NFB’S NEW APP “PURE iPHONE GOLD”! Montreal, November 9, 2009 – Just weeks after its October 21st launch, the National Film Board of Canada’s iPhone application, NFB Films, has become one of the most downloaded, popular and talked about Canadian apps.
 

Ontario Government Infuses $26 Million into Kitchener Digital Media Hub Waterloo Region, ON (November 6, 2009) – Ontario's Minister of Research and
Innovation John Milloy, MPP for Kitchener-Centre, today announced that the province is
providing $26 million to Communitech to create Ontario's hub for digital media tools,
technology and applications. The Communitech Hub: Digital Media & Mobile Accelerator
will serve as a 'club-house' of innovation for digital media companies and entrepreneurs
and drive creation of new companies and jobs in Waterloo Region and throughout
Ontario.

zinc Roe Launches Tickle Tap Series zinc Roe is proud to announce Sound Shaker, Count Caddy and Sort Slider, the first three apps in our new Tickle Tap series, are available now on the iTunes App Store.

Tickle Tap Apps are age-appropriate educational games preschoolers can play anywhere. Visit www.TickleTapApps.com to find out more and watch videos of the apps in action.

Come Out to Play at INplay 2010 For Immediate Release

November 5, 2009 (Toronto) – Interactive Ontario today announced the launch of INplay – a new conference that connects creative industries with interactive kids topics.  INplay  (www.inplay2010.com) will take place on May 18 & 19, 2010 in Toronto, Canada, and will examine the creation and commercialization of interactive media content and services for kids ages 4 to 15.

Tap-Fu, a casual beat-em-up, released for the iPhone and iPod Touch Two Ontario companies, Neptune Interactive Inc. and Smells Like Donkey, Inc., are proud to announce Tap-Fu, the latest game for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Tap-Fu is a casual side-scrolling beat-em-up inspired by games like Double Dragon and Castle Crashers.  This release features the Ninjas of the SweetTooth Clan who have stolen the Master’s candy.  Our hero must master the art of Tap-Fu and get the candy back. More info

Taking Ontario’s Video Game Industry To The Next Level McGuinty Government Strengthens Growing Industry The province is helping Interactive Ontario deliver three programs to Ontario-based companies in the areas of skills training, marketing and investor networking.  A provincial investment of $605,000 will support the following programs:

- ONtheEdge, a training curriculum targeting video game entrepreneurs to provide them with business skills tailored for the industry.
- GamesID will provide market intelligence, marketing and promotional support to video game companies by disseminating industry research and information and seeking domestic and international partnerships.
- And, the Ontario Video Game and Digital Media Investor Network, which is designed to connect video game and digital media developers with Canadian and international investors.

GameON Finance 2009 a Success! The third iteration of GameON: Finance was the best yet! Thank you to all our sponsors, event attendees and advisory board for making this event a great success.

Check out photos of the conference Visit the page here.

Select press clippings:

Gamasutra

Edge Online

Edge Online

The Hollywood Reporter

Gaming Union

Toronto Thumbs

Ontario Enhances Digital Media Tax Credits for Large Game Developers From Mediacaster Magazine

Ontario's Fall Economic Statement forecasts continued economic challenges, punctuated by multi-billion dollar deficits over the foreseeable future.  Yet specialized game developers who create eligible interactive digital media games in Ontario may have cause for celebration.
Through proposed enhancements to two key refundable tax credits, the government says it is helping to strengthen the competitiveness of the provincial entertainment and creative industries, seen as important components of the new knowledge-based economy.

Open Network Entertainment Unleashes the ONE Power-Up Game Card ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Open Network Entertainment, Inc (ONE), a company formed by a joint venture between LTI Global - (US) and Payletter, Inc (Korea), today announced the launch of the ONE Power-Up Game Card. The ONE Power-Up Game Card is a value-added prepaid card for online games, virtual worlds and social networks that allows users to take control of their online spending. ONE has partnered with InComm, a pioneer in prepaid transaction processing and a leader in the sales and marketing of prepaid products, as the official distributor of the ONE Power-Up Game Card. The prepaid game card is now available at Rite Aid stores nationwide.

CALL FOR ENTRIES - Present before Google at 3rd Fusion Venture Forum Twenty top Canadian Digital Media companies will present their latest ventures at the Fusion Venture Forum 2009 before Google and other top Silicon Valley investors, the only Western Canadian financing forum dedicated to digital media content and technology.

The annual event will showcase early and growth stage companies that are original games, mobile & Web 2.0 and new platforms & applications ventures, on November 12, 2009 at Robson Square in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

Register by October 27th for the Fusion Entrepreneur Boot Camp and the opportunity to be one of the 20 selected to pitch before top tier investors at the Forum including Google Ventures, Google Inc and SoftTech VC, one of the most active Angels in the Digital Media Space.

Canada Media Fund Announces Appointment to Board of Directors From Mediacaster Magazine

The Canada Media Fund announced that Max Valiquette will fill the seventh and final seat on the funding agency’s 2009-2010 Board of Directors.

Appointed by the Canadian Coalition for Cultural Expression, Valiquette is founder and President of Youthography, a youth marketing and research firm.

“Mr. Valiquette’s appointment rounds out the expertise of the CMF Board,” said Louis Roquet, Chair of the Board of the CTF. “His experience serving on the boards of various not-for-profit organizations and his knowledge of the digital and new media sectors will be an asset to the organization.”

Full Story

OMDC INTERACTIVE DIGITAL MEDIA FUND DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 16, 2009 (BY 5:00 PM)
 
Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) is pleased to announce a new deadline for the OMDC Interactive Digital Media (IDM) Fund. Updated documentation is now available online (www.omdc.on.ca – under Programs / Content and Marketing Funds / OMDC Interactive Digital Media Fund). To link directly to this information click here: Guidelines and Application Forms.

OMDC will be holding two information sessions on October 21, 2009.

Submissions Now Open for the 2010 Independent Games Festival Mobile SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 28 /CNW/ -- The Independent Games Festival (IGF) Mobile, the premiere venue that celebrates creativity and innovation on handheld platforms, has opened submissions for its third annual festival, with the overall winner awarded at the IGF Awards Ceremony, which precedes the Game Developers Choice Awards on March 11th, 2010. Both the IGF Awards Ceremony and the Game Developers Choice Awards are part of the 2010 Game Developers Conference (GDC10), which takes place in San Francisco's Moscone Center in March.

Mark Bishop among Next Gen Int'l TV: First class

Meet the 20 under-35s who are redefining the world of international television
From The Hollywood Reporter

Mark BishopExecutive producer/partner, marblemedia

Bishop recalls catching the Canadian industry completely off-guard with early content to bridge the TV, online and mobile platforms. It was 2001 and he and marblemedia co-founder Matt Hornburg showed domestic broadcasters an HDTV short film on a mobile screen. "People laughed (and said) 'No one will watch a film on a cell phone,' " he recalls. Still, some broadcasters became early adopters and in 2002, TV Ontario acquired marblemedia's "Deafplanet.com," a kids TV series and Web site in American Sign Language. Today, marblemedia spearheads Canadian cross-platform content with projects like the tween reality series "The Adrenaline Project," and a Web-only show dubbed "The Morning After Show." So, what does the future hold for Bishop and marblemedia? "We will redefine what being a broadcaster really means," he says. And that's no laughing matter.

ESA Canada releases 2009 Study Essential Facts About the Canadian Computer and Video Game Industry (2009) is the ESA's annual guidebook to the entertainment software industry. Download it here.

Some notable facts from the 2009 edition:

- 96% of Canadian households own a computer
- 48% of Canadian households have at least one video game console such as an Xbox 360, Wii or Playstation
- The average age of a Canadian gamer: 35.8 years
- 84% of Parent Gamers aged 18-34 report that they play video games with their child
- 95% of Adult Gamers agree that the ESRB rating system is very useful to help parents buy and rent age-appropriate video games for their children
- 66% of Wellness Gamers rate Brain Games as being very effective
- 39% of Wellness Gamers aged 55+ say the first type of entertainment software they ever bought was a wellness title such as Wii Fit or Nintendo DS Brain Age

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