ST. CATHARINES, ON – Cerebral Vortex Games Inc., a St. Catharines, Ontario-based developer of casual videogames, is excited to announce the release of their web-based game Word Burst. The fast-paced word game is now playable exclusively through TELETOON.COM, completely free of charge.

(St. Catharines Standard) Chances are the name Baldur doesn't mean much to you. But very soon it might. Baldur, a curious and little known god of Norse pagan religion, could soon make a big difference to St. Catharines. If Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack has his way, Baldur, the hero of the company's new video game, Too Human, will do nothing less than change the Garden City.

Ontario Media Development Corporation is pleased to announce the release of a landmark study on Ontario’s digital games industry, “Ontario 2012: Stimulating Growth in Ontario’s Game Industry.”

Worldwide Games Portfolio Planner for Xbox Live Arcade and author, David Edery will be a keynote speaker at GameON: Finance, taking place October 28th and 29th in Toronto.

Toronto-based videogame publisher Lighthouse Interactive, part of SilverBirch Inc.'s video game division, has signed a publisher licence agreement with Nintendo of Europe GmbH to publish and develop products on Wii and Nintendo DS gaming platforms. (Mediacastermagazine.com)

The Electric Playground is expanding to offer viewers daily gaming, tech and entertainment news G4techTV. After 12 successful years as a weekly TV series, The Electric Playground will continue to bring viewers all the latest news and product reviews from the gaming universe and will expand its content as part of the move to a daily show. (Mediacastermagazine.com)

Leading-edge innovators, entrepreneurs or companies in Ontario that symbolize the province's growing culture of innovation and entrepreneurship can receive $200,000 in support of new products or services, under the Ministry of Research and Innovation's Premier's Catalyst Awards. (Mediacastermagazine.com)

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, August 15, 2008 – The Canadian Interactive Alliance / l’Alliance
interactive canadienne (CIAIC) is shocked by the Conservative government’s recent decision to discontinue the Trade Routes export program at the end of the current fiscal year.

TOKYO GAME SHOW 2008
Chiba, Japan
October 9 to 12, 2008
Makuhari Messe (Chiba-city, Japan)

October 7- 8 - Embassy Programme and Booth Set-up
October 9-10 - Business Days
October 11-12 - Open to the public

Funding Available: The Export Market Access (EMA) program has just been approved and is accepting applications.  EMA is an initiative of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, with support and funding from the Government of Ontario. Ontario companies interested in attending the Tokyo Game Show may receive funding if they meet the criteria of the program. The application process can be completed online. Please visit www.exportaccess.ca for details of the program.

NEW YORK, Aug. 11: Atari announces that development for the award-winning N+ for the Nintendo DS^TM and the PSP^® (PlayStation^® Portable) system is complete! The successor to the beloved flash ninja game N, N+ is soon becoming the gold standard of ninja action-platform gaming.

Trade Routes, a $9-million program funding Hot Docs and other initiatives, ends in what critic calls a 'stupid' and 'provocative' choice

MICHAEL POSNER FROM MONDAY'S GLOBE AND MAIL
AUGUST 11, 2008 - lain Pineau was disappointed, but not terribly surprised, when the federal government last week announced it was ending PromArt, a $4.7-million cultural program administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.  Full Story.

If your company was affected by this cut, please contact ian@interactiveontario.com.

Application deadline for both Game Connection events: August 31, 2008
 
A discount of 35% is offered on an accreditation / registration package for a maximum of 15 Canadian video game developers exhibiting as sellers under the Canada banner at each edition of the Game Connection event in Lyon (France, November 5-7, 2008) and in San Francisco at GDC (USA, March 24-26, 2009).
 

Toronto-based digital entertainment company GS New Media and Sun Microsystems will work together to develop an online environment as a basis for The Saddle Club Virtual World, targetting online youth. (mediacastermagazine.com)

As part of a larger effort by IO to increase business ties with the UK, we are currently assessing interest from Ontario companies in participating in a brief video-conference/video presentation with UK companies. The goal of this exchange is to start a dialogue that will lead to future partnerships between UK and Ontario interactive companies.

Microsoft Game Studios and Silicon Knights announced today that the blockbuster action RPG Too Human™ has gone gold and will be shipping to retailers throughout North America on August 19. In anticipation of the game's  release, jump into the first level of Too Human with the free demo now available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace. (From www.xbox.com)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TORONTO (July 29, 2008) – Breakthrough Films & Television announces the expansion of their television movies division to encompass original development and production.  The company has named Marina Cordoni as Head of Sales and Business Development, Theatrical & TV movies to oversee the division’s growing slate of in-house productions.   The announcement was made today by Peter Williamson and Ira Levy, Executive Producers and Partners at Breakthrough Films & Television.

Montreal, July 28, 2008 – The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and the Sheffield International Documentary Festival (Doc/Fest) have issued a call for proposals for the CROSS-MEDIA CHALLENGE, a co-production competition for innovative, interactive, socially engaged content with applications for mobile and broadband. It’s the second year that the NFB and Doc/Fest have jointly presented the CROSS-MEDIA CHALLENGE at Sheffield which will grant one producer a $10,000CAD/£5,000 co-production development deal with the NFB

When it comes to owning and using mobile phones, Canada lags behind many nations, including several in the developing world. (Mediacastermagazine.com)

JONATHAN P. KUEHLEIN, METRO NEWS

July 15, 2008 If the future of gaming looks anything like the one envisioned by the folks behind the Xbox 360, we’re all going to spend a lot more time together — well virtually, anyway.

Holding the first major press conference at the annual E3 electronics expo yesterday in Los Angeles, Microsoft’s Xbox gaming division took square aim at the highly popular Nintendo Wii by offering up more social gaming experiences to go along with a strong core gaming experience.

Click here to read the full article [will open in a new window]

Toronto, Canada – July 11, 2008 – Capybara Games, a Canadian mobile and handheld game studio focused on the creation of innovative games, announced today that its award-winning mobile puzzle game, Critter Crunch, is now available on the Apple® iPhone™ 3G and iPod® touch. Critter Crunch is being released on the new Apple gaming platforms by Publisher X, a publisher focused on digitally downloaded titles.