Village Gamer

Victoria – Tecagora Solutions Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Yida Mao as Chief Operations Officer of the company. With the recent release of Tecagora’s Snapact Photo Manager and Snapact Photo Sharing Community, Mao’s appointment is anticipated to catapult Snapact into the digital imaging and photo sharing marketplace as a strong contender.

Prior to joining Tecagora, Mr. Mao held influential roles with other successful technology companies in Victoria, most recently as Vice President Technology and Product Development. With a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from McGill University and an MBA from the University of Victoria, Mao possesses over a decade of leading and managing R&D operations for several rapidly growing technology companies. The software technologies and services produced under Mao’s leadership and guidance have reached millions of consumers worldwide.
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As consumer demand for retro style remains high, Canadian company launches first-ever online store dedicated to classic game brand merchandise

Toronto, Ontario (MMD Newswire) October 14, 2008 — Arcade Novelties announced today the launch of its new online store to coincide with the release of its new retro arcade-themed line of clothing and accessories. The shop specializes in casual apparel, home and office décor products and gift items featuring authentic pinball and arcade game artwork.

Many baby boomers will undoubtedly already be familiar with the designs found on the company’s products. “We grew up with these games in coffee shops, restaurants, bowling alleys, pool halls…they were everywhere” says Dave Pauk, President of Arcade Novelties. “First and foremost, our goal was to provide a range of products that appealed to diehard fans, but we also wanted to celebrate the incredible, timeless artwork found on these games by creating greater awareness to a much broader audience”.

While confident that the consumer appetite for retro styled products is at an all-time high within this powerful buying group, Mr. Pauk also believes these images will transcend generations and appeal to a younger audience as well.

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Sony Computer Entertainment America’s New Bluetooth® Headset to Revolutionize Voice Chat on PS3™

Press Release – Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced the availability of SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation. Developed by Vancouver’s Slant Six Games, SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation allows users to experience online combat on a global-scale made only available on the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) system. SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation is available for download directly from PlayStation®Network for $39.99 (SRP) and at retail, both a Blue-ray stand-alone version for $39.99 (SRP) and a bundle version for $59.99 (SRP).  The bundle version of SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation includes the new Official Bluetooth® Headset providing superior voice technology and innovative features built specifically to enhance voice chat during online multiplayer gaming. The Headset also will be available as a stand-alone peripheral for $49.99 (SRP) by early November.

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Toronto, Canada – October 13, 2008 – A new release date has been announced for Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel, the character-driven, non-linear mystery Adventure game for Windows® that invites players to solve the astonishing murder of one of the hotel’s guests and unveil the startling secrets surrounding the mystical Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel. Leading video game publisher Lighthouse Interactive has decided to extend the production schedule in order to further polish the game. Originally scheduled to hit retail shelves this year, Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel will be releasing in Q1 2009.

“Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel brings a fresh gameplay approach to the Adventure game genre,” said Steve Wall, V.P. Business Development at Lighthouse Interactive. “Incorporating multiple paths, consequences, and 5 different endings, which are dependent upon the player’s decisions and behaviour, are key elements that will enhance the Adventure gaming experience.”

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To honour half a century of Oscar® nominations , 12 wins and more than 65 years of valuable work in short film, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will pay tribute to the NFB in a special event on October 23. Organized with the Charles Guggenheim Center for the Documentary Film and the Foundation for the National Archives, the evening will be hosted by animation critic and historian Charles Solomon with an introduction by Academy President Sid Ganis.

The evening will feature a panel discussion with Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the NFB, Tom Perlmutter, producer Marcy Page and director Torill Kove, whose film The Danish Poet/Le poète danois won the Oscar® for Best Short Animation in 2007. Several films, including Neighbours/Voisins (1952), Walking/En marchant (1969), Bob’s Birthday/L’anniversaire de Bob (1993), Ryan (2004) and The Danish Poet/Le poète danois (2006), will be screened.

The event takes place in the William G. McGowan Theater at the National Archives.

VANCOUVER – Fit Brains today announced a new strategic partnership with Prevention.com, the top online health magazine site. The partnership will expand Prevention’s game offerings to include the engaging and scientifically developed brain fitness games by Fit Brains.

With more than 1.7 million unique visitors, Prevention.com is one of the top online destinations for women seeking health, fitness and beauty tips and advice. The new partnership will add to the brain training games channel of Prevention.com, offering a greater variety. Users can access the online brain exercise routine by visiting www.prevention.com/braingames.
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Latest addition will create one of Canada’s leading video game companies

Toronto – SilverBirch Inc. (TSX-V: SVB), a leading digital media company, today announced that it has signed its merger agreement with Red Mile Entertainment, Inc. Red Mile is a California-based video game publisher with worldwide rights to established brands and intellectual properties including the “Heroes” flight combat franchise. Heroes of the Pacific sold over 600,000 copies and the sequel, Heroes Over Europe is expected to ship in March of 2009.

“We are on track in building a multi-platform world-wide video game publishing presence,” commented Derek van der Plaat, CEO of SilverBirch. “Red Mile is expected to contribute meaningful revenues and cashflow in this fiscal year.”

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Casual games designed and produced for “Happiness Factory” digital campaign perform well in inaugural competition

Shift Control Media’s original branded games for the Coca-Cola “Happiness Factory” online environment won a Silver Pencil in the gaming category at Tuesday night’s first-ever One Show Entertainment Awards.
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Toronto – Guitar Hype is the new Web 2.0 Guitar website which provides guitar enthusiasts with a more effective, interactive interface, designed to increase their exposure to the world of guitars.

The development of a new guitar website based on Web 2.0 model with video upload capabilities has been underway since September 16, 2008. The website, called Guitar Hype, will provide guitar enthusiasts with a platform to showcase their talents and increase their exposure to the media and the general public. It will also provide both the up loaders and the audience with an attractive way to watch unique, user-produced guitar videos and songs without the hassle of actively searching for the content.

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This past Saturday we had the pleasure of attending Rock For A Cause, a Rock Band tournament hosted by the EA Canada campus in Burnaby. Approximately 50 teams paid

Juicy

$100.00 each to participate in the tournament which saw them compete in any one of four categories – Corporate, Competitive, Social and Under 18 – with proceeds going to support local Make A Wish programmes.

The top teams from the Corporate, Competitive and Social categories will be going head to head in the event finals which will take place November 6 at The Roxy on Granville Street. Judging from the calibre of true Rock Band talent we witnessed on Saturday, the competition will be fierce.

Bull

I think that without a doubt the most lively and hotly contested category was Corporate, with teams from Bull, Houser & Tupper LLP, Electronic Arts, Active Networks, Next Level Games, The Flight Centre, Blender Media and Club Vibes. On November 6th, we’ll see who the better gamers are – the media geeks or the legal geeks as Team Bull takes on Blender Media’s Laser Hawks.

The entire event was great – from the volunteers who worked long hours and soothed star-powered egos to the gamers in their often clever – often outrageous – costumes. So many teams put so much effort into their whole competition effort that they all deserve some type of recognition. I do have to

Mr. Goulet

say that one of my favourite performers of the day was “Robert Goulet” who gave the audience some entirely original renditions of more than a few rock classics. Another favourite was the all-female group “Juicy” – a few friends who enjoy getting together and playing Rock Band.

It will be a real experience to see how far the tournament’s finalists are willing to push their performances when they take the stage at The Roxy next month. How much more cowbell can Ridonkahyooj put into a song? How much more charismatic can Prizmatick get? Are Bull’s practice hours billable? We’ll just have to wait and see, but in the meantime take a look at our gallery of event photos – with more to be added. We did shoot some live video as well, which we will be adding soon.