edmonton

New high-tech business environment marks next frontier in diversification of Alberta's economy

Increasing the number of new companies in emerging advanced technology sectors is the goal of Alberta’s action plan Bringing Technology to Market. This $178-million plan highlights a range of coordinated actions - from a research and development tax credit to increased investment capital to technology-specific business supports and new technopreneurship projects.

A conversation with Edmonton’s leading broadband network company, Statusfirm.

Business Week's special January 2008 report says that the traditional broadcast model of "take-what-we-offer-you" is being replaced by the new consumer demand for a "give-me-what-I-want-when-I-want-it" model. It’s a fundamental shift in the way television programming is delivered as the control of programs and content move out of the hands of the traditional broadcasters and into the hands of the viewer.

From CBC News:

"Video games giant Electronic Arts Inc., the company behind the Madden series of football games, has acquired Edmonton-based BioWare Corp., a video game developer known more for its sci-fi and sorcery role-playing titles.

Electronic Arts (EA) announced on Thursday it has reached an agreement with private equity firm Elevation Partners to acquire VG Holding Corp., the owner of Bioware and Australian-based action game developer Pandemic Studios.

The acquisition gives EA two award-winning game developers working in niches outside the company's strength, which has historically been in sports titles such as the Madden football games. It also produces the popular Sims series of games.

Under the terms of the deal, EA will pay as much as $620 million US in cash to the stockholders of VG Holding Corp. and will issue up to an additional $155 million US in equity to certain employees of VG Holding Corp.

In addition, EA will also assume outstanding VG Holding Corp. stock options and has agreed to lend VG Holding Corp. up to $35 million through the closing of the acquisition.

"These are two of the most respected studios in the industry and I’m glad to be working with them again, said John Riccitiello, EA’s Chief Executive Officer. "They’ll make a strong contribution to our strategic growth initiatives on quality, online gaming and developing new intellectual properties."

From IGN Games:

"What we're about is making great games and that's not going to change," said Greg Zeschuk of BioWare. "Ray and I have been doing this for almost 15 years now and we've been very fortunate to make some really seminal games in the role-playing game space. We really think that this move -- we believe in the vision. We believe in the opportunity this gives us and the chance to stretch our wings and do even more. We're excited about what John is bringing to the table. We of course worked with him when he was the CEO of BioWare and Pandemic. We believe in where things are going and we think BioWare can be even stronger in the future."

For more discussion on the deal from Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka of BioWare, check out their interview with IGN.

Digital Alberta and CIPS Edmonton are partnering to bring together a feature presentation on the relationship between digital media and technology. Fuel Industries' Chief Strategy Officer will deliver a presentaiton titled "The Role of the CIO in Navigating the Shifting Mediascape". Brady Gilchrist, will explain how technology is fundamentally changing how people interact with each other and with mass media, how it's affecting the marketing and advertising industry and why it will be the CIO who is increasingly called upon to solve marketing challenges. He will provide real-life case studies of the technical and strategic sides of how branded entertainment, viral marketing and social media have been deployed for major brands, with a focus on helping to establish best practices for developing the backbone of a major online campaign.

Join Cybera Inc. September 19 (with TRLabs in Edmonton) and September 24 (at the Chamber of Commerce in Calgary) for CI 2.0 -- a showcase of how Cyberinfrastructure (CI), Web 2.0 and Next Generation Internet (NGI) technologies impact nearly every aspect of business today. This workshop is aimed at Alberta companies looking to reach customers in new ways, and increase their return-on-technology investment. Find out more at www.cybera.ca to register for this event.

The Massive Technology Show is an annual event that provides a user-friendly environment to explore technologies for business. It is the largest B2B technology show of its kind in Canada, held in Vancouver, Toronto and now, Edmonton. In this action-packed day of interactive exhibits, informative presentations and networking opportunities, companies learn how to achieve their goals faster using technology.

Please join us for sociables and snackies at 5:00 PM on Thursday, September 20 when we will announce what the DMAA has in store for the upcoming 2007-2008 Program Year like our Storytelling and Social Networking Workshops, our involvement in the Tri-Media Conference, ICE Conference, Market Access Programs, Awards Festival and much more! Calgary's Mixer will be held at Brewster's on 11 Avenue SW. Edmonton's Mixer will be held at Hudsons Downtown (Oliver Square). For more information and to RSVP, contact rene@dmaa.ca. Hope to see you there!

Sega of America Inc. Sega Europe Ltd, and Edmonton-based BioWare Corp. on Thurs. announced a partnership to create a new role-playing game based on the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise for Nintendo Co.'s Nintendo DS handheld. The unnamed new offering is scheduled to debut in 2008.

Investopedia, the Edmonton-based online resource for financial education, has just been acquired by Forbes Media for an undisclosed amount. Investopedia, founded in 1999, has grown to be one of the largest financial sites devoted for investor education. With over 15M page impressions, the site gets a good amount of traffic and provides a wealth of information regarding stock and market news, an online dictionary, free resources and tools, and even prep exams for accountants. Investopedia is a niche news site, but delivers pertinent information well.

Edmonton-based Rocketfuel Productions recently took the top prize at the "Pitch It!" competition at the eighth annual Kidscreen Summit in New York City for their cross media entertainment property for kids, "C.I.E." (Central Institute for Exploration). The summit was held from February 7-9.