Village Gamer

Electronic Arts Inc. has revealed that its top-selling franchise from EA Sports™ will redefine player authenticity when FIFA Soccer 11 launches this Fall. FIFA Soccer 11 reinvents player authenticity – on and off the ball – for every player and at every position on the pitch with Personality+, an all-new feature that sees individual abilities reflected in game, enabling clear differentiation for every player.

“Personality+ is the evolution of individual distinctiveness that sees a player’s abilities on the pitch mirrored authentically in our game, creating individual personalities in FIFA Soccer 11,” said Executive Producer Kaz Makita. “We have reached a level of sophistication within our game engine where players in our game will behave and perform as true individuals.”

Personality+ distinguishes individual players from one another by utilizing a database that evaluates and grades each player’s skill-set over 36 attributes and 57 traits. The EA Sports FIFA Soccer franchise utilizes a network of 1,700 scouts, editors and reviewers positioned around the world to evaluate each player, creating one of the world’s most comprehensive databases to drive its market-leading soccer engine. Personality+ will be integrated everywhere in-game. Elite players are now empowered to showcase their world class skills. Real Madrid’s Kaka will deliver crisp, creative passes, Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta will utilize tighter turns and close control to dribble through defenses, Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney will hold off defenders and strike shots from distance with pace, and top-flight defenders like Giorgio Chiellini of Juventus will anticipate, predict and react to offensive players to win back possession. New body types and player models will further distinguish each player on the pitch. In addition, goalkeepers have also been injected with Personality+. The real-life personality of the keeper, whether acrobatic or traditional, will dictate his style in game. Dive attributes will determine the keepers with the ability to reach for further shots while reflex attributes determine reaction times, so a keeper like Petr Cech of Chelsea FC will be able to showcase world-class skills.

FIFA Soccer 11 introduces 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, yielding a deeply rewarding passing system. Poor decisions or over/under striking the ball will mean error-prone outcomes. New types of passes such as swerve passes will enable players to make a safer and more effective play.

Building on FIFA Soccer 10 gameplay that won 50 sports game of the year awards, FIFA Soccer 11 continues to listen to its growing legion of EA Sports FIFA fans around the world to refine gameplay in ways that matter most to fans.  FIFA Soccer 11 will be available in stores world-wide this Fall for the PlayStation®3, Xbox 360®, Wii™, PC, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo DS™, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and mobile.

Interactive Ontario has announced that ‘Open Mobile’ Author Ajit Jaokar, Founder of futuretext in London, UK will keynote the iP3 Forum on June 21st in Toronto. During his keynote presentation, Ajit will explore the future of mobile and web technologies, and how an open ecosystem could drive innovation in technical and business strategies.

“As member of the Economic World Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of the Internet, and with his intensive experience and research into open mobile strategies, Ajit will provide key insights into the world of technological innovation past and future,” says Sarah Baird, Co-Chair of the iP3 Forum Advisory Board and VP, Programmes and Operations at Interactive Ontario. “We are thrilled Ajit will kick-start the iP3 Forum with mind-expanding ideas of where we’re all headed.”

realtech VR has released Beware of the Bad Seed 1.0, a new fast-paced arcade game for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad (in high resolution) where players must protect the magical garden and save the daisy against never ending waves of naughty carnivorous plants. Beware of the Bad Seed is an addictive and sweaty revamped version of the arcade room classic “Whack a mole” with a 3D, vegetable twist. Use your finger to hit all the carnivorous plants and make sure not to hit the daisies that appear on the screen.

Feature Highlights:

* Includes universal version with full realtime 3D rendering for iPhone, iPhone 3GS and iPad with high resolution support.
* Three game modes: Time attack, Arcade and Tic-tac-toe.
* Landscape and Portrait orientation with auto-rotation.
* Personal scoreboard and ever increasing challenge.

Future updates with iOS 4 Game Center integration coming this summer with leaderboard, friends and more. To celebrate this release, realtech VR will be offering a discount on their other titles from June 10th through June 12th.

* Iron Fist Boxing Prestige Edition (with up to 200,000 download on the App Store) for 0.99$ instead for 4.99$
* Iron Fist Boxing Lite Full Version Upgrade for 0.99$ instead of 3.99$
* SkyORB 3D Premium Upgrade for 0.99$ (with up to 200,000 download on the App Store) instead of 2.99$
* Laserlink for Free instead of 0.99$

Victoria’s Tecagora Solutions is pleased to announce that Snapact Photo Manager is now available through the Intel AppUp Center.

The Intel AppUp Center allows netbook users to browse, purchase, download, and install software applications that have been optimized to operate on netbooks and the Intel Atom processor through the AppUp Center on their netbook. The AppUp Center is specifically designed for netbooks as a mobile store font that is launched as an application on the netbook. When launched, users can search for netbook software applications based on category type, or they can view featured software titles, “Staff Picks,” “What’s Hot,” or “New Releases.”

“Snapact Photo Manager has been designed to be fast and light on system resources,” states Bruce Kwan, President and CEO of Tecagora Solutions. “When installed on a computer hard drive, Snapact is less than 6 MB in size. Therefore, the software does not use up a lot of hard drive space making more room available for other software applications and files. Because of its speed and file size, Snapact is a great fit for netbook users looking for a photo viewer, manager, and sharing tool. We are excited to offer our solution for all netbook users to use through the AppUp Center,” says Kwan.

The AppUp Center is a tool for netbook users to quickly search for and find software applications that have been optimized, quality tested, and verified to run on netbooks and the Intel Atom processor. Netbook users can download, install, launch, uninstall, and purchase software applications directly through the AppUp Center on their netbook. Many of the netbooks shipped in 2010 will include the AppUp Center pre-installed, however, the AppUp Center is also available for direct download from Intel.

With more than 200,000 applications available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, more and more companies are reaching their customers through iPhone apps – a trend that is expected to grow rapidly following the recent release of Apple’s iPad touch-tablet.

Push notifications allow companies to stay in touch with app users or to allow them to interact with each other. Manic’s server software puts companies tapping the burgeoning market for iPhone and iPad apps in full control of theiiir push messaging, allowing for unlimited messages without additional cost.

“Our idea for the Manic APNs came out of our experience developing our unique multi-player gaming network,” says Randy Byers of Ottawa-based Manic Networks. “But we quickly realized that a way to reach millions of users within a matter of minutes at no additional cost would have huge appeal to many types of companies doing business on the iPhone/iPad platform.”

Manic’s Linux-based server software runs on company-owned servers or on hosted cloud servers for a fraction of the cost it would take to develop in-house – and with no limits or per-message cost. Depending on hardware and connectivity, Manic APNsServer can send 400,000 messages per minute or more – close to 25 million messages an hour.

Have you ever carried 100 books in your pocket? On June 13, people who own any one of the Nintendo DS™ family of systems can buy 100 Classic Books, a compilation of some of the greatest works of classic literature. But the best part is that the entire collection is available at a suggested retail price of just $19.99. And users with broadband Internet access can wirelessly download 10 additional books at no extra charge.

The postage stamp-sized game card includes a variety of books for all different ages, including seven separate works by Charles Dickens. There are novels that people can enjoy on the beach, such as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice; adventure and mystery novels that can be devoured during summer travels, such as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle or Bram Stoker’s Dracula; and books that kids can read at home, such as The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

“100 Classic Books transforms your Nintendo DS system into a portable library,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Readers of any age will enjoy exploring the many worlds, characters and adventures created by these icons of literature.”

Readers hold their Nintendo DS systems sideways like a book. To turn the page, they just swipe the touch screen with the stylus or a finger. The settings can even be flipped for left-handed users. A virtual bookmark lets readers return to where they left off. Up to three bookmarks can be used to mark a reader’s place in three different books. Large and small fonts are available. Each book includes a biography of the author and a synopsis of the plot and characters.

People who aren’t sure which book they want to read can answer a series of questions about their preferences, and the software will recommend some books they might like. Once a book is finished, readers can rate it in different categories and upload the results wirelessly to a central database using Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection. Then other readers can see which books have been rated “funniest” or “most exciting.” Readers can also share demos of select books with other Nintendo DS owners who want to sample some literature for themselves.

The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) released an important new study (PDF) today showing that independent producers continue to receive little or no compensation from Canadian broadcasters for the digital rights to their programming.

“The results of the study unfortunately only confirm what we’ve been hearing for the past several years from our membership – that we have a long way to go in establishing a vibrant digital rights marketplace in Canada,” says Norm Bolen, President & CEO of the CFTPA. “These results underscore the need for Terms of Trade between broadcasters and independent producers, as the CRTC itself reaffirmed in its recent television group licensing policy framework.”

The study, Towards a Framework for Digital Rights, included a comprehensive survey of the CFTPA’s members. More than half (56%) of respondents indicated that they did not receive any additional compensation for the digital (Internet and mobile) rights to their shows, whether in the form of an incremental license fee or a revenue share. At the same time, a majority of respondents indicated that they were not confident about their estimates of the market value for digital rights in Canada.

“What the study really demonstrates is that independent producers don’t have access to the data they need in order to be full participants in the Canadian digital rights marketplace,” says John Barrack, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer of the CFTPA. “It’s hardly surprising that so many producers are giving away their digital rights essentially for free – they are subject to enormous broadcaster pressure to hand over these rights and they don’t have the informational yardsticks they need to help them effectively negotiate equitable deals for their shows.”

In addition to surveying CFTPA members, interviews were also conducted with broadcasters, distributors and digital aggregators operating in the major English-language markets (Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand) to obtain their views about the state of the digital rights marketplace. In Canada, however, the major private conventional and speciality TV broadcasters declined to be interviewed for the study.

“The lack of participation by the big private broadcast groups is disappointing,” says Reynolds Mastin, CFTPA Counsel. “We believe greater transparency is in the interests of all industry stakeholders, and that this can be achieved without revealing confidential commercial information belonging to either broadcasters or independent producers. We also think that the CRTC has taken a step in the right direction by pushing to obtain more data regarding the online activities of Canadian broadcasters. Provided that it asks the right questions and obtains the right data, we are confident that the Commission can serve as the catalyst for an industry dialog about how we collectively move forward in this complex and dynamic area.”

The study was supported by Ontario Media Development Corporation, with additional funding contributions by a number of key production industry funders, including the Association of Provincial Film Funding Agencies, the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, the Canada Media Fund, the National Film Board and the Shaw Rocket Fund.

“The fact that so many key funders of Canadian programming are seeking the same information as independent producers shows that there is an emerging consensus regarding the importance of having reliable data about the commercial terms for digital rights,” siays Barrack.

Wattpad has launched its annual writing contest, The Watty Awards. During the MTV Movie Awards on June 6th, Wattpad joined thousands of fans online to chat about the show and announce The Watty Awards.

In 2009, Wattpad’s writing contest generated almost 10,000 submissions and contributed to some stories being read over four million times. This year, Wattpad has expanded its annual contest to include even more prizes and awards categories.

The contest is similar to how the MTV Movie Awards work; readers can vote for their favorite stories in brand new categories such as Best Cast, Best Imaginative Setting, Best Fictional Couple, Best Sci-Fi Novel and Best Mystery. Writers will post their stories on Wattpad and then choose their dream cast of celebrities to play the fictional characters. The stories with the most votes will be nominated for the finals.

To accommodate the growing number of users who access Wattpad on their mobile devices and iPads, readers will be able to vote for their favorite stories using the new Wattpad app for iPad/iPod. Additionally, readers can vote for entries on www.wattpad.com, by liking a story on Facebook and by tweeting it on Twitter.

“Building off the success of last year’s event, we expect to see an increase in the number of writers participating in the 2010 Watty Awards,” predicts Wattpad CEO and co-founder Allen Lau. “Wattpad contests are a great way to encourage writers to create original content and take advantage of Wattpad’s unique social networking platform to grow their fan base. Last year’s winning story has been read almost three million times on Wattpad and the author was interviewed by mainstream news media including ITV in the UK.”

The winner of the Watty Award for “Best Overall Story” will win a Masterpiece Package from Wattpad publishing partner Lulu. Thousands of dollars in additional prizes will be awarded to winners in dozens of other categories.

The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, today announced the results of the Investment Canada Act Review of the Icahn Group’s application to acquire control of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

“The investor has shown its willingness to promote Canadian cultural products,” said Minister Moore. “This decision is good for Canada. It will result in Lions Gate maintaining or increasing Canadian film and television production and protect and preserve Canadian jobs.”

The proposed acquisition has been approved under the Investment Canada Act, based on a number of commitments made by the Icahn Group. Most importantly, if the investor acquires control of Lions Gate, the investor has committed to:

* maintaining Lions Gate’s employment and film production in Canada
* extending the agreement with the Société générale de financement du Québec to produce films in Quebec
* ensuring that once under separate ownership, Maple Pictures has the exclusive right to distribute Lions Gate films in Canada for 10 years
* providing financial support to organizations that help less fortunate Canadians experience Canadian culture
* increasing support for Canadian cultural events

These commitments are in compliance with Canada’s long-standing policy on foreign investment in the film distribution sector. Under the Investment Canada Act, approval of the Minister of Canadian Heritage is required when a business transaction could result in the acquisition of control of a Canadian cultural business by a non-Canadian.

Today, 30 Grade 10 students from coast to coast are on their way to securing a post-secondary education as recipients of this year’s CIBC Youthvision Scholarships, valued at up to $36,000 each. This one-of-a-kind program has already helped 330 previous winners fulfill their academic aspirations in the last 10 years from a multi-year $10 million commitment from CIBC.

Early intervention in Grade 10 makes this scholarship program unique in Canada. CIBC Youthvision targets high-potential young people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to pursue a university or college education. The scholarship supports them in completing both their high school and post-secondary studies.

“Winning the CIBC Youthvision Scholarship means a lot to my family and me because now my mother doesn’t have to worry about where the money is going to come from when it’s time for me to go to college or university,” said Raquel Simpson of Scarborough. “I’m happy that I can now fulfill my goals of what I want to be and not wonder how I’m going to get there.”

To be eligible, Grade 10 students must be enrolled in a mentoring program with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada or the YMCA.

Winners of the CIBC Youthvision Scholarship receive six summer internships through the YMCA that begin right after Grade 10, valued at up to $20,000; and tuition for four years, valued at up to $16,000. They also receive ongoing mentoring from either Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada or the YMCA until they graduate from their post-secondary education.

A comprehensive independent study of the first 10 years of the CIBC Youthvision Scholarship program revealed that early intervention relieves financial stress, and builds confidence and self-esteem. It also encourages independence, enabling students to do more in-depth life and educational planning. Ultimately, the scholarship motivates them to do better. Most graduate recipients of the program have gone on to continue or attain higher levels of education after their undergraduate or college degrees.

“On behalf of CIBC, I congratulate this year’s 30 new scholarship recipients and wish them every success as they work to achieve their academic goals,” said Gerry McCaughey, CIBC’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “I am confident that they, like the hundreds of CIBC Youthvision Scholarship recipients before them, will use this support to go on to post-secondary education and then on to successful lifelong careers.”

In addition to their individual CIBC Youthvision Scholarships, Ms. Nawras Ottawa-Sabih of Hamilton is also the recipient of the 2010 Neil Morgan Volunteer Award for exemplary voluntary contributions to her community. Ms. Alita Mann of Saskatoon is this year’s winner of the Ted Medland Achievement Award for attaining the highest academic achievement of this year’s group of CIBC Youthvision Scholarship winners.

Liam LaTouche received the CIBC Youthvision Scholarship in 2001 and graduated in 2007 from the University of Western Ontario with an Honours Bachelor of Science Specialization in Kinesiology. “The CIBC Youthvision Scholarship opened so many doors for me,” he said. “It gave me the chance to grow as a person and along the career path I always dreamed of. I knew I wanted to go to university to get where I wanted to be, but I didn’t have the means to go. I would have had a ton of debt from student loans. Getting the scholarship was so overwhelming. It gave me the chance to leave home and tailor my career path towards sports medicine by studying at Western, which has propelled me in my field.”

Renowned for connecting people and systems to global mobile broadband networks, Peer 1 Hosting was named Company of the Year at the 2010 Technology Impact Awards (TIAs) hosted by the BC Technology Industry Association (BCTIA).

With a mantra of “Ping and People,” PEER 1 Hosting demonstrates excellence by delivering reliable, high-performance Web hosting solutions for its customers. “Ping” is PEER 1’s superior technology while “People” represents its absolute commitment to customer service. Its private 10GB IT SuperNetworktm encompasses 13,000 miles and 17 data centres and allows PEER 1 to guarantee 100% uptime to over 10,000 customers.

The 2010 Person of the Year Award went to Ward Chapin, former CIO of VANOC, the organizing committee of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, for his responsibility in overseeing the complex IT environment behind the games. Chapin is to be congratulated for recruiting and leading a highly productive, effective and motivated team. Clients of VANOC’s IT infrastructure included nearly 7,000 athletes and officials, 50,000 workforce members, 10,800 media personnel and 3.5 billion TV viewers.

Earning the Community Leadership Award was full-service interactive agency FCV with its corporate HELP philosophy. HELP which stands for Health, Emergency Response, Learning and Participation is a strategic framework to make BC a better place to live, work and connect. At the centre of FCV’s HELP network is the belief that we’re all a part of something bigger – an ongoing movement that inspires people to achieve and to contribute to their community.

Over 800 representatives from BC’s technology and business community came together at the state-of-the-art Vancouver Convention Centre West Building to recognize British Columbia’s top technologies, companies and individuals. This year, over 100 applications for the TIAs were received from technology companies of all sectors and sizes and from all corners of British Columbia. Other winners include:

Most Promising Pre-Commercial Technology: Icron Technologies
Best Application of Technology: Nexterra Systems Corp.
Excellence in Product Innovation: Simba Technologies Inc.
Most Promising Start-up: Indicee Inc.
Emerging Company of the Year: Avigilon Corporation
Team of the Year: MDA Corporation

“Tonight’s winners and finalists reaffirm the diversity of BC’s technology sector, delivering cross-cutting innovations that touch all sectors of the economy,” said Pascal Spothelfer, President and CEO of BCTIA. “We congratulate all winners and finalists for their ingenuity, adaptability and particularly their resilience in a challenging economic climate – they help to put the spotlight on BC by making their mark on the world.”

Also at the Technology Impact Awards, eight British Columbia students were awarded a combined $11,000 in scholarship grants from the BC Technology Industry Association (BCTIA). The scholarship awards were presented by the Honourable Iain Black, Minister of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development.

“Supporting higher education is critical to creating a knowledge economy”, stated Pascal Spothelfer, President and CEO of the BCTIA. “British Columbia has built a reputation for producing and attracting great talent. We are happy to assist in the continued development of great talent through this scholarship program”, Spothelfer added.

The BC Technology Scholarship program is designed to support hard-working and accomplished young people in their pursuit of technology-related education. Applicants must be enrolled in either business or science programs in a technology-related field and are selected on a basis of both merit and need.

Illustrating the continual need for knowledge-based talent, the recent 2010 TechTalentBC Labour Demand study commissioned by the BCTIA showed that despite the recent economic downturn, the British Columbia’s technology industry can expect to re-enter a talent crunch situation within the next 12 to 18 months.

Two grants valued at $2,500 were awarded to post-secondary students currently studying either business or science in a technology-related field. The recipients were:

Mr. Scott Hirsch – Simon Fraser University

Mr. Jonathan Kehler – Simon Fraser University

Six $1000 grants were awarded to high school graduates who are pursuing technology education at a BC post-secondary institution. The recipients were:

Ms. Colleen Chau – Mount Douglas Secondary School, Victoria

Mr. Scott Jennings – Correlieu Secondary School, Quesnel

Mr. Dhruva Nathan – Ballenas Secondary School, Parksville

Ms. Christina Noel – Sa-Hali Secondary School, Kamloops

Mr. Michael Peters – Glenlyon Norfolk School, Victoria

Ms. Riana Sartori – Delta Secondary School, Delta

“Scholarships like these help students to continue developing their abilities, and prepare them for successful and creative careers in BC’s growing technology industry,” says Minister Black. “I congratulate all of the students for their accomplishments – and the BCTIA for its foresight in establishing and funding these scholarships.”

The BCTIA launched the Technology Scholarship Fund at its 2005 Technology Impact Awards dinner, seeding the fund with a donation of $10,000. Since then the fund has grown to over $250,000 with all contributions coming from industry.

The 39 Clues™ is giving 33 lucky children from around the world a reason to celebrate, as Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education, and media company, announces the seventh round of cash prizes in The New York Times bestselling multi-media book series, totaling $18,060. To date, more than one million children from around the globe have registered to digitize cards, play games and earn points, and over the course of the two-year 10-book series, $125,000 in prizes will have been awarded. Kids ages 6-14 (as of December 31, 2008) can enter to join the hunt at any time for the chance to win prizes. (Prizes vary according to each country’s rules.)

Each of the adrenaline-charged books in the 10-book series offers kids an immersive reading and online experience that involves joining one of four branches of the Cahill family (Lucian, Ekaterina, Janus, or Tomas) — the most powerful family in the world. Once part of the family, they can begin their hunt for The 39 Clues, and have chances to win exciting prizes with each book release through the Book Sweepstakes, Online Mission Sweepstakes and Episode Contests. The 39 participants who find all 39 Clues by the end of the series earn the most points and discover the Cahill secret have the chance to win the grand prize of $10,000 (US).

The seventh round of 33 winners has been selected from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and India, and winners will receive cash prizes totaling $18,060. In addition, Australia has selected 39 more winners and will be awarding alternative prizing including an XBOX 360 and special The 39 Clues prizes.

“In less than two years since this groundbreaking multi-platform series launched, there are more than 7 million copies of the books in print and 1 million online game registered users to date — that’s a lot of readers, gamers, and clue hunters around the world!” said Stacy Lellos, Vice President of Marketing, Scholastic Trade. “It goes without saying that we are thrilled with the success of The 39 Clues.”

The next series of sweepstakes and contest for Book #9: Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park began on May 25, 2010 12:00 AM ET and ends on August 30, 2010 at 11:59 PM ET, but kids can enter at any time before December 31, 2010 to be part of the hunt and be eligible for the Grand Prize of $10,000 (US). On August 31, 2010, Scholastic will be releasing Book #10: Into the Gauntlet by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

The 39 Clues launched on September 9, 2008, with “Book 1: The Maze of Bones” by Rick Riordan, which debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Movie rights for The 39 Clues have been acquired by DreamWorks Studios with Steven Spielberg eying to direct. The script is being penned by Jeff Nathanson whose credits include “Catch Me If You Can” and “Rush Hour 2.” The 39 Clues has been licensed for publication in 22 languages including Japanese, Italian, Chinese, German, Greek, and Hebrew. Scholastic Media recently launched the The 39 Clues Madrigal Maze App for the iPhone™ and iPod touch®, which has been ranked among the top “Paid Kids Games” on the App Store since release.