Category Archives: Canada

A Montreal chapter for Women in Games International has been announced, and the chapter will launch during the International Game Developers Association summer event tonight, June 18. “As a vibrant hub of game development, we think it’s important that Montreal has a local WIGI chapter,” said co-founder Sharon Price. “There has been increased awareness around women who work in games, and how women are portrayed in games. We want to represent a positive, open, and visible presence for women in the industry.” The launch will be at Terrasses Bonsecours, Quais du Vieux-Port tonight. Thanks, GI International.

Patrice Désilets has filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft in which he is seeking $400,000 and the rights to purchase 1666, which was apparently subtitled Amsterdam.

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François Pelland has been named Ubisoft Quebec’s new executive director of development.

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ESA Canada has said the games industry added $2.3 billion to the country’s gross domestic product last year, and noted that 84% of studios are working on titles for mobile devices.

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Family, friends, and the Vancouver Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit are still searching for former Rooster Teeth contributor David “Knuckles Dawson” Dreger.

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Fuel Industries, a Canadian game developer, has been given a permit from the city of Alamogordo, New Mexico, to excavate the landfill where Atari reportedly buried many, many copies of E.T. and other broken or unsalable merchandise back in 1983.

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If you live in or around Vancouver, please take a moment to check out this campaign to help find David Dreger. The former RoosterTeeth personality, better known as KnucklesDawson, was last seen on the evening of May 27 and police are treating his subsequent disappearance as a missing persons case. Dreger’s family and friends have expressed their gratitude for any help provided; even just a Tweet or repost could help get the message where it is needed.

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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