Village Gamer

Edmonton – Mark your calendar and lock in your copy of Mass Effect 2 now! Leading video game developer BioWare™ has announced that the epic Shooter/RPG Mass Effect™ 2 will be on store shelves in North America on January 26, and on January 29 in Europe. With its larger-than-life hero Commander Shepard, intense shooter action, nuanced characters and a rich storyline, the much-anticipated sequel to the original award-winning opus is one of the most anticipated titles of 2010. In support of the launch, BioWare is releasing unique Mass Effect 2 pre-order incentives* at key retailers in North America and across Europe. Codes for downloading these items will be provided to players who have pre-ordered, usable when the game is released.

“Our fans are in for a genuine thrill in the New Year with Mass Effect 2 – the second installment in the trilogy will be of amazingly high quality,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA. “BioWare’s fans worldwide have been eagerly awaiting this epic sequel, and we couldn’t be more excited to reward them for pre-ordering by delivering some awesome bonus content!”

In North America, pre-order bonuses (restrictions apply, see actual pre-order offers for details) include special-ops armor and weaponry that are designed to boost Commander Shepard’s skills and abilities. At GameStop, Terminus Gear is available with pre-orders, which includes the powerful Terminus Assault Armor and the M-490 Blackstorm Heavy Weapon:

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Burnaby – With 1.7 million copies sold through at European retail in the first week, FIFA 10 is the fastest selling sports game ever and EA’s biggest European launch in history, and now EA Sports is happy to inform players that EA Sports FIFA Earth beta is now live. FIFA Earth is the premier online destination for sharing all the latest FIFA 10 news, stats, rankings, and more.

Through FIFA Earth players can get closer than ever before to the real life data that drives the EA Sports FIFA 10 community. From tracking the number of FIFA 10 games being played online to the number of wins, losses and draws of individual clubs or countries, FIFA Earth enables you to keep a finger on the pulse of everything happening within the EA Sports FIFA community. If your club is starting to slide down the league standing, FIFA Earth alerts you, enabling you to take control into your own hands to win more games and increase your overall winning-percentage. FIFA Earth enables users to connect to FIFA 10 fans from all over the world, collecting EA Sports FIFA tweets and football thoughts as they occur, in real-time.

And all this is just the beginning. Just as football keeps growing and growing, FIFA Earth will evolve along with it to become a platform of infinite possibilities. You decide how big football can get!

Edmonton – It is confirmed: SplitFish Ltd., will ship the much anticipated wireless version of their critically acclaimed FPS, PC crossover controller, the Dual SFX Frag Pro, in time to hit stores for Activision’s® Call OF Duty: Modern Warfare 2 release. SplitFish first revealed this latest addition to its line of innovative controllers for PlayStation®3 to rave reviews at E3 and GamesCon 2009, as part of SplitFish’s brand-new Frevolution X System to be available worldwide in fall 2009. SplitFish will have the new Wireless Dual SFX Frag Pro and the Dual SFX Evolution both in stores by end of November 2009.

The Dual SFX Frag Pro brings all the best of the dominating FragFXv2 mouse gaming design in a Dual Wireless Combo. The new controller showcases a 2000dpi customized gaming mouse and Frevo “Fragchuck” and functions as a full featured wireless PS3 and PC gaming controller with programmable button configurations and adjustable mouse aiming that provides unprecedented levels of accuracy. It improves upon the tremendously popular FragFX, adding a dual wireless rechargeable system to the intuitive controller and a new “Frag Control Centre” utility to adjust button configurations and sensitivity and save individual game configurations. The ergonomic, 2000 DPI laser mouse provides PC-like accuracy and easy PS Home navigation, while the left-hand grip provides full SixAxis motion control and a whole slew of customization functions and other special performance features.

The Dual SFX Evolution will ship by late November 2009. This is a revolutionary, wireless, upgradable, two part, Frevo – adjustable analog stick controller that promises a superior new level of intuitive experience for console gamers. The fully featured controller gives all the best analog stick control can offer Plus it offers up assignable dual independent wireless motion for sixaxis or analog stick emulation as well as “wrist flick” button triggering. No other controller provides Sports and other Action game title fans this level of enhanced, intuitive, performance capabilities – made specifically for fan favourites like FIFA, Madden, H.A.W.X. and even has some fun functions for Little Big Planet.

Vancouver – Ubisoft has released the latest trailer for the Ubi Vancouver developed Academy of Champions, which will hit store shelves on November 3rd. This long-awaited sports title for the Wii features the likeness of soccer great Pele, challenging mini-games, and some well-known Ubisoft characters.

The premise behind Academy of Champions is that you are a young soccer star – or you want to be, and you manage to gain a spot at Pele’s Brightfield Academy. From the official game synopsis, “Teamwork, Friendship and Respect are the key values that Headmaster Pelé shares. That said, competition at Brightfield is high, and the hero must form a team to stay in school and follow his goal to become a pro.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGW67kDKtl8]

Our hero’s potential is obvious, and this has not been missed by the beady eyes of Von Trappe, the headmaster of the rival Scythemore Academy, an institution that instills in its students the ideal of winning at all costs, even if this involves overt aggression or cheating. Von Trappe puts a plan into action to bring our talented hero to Scythemore, but Pelé is wise to his trickery, ultimately outwits him and saves our hero from the hardship of spending more than one term at Von Trappe’s brutal Academy.”

I had the opportunity to play Academy of Champions recently, and I will freely admit that prior to playing the game, I was very dubious. I am not a fan of the sports game genre, nor am I as proficient with the Wii as I am with the 360. Luckily I had my own personal game tutor as well as the in-game tutorials to learn how to play the game. It didn’t take me very long to get a handle on the controls and game play, and I was actually having fun playing a sports game.

As you work your way through the Academy’s storyline, you are presented with mini-challenges such as goalkeeping, shooting, passing and tackles – or you can master Brazilian Freestyle juggling with the Wii Balance Board™. Academy of Champions will also work with either the standard Wii nunchuk controller or with Wii Motion. As you increase your soccer pitch prowess, your skill level improves and you are able to purchase equipment upgrades.

You can also unlock new characters for your team – my favourite team build was comprised of Rayman, Altair, Sam Fisher, the Prince of Persia and Jade – who all appear as youngsters. Rumour has it that the toughest team to beat on the soccer pitch is the Rabbids. While every character in the game has a special power-up move, the Ubisoft characters bring their own brand of special talents to the game. Special moves on the Brightfield Academy team are gained by co-operative team play – passing the ball to other members of your team is a fast way to fill the power bar. Players can then shake the Wii mote to execute the special moves – some players use their skill for offense, while others use theirs for defense.

While Pele is headmaster of the Academy, his number one assistant in teaching his young charges the benefits of good sportsmanship and fairplay is none other than American soccer star Mia Hamm. Mia is the current all-time leading scorer, male or female, in international soccer history and at age 15 was the youngest player ever to be named to the US National Team. As positive role models for young people in real life, both Pele and Mia were natural choices to be the leaders of Brightfield Academy.

There are many different teams to play against with your chosen teammates, and with the multi-player game mode you can either play with friends or against them. The artwork presented in both background and character development is very high quality – it is obvious that a great deal of attention went into the game’s environment and visual appeal. Scoring goals in the game doesn’t just get you closing to winning the match, it helps you build each arena’s backdrop. The audio work in Academy of Champions is also top notch – the more I played the game, the more it became apparent that the Ubisoft Vancouver team had put together a very high-quality, family-friendly game which has lasting appeal. They certainly won me over with Academy of Champions, and this is one title which will be seeing some game play at Village Gamer.

Congratulations to everyone at Ubisoft Vancouver for such a positive, high quality debut title!

The video game industry has been overcome by a wave of impulse purchases fueled primarily by creative packaging and online accessibility. According to The Canadian Video Game Purchase Process, a study conducted by The NPD Group, 40 per cent of video game buyers stated that they have purchased a game on impulse in the past six months despite the recent recession.

Much like gamers overall, impulse shoppers in the industry are split almost evenly between males and females and are dominated by the 13 – 17 age group (26 per cent) and the 35 – 44 age group (23 per cent).

“Clearly gamers are becoming much less reluctant to spend on games,” said Matthew Tattle, Group Manager, The NPD Group. “One would think it is a little unusual to see impulse purchases during a recession but it’s clear that hardcore gamers will find a way to satisfy their need for something new, different and enjoyable.”

The large percentage of shoppers buying a game on impulse coincides with a rise in low-cost used games, which flourished during the recessionary months to the tune of $65 million in sales.

Impulse game buyers overwhelmingly selected low price as the primary driver behind purchasing their game at a specific retailer. Impulse shoppers in particular are more cost conscious; the average price of impulse purchases was only $27.19 compared with $42.97 for planned purchases. The reduced price of used games is, therefore, increasingly attractive to gamers. In fact, one-third of gamers reported buying a used game in the past six months and only 10 per cent say they would never buy a used game.

The study also reveals that manufacturers looking to capitalize on impulse purchases should put a strong focus on packaging while retailers should focus on merchandizing.

A survey of in-store impulse shoppers shows images or descriptions on game packaging are very or extremely important to 40 per cent, while 25 per cent are swayed by in-store demonstrations of the game.

“Game packaging is the most influential form of advertising for game manufacturers and retailers,” said Tattle. “Particularly among impulse shoppers, game packaging is considered a much stronger motivator than TV commercials, online ads or trailers. The graphics and images on game packages should be chosen strategically to ensure buyers are attracted to the game.”

Referrals are also a key to success for retailers looking to attract impulse shoppers, one-third of whom said they were motivated to make their last game purchase by having played the game at a friend’s house or receiving a referral from a family member or friend. In addition, 19 per cent of impulse buyers said a store clerk’s recommendation is very or extremely important to them and 21 per cent are swayed by a recommendation from another shopper in the store.

Canada has an extremely diverse gaming industry split almost evenly between males and females and among all income brackets. Canadian gamers reside predominantly in Ontario and Quebec with strong secondary markets in B.C. and Alberta. Gamers are passionate about their hobby with one fifth dedicating between 10 and 15 hours each week to honing their gaming skills.

Additional findings:

* Only three per cent of reported purchases were pre-ordered
* Females are more likely to buy on impulse; 46 per cent of impulse buyers are females compared to only 37 per cent of planned buyers
* Sequels sell; almost 20 per cent of gamers said they were motivated to buy a game that was a sequel to one they had previously enjoyed
* 43 per cent of impulse buyers paid only $10 – $20 for their last game purchase
* Only 15 per cent of impulse purchases were made online

Methodology
The Canadian Video Game Purchase Process was conducted from Aug.10 – 21, 2009 among a population sample of 2,429 gamers (1,758 adults, 371 teens) across the country.

Bioware has announced that the first seven pages of the new Mass Effect 2 comic from Dark Horse is now available on the Bioware blog. Written by ME2 lead writer Mac Walters, the comic’s storyline is independent of the upcoming Mass Effect 2’s story and follows Dr. Liara T’Soni on a dangerous and important mission to Terminus System in the Milky Way.

Bioware has also released more information about Dragon Age Journeys, a browser-based chapter of the Dragon Age franchise currently in development at EA 2D. According to Producer Ethan Levy’s blog post, “Dragon Age Journeys has been a collaboration between EA 2D, BioWare, and some of the hottest indie talent from the flash developer community. We broke ground on Journeys back in November 2008, and after so many months of blood, sweat and tears, we can’t tell you how excited we are to finally start talking about the game.”

“We have some big plans for Journeys. The first piece that we are currently building is a 3 chapter, single player, tactical rpg delivered in Flash. Right now we’re hard at work finishing the first chapter, Dragon Age Journeys: The Deep Roads”, continues Ethan. “The game will introduce you to the dwarven city of Orzammar and the Deep Roads surrounding it where the dwarves face a persistent threat from the darkspawn hordes. The Deep Roads features character classes, talent trees, sound effects, music and user interface taken directly from Dragon Age: Origins. Thanks to all these resources and input from the BioWare team, it will serve as a solid introduction to the world of Dragon Age.”

I started reading Dragon Age The Calling two nights ago. The Calling is the second book in the Dragon Age novel series penned by Bioware Lead Writer David Gaider – I highly recommend the titles to all of those who enjoy reading books in the Fantasy genre. The EB Games store where I regularly pick up all of my new addictions is already taunting those of us waiting for Dragon Age. They have two shelves of empty Dragon Age Online covers sitting on display behind the service desk. Want.

Microsoft is looking for gamers who would like a chance to preview the next installment of Xbox Live improvements and changes. Those who Silver or Gold XBL memberships are welcome to register – you will need some advance information when you fill in the form, such as your Xbox serial number, ID number, make and model of the TV hooked up to your Xbox, your router make and if you use wireless, the type of wireless connection you have. We participated in the last update preview, and have registered again for this one.

Best Buy Canada has joined the list of retailers who now accept game trade-ins. “Gaming enthusiasts are encouraged to bring in their previously played video games and trade them in for up to $40 in store credit, which can be used toward anything in the store, including a new game!”

Have you braved the battle and won the war in Star Wars: Battlefront? Unsure of what to do with that copy of Final Fantasy collecting dust in your basement? Has your “Need for Speed” suddenly come to a grinding halt? “With Best Buy’s gaming trade-in program, gamers of all types can bring in previously played games to any participating Best Buy location*, where they will receive a Best Buy store credit based on the assigned value of the games.

“We have been testing this program in our Edmonton stores and it has been so highly successful that we decided to extend this offer across Canada, said Paul Fisher, Director of Merchandising, Entertainment, Best Buy Canada. “Gaming now reaches a wider group of Canadians, including women and boomers. This program will enable gamers of all types to trade in for other titles or new technology.”

Trade-in is available on more than 2,500 current game titles and games from the following consoles: Nintendo DS & DSi, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360. As part of program, Canadians can also purchase previously played titles in-store for less than the cost of a new version of the game.

Xbox Canada will be in Montreal this weekend (October 17) at Parc Jean-Drapeau and in Toronto on October 24 at The Better Living Centre on the CNE Grounds. Why? For the Forza Motor Sport 3 Drive Your Dreams promotional event, of course.

Event Details:

Be one of the first to experience the thrill of the world’s most exotic and exquisite cars as you take the wheel of more than 400 automobiles on over 100 renowned real-world tracks and exotic road courses from around the globe.

You’ll play right next to the most beloved cars featured in the game, watch car artists bring design to life before your very eyes, check out the gallery of performance upgrades, and even have your own shot at learning the ropes on the Autocross Demonstration, Instruction, & Ride Experience* with the Canadian Automobile Sports Club and Club Auto-sport Des Laurentides.

Come escape into the world of car culture and you could win** the ultimate DRIVE YOUR DREAMS experience that could get you behind the wheel for an exhilarating full day on the track, plus the ultimate Xbox 360 Racing Package.**

*Must have valid Driver’s License and sign applicable waivers to participate in the Autocross
** NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Contest is open to all legal residents of Canada. There is one (1) grand prize (ARV $3,660) and ten (10) secondary prizes (ARV $89.99) available to be won. Skill testing question required. Contest closes at 11:59pm on October 24th, 2009.

DIGS has announced another Keynote Speaker. Last week the event announced that Victor Lucas would be the Keynote Speaker for the November 3rd Dinner, and today they have announced that Ubisoft Toronto and Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat will be the Keynote Speaker at the conference proper. DIGS takes place this November 3rd and 4th in London, Ontario.

If you are a student and have been sitting on a game design, you can enter the DIGS Game Competition and vie for $10 000.00 and more in prizing. The entry deadline has been extended to October 26th, so register now!

If you are in Vancouver, don’t forget about Ghoulash Bash, our local fundraiser for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. Ghoulash Bash is happening at the Metropole on Abbott this coming October 29th. The theme is Retro-Reanimated, ticket prices are very reasonable, and it’s a chance to get your ghoul on. Ghoulash Bash is an approved Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society event, so tax receipts can be issued for qualified donations. The event is still looking for swag and sponsorship. Please see the Bash site for more details.

Don’t forget that the Taco Bell Fill Up On Game Gear tour will be in Kelowna tonight, Surrey on Friday night and then in Coquitlam on Saturday. Get your entries in for all of the awesome game gear that Taco Bell is giving away, including the Emporer game chair. Gotta have it. We’ll be meeting up with Craig and Ryan this weekend to check out the Tour Truck and the prizes – hopefully this west coast weather will improve some before they arrive.

The Montreal Game Summit is gearing up for November 16th and 17th, and now you can customize your agenda. You can even post it on Facebook, email it to yourself and others, or just print it for easy reference.

On Day 1, Yoichi Wada, President and CEO of Square Enix will be presenting a Keynote Address about Fostering Cultural Diversity in Game Development, while Heather Chaplin, Professor of Journalism at The New School will be delivering a Keynote Address on The Guy Culture. Keynotes for Day 2 include Tools and Testing in LittleBigPlanet: Consequences of a user-generated world which will be presented by Paul Holden, Lead Architect for Media Molecule and Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development at Valve will present on Games Entertainment in the Age of Connectivity.

Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Flickr, reportedly the most popular photo sharing site in the world, will be the Keynote Speaker at the 3rd Fusion Venture Forum 2009, presented by New Media BC on November 12 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Butterfield is a firm supporter of Vancouver’s Digital Media industry and was part of the original team that grew Flickr from a tiny Vancouver based operation to a worldwide phenomenon. He and his co-founder Catherine Fake sold Flickr to Yahoo reportedly for more than $30 million, barely a year after launching it in February 2004. The original plan had been to create an online game that never quite took off. Flickr remains one of the most noted digital media success stories from this region.

Butterfield will open Fusion ’09, the only Venture Forum devoted to Digital Media in Western Canada, by sharing his success story with some 150-200 attendees, mostly Canadian founders with early to growth stage ventures. Twenty of Canada’s hottest digital media companies will present their latest ventures to top tier investors from North America, including heavyweights Google Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners and SoftTech VC. Deadline to register for Fusion’s Bootcamp and Conference is Oct 20, 2009.

St. Catharines – Whiskey Mountain Wars is an online game based on the whiskey running of the 1970’s. If you ever wanted to become a whiskey runner but cannot afford the jail time for bootleg whiskey, now is the chance to do it safely in the comfort of your own home. The highlight of which is the addition of true turn-based player versus player battles within a text strategy game. This feature is a unique aspect within text-based role playing game’s (RPG).

Updated and new features added to the game include:

Player versus player (PVP) solo battles – Players can challenge other players to battle in the new PVP Arena, The Scrappin’ Yard. Players may choose to accept or deny the challenge. Prior to battle, players pay a small arena booking fee with in-game currency (shiny’s). The winner will earn experience but the player’s willpower is not affected.

Players may now set default weaponry, equipment and clothing; freeing the player from having to set those features each and every time players enter a run down quest.

A new feature called Whiskey Running enables players to transport and bootleg their illicit whiskey at various locations. The amount of whiskey the player can carry varies throughout the game based on the type of vehicle the players owns, limiting the amount of money players can earn for each whiskey run.

A new Trading Post has been upgraded and expanded to include an Arms Dealer for purchasing in-game weapons, a Pawn Shop to sell items for in-game money, and a Whiskey Wicket where players can sell whiskey for income. A General store has been added allowing players to purchase game coins to further enhance game play.

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Montreal – Understanding and mastering the internet in the 2.0 era, particularly the future of the media in this context, is the theme of the seventh annual International webcom Montreal conference on October 22 at the ICAO head office building (Maison de l’OACI).

In addition to the traditional webcom sessions (Enterprise 2.0, Marketing 2.0 and Solutions 2.0), a special session dedicated to the future of the media in the 2.0 era will be added. Montreal will host a number of local and international guest speakers, including John Temple, president and editor of the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News, who will share the lessons he learned from his newspaper’s failure to adapt to the arrival of new information technology. Ludovic Blecher, editor-in-chief of liberation.fr, and Patrick Pierra, co-president and CEO of Branchez-vous, will take part in a panel discussion on new business models for the media and their future. Last but not least, Shel Holtz, found of Holtz Communication + Technology, will discuss tactics for transparency and the value of access to information in business. In all, over 40 speakers and leaders from Quebec’s business communications, web marketing and e-business sectors will present conferences, case studies, training sessions and debates on the conference sessions’ four concurrent themes.

“webcom Montreal provides a wide range of opportunities for participants to learn, dialogue, participate and network,” says conference producer Michel Chioini. “The last time the conference was held, we hosted 575 participants and we’re expecting to beat that record this fall.”

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Calgary – Ph03nix New Media Inc. has announced the launch of the first Canadian-based iPhone Fund: the iPhoenix Fund. The fund will be used to develop 133 Apple iPhone and iPod Touch games over the next 5 years.

The iPhoenix Fund is both Canadian AND accessible. According to Lam, “We really wanted to make this investment accessible to the average investor. The iPhone is game-changing not only for the mobile industry, but for handheld gaming as well, and the iPhoenix Fund is the only vehicle available for investors like us to get in on the action.”

The iPhoenix Fund will be uniquely structured will a maximum of 400 Units costing $5,000 CDN each. Investors will get paid 50% of revenue and recoup 100% of the development costs first. The Fund already has commitments over the minimum required and Lam anticipates that the Fund will close in November 2009.

Last month at GDC Austin, Lam ran through his slide deck for interested investors and a unique feature stood out – all investors get access the iPhoenix Fund’s very own app that reports real-time data on the Fund and how the portfolio of apps are tracking.

To jump-start the fund, Lam also announced that Ph03nix New Media has acquired Blue Unit Studios – a Calgary iPhone Game Studio created by Craig Rushforth and Dan Kratt. Rushforth and Kratt are the brains behind the popular iPhone game Sally’s Spa which knocked off EA’s Sims 3 last summer to become the #1 in the App Store. Quite the accomplishment considering The Sims is the best selling PC game franchise in history.

Investors interested in finding out more details on the Fund are invited to an office tour at 4pm, Oct 13th, at the company’s headquarters.