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VIDEO INTERVIEW with Trent Oster (Beamdog) at the GDC

Charles Pr�mont — 2010-03-12T02:00:10Z

Trent Oster is a veteran of the canadian videogame industry. He just started Beamdog, a small, aggressive startup and is looking to shake things up. In short, Beamdog is a reboot of the digital distribution marketplace. It is currently in a closed beta test, but is going live soon. Rather than do all the development in the lab, Beamdog plan to develop it with you as we go. We met him at the Game Developers Conference 2010 in San Francisco. (...)

VIDEO INTERVIEW with Jeff Vavasour (Code Mystics) at the Game Developers Conference

Charles Pr�mont — 2010-03-12T01:57:46Z

Code Mystics was founded by Jeff Vavasour, a former executive and founder of Backbone Entertainment (parent company of renowned handheld and retrogaming developer, Digital Eclipse). Code Mystics is a game developer specialising in cross-platform solutions with a particular focus on handheld and casual platforms as well as digital distribution. We met Jeff Vavasour at the GDC.
From the early beginnings of Digital Eclipse in 1994, Jeff has built a reputation for himself and his colleagues (...)

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Jason Doucette and Matthew Doucette (Xona Game - Nova Scotia) at the Game Connection in San Francisco

Charles Pr�mont — 2010-03-11T19:20:00Z

Xona Games is an award-winning indie game studio, that makes "Intense Retro" games, looking for XBLA, PSN, PC, and WiiWare publishers. Games include Decimation X (released) and Duality ZF (production), both on Xbox (Xbox LIVE Indie Games) and PC (Steam). Video Interview with Jason Doucette and Matthew Doucette from Xona Games at the Game Connection / Games Developers Conference - GDC 2010 - San Francisco by Charles Pr�mont, reporter for Le Lien MULTIMEDIA / videoGAMEScanada.ca. (...)

Samsung Announces Launch of eReader for the US Market

2010-03-11T18:00:00Z

Samsung Electronics America, Inc., will imminently launch its first-ever eReader product for the US market. Initially previewed at CES 2010 in January, the Samsung eReader makes reading a personal experience. Not only can users easily access content, but they can also write notes and thoughts directly on the page, highlight content that matters to them and share notes with friends and peers. Samsung combined over one million electronic titles, advanced handwriting capabilities and WiFi (...)

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Heroic Interactive want to give everyone a reason to play

Charles Pr�mont — 2010-03-11T16:00:00Z

Toronto based Heroic Interactive creates engaging, intelligent and fun interactive digital entertainment for young (and young at heart) audiences both at home and around the world. Focused on flash-based browser delivered games to reach the largest audience, Heroic takes seriously the motto: Giving everyone a reason to Play.

VIDEO INTERVIEW with Raffaele Freddi (Jet Black Games) at the Game Connection in San Francisco

Charles Pr�mont — 2010-03-11T15:41:00Z

Jet Black Games is an independent video game developer and technology provider, specialized in developing original and licensed IP for the Nintendo DS and Wii. Their clients comprise Ubisoft, Activision & THQ. Established in January 2007 by a group of industry veterans, the team has previously worked on numerous platinum selling titles for major publishers, including, Need for Speed, FIFA, Scarface, NHL, Crash Bandicoot, and 007. Video Interview at the Game Connection / Games Developers (...)

Sometrics to Power Advertiser-Based Offers on IGG's MMO Gaming Portals

2010-03-11T15:00:00Z

Sometrics and IGG, Inc. have partnered to provide advertiser-based offers to the 15 million registered players of IGG's 15 popular MMO online games. The two companies made the announcement today from the Game Developers Conference, held in San Francisco through Saturday.
IGG - which stands for “I Got Games” - is a digital interactive entertainment company focused on MMORPGs. Its free-to-play games include Lords Online, Tales of Pirates, Angels Online, GodsWar Online, and Myth (...)

Bigpoint to Demonstate Next Generation of Client-Free PC Faming

2010-03-11T14:00:00Z

The Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) company Bigpoint will be demonstrating the next generation of client-free PC gaming at Game Developers Conference 2010. Leading its product slate for 2010 will be Battlestar Galactica Online, a tactical space combat and adventure MMOG based upon Syfy's Battlestar Galactica series. The game, inspired by one of the most popular science fiction series in television history, will launch worldwide exclusively this fall on Syfy.com for a 30 day (...)

Autodesk Unveils 2011 Versions of Its Digital Entertainment Creation Software

2010-03-11T13:00:00Z

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK), has announced the latest versions of its Digital Entertainment Creation software for 3D modeling, animation, effects, rendering, compositing, digital sculpting and 3D painting. The 2011 versions offer new features and enhancements that help accelerate workflows and improve interoperability, helping artists to maximize their creativity and optimize their productivity. Autodesk has also launched new versions of Autodesk Kynapse and Autodesk HumanIK game (...)

EA Expands Interactive Fitness Product Line With New EA SPORTS Active

2010-03-11T12:00:00Z

Millions of people around the world have experienced the revolution in home fitness since last spring with EA SPORTS Active, the number one rated fitness program for the Wii. EA SPORTS Active 2.0 (working title) is now in development and will be available this fall on PlayStation 3, Wii, iPhone and iPod touch. The new EA SPORTS Active 2.0 fitness program will deliver true fitness results by featuring an innovative wireless control system, powered by new leg and arm straps with motion (...)

Treehouse Interactive Announces Marketing View Integration with Oracle CRM On Demand

2010-03-11T11:00:00Z

TreeHouse Interactive, the technology company specialized in on-demand partner relationship management (PRM), channel sales force automation (CSFA) and demand generation solutions, has unveiled that Marketing View, the company's demand generation solution, now integrates with Oracle CRM On Demand. This integration allows customers to pass qualified leads into Oracle CRM On Demand and generate ROI reporting by campaign as sales leads evolve into viable opportunities and closed deals.
This (...)

Yahoo! Canada Partners with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to Feature Online Streaming of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada

2010-03-11T06:00:00Z

As part of its ongoing commitment to be the centre of people's online lives, Yahoo! Canada (NASDAQ:YHOO) has entered a partnership with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to provide hockey fans with live streaming video of the network's popular CBC's Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts starting Saturday, March 13 until the 2010 Stanley Cup champions are crowned in June.
For the first time ever, the more than 16 million Canadians who visit Yahoo! Canada every month can access the new (...)

Funcom Expands Relationship with Level 3

2010-03-11T05:00:00Z

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) unveiled at Game Developers Conference the expansion of its relationship with Funcom, a leading independent developer and publisher of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. Level 3 will provide content delivery network (CDN) services for Funcom game titles.
Since April 2008, Level 3 has worked with Funcom to deliver Origin Storage, Caching and Download services for game patch updates, and large file game downloads for the Age of Conan game. (...)

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Jameson Hsu (Mochi Media) -Opportunities and Pitfalls in Launching Your Own Virtual Currency

Charles Pr�mont — 2010-03-10T20:31:02Z

Mochi Media's CEO Jameson Hsu has present a postmortem of their experience launching Mochi Coins, a virtual currency platform for game developers. He goes on what went right and what went wrong from a variety of issues ranging from developer implementation of virtual currency, design questions, and setting currency exchange rates. As games proliferate across social networks and other online channels, virtual currency and goods are quickly becoming the new frontier in online (...)

Warner Music Group and Dailymotion Announce Video Content Partnership

2010-03-10T19:00:00Z

Dailymotion and Warner Music Group have entered a new partnership to offer music videos via Dailymotion's website in the U.S., Europe and North Africa. Visitors will be given unlimited, on-demand, ad-supported access to thousands of music videos, concerts and interviews from Warner Music's roster of local and international acts. Under the terms of the agreement, registered users will be able to create and share video playlists. The first videos are due to be available within a month. (...)

iTable Debuts at CeBIT 2010 to Revolutionize Your Living Room

2010-03-10T18:00:00Z

PQ Labs Inc, developer of the Multi-Touch Screen G3 technology, unveiled the all new iTable 2010 on CeBIT (Hall 15, Stand F01). iTable is a multi-touch computer as well as an attractive furniture. Sitting elegantly in your living room, company's lobby or a meeting room, iTable is a magical device that allows you to think, work and play with digital content & apps in a whole new way without using a keyboard or mouse.
Equipped with PQ Labs' True Multi-Touch technology, the table can recognize (...)

Sometrics Launches GameCoins.com - Connecting Players to Online Games Through Interactive Community and Virtual Goods Marketplace

2010-03-10T17:00:00Z

In a move that helps publishers of online games and virtual worlds expand their reach while giving gamers a place to swap tips and strategy with each other, Sometrics launched GameCoins.com - the company's first direct-to-consumer play. GameCoins.com serves as a community site for gamers, where members can meet new gaming friends and participate in forums and blogs to discuss the latest tips, trends and news about favorite games and virtual worlds, like War Rock, Sorority Life, IMVU and (...)

Intuit Online Payroll Gives Small Businesses the Tools to Efficiently Manage Payroll via Google Apps

2010-03-10T17:00:00Z

Small business owners now have a new way to easily and efficiently manage payroll and other key business tasks within one integrated online office environment. Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) now offers its popular Intuit Online Payroll for Google Apps. This best-in-class online payroll offering is available to small business owners on the Google Apps Marketplace, Google's recently launched online storefront for Google Apps products and services. Intuit Online Payroll will also soon be available (...)

Frosmo Announces Expansion of Social Casual Games Service in Asian Market

2010-03-10T16:00:00Z

Frosmo, a social casual games company, has made further expansion into the Asian market, including several partnerships with the major Internet portals and social networks in China, Japan, Thailand and Indonesia. Through a number of direct relationships, as well as a partnership with Rekoo, Frosmo's service will be available on a number of networks.
51.com (One of China's largest social networks; 130 million users) China.com (One of China's largest Web portals) Mixi (Japan's largest social (...)

IDC Predicts Further Gains for Specialized Form Factors in 2010 PC Market

2010-03-10T16:00:00Z

Many of the trends that influenced the worldwide PC market in 2009 will continue to resonate in 2010, but their impact will change as new market forces come into play. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the lower prices brought on by last year's challenging economy will create new opportunities for emerging sub form factors, such as ultrathin portables and all-in-one desktops.
“We're expecting consumer and commercial PC buyers alike to be more experimental with new (...)

GameSpy Open to Tear Down the Walls Surrounding Games

2010-03-10T15:00:00Z

During the 2010 Game Developers Conference (GDC) this week, GameSpy Technology, the video game industry's provider of multi-platform online services, announced GameSpy Open, an initiative to open APIs for data and development services, making it easier for its partners on all platforms to add compelling online features to games, measure game performance and audience engagement, and collaborate with their communities. By opening up data and services, GameSpy hopes to tear down the walls (...)

Magento and PayPal Expand Relationship to Drive e-Commerce Innovation

2010-03-10T15:00:00Z

Magento, a global open source e-commerce platform, and PayPal are expanding their relationship to offer PayPal to online retailers through Magento's open source shopping solutions. PayPal will be deeply integrated and promoted to merchants and developers using Magento's service, making it even easier for businesses to get up and running with e-commerce and online payments.
Magento is one of the fastest-growing global e-commerce solutions. Its open source product gives merchants complete (...)

Game Developers Conference 2010: Havok Highlights Innovative Usage of Expanding Product Portfolio by Industry-Leading Titles

2010-03-10T14:00:00Z

Havok, a provider of interactive software and services for digital media creators in the games and movie industries, is seeing rapid industry adoption of its newer products including Havok Cloth and Havok AI, by leading game publishers and studios alongside the industry standard Havok Physics. Havok will be showcasing its entire product lineup in GDC Booth #BS224 at this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco beginning March 10, 2010.
“Havok Cloth's animation tool set has (...)

Acer Ascends, Dell Dives in 2009 PC Market

2010-03-10T14:00:00Z

Acer Inc. in 2009 came within a hair's breadth of supplanting Dell Inc. as the world's No.-2 PC maker, as the Taiwanese computer maker achieved leading growth among the world's Top-5 brands for the year, according to iSuppli Corp. No.-3 ranked Acer enjoyed a 21 percent expansion in 2009, with its global PC unit shipments rising to 38.5 million, up from 31.8 million in 2008. This represented the strongest growth among the world's Top-5 PC makers in 2009.
In contrast, U.S.-based Dell suffered (...)

Astral Media Radio partners with Emmis Interactive to super-charge its interactive business

2010-03-10T13:00:00Z

Astral Media Radio, a division of Astral Media Inc. (TSX: ACM.A/ACM.B), has signed a long-term agreement with Emmis Interactive, Inc., a software and consulting company. Emmis will provide its successful interactive platform and proven sales consulting services to Astral as part of Astral Media Radio's renewed emphasis on building out its Interactive business.
"Astral is proud of the work done over the last few years online and with mobile, but our deal with Emmis marks a new chapter in our (...)

NAV CANADA and Searidge to Develop Video Solutions for Air Traffic Services

2010-03-10T12:00:00Z

Global Stand H716. Searidge Technologies, provider of intelligent video solutions to air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and airports, announced its intelligent video platform IntelliDAR is being utilized by NAV CANADA to develop innovative video technology applications for airport surface surveillance and remote monitoring.
Searidge has been working with NAV CANADA on a variety of video-based applications for more than two years. NAV CANADA has deployed various video systems including (...)

GDC 10: FreeAppADay.com Propels FingerZilla from Unknown to App Store Number One in 24 Hours

2010-03-10T11:00:00Z

iPhone application discovery portal FreeAppAday.com reached another key milestone this past weekend by catapulting iPhone app Fingerzilla from unknown to App Store number one free app in a single day. The results did not end there as the site also helped boost Tap Fish to the #3 spot and Letstans to the #10 spot capping a fantastic weekend which further solidifies FreeAppADay.com as the leading iPhone application discovery portal.
"We are ecstatic with our current results," said Joe Bayen, (...)

Buy.com Announces New VP/General Manager to Support Re-Launch of Canadian Web Site

2010-03-10T11:00:00Z

McMahon has been appointed vice president of sales and general manager for Canada. McMahon will be based in Toronto and heads brand strategy and development, web site traffic growth, and advertising and vendor relationships for the company's Canadian operation. McMahon joins Buy.com with more than 15 years of sales experience in technology and information services.
Most recently, he served as vice president and general manager for ypOne Publishing, a provider of yellow pages shopping (...)

Game Developers Conference 2010: it ON!

Itnewslink.com — 2010-03-10T06:12:19Z

Game Developers Conference San Francisco 2010 is on. This conference is all about game development, sharing tools, tips and technologies for unbridled professional learning, networking and fun. videoGAMEScanada.ca and sister publication Lien MULTIM�DIA are covering the event. Here's some photos...

Mochi Media Launches Platform to Power Distributed Social Games

2010-03-10T06:00:00Z

Mochi Media has launched of Mochi Social, a new platform for Flash game developers to create and monetize high-quality distributed social games. With Mochi Social, developers can easily build social features into their games such as inviting friends, sending gifts, or posting to an activity stream. These social features follow the game wherever it is played, rather than confined to a single social network or portal, and plugs into users' social graph across Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. (...)

Sony's PS3 to Win Current Games Console Battle, says Strategy Analytics

2010-03-10T05:15:00Z

Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) games console will sell more units than its rivals over the lifetime of the current generation, according to new forecasts published by the Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices service, ahead of this week's Games Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. Although global sales to date of the Nintendo Wii have exceeded those of the PS3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360, this report, “Taming the Waves: Games Console Life Cycles and Platform (...)

Avaya and Polycom to Jointly Develop and Market Video and Voice Communications Systems

2010-03-09T19:00:00Z

Avaya and Polycom, Inc. [Nasdaq: PLCM], are expanding their existing relationship and will jointly develop and market integrated video, voice and collaboration solutions. The companies plan to deliver fully integrated, end-to-end unified communications (UC) solutions that use the Avaya Aura Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based platform and the Polycom Open Collaboration Network strategy.
The planned joint solutions will provide Polycom's full range of voice and video systems integrated (...)

Innovative Design With Voice Tube for Crystal-Clear Speech Quality, Removes Easily for Headphone Use

2010-03-09T18:00:00Z

Now you can listen — and be heard — even more clearly with a choice of comfortable, colourful new PC headsets from Sony. A stylish alternative to flimsy, drab-looking headsets, the DR-350USB and DR-320DPV are the perfect add-on for your netbook, notebook or desktop PC.
Offering sparkling hi-fi audio, they're ideal for chatting with friends around the world over VoIP, taking command in multi-player games... or just relaxing while listening to your favourite sounds. Blending smart looks and (...)

Mobile Retail Market to Exceed $12 Billion by 2014, Driven by One-to-One Marketing and Smartphone Adoption, Juniper Report Finds

2010-03-09T17:00:00Z

A new report from Juniper Research has found that one-to-one marketing allied to the rapid proliferation of smartphones will be among the key drivers of a mobile retail market which is anticipated to exceed $12 billion by 2014. The mobile marketing and retail strategies report found that the mobile retail sector - defined by Juniper as comprising mobile coupon redemption values, smart poster fees and advertising expenditure - would initially be dominated by coupons.
However, it noted that (...)

Netgem outlines its vision of the future of TV At IPTV World Forum 2010

2010-03-09T16:00:00Z

At this month's IPTV World Forum 2010, Netgem, a provider of pure-play next-generation TV experiences, will deliver its comprehensive vision of the future of IP-delivered television services and present its full range of innovative hybrid broadcast / broadband IPTV solutions.
Addressing the needs of both incumbent telcos and alternative operators running bandwidth-constrained or unmanaged IP networks, Netgem will launch during the Forum, next generation smart phone remote control (...)

Havok Sees Rapid Adoption of Multi-Product Lineup in Asia

2010-03-09T15:47:44Z

Havok (GDC Booth #BS224) is rapidly solidifying its recent and highly aggressive expansion in Asia with a 47% growth in sales in the region over last year, paving a path for widespread adoption of its pipeline of products by the Asian gaming community over the next two years.
“As the most recognized and trusted tools and technologies provider worldwide, Havok continues to be hugely successful in the games space, experiencing significant growth amidst an extremely poor economic (...)

Mochi Media Announces Global $10 Million Mochi GAME Developer Fund

2010-03-09T14:00:00Z

Mochi Media and Shanda Games Limited, (NASDAQ: GAME), an online game developer, operator and publisher in China, unveiled the Mochi GAME Developer Fund, a $10 million fund that will help promising Flash and social game developers support their games through sponsorship, licensing and publishing deals. The fund will assist small Flash game development studios and independent game developers worldwide in building world-class games and businesses. The companies made the announcement today at (...)

New Media Production Company, SiXiTS Launches in U.S.

2010-03-09T13:00:00Z

Global new-media production company, SiXiTS has unveiled its formation with the opening of its first U.S. based office in California. Their first project will bring a new version of a popular social game to the rapidly growing online social games market. SiXiTS will be producing a variety of products in addition to social games, to create Internet enabled cross-platform experiences of both SiXiTS owned properties, and licensed Brands.
SiXiTS future success will be driven by seasoned (...)

The Game Developers Conference 2010 Opens Its Doors to the World's Largest Gathering of Interactive Entertainment Professionals

2010-03-09T12:06:00Z

The Game Developers Conference 2010 (GDC10) commences today at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco through Saturday, March 13. GDC10 offers game development professionals from all over the world a venue to share information and insights, uncover opportunities and meet and network with other professionals who share the same dedication to the craft of game development. GDC10 plays host to hundreds of sessions and activities, comprised of a variety of lectures, panels, tutorials, (...)

CompanionLink Announces Desktop Synchronization With Motorola BACKFLIP

2010-03-09T12:00:00Z

CompanionLink Software unveiled two-way synchronization and backup between PCs and Motorola BACKFLIP with MOTOBLUR. CompanionLink synchronizes contacts, calendar, tasks, and notes from PC to the BACKFLIP in two ways — secure wired sync and automatic wireless sync via Google. PC software such as Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Business Contact Manager, IBM Lotus Notes, ACT! by Sage, Novell GroupWise, and Palm Desktop are supported.
CompanionLink's wired USB sync with BACKFLIP works through an (...)

Evocative Cinematic Brawler �Shank' Coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC in Summer 2010

2010-03-09T11:00:00Z

EA Partners, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) and award-winning independent development studio Klei Entertainment have entered an exclusive publishing agreement to bring the provocative new game Shank to Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC this summer. Featuring a unique art style inspired by graphic novels and golden age comics, Shank blends the intensity of classic 2D side-scrolling action games with a gripping and mature storyline. The cinematic brawler is a (...)

Z2Live Announces In-Game Voice Chat for iPhone OS

2010-03-09T06:00:00Z

Z2Live, a multiplayer game platform for mobile announced the availability of voice chat for Apple's iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices. "Mobile gamers can now play with and talk to their friends at the same time" said David Bluhm, president and CEO of Z2Live. "For gamers, it's a lot more fun and for publishers, it helps sell more games." The Z2Live SDK also includes the ability to send push notification invites and email invitations to assist gamers with finding, connecting and playing (...)

VIDEO INTERVIEW with Denio Di Lascio (DayDream Lab) @ Game Connection

Itnewslink.com — 2010-03-09T05:15:00Z

Video Interview with Denio Di Lascio, Executive Producer at DayDreamLab (Brazil) @ Game Connection. By Charles Premont, reporter for Le Lien MULTIMEDIA / videoGAMEScanada.ca.
�We are storytellers who build cross-platform narratives to create highly participatory experiences for our audiences, providing entertainment and immersion in alternative realities. As an independent producer of interactive media, DayDreamLab develop groundbreaking, monetized entertainment experiences at the (...)