Category Archives: Canada

PlayStation Network users in Canada can participate in a class-action suit against Sony over the firm’s 2011 network outage which was the result of a hack.

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Electronic Arts has laid-off some of its employees at EA Mobile Montreal, and while the firm has commented on the matter, it had refused to provide the specific number of those affected.

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Namco Bandai is expanding with two new international offices. A press release by the British Columbia Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training notes that Namco Bandai Vancouver will begin operation in june, while an unnamed Singapore office will also open sometime this year. The former will developer social games, while the latter’s role is unknown. The BC government seems pretty chuffed to have secured a new source of jobs – especially among recent reports of games industry companies packing up and heading east.

Thanks, Joystiq.

Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City and Galactic Reign developer Slant Six Games has issued another round of temporary lay-offs with the intention to rehire all staff.

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Some Canadian developers are relocating to eastern provinces thanks to decreased tax breaks in western regions.

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Atlus has dropped us a line to let us know that Persona 4 Golden is $10 off across Canada and the US for two weeks only. The PS2 Classic remake is one of the Vita’s best-selling titles, and certainly its highest-rated.

This week’s North American PlayStation Store update is a bit light on full games, but offers a wide variety of bundles and add-ons as well as the Defiance beta for Plus subscribers.

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Nintendo of America’s official Pokémon Twitter made an interesting comment on Twitter overnight, promising “exciting news for Pikachu fans coming up tomorrow”. AllGamesBeta suspects the Pikachu-themed 3DS XL may be making its way to North America, and after looking at the teaser image, it certainly seems possible.

Tecmo Koei Canada will shut its doors at the of next month, according to a company official speaking with the Financial Post. The Fatal Inertia, Warriors: Legends of Troy and mobile development house is the only studio owned by the firm in North America. A representative from the main office declined to state how many employees would be affected by the studio’s closure. Thanks, Polygon.

Wii Mini has moved 35,700 units in Canada since it was released in the region December 7. The numbers account for sales lead up to January 31, according to Nintendo of Canada’s comms manager, Matt Ryan. The bare bones console, which lacks the ability to go online, backwards compatibility or SD support, will be released in the UK on March 22. Thanks, Nintendo World Report.

This week’s PlayStation Plus update brings a free copy of Lord of the Rings-licensed MOBA Guardians of Middle-Earth to US subscribers. Members will also benefit from three discount deals – 50% off Karateka at $5; 40% off Big Sky Infinity at $6; and 40% off Knytt Underground. This last one supports cross-buy, so if you pick up the PlayStation 3 release at $15, you’ll get the $9 Vita version for free, too. Visit the PlayStation Blog for the full rundown.

Microsoft’s Black Tusk Studios in Vancouver has four games in development, according to a LinkedIn resume belonging to the firm’s senior product manager/product planner, Jonathan Browne.

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A Fire Emblem: Awakening 3DS bundle has been announced by Nintendo of America for the US and Canada. Announced overnight through Twitter, the hardware bundle contains a cobalt blue 3DS with the game’s logo etched on it – same as the one released in Japan back in April 2012 – and the game itself is pre-installed on the system. NoA didn’t provide a price for the bundle, but said more information will be made available soon. Shots of the lovely colored 3DS and its box are below. A demo for the game will be made available on the eShop January 17. It releases through the shop and at retail February 4 in North America. The game lands in Europe in April

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Capcom Vancouver is hiring a UI software engineer for “two unannounced projects.” The description, posted on LinkedIn, notes the game’s are “open-world action” titles. Thought at first to be a recruitment post for Dead Rising 3, the posting goes on to read that “for our next project we’ve been given the opportunity to create Capcom’s next big game.” The firm said “no zombies” allowed So, no does the “no zombies” bit nix Dead Rising 3 as one of the projects? Or does the firm wish to remain a zombie-free zone? You decide, however, Dead Rising 3 could one of these projects, or a third, unmentioned project. Thanks, OXM.

Atlus is offering reissues of the first three Etrian Odyssey titles in Canada, according to a pre-order ad from Canadian retailer Video Games Plus. The Nintendo DS games Etrian Odyssey, Etrian Odyssey 2: Heroes of Lagaard and Etrian Odyssey 3: The Drowned City are up for $29.99 each, and customers can a create bundle out of the offers to receive a $15 discount. The trilogy is expected to arrive in Canada in early 2013. The next game in the series, Etrian Odyssey 4: Legends of the Titan, is slated for release on 3DS and eShop on February 26. Thanks: NeoGAF, Polygon.

Wii Mini is as bare bones as it gets for a console, and that was exactly what Nintendo intended for the onset, according to Nintendo of Canada communications director Matt Ryan.

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Ubisoft has opened a performance capture studio in Toronto to support the creation of high-quality content for games.

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A Vita 3G/Wi-Fi model will be available in Canada on October 2, Sony has announced. It will included a download voucher for Gravity Rush and Unit 13 for $299. Rogers Communications will handle the data packages, which will be available on a month-to-month basis. Get more details on the PS Blog.

The North American arm of the PlayStation Store has updated with a somewhat uninspiring round of new content lead by a couple of new games on demand.

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PES 2013 has a spiffy steelbook case which will be provided for free to those who pre-order at GameStop in the US or EB Games in Canada. The limited edition casing comes in two flavours – one features an “homage to the UEFA Champion’s League”, and the other has Copa Libertadores. I’d love to show you some photos but Konami’s asset mirror actually hates me. There’ll be a new PES 2013 demo this week ahead of the full game’s launch in September on PC and HD consoles, with portable, PS2 and Wii releases to follow.