Starting on January 31st, The EDGE workshop series will focus on the business aspects of the interactive gaming sector. The program includes business fundamentals and industry-specific topics, taught by industry experts. 

EDGE has been designed to provide participants with in-depth knowledge of topics pertaining to the interactive gaming industry including:

- Entrepreneurial Finance in Interactive Gaming
- Human Resources Management in Interactive Gaming
- Intellectual Property in Interactive Gaming
- Principles of Marketing in Interactive Gaming
- Project Management in Interactive Gaming
- Leadership and Entrepreneurial Behaviour in Interactive Gaming

The workshops have been designed for video game and digital media entrepreneurs in the interactive gaming sector. In particular, it will appeal to mid-level and executive professionals in the gaming industry looking to advance their skills, and new game developers interested in developing competencies to successfully launch new gaming projects.

Thanks to Jamie from BlueSky Communications for providing the above information.

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Keynote Session Highlights

KEYNOTE INTERVIEW: Zack Karlsson, VP, Business Development & Digital Platforms, Capcom

This keynote features a candid and revealing interview with games industry veteran Zack Karlsson, Vice President, Business Development & Digital Platforms, Capcom. Currently, Karlsson oversees the digital, mobile and social games businesses and portfolios, as well as business development activities for Capcom. Zack will be interviewed by Shaun Hatton, Host & Content Producer, Electric Playground

KEYNOTE: Changing the Game - The Power of Analytics

Chris Wright, CEO, GamesAnalytics will present the top tips online developers and publishers need to implement to achieve successful results from data-mining and analytics in online games. Takeaways include: recognizing valuable data, how to collect the right data, identifying real player value, how to segment and predict player behaviour, generating actionable results that improve customer satisfaction and revenue, and the importance of tracking social interaction.

Chris Wright co-founded GamesAnalytics in the UK, a data mining and monetization company serving the games industry. Over the course of his career, Wright helped I-play to become a top-three mobile games publisher worldwide, with relationships spanning EA, Activision, EIDOS, Universal Pictures and MGM. Chris was responsible for the most successful mobile games from I-play including the Fast and Furious franchise (which sold over ten million copies), the Metal Slug franchise and My Dog. In 2007, I-play was acquired by Oberon Media for an estimated $110 million.
KEYNOTE: The Games People Play: Dominating a Multi-Billion Dollar Industry

Albert Lai has been involved in dozens of startups, raising millions of dollars in venture financing and successfully selling companies. Albert believes that many observers currently underestimate the potential growth of the mobile games industry and the disruptive nature of digital and social distribution which will serve as the building blocks for a billion dollar mobile games industry in Canada. In this keynote presentation, Albert describes the perfect storm of events, situations, government support and massive game talent which together will shape Canada's new role in dominating the multi-billion dollar games industry, and gain insight into how entrepreneurs and investors can profit from this tremendous opportunity.

While in his teens, Albert sold his first Internet company, the MyDesktop Network in a cash transaction to JupiterMedia (JUPM) for seven-figures. More recently he was the founder/CEO of BubbleShare, a photo-sharing company sold to Kaboose/Disney in 2007.  He is a co-founder of Kontagent, an analytics platform, which has raised over $18 million from investors including the Facebook Fund, Altos Ventures, Maverick Capital and Battery Ventures.

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#1 - Game Development Canada

#1 - Game Studios Canada

#1 - Vancouver Game Studios

#1 - Video Game Companies Calgary

#3 - Video Game Jobs Toronto

#4 - Cool Video Game Studios

#8 - Jeux Videos Studio Independant Montreal

This sample list displays the type of Google searches that visitors have used to find their way to CanDevs. It's informative to know that both Google and visitors find CanDevs to be a useful site.

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CanDevs Facebook page

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ESAC has also launched the 2011 edition of Essential Facts, a report that contains a profile of the Canadian industry and Canadian gamers. Findings include: the Canadian industry has grown by 11% over the past two years and is projected to grow 17% over the next two years, and 59% of Canadians are gamers and that the average age of a gamer is 33 years old.

For ESAC's full report, visit their web site www.theesa.ca

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X-Summit (October 24-26) will explore rich and emerging opportunities where media platforms converge, offering attendees the insights, tools and partnerships to better tell and sell their stories seamlessly across multiple channels.

KEYNOTE PANEL: Winter is Coming - Adapting A Game of Thrones
Vince Gerardis, Co-Executive Producer, HBO's Game of Thrones
Yves Bordeleau, Studio Director, Cyanide Studio Montreal
(Mod.) Lenny Brown, Vice President, Creative & Business Development, THQ
This session delves into the partnerships formed to produce the HBO television series, Game of Thrones. It will also examine the parallel development of the IP into different games, the licensing details and the challenges of staying true to the integrity of the books when brokering and creating the adaptations.

KEYNOTE INTERVIEW: Immortal Content: Machinima’s Mortal Kombat
Featuring: Allen DeBevoise, Chairman & CEO of Machinima Inc. & Machinima.com
Allen DeBevoise explains why Machinima is the number one all-time entertainment channel for gamers on YouTube, citing their live action Mortal Kombat: Legacy web series as the most recent success. The series delivered more than 40 million views and over 25 million unique impressions in its first 16 weeks, making it competitive with many successful cable series.

FEATURED SPEAKERS
John Kavanagh, SVP of Video Games, Paramount Pictures
-Oversees game development and licensing of titles based on Paramount films
-Managing complex product, software, distribution, licensing and technology initiatives within the Video Games and Toy Industries (Apple, Sega, Nintendo, Atari)
Jonas Eneroth, Managing Partner, ProCloud Media
- Currently one of the senior partners at ProCloud Media (War of the Worlds and Star Trek), an international finance and production firm focused on digitally distributed games
- Executive Producer of Eidos' multi-award winning Deus Ex and Timesplitters franchises
Carrie Stein, Head of Global Management & Packaging, 3 Arts Entertainment
-Producers of Parks and Recreation, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia & I Am Legend
-Former CEO of Alchemy Television, distributors of CBS/CTV hit series Flashpoint

FEATURED SESSIONS: The Internet as Television, Cross-Media Synergy, Elevating the Dialogue with Broadcasters, Originals on the Web.

X-Summit is co-produced with the Computer Animation Studios of Ontario (CASO) and the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) as Lead Industry Partner. Registration is now open and more details are available at www.x-summit.com. X-Summit also is offering a limited number of specially priced Start-Up Passes in order to make the conference more accessible.

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So I've upgraded the bandwidth quota with the web host. This will allow the site to handle current and increasing traffic levels for the time being. It's not a huge out of pocket expense as long as the site keeps being useful to visitors.

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Registered teams compete to create a mobile game with the chance to win a grand prize of $25,000 and possibly getting the app published. The event runs from September 30th to October 2nd 2011, and is sponsored by game developer XMG Studio, The National Post, and KPMG.

Full details can be found at GreatCanadianAppathon.

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A few months back I noticed that Dollarama started selling video games. They have brand new, but older PC, Playstation, and I think Xbox games. Most are casual games, or ones geared towards younger children. But the other day I found Supreme Ruler 2020 for $2. This game is an RTS developed by Battlegoat Studios out of Ancaster, Ontario. I think it was a good find, so I will keep an eye out for other interesting games.

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Ganz Studios is the interactive entertainment division of Ganz, a company known for creating toys and giftware for over 50 years. Developers of the popular Webkinz virtual world, they are currently working on a new virtual world called Tail Towns. Ganz headquarters is in Woodbridge, just outside of Toronto.

Toronto-based XMG Studio is a mobile games developer. They have released a number of games including Cows vs Aliens, Inspector Gadget's Mad Dash, and a game based on the popular television show Degrassi.

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