging and rating your performance at every stage of the game. Designed for 1 or 2 players, Hell’s Kitchen Vs is rated E by the ESRB and costs 800 Wii Points to download from the WiiWare store.

London ONBig Blue Bubble also has a release out on WiiWare today. Pub Darts is a simple darts simulation which uses the Wii Remote™ controller’s unique controls to mimic dart-throwing motion. The game is set in a local pub where the players will settle in to play some of their favorite dart games, including 501, Cricket, Around the Clock, Killers and Baseball. Controls function just like throwing a real dart. Players are able to create their own personal profiles, including selecting their avatar image from a collection of creative characters and the design they would like displayed on the dart flights. Pub Darts is rated E by the ESRB and is downloadable for 500 Wii Points.

Also out today is Big Blue Bubble’s first Fighting Fantasy game book, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, now available on iPhone and iPod Touch for $2.99usd. For the first time ever, you have the opportunity to explore the world of Titan on a portable screen bringing the adventure with you wherever you go.

Experience the book that started the massively popular series which has sold over 15 million copies worldwide and set a new standard in roleplaying excellence. This exciting game plunges you into a thrilling adventure to the top of Firetop Mountain and its vast treasure, ruthlessly guarded by a powerful Warlock. Will you have the courage, tact and skill to survive where none have returned to tell the tale?

Following the successful Nintendo DS launch of the game of the same name, Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain for iPhone and iPod Touch takes a different approach bringing Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson’s legendary game book to your favorite handheld device. Scroll through the pages effortlessly by tapping the screen to flip pages, roll dice by shaking your iPhone and experience the breathtaking tale that has sold millions of copies.

Fighting Fantasy readers will be excited to know that Big Blue Bubble will be releasing four more titles in the series. In January, look out for Deathtrap Dungeon as it makes its iPhone debut providing the user with the same level of adventure, excitement and ease of use that The Warlock of Firetop brought.

Fighting Fantasy fans will love the classic story and original illustrations with a technological twist. No more dice, pencils, or bookmarks. All the special features are built in!

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24th December 2009

Updates from KrabbitWorld and Some Christmas Cheer From Bootup Labs

Krabbit OnlineSurreyKrabbitSoft released has released KWO_AD, an advanced new demo for KrabbitWorld Origins. As an apology to web response to the current beginner focused demo, gamers will be immersed in true excitement of the game, experiencing the depth of game play and full game mechanics. Viewers will be entranced as the camera takes control playing out dramatic events krei portraitheralding each interactive segment. Witness Teella’s dramatic transformation from the lovely high priestess to the ghastly eyeless fallen. Acquire the advantage in the heat of battle with newly learned combo tactics. Play each of six level 92 Krabbits adorned in flaming, poison or ice bracers as you defeat the evil arch nemesis throughout numerous scenes. In the final epic battle defeat all characters you played.

Feedback from gamers has been very positive, with one gamer stating that “The game has one of the most insanely strategic combat systems I’ve ever seen in an RPG!” Another gamer felt that the new demo, which features dramatic story driven cut scene samples & easy to follow instructions is very exciting, saying that “It was cool to see what my characters can get and become!”

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Q1 2010 Features to look forward to include story driven cut scenes which will be integrated throughout the game, leading the player’s adventures. KWO Advanced Demo will be integrated as an advanced tutorial for the seasoned gamer, and quick keys tips screens will become accessible in game. Krabbitsoft has also announced that Party Play is also coming to Krabbit World Origins. Gather up to four party members consisting of both main and henchie Krabbits as you play through the quest stream. Experience your choice of six classes first hand, each with their unique powers and symbiotic weapon. Take control of individual party members at your discretion leaving the others to fight at your side or from a distance.

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22nd December 2009

Psychoz Releases Their First Title and Xona Updates Duality ZF

Psychoz InteractiveMontrealPsychoz Interactive is proud to announce its first iPhone/iPod touch title, Dead Strike is now available for purchase on the App Store.

Fight your way through a sprawling 3D, zombie-infested city as four survivors attempt to stop an outbreak of the living dead. The creation of an antidote depends on the group delivering a sample of the deadly virus to a hospital on the other side of the city. But as the foursome’s grim fight for survival continues, it becomes apparent that there’s more to the virus than anyone thought possible. As the group are systematically hunted by these abominations of nature, they soon discover that these cannibalistic monsters aren’t as mindless as they look.

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Dead Strike is the action-packed horror survival game the iPhone has been waiting for, with a powerful, twisted storyline, a brutal arsenal of weaponry, stunning graphics and more zombies than a BBQ at George Romero’s house. With a four player co-operative multiplayer mode coming soon in a free update, fans of Left 4 Dead, Killing Floor, Resident Evil and Silent Hill will devour Dead Strike, brains first!

Game Features:

* 46 levels, packed to bursting with legions of the undead.Dead Strike
* Unique abilities for each of the four characters.
* Nine different weapons including flamethrower, mini-gun and chainsaw.
* Original soundtrack with music and lyrics by Ben Spencer and Adrien Volpi
* Dynamic lighting, lens flare, mist and dust effects on all iPhone and iPod touch devices.
* Day and night battles.
* Choose a guns blazing action-packed approach or stealth tactics.
* Incredible AI where the undead react to sounds and action and can communicate with each other in real time.
* Frantic boss battles.
* Expansive and detailed 3D world to explore.
* Rich gripping storyline, edited and co-written by Pure Square Go.
* Buckets of blood splattering effects with sprays and splashes for full-on horror effect.
* Online high scores.

xona gamesYarmouth CountyXona Games has released a new trailer for their in-development title Duality ZF featuring some amazing game-play. In this video you will see the Boss Rush, which will unlocks once you beat the game; multi-directional controls, which unlock when beat all game modes with Dual Play control, and Dual Play control which will unlock once you beat all game modes in Solo Play. Duality ZF looks like one big, mad challenge waiting to happen – and has an awesome soundtrack from Imphenzia.

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27th November 2009

WaveFront Seminar, Another G4Box Update and a Studio Anniversary

wavefrontVancouverWaveFront is holding an Introduction to Nokia platforms and OVI Services seminar session on December 9 at the 2010 Commerce Centre from 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM. This seminar is free, but with limited seating it is recommended that you register as soon as possible.

Attend this interactive seminar to receive an end-to-end overview of Nokia platforms and OVI services. Nokia and its OVI Services offer the largest global reach for application developers with more than one billion people in over 150 countries placing their trust in Nokia devices and services each and every day. Developers will learn about the latest Nokia OVI business opportunities and receive practical advice on how to develop and port your mobile application on Nokia platform and publish it to the OVI Store, an easy way to distribute and monetize your applications and content to Nokia users all over the world.

This is a must attend for wireless, new media and content application developers with an opportunity to network with business and technical specialists from Nokia and local developer peers. You have an opportunity to set up a one-on-one engagement meeting with Nokia business and technical specialists after the seminar at Wavefront’s office from 12-5pm, so please also let us know if you would like to set-up a meeting when you register.

G4BOXToronto – Game Publisher G4BOX Inc., has launched an exciting new update and a store-wide sale for its free military FPS, Cross Fire. The update includes a new Search and Destroy map, three new weapons, limited time Thanksgiving-themed items, and a major anti-hack update.

Just in time for the  American Thanksgiving weekend, Cross Fire and G4BOX have released an exciting new free update! The patch, which is available now, features the all-new Search and Destroy map, “Downtown”, a sprawling urban environment in which players must race to defend or destroy key strategic positions throughout the city. The update also includes three new weapons: the classic CrossFire Holiday ItemsWinchester Rifle, a Thompson SMG and an M16 Scope-Camo. Each of these weapons are available via Black Market GP crates, purchased for free with Cross Fire in-game currency. Finally, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, players will find a Turkey helmet and Turkey backpack available through the Z8Games Item Mall. These two limited-time items will be sold separately or as part of a bundle at a special price. All of these updates come in addition to a major upgrade to Cross Fire’s anti-hack protection.

Also, in the tradition of Black Friday, and as a special thank you to the ever-expanding Cross Fire community, all Cross Fire items in the Z8Games online item mall are on sale at 20% off. The sale will begin November 27th 2009 at 5PM EST and will end on November 29th 2009 at 11:59PM EST.

Cross Fire is a free online military first-person shooter for Windows PCs supporting Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Players assume the role of either a Black List or Global Risk operative and compete in various modes of play including Free-for-All, Team Death Match and the exclusive stealth-action ghost mode. Cross Fire includes a military ranking system, in-game friends lists, an integrated clan system, and deep character customization options. Cross Fire is part of the Z8Games platform of free-to-play games.

Mike Efford Motion DesignToronto – Mike Efford Motion Design celebrates 15 years of creating 3D animation for some of the country’s most successful marketing campaigns. This animation studio has created 3D magic for marketers since 1994, and now predicts vigorous growth in the utilization of computer animation to bring advertiser’s visions to life.

Mike Efford, a 19 year veteran of Toronto’s advertising and graphic design industry, felt that in the future, 3D animated graphics would become a key marketing medium for everyone from retailers to manufacturers to health organizations and more.

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17th November 2009

Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! Launches

A2MMontrealScreenlife and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment are pleased to announce the North American launch of Scene It?® Bright Lights! Big Screen!™, the newest videogame in the Scene It?® family of entertainment trivia games. Developed by Montreal’s Artificial Mind & Movement (A2M), Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! is the first videogame in the Scene It? franchise available for Wii™ and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, and marks a return for the brand to Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! offers families, Hollywood stargazers, casual gamers and movie enthusiasts a lively group gaming experience with thousands of new questions about recent film releases, as well as fan favorite Hollywood hits from the last four decades. Recent hits featured in Scene It? BrightScene It? Wii Version Lights! Big Screen! include The 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad, Hairspray, Tropic Thunder and Get Smart. Classic films featured in Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! include The Karate Kid, Fatal Attraction, The Princess Bride, Sixteen Candles, Night of the Living Dead, Enter the Dragon and Superman.

Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! has enhanced single and multi-player gameplay. Single-player mode tests player speed and knowledge, while multi-player mode allows for a spirited social gameplay experience, perfect for parties and family gatherings. Up to four teams can test their silver screen knowledge with more than 20 different puzzles and minigames across four play modes, providing new and unique ways for Scene It? competitors to engage.

Gamers can play alongside the witty Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! game host and choose from 12 new game avatars based on classic Hollywood genre-inspired icons such as Horror Queen, Desperado, Starlet, Leading Man or Swashbuckler. Players can take the ultimate insider challenge at the end of each round with the Star System minigame to extend their lead or close the gap during competitive matches.

Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! is compatible with multiple controllers including standard console controllers, BUZZ!™ Buzzers and Microsoft’s Big Button controllers. Wii gamers can use the Wii Remote™ to buzz-in and “scratch off” puzzles to reveal hidden images.

Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! is rated “T” for Teen (Drug Reference, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Mild Violence, Sexual Themes) and is available for the suggested retail price of $39.99

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15th November 2009

A Flurry of New Videos From Ubisoft

UbisoftMontrealUbisoft has released several new videos over the past few days on two channels. To watch the latest Assassin’s Creed 2 Lineage short movies, head over to the Ubisoft Assassin’s Creed UK channel for the English versions. If you want to watch the complete movie at one go, it has been released as a 35 minute film, also on the UK channel. To recount the story thus far, assassin Giovanni Auditore is tasked with investigating the plot behind the murder of the Duke of Milan. The answers he uncovers implicate Italy’s most powerful families, and not surprisingly, the evil plot reaches all the way to the Vatican. As Giovanni draws closer to the truth, he too becomes hunted. Now he must not only unravel the threads which lead to the conspirators, he must protect his family. Speaking of family, I may have to show the short movie to my Mother, so that she can see that there is much more to the games I play than just murder, mayhem and blowing things up. I’ve been a gamer for …several… years now, and she still doesn’t “get it” so maybe Lineage will help – at least a little.

There has also been a new dev diary for Avatar the Game released. Viewers can watch and learn more about Avatar in the Na’vi Gameplay Walkthrough video with Executive Producer Patrick Naud.

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Other recent video releases include an Achievements video for Shaun White Snowboarding World Stage and a new Splinter Cell: Convictions “Behind Closed Doors” dev video called Create A Hero.  If you missed Behind Closed Doors Part 1 – Redefining Splinter Cell, you can watch it here.  I may have to pick up the Splinter Cell Convictions novel to read so that I’m more up to speed when Convictions comes out on February 25 2010.  Release timing for this game is excellent – with new titles from Ubisoft and Bioware, I will have loads to do while waiting out the Olympic mayhem that will be occurring on the other side of the Port Mann Bridge during the same time period.

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