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MIGS06/Arcadia: No PS3 love for Montreal
Last week, Montreal was the place to be for video games, between the industry-oriented Montreal International Game Summit, and the consumer-oriented Arcadia Festival. Both events featured show floors, allowing attendees to try out all the latest consoles and games ... except for the PS3, that is.Despite the strong presences of both the Wii and the Xbox 360, Sony failed to make the Playstation 3 available to play at either of the major Montreal events this past week, raising some interesting questions about Sony's dedication to the Canadian market.François Décarie, event promoter for the Arcadia Festival, cites delays of the console in the European market as reason for Sony failing to commit PS3s to the events, as well as the company's general shortage of launch units. In a brief interview with Joystiq last week, he remarked "You know, in Europe it's been delayed until March or something like that. We've talked with [Sony], but with the uncertainty of when they're coming out in the market, it was difficult for them to commit ... Not only that, they were talking about 2 million units, now apparently they're not getting the 2 million units for Japan and North America, meaning that you would have how many for North America? A million? And you make the equation, and you come down to say, well, how many available in Canada for them? And it was a bit of a risk for them to come here. And we understand, and we respect this."M. Décarie remains optimistic that Sony will be present at the 2007 Arcadia Festival: "Next year, we're pretty sure that once they get everything together they'll come back to the festival. They were here last year. So, I guess this year for them it was a difficult year to commit."
Scott Jon Siegel11.15.2006
Arcadia gaming festival Montreal
Next Friday through Sunday the Arcadia gaming festival wil be held at the Stade Uniprix, Montreal. We previously reported we had some basic details about the Canandian gaming event, which has Nintendo, Microsoft and Ubisoft as sponsors. We've now spoken with "conceptrice d'atmosphere" and festival organizer Marie-Annick Boisvert.The second annual Arcadia festival's big news is that 10 Wii units will be available to play, which Boisvert says is a "miracle." Considering it's a three day event, that's a lot more Wii time than you'll get at your local games merchant before they tell you to buy or get out. If you couldn't make it to PAX this year, the Minibosses will also be performing at Arcadia. Boisvert says that Burger King just contacted them and will be showing off their three new titles going on sale November 19 -- like the pseudo-scary Sneak King.There will be an academic area, serious games area and "Lan Arcadia," which will allow 250 players to compete in Counter Strike 1.6, UT2004, and Warcraft III: Frozen Throne. Registration is required and the cost is $55 for pre-registration, $65 at the door (if space is available). Cash prizes will be awarded and the competition lasts two days. There will also be DDR and Guitar Hero competitions with prize awards (no registration required). Oh, and TAG body spray booth babes, which Boisvert says, "You can take pictures with." Ahh, booth babes, what would a video game festival be without them?
Alexander Sliwinski11.04.2006
Super Columbine Massacre RPG creator interview
Canadian television network Canoe interviewed Danny Ledonne, the creator of the Super Columbine Massacre RPG. The game has become the scapegoat for the Montreal "Video Game Killer" school shooting rampage.The interview is worth watching for the way Ledonne behaves himself. Like watching Marilyn Manson in Bowling for Columbine, Ledonne handles himself professionally with word choice precision; meanwhile, the Toronto Sun columnist being used as the counter, who "tried to play" Ledonne's game, comes off like the stereotypical out-of-touch old man -- because he is. We'll avoid the First Amendment soapbox and just throw a quote in here from Ledonne, the new poster boy for the ESRB:"Find out what your kids are playing, talk to them, get in touch with them. I mean, most of these cases have kids that have fallen through the cracks, they hate life, they say it, and these I feel are the root causes, not whatever video game or book or movie they happen to pick up that weekend."See also: Columbine game scapegoated for Montreal shootingsThe Political Game: The blame gameWatch - Canoe Interview
Alexander Sliwinski09.18.2006
Screenshot roundup: Assassin's Creed
One of the most anticipated titles for the PS3, Assassin's Creed blew away E3 attendees little over a month ago. Well, it seems that Game Reactor has gotten their hands on more screens for the game and the title coming from Ubisoft's Montreal studio is shaping up to be another stellar offering. We knew it was going to be a game you should keep your eye on when we reported of its announcement a little before the show and things haven't changed since.
David Hinkle06.13.2006Lost game coming to PSP?
According to a press release issued by Ubisoft, the company's Montréal studio is going to be bringing a game based on the popular television show Lost to gamers in 2007. While no consoles were specifically named, a line from the press release stating that the game would be coming to "home and portable consoles as well as PCs" has us hoping thinking PSP.As a big fan of the show, I'm pretty excited that a game based on the show is going to see the light of day. In attempting to think of how a game like this would play, however, I'm a bit stumped. It's not like the PSP would allow for episodic content, so that idea is out (or is it?). How do all of you out there think a game like Lost could excel on the platform?
David Hinkle05.23.2006Ubi announces Assassin's Creed for PS3
Ubisoft officially announced yesterday that it would be bringing Assassin's Creed to the PS3 in 2007. The game, which is set during 1191 AD amidst the third holy crusade, is being developed by Ubi's Montreal Studio, who're responsible for the Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia franchises. Stating that the game will "captivate audiences and affect them on the same level as an epic novel or film," Yannis Mallat, Ubisoft's Montreal Studios' chief executive officer, seems confident that gamers will receive this title with open arms. Ubisoft's chief executive officer, Serge Hascoet, commented "Our goal to introduce three new brands into the marketplace every two years is working. With Assassin’s Creed we’re introducing a franchise that will establish itself as the must-have next-generation game for the next-generation gamer.” A trailer for the game can be viewed/downloaded at the official site here.
David Hinkle05.03.2006Ubisoft Montreal: Yep, we'll make more Rev games
Yannis Mallet, the recently-promoted Ubisoft Montreal Studio CEO, conducted a small Q & A session with Gamasutra. Most concerning the upcoming Nintendo Revolution was the allusion to Ubisoft working on more titles for the platform aside from the already-confirmed Red Steel. When asked about upcoming games for the Revolution, Yannis said "I can say definitely, as any other developer, we are looking at this magical platform, and we want to be part of the adventure. You know already that Red Steel is made public in Game Informer. That's an exclusive Ubisoft title, made in Ubisoft Paris. And I'm pretty sure we'll see other Revolution games from Ubisoft. And some of them, I'm sure, will be made from Montreal."
David Hinkle04.15.20068bit musicians announce world tour
Former cellmates Nullsleep and Bitshifter have announced plans to embark on a world tour, blasting their blend of bleeps, bloops, and blizzasts from Boston to Brussels and back again. If you're not an 8-bit believer yet, nothing will win you over except trying it out for yourself. To that end, here are links (1, 2, 3, 4) to some MP3s these torturers of Gameboys, Famicoms and other old-school video game consoles have kindly provided for downloading. If you like what you hear, check the tour page and maybe even drop a few dollars in the donation bucket to help make it happen.
Vladimir Cole03.22.2006Apple Store Montreal?
Here's the latest hint of a future Apple Store. Over at this job search page there's a listing for a Mac Genius in Montreal. Specific job requirements include: Provides front line customer support at the Genius Bar, including hardware and software troubleshooting & diagnosis and basic customer product training Repairs Apple hardware and software products Manages all aspects of repair work flow including open repairs prioritization, case management and service part order management Good luck, Montreal! If anyone in the area has any news on the location of this new store, let us know.Thanks, Aaron!
Dave Caolo02.22.2006