Video Games and Hollyweird Storm Vancouver

UEFA Euro, which only happens every four years will have soccer (football) hooligans and video gamers alike all in a tizzy on May 20th. UEFA Euro 2008 will be released by Electronic Arts and celebrates the UEFA European soccer championship and allows the gamer to determine the plot line. According to Colin Macrae, EA’s Communications Director, the newest version will give gamers the ability “to control their player after scoring a goal so they can decide how to celebrate, where to run on the field, how to drop to their knees and the like”.

The Vancouver International Games Summit will take place May 21 to 22 and many a gaming company will be present for the second annual event. The gaming development industry is booming in Canada with not only the larger corporations but smaller animation houses as well. Vancouver is also starting to see film and television productions returning now that the writers strike is over and it is also speculated that the strength of Canadian currency is also a culprit for gaming and movie companies being developed and filmed in the country.

Even with video games sales eclipsing movie revenue and major studios cutting back on filming, Vancouver is still swamped with Hollywood royalty like Jennifer Aniston, Keanu Reeves, Kathy Bates, Ben Stiller and others who have or will be descending upon our northern neighbors because of filming. Radical Entertainment, named one of Canada’s top 100 employers will be releasing their game Prototype later on in the year and EA, Rockstar, and many other small gaming companies are located in Vancouver.

It looks like Canada may end up being the next Dallas when it comes to the gaming and internet industry. While we have been used to some of our favorite television shows being shot up there (X-Files for example), we will more than likely be seeing or hearing a whole lot more from those crazy and lovable canucks in the near future and I don’t mean just Red Greene either!

Source: The Vancouver Sun