{"id":2780,"date":"2017-03-14T19:55:51","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T00:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sisleridm.com\/?p=2780"},"modified":"2017-03-14T19:55:51","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T00:55:51","slug":"canada-takes-3-billion-video-game-industry-seriously-pushes-sector-new-levels-national-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/2017\/03\/14\/canada-takes-3-billion-video-game-industry-seriously-pushes-sector-new-levels-national-post\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada takes its $3 billion video game industry seriously as it pushes sector to new levels &#8211; National Post"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"npBlock npPostContent\">\n<div class=\"pn_body_content_fbia\">\n}source<a href=\"http:\/\/business.financialpost.com\/fp-tech-desk\/canada-takes-its-3-billion-video-game-industry-seriously-as-it-pushes-sector-to-achieve-powerhouse-status?__lsa=37f8-ad59\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">:\u00a0http:\/\/business.financialpost.com\/fp-tech-desk\/canada-takes-its-3-billion-video-game-industry-seriously-as-it-pushes-sector-to-achieve-powerhouse-status?__lsa=37f8-ad59<\/a><br \/>\nSAN FRANCISCO \u2014 In the hustle and bustle of downtown San Francisco, the Game Developers Conference (GDC) takes place each March at the Moscone Center and surrounding city blocks. Sessions by industry members teach new tricks to those who make video games, business meetings take place behind closed doors and two large expo floors are filled with booths from companies small and large.<br \/>\nIn one corner, for the second year in a row, a Canadian takeover took place with rows of independent game studios all showing off their new titles \u2014 and taking a shot at stardom. Being there is only half the battle, however. A key element of their success is a makeshift Canadian pavilion, staffed by members of the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) who work with the studios to identify their objectives and arrange meetings with publishers from other countries through its large trade network in hopes of generating exports. For many studios, these connections, together with financing through the Canada Media Fund, can help their games go international.<\/p>\n<div class=\"npBlock npRule npRelated\">\n<h4 class=\"npNoRule\">Related<\/h4>\n<ul class=\"related_links\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/business.financialpost.com\/fp-tech-desk\/rise-of-the-indie-developer-microsoft-puts-small-studios-closer-to-the-centre-of-its-gaming-future?__lsa=6325-af5f\">\u2018Rise of the indie developer\u2019: Microsoft puts small studios closer to the centre of its gaming future<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/business.financialpost.com\/fp-tech-desk\/personal-tech\/google-announces-new-android-features-for-developers-gamers-as-it-tries-to-create-global-gaming-hub\">Google announces new Android features for developers, gamers in bid to make its platform a global gaming hub<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe world owes a little bit of a debt to the Canadian government for what the Canada Media Fund has done in helping jump-start a lot of really amazing games,\u201d said Seattle-based Chris Charla, director of Microsoft Corp.\u2019s independent developer program for Xbox. \u201cThe government support for video games in Canada has been tremendous and the net result is that Canadian games are by far some of the best in the world.\u201d<br \/>\nThe TCS, which works with other sectors, has been involved with GDC but in a smaller capacity, since 2008. At the GDC, decision-makers from around the world gather in one place. In the past two years, a Canadian booth and separate rooms have been set aside for meetings that the TCS helps set up in advance or right on the show floor.<br \/>\nCanada ranks third in the world for developing video games, behind the U.S. and Japan, according to the Entertainment Software Association of Canada. Last year, the industry employed 20,400 people in more than 470 studios and contributed $3 billion to the country\u2019s GDP. Canada \u2014 a country known for its tech savviness and high mobile adoption rates \u2014 now has the leading countries in its sights in terms of becoming a gaming powerhouse.<br \/>\nOn a federal level, the Canada Media Fund acts like a loan and helps develop, promote and finance projects. Tax credits can also help cut labour costs by 17.5 to 50 per cent. All told, there is a 30.6-per-cent cost advantage when compared to the U.S., according to a recent KPMG study.<br \/>\nThere are additional provincial tax incentives in places such as Quebec, B.C. and Atlantic Canada \u2014 all of which were present at GDC \u2014 and funding to help give recent graduates work out of school.<\/p>\n<div class=\"npImgCentre\">\n<div class=\"npPosRel\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs-codename-entertainment-2.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-743814\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs-codename-entertainment-2.png?resize=640%2C480\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" srcset=\"http:\/\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs-codename-entertainment-2.png 940x, http:\/\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs-codename-entertainment-2.png?w=140&amp;h=105 140x, http:\/\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs-codename-entertainment-2.png?w=300&amp;h=225 300x, http:\/\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs-codename-entertainment-2.png?w=768&amp;h=576 768x, http:\/\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs-codename-entertainment-2.png?w=620&amp;h=465 620x\" alt=\"Chad Hipolito\/National Post\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" data-attachment-id=\"743814\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/business.financialpost.com\/fp-tech-desk\/canada-takes-its-3-billion-video-game-industry-seriously-as-it-pushes-sector-to-achieve-powerhouse-status\/attachment\/fp0313-gs-codename-entertainment-2\" data-orig-file=\"http:\/\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs-codename-entertainment-2.png\" data-orig-size=\"940,705\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"fp0313-gs-codename-entertainment-2\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Codename Entertainment CEO Eric Jordan at his office in Victoria. Canada is becoming a video game powerhouse and the government is giving tools and resources to help independent developers like Jordan get off the ground to make games. &lt;\/p&gt; \" data-medium-file=\"http:\/\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs-codename-entertainment-2.png?w=300\" data-large-file=\"http:\/\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs-codename-entertainment-2.png?w=620\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"npPhotoTxt npTxtPlain npTxtLeft\">\n<div class=\"npGroup\"><span class=\"npPhotoCredit\">Chad Hipolito\/National Post<\/span><span class=\"npPhotoCaption\">Codename Entertainment CEO Eric Jordan at his office in Victoria. Canada is becoming a video game powerhouse and the government is giving tools and resources to help independent developers like Jordan get off the ground to make games.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Victoria, B.C.-based Codename Entertainment creates computer and mobile titles in the strategy and role-playing genres, with titles such as\u00a0<em>Crusaders of the Lost Idols<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Bush Whacker 2<\/em>\u00a0receiving tens of millions of plays. The company uses funding programs and tax incentives from different levels of government to help make its games, but CEO Eric Jordan said the Trade Commissioner Service\u2019s matchmaking program on the business-to-business side is a major help.<br \/>\n\u201cIn the national economic strategy for Canada, video games are one of the focus industries so the Trade Commissioner provides a lot of support,\u201d Jordan said in an interview during the show that ran Feb. 27 to March 3.<br \/>\n\u201cMy day today and part of tomorrow is mostly back-to-back meetings (set up by TCS) with various people. I really don\u2019t know much about Asian publishers, for example \u2026 so I was meeting with folks from Japan, China and others.\u201d<br \/>\nThe TCS put together a whopping 117-page book for this year\u2019s GDC to give international businesses an overview of the industry and a database of the dozens of Canadian developers that were at the weeklong event. Information includes company objectives, size, types of services offered and genres.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs_video_game_numbers.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-743816\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs_video_game_numbers.png?resize=190%2C647\" alt=\"\" width=\"190\" height=\"647\" data-attachment-id=\"743816\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/business.financialpost.com\/fp-tech-desk\/canada-takes-its-3-billion-video-game-industry-seriously-as-it-pushes-sector-to-achieve-powerhouse-status\/attachment\/fp0313-gs_video_game_numbers\" data-orig-file=\"http:\/\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs_video_game_numbers.png\" data-orig-size=\"625,1911\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"fp0313-gs_video_game_numbers\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"http:\/\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs_video_game_numbers.png?w=98\" data-large-file=\"http:\/\/wpmedia.business.financialpost.com\/2017\/03\/fp0313-gs_video_game_numbers.png?w=620\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n\u201cUsually what they do is they ask for your objectives \u2026 and then go from there and cross-reference with their contacts based on being a great fit,\u201d said Jean Simon Otis, co-founder of the six-employee Chainawesome Games based in Quebec City. \u201cThen they\u2019ll send an e-mail to both of us and see if we can meet at GDC.\u201d<br \/>\nNot all Canadian developers use government funding such as the Canada Media Fund, since they may have other ways of financing their titles. But most studios opt for the matchmaking service once they find out about it. Other companies around the world may not answer the phone for a small independent developer, but they will for the Canadian government.<br \/>\nFor some companies, however, the Canada Media Fund and other financial resources are crucial to getting off the ground.<br \/>\n\u201cIt completely lit the fuse,\u201d said Ryan FitzGerald, creative director of Winnipeg-based Evodant Interactive Inc., which has an AI-driven role-playing game for PC and consoles called Gyre. \u201cBy getting the production funding from the CMF, we can finally staff up. Winnipeg in particular has some extraordinary talent, both on the engineering and arts side, and it\u2019s been a pleasure to hire and work with the people we have now.\u201d<br \/>\nThe amount of funding a studio receives from the fund depends on the scope of its approved project, and it\u2019s up to the company to decide exactly how to use it. For example, if overhead costs are kept lower than expected, more features could be added to the game before it is completed.<br \/>\n\u201cWe knew that with the money we got, eventually the cupboard would be dry, especially if we were irresponsible with it,\u201d FitzGerald said. \u201cWe work with the stakeholders and the CMF to make sure that the budget was responsible and appropriate.\u201d<br \/>\nWith a significant provincial and federal push across all regions of Canada to support both independent and major studios alike, the video-game industry in Canada shows no signs of slowing down. The boom is also helping generate interest and create jobs for future generations that some sectors struggle to match.<br \/>\n\u201cVideo games have this really important role to play in (Canada) for helping to go to high school and middle school students and say, \u2018You know those things that you really enjoy as hobbies? Those are very viable careers,\u2019\u201d said Codename\u2019s Jordan, who is also on the board of directors of DigiBC, a digital media industry association.<br \/>\n\u201cVideo games are a subsector of this exploding, broader tech sector that\u2019s just really understandable and identifiable.\u201d<br \/>\n<em>Financial Post<\/em><br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:jomcconnell@postmedia.com\"><em>jomcconnell@postmedia.com<\/em><\/a><br \/>\n<em><a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/JoshMcConnell\">Twitter.com\/JoshMcConnell<\/a><\/em>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"kgallery\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>}source:\u00a0http:\/\/business.financialpost.com\/fp-tech-desk\/canada-takes-its-3-billion-video-game-industry-seriously-as-it-pushes-sector-to-achieve-powerhouse-status?__lsa=37f8-ad59 SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 In the hustle and bustle of downtown San Francisco, the Game Developers Conference (GDC) takes place each March<\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a class=\"myButt \" href=\"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/2017\/03\/14\/canada-takes-3-billion-video-game-industry-seriously-pushes-sector-new-levels-national-post\/\">DIVE IN<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2783,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[108,109,110,111,470,113,116,119,519,127,331,137,139,569,152,154,82,156,157,160,162],"class_list":["post-2780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-masterclasses","tag-pbl","tag-sislerhighschool","tag-sislerhs","tag-winnipegsd","tag-470","tag-animation-school","tag-canada","tag-coding","tag-economy","tag-film-school","tag-game-design","tag-idm","tag-innovative-high-school","tag-national-post","tag-project-based-learning","tag-sisler","tag-sisler-high-school","tag-steam","tag-stem","tag-winnipeg","tag-winnipeg-school-division"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2780\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sislercreate.com\/Animation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}