Village Gamer

Nightingale Informatix Corporation, an application service provider (ASP) of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) software and related services today announced it has partnered with ExpeData LLC, an innovative software company and global leader in digital writing based in Ohio, to launch “Clinipen”, a potentially game-changing technology within the North American EMR market. Clinipen will enable EMR software providers to deliver an integrated digital writing solution with which healthcare providers can input structured data into a patient’s EMR directly from paper.

“Through this partnership with Nightingale, we will be making the adoption of EMR technology much more appealing to a large segment of North American healthcare providers, which is very exciting,” said Brandon Major, Vice President and COO, ExpeData. “We are looking forward to a successful launch of Clinipen.”

The EDW® digital writing platform from ExpeData leverages Anoto® digital pen and paper technology and Vision Objects’ industry-leading handwriting recognition technologies. ExpeData has demonstrated the effective use of its platform solution in a number of industries, including financial services and certain segments of the healthcare industry. Via the partnership, Nightingale and ExpeData will expand the deployment of the EDW® digital writing platform to the EMR market.

Nightingale and ExpeData have entered into a joint venture agreement for exclusive distribution rights for the Clinipen technology products for the EMR industry in North America. Each company will maintain 50% ownership.

Nightingale On Demand, Nightingale’s leading, web-based EMR, will be the first solution seamlessly integrated with Clinipen. The Clinipen-enabled solution for Nightingale On Demand is expected to become commercially available to physicians in Canada and the United States during the fourth quarter of this calendar year.

“Nightingale is committed to innovation and making the transition from paper records to EMR as seamless as possible for physicians,” said Sam Chebib, President and CEO of Nightingale. “Clinipen will be a major breakthrough in EMR data entry as it will allow healthcare providers to continue using their current paper forms to document patient encounters and write prescriptions. We believe integrating ExpeData’s digital writing technology with Nightingale On Demand will position both companies as leaders in the North American EMR market.”

According to the 2009  study Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians, it is estimated that more than 60% of Canadian physicians are still using paper-based records. A recent independent survey conducted in the US by CompTIA indicated that only 34% of healthcare providers use a comprehensive EMR system, while 16% indicated using a partial system. 29% of respondents indicated that they are evaluating solutions, while 20% indicated that they have not yet started the adoption process. (2nd Annual Healthcare IT Market: Insights and Opportunities Study)

ExpeData and Vision Objects are part of the digital writing investment portfolio held by Myrian Capital, a private equity firm focused on emerging technology businesses.

“Clinipen is a strategic opportunity and provides a natural way to expand our digital writing investment portfolio into the EMR market,” said Paddy Padmanabhan, Managing Director, Myrian Capital. “The advanced input technologies in this joint venture allow physicians to use handwriting, the most natural and flexible data capture method available, to easily transition to electronic records. This provides groundbreaking potential to accelerate EMR adoption.”

Co-founder of Ubisoft Montréal and founder of EA Montréal Alain Tascan has opened the doors to his next large-scale project in Québec’s video game industry: SAVA Transmedia. The new venture is one of the first entirely independent gaming companies specializing in games for social and mobile platforms.

SAVA Transmedia aims to redefine the future of social games so that players can “connect and play on every screen”. The company’s mission is to offer gamers an unparalleled entertainment experience by combining cutting edge technology and design with the artistic vision of the best creative minds in the business. SAVA is devoted to developing innovative, quality social games for new and fast-growing platforms, including Facebook, iOS,  Android and Windows Mobile.

With the establishment of the new studio, SAVA Transmedia plans to create 50 jobs within its first year of operation and aims to add a total of 200 new jobs over the next five years. SAVA Transmedia is not only a great addition to the video game industry, but to Montréal’s economic development as well.

“It is with great pride and enthusiasm that I announce the official opening of SAVA Transmedia, located in the heart of Montréal,” said Alain Tascan, President and CEO of SAVA Transmedia.  “Québec is my adopted home where I have lived and built my career in the video game industry over the last 14 years. I can think of no better place to embark on this exciting new journey than in Montréal with its incredible opportunity and support for entrepreneurship and technology innovation.”

Tascan added, “The combination of social media and new mobile devices has led to the creation of a new market segment for the video game industry. The province of Québec, and Montréal in particular, rank among the world’s best in terms of video game production, and our goal at SAVA is to now make it the global hub for social gaming.”

“The opening of a new video game development studio in Montréal demonstrates once again that this city is a key global player in the entertainment software industry,” noted Raymond Bachand, Minister of Finance, Minister of Revenue and the Minister responsible for the Montreal region. “SAVA Transmedia will immediately create jobs and will also contribute to the development of local expertise in this continuously growing industry, namely in social media.”

The President of the Montréal Board of Trade Mr. Michel Leblanc was also in attendance to mark the occasion. “We welcome SAVA Transmedia to our city with a great sense of enthusiasm and today’s announcement is another example that Montréal is a global leader in the gaming industry, and in particular in this new rapidly growing social media category” said Mr. Leblanc. “Efforts to ensure our next generation of workers are generating encouraging results, with an ever growing number of graduates.”

SAVA Transmedia will start recruiting and hiring immediately. As part of its search it will be seeking talented programmers, designers and graphic artists to build the foundation of the company for the future.

“We plan to hire employees that are ready for a new adventure in the gaming industry,” stated Tascan.  “I want to bring together a passionate team composed of industry veterans and young, promising talent. I encourage potential candidates to visit www.sava.com or to email us at info@sava.com for more information.”

The global social games market is estimated at nine billion dollars and should double over the next five years, reaching 20 billion dollars by 2015. From 2010 to 2015, the social games markets of China and the United States should expect annual growth of 20% and 15%, respectively, according to a study on the Future in Digital Media conducted by William & Blair Company. (The Future in Digital Media. Chicago, 2011. p.1)

Currently, there are just under 300 million previous generation gaming consoles in the market. In comparison, there are 1.6 billion social network accounts, 150 million games for Apple devices and approximately 20 million Android devices. The combination of social media and new mobile devices led to the creation of a new market segment for the video game industry, and this segment will continue to grow, again according the Future in Digital Media report.

Online gaming is increasing in popularity, specifically after the arrival of games in social networks. In 2010, 30% of Québecers online took part in games on the Internet during a given month, as compared to 21% in 2009. Gaming ranks third overall in terms of most popular entertainment sources on the Internet, behind watching videos and watching TV / listening to the radio. ⁽CEFRIO. Divertissement en ligne : place au jeux sociaux. Montréal, 2010. p.5)

Online Québecers enjoy different types of games: 21% entertain themselves on sites dedicated to games, 11% do it on social networking sites and 9% play over a network on consoles over the Internet. ⁽CEFRIO. Divertissement en ligne : place au jeux sociaux. Montréal, 2010. p.5)

The Entertainment Software Association of Canada is unveiling its 2011 Report on the Canadian Entertainment Software Industry (PDF) right about now at a luncheon event in Toronto. This year’s report shows that our industry, while undergoing somewhat of a metamorphosis, is maturing and becoming more mainstream as games become more and more a part of modern culture.

The study was conducted by Secor, and shows the many components of the digital media industry sector that play a part in Canada’s success as a leading developer of entertainment software. From schools to ancillary contractors and service providers, it is apparent that our national development landscape is comprised of highly talented people across the creative, technological and managerial sectors.

There is a wealth of information contained in this latest study, but I will not go into a lot of detail here, because I feel that it’s more important for those of you who are stakeholders in the entertainment software industry to read and digest the information for yourselves.

The main drivers of this success as a national video gaming industry include:

• Being predominantly a ‘made-in-Canada’ industry: many of the most important video games and video game companies were started in Canada by Canadians.
• Offering increasingly rich ecosystems of video game development and related support companies, providing to publishers the ability to build and test all components of a new product locally.
• Producing well-trained talent, particularly at the university and college levels.

As well as our having attractive economics for video game companies:

• Canadian governments at both the federal and provincial levels have developed a range of programs applicable to video game companies.
• Over several decades and until very recently, the Canadian dollar has been relatively cheap in comparison to the U.S. dollar.
• Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto, Canada’s dominant video game clusters, are well-known for their quality of life and more broadly, Canada itself has long been known as a desirable country to live and do business in.
• Positioning between the export markets of Asia and Europe, and in the same time zones as the major U.S.-based video game publishers.
• Being a multicultural society, Canada has significant language and cultural overlaps with the United States, Europe, and Asia.
• Receiving support from a variety of video game and interactive/digital industry associations
• Attracting frequent and well-informed attention from the Canadian media.

Overall industry developments since the release of the previous report in 2009 include the arrival of tablets and the increasing penetration of smart phones, along with the success of motion-sensor games and changes in the console introduction cycles. As well, there have been changes within the Video Gaming Categories as a whole, with console gaming profits still concentrating on blockbusters and Triple A console publishers increasing the proportion of their revenue earned through online sales. The rise of social, mobile and cloud gaming has also played a significant role in both industry changes and challenges.

As you read through this report, you will see how important it is for companies to participate in studies such as this, and it was somewhat disheartening to see that information about companies from an entire province was not included in the overall snapshot of our national positioning because no companies from the province participated in the study. I will not reveal which province it was, because as I mentioned above, I feel that all of you should download and study this report to interpret what it means not only for your company but for the future of digital media production in Canada. I’ve said many times that if we want to see Canada move to the top of the global list and dominate the world in entertainment software, we will all have to work together to get there. Just as each title is more often than not a team effort, so should the health of this industry be a national effort.

I am not naive in thinking that regional politics, economics and personalities won’t always play a part in this industry, but I think there comes a time when those politics need to be set aside for the greater good of our success, because we can accomplish more with team work than by pitting sectors against each other and diluting the quality not only of our titles but of our community.

Congratulations to everyone at ESAC and Secor – and to those companies who participated –  for producing a very insightful and informative report – and thank you for letting me play a small part in the final product.

Funcom has released a developer diary for its upcoming and highly anticipated modern-day MMO ‘The Secret World’. Watch as the developers delve into the story behind the game, and take a look at some of the many unique missions in the game. With hundreds of voiced characters, ‘The Secret World’ offers a rich and immersive gaming experience with a storyline that dares to go deep into the realm of myths and legends.

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

‘The Secret World’ is a next-generation massively multiplayer online game for the PC platform, where players are given total freedom to create and progress their characters, unbound by the restrictions of classes and levels. Players will get the opportunity to join one of the three secret societies and fight for power over important locations throughout our own world.  Players will also journey through familiar places across the globe, such as Egypt, New England, London, New York and Seoul and battle monsters of myth and legend.

Monster Media, an Orlando-based company with an office in Oakville and BMO Bank of Montreal have installed a monster-sized, 12′ X 7.5′ interactive electronic marketing display, prominently placed in Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, in an effort to capture the attention and the interest of more than 20 million travellers who move in and out of Pearson’s Terminal 1 domestic departures level each year.

The bright, bold display is comprised of an interactive memory game and credit card rewards calculator, promoting the bank’s new premium travel rewards credit card, BMO World Elite MasterCard.

“The sheer scale of the installation gives the display a fantastic presence for our World Elite MasterCard and for the BMO brand,” says Su McVey, VP, Marketing, BMO Bank of Montreal. “It’s a creative and effective way for us to build awareness amongst a key market segment – frequent travellers – about BMO World Elite’s superior travel benefits, using touch screen technology on a grand scale. The game provides travellers with an engaging way to get to know us a bit better.”

Travellers can test their memory by uncovering matching icons hidden behind the display’s virtual screen panels. The icons represent various BMO World Elite credit card features. Players can also calculate how many points they can earn – and what destinations they can travel to – by sliding a virtual scale over a range of monthly credit card spend amounts.

Ms. McVey says the display has a practical benefit beyond its sheer entertainment value. “Customers become engaged in the game and walk away with a much more immediate sense of if and how BMO World Elite MasterCard fits their travel needs,” she explained.

“We already have a strong presence in top airports across the U.S. and this new partnership is a natural and major step in our strategy to aggressively expand our presence throughout Canada,” said David Leetham, vice president of Canadian sales for Monster Media. “We are very pleased to be working with BMO to be the first to bring this engaging, interactive and effective form of advertising to a Canadian airport.”

The Pearson installation is another “first” for Monster Media and BMO. Last year, BMO introduced Canada’s first large-format digital storefront game to pedestrians outside the bank’s flagship Toronto branch at King and Bay Streets. Passersby were challenged to tend goal against five virtual youth soccer players. The campaign supported BMO’s sponsorship of grassroots soccer across Canada.

Google Earth continues to be a popular way to showcase 3D versions of Canadian communities to the global audience.  Vancouver and Toronto are so popular that they have been added to Google’s Building Maker online 3D modeling tool.  This tool allows 3D freelancers from around the world to remotely create 3D buildings for these cities.

Local governments of smaller Canadian communities like Fredericton and Banff have successfully tapped into Google’s ‘Cities in 3D Program’.  These municipalities understand the benefits of having a 3D model of their communities for use in promoting economic development, boosting tourism and visualizing community planning.

For smaller towns and villages, there are businesses like Nanaimo’s JAC GeoDesign that specialize in creating 3D models of buildings and structures to showcase on Google Earth.  Owner Judith Chinn is Canada’s First Google Certified Geo 3D Developer.  “My business gives me the opportunity to showcase our well known Canadian communities alongside some of our hidden gems to a regional, national and global audience,” says Chinn.

Businesses like Chinn’s are popping up all over the world.  They service businesses, as well as, communities.  They create 3D buildings to help preserve and share our past, promote our current state, and help plan our future

The Beban House - Tourism Nanaimo

development.  According to Chinn, “Google Certified Geo 3D Developers from around the world are in regular contact with each other and Google Earth representatives.  We get to share our experiences, troubleshoot issues, collaborate on projects and celebrate our successes.”

Advancements in technology offer new and exciting ways to showcase Canada’s 3D communities.  New applications for mobile devices are being developed showcasing 3D models in Augment Reality.  In New York City, tourist can use touch screens monitors to create and view a 3D tour of their itinerary.  3D models can be imported into 3D gaming software.

Chinn will be celebrating her first  year in business next week.  “It has been a challenging first year.  It is not easy to introduce a new service into the marketplace.  I spend much of my time educating and informing the public and potential clients about the benefits and versatility of showcasing locations in 3D.  The community of Nanaimo has been very supportive of my efforts.”  The Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce recently, presented Chinn with the 2011 Sterling Business Award for New Business.  “I am hoping to gain additional support from my fellow Canadians as I expand my service throughout Canada,” says Chinn.

Electronic Arts Inc. has announced that EA Sports™ has developed the Player Impact Engine, a new physics engine that will deliver revolutionary changes to the best^ sports videogame on the planet. Two years in development, the new Player Impact Engine inside FIFA Soccer 12 delivers real-world physicality in every interaction on the pitch. It is one of several major innovations for FIFA Soccer 12 that have been inspired by the real-world game and created by the FIFA development team at EA Canada – and is available now for Pre-Order.

The transformation FIFA Soccer 12 has undergone is revolutionary not evolutionary,” said Kaz Makita, Executive Producer for the FIFA franchise, which has won 136 videogame awards the past three years. “To create the best and most authentic FIFA game ever, we needed new technology to deliver on our vision. Fans will see, and more importantly feel, the significance of the Player Impact Engine immediately.”

The game-changing new Player Impact Engine will drive FIFA Soccer 12 on the PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®. Fans will experience the way real-world players challenge each other for the ball, win possession, and test each other physically. The Impact Engine processes decisions continuously in real-time at every point of contact on a player’s body to create an infinite variety of natural and believable outcomes in every collision. Players now feel more resilient, push and pull during the fight for possession, and recover from light challenges more easily.

Revolutionary gameplay innovations inspired by the real-world sport make FIFA Soccer 12 deeper and more engaging. All-new Precision Dribbling delivers a higher fidelity of touch on the ball for attacking players, while Tactical Defending makes defending as skilful and meaningful as real-world soccer. Plus, players have been infused with Pro Player Intelligence, the next generation of player intelligence and performance, and the new Career Mode delivers real-world storylines that brings enhanced depth and realism to the experience. Read the rest of this entry »

Get ready to start texting, tweeting and chatting like crazy, because keeping in touch with fellow Canadians just got a lot easier, cheaper and, well, a lot more fun! Boston company Heywire has launched HeyWire Canada as the very first iOS texting app to provide a Canadian phone number for unlimited texting (real SMS) to any mobile phone in Canada and to 45 countries for only $1.99 per month.

Whether you’re living in Canada, traveling on vacation or living abroad, HeyWire Canada provides an easy, inexpensive texting alternative using a Canadian phone number for connecting with friends and family in Canada and to 45 countries, including the U.S., Mexico, China, and countries within the Caribbean, South and Central America. Think of the HeyWire texting service as having a second line for your iPhone or a primary phone line for your iPod touch or iPad with access to unlimited texting greatness!

HeyWire Canada is available for $1.99/month. As a month-to-month subscription, you have the option to stop the service any time. So check-it out! Here’s how:

Step #1 – Make sure your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad has access to a 3G mobile data service or Wi-Fi.

Step #2 – Download HeyWire Canada from the iTunes App Store Social Networking category for free. Open the app, complete registration and simply purchase your Canadian phone number with unlimited texting for only $1.99/month. After that, once per month you will be reminded to renew so you can keep your Canadian number and unlimited texting. Yup, really easy! Read the rest of this entry »

With the release of its financial results for the first quarter of 2011, Videotron has announced some exciting plans for the rest of the year – and its customers will be the first to benefit. With reliable and robust land and mobile networks, state-of-the-art handsets and tablets, new HD channels and the most advanced platforms, Videotron customers already enjoy a wide array of benefits in terms of products, services, technological developments and entertainment.

“We know that the full range of telecommunications products and services that Videotron now offers or will soon be offering meets the growing needs of our customers because we are so close to them,” said Robert Dépatie, President and CEO of Videotron. “For example, the recent launch of our illico web and illico mobile services lets customers watch their favourite content on the platform of their choice, while saving money thanks to product bundling and one-stop shopping. This empowers Videotron customers and gives them a freedom of choice found nowhere else. In fact, it is thanks to our customers that Videotron was ranked the mobile carrier with the highest customer satisfaction rate in Eastern Canada.(1) We owe this honour to our loyal customer base, and to our people.”

As at March 31, 2011, the company boasted a total of 164,700 subscriber connections, including 143,600 connections to its new 4G network. Since the end of April, the residents of Saguenay–Lac Saint-Jean and several other municipalities across Québec have had access to the Company’s mobile services. Read the rest of this entry »

In its first seven months of operations, the BCTIA‘s Centre4Growth initiative has already exceeded its Year 1 projections, including servicing over 100 clients in its CEO’s-in-Residence program. Through the assistance and guidance received at Centre4Growth, client companies have raised a total of $5.5M in new revenue and investment and expanded their workforce by a total of 31 new employees. The Centre4Growth is a new entrepreneur services initiative from the BC Technology Industry Association that provides a number of services to start-up and emerging technology companies in BC.

The mandate of the Centre4Growth program is to boost the capacity of BC’s technology entrepreneurs and their management teams, with the goal to further grow and develop BC’s innovation economy.

“It’s one thing to start a new technology company, but it’s another thing to grow that company from 5 employees to 25 or better yet, 100 employees,” said Pascal Spothelfer, President & CEO, BCTIA. “Through our research and advocacy efforts, we’ve heard a lot from entrepreneurs and investors about the need to grow the management capacity within our tech companies. Centre4Growth is without a doubt addressing these challenges, our client load proves there is a need, and our results in just seven months indicates that Centre4Growth is working.”

The core of the Centre4Growth initiative is a one-on-one coaching program provided by seasoned CEOs-in-Residence. By working directly with these experienced technology executives, tech entrepreneurs receive confidential coaching, as well as referrals into other C4G services designed to assist in the growth of their companies. Read the rest of this entry »