Vancouver's Hothead Games Advances in Dev Competition

[Tami]

Montreal, March 21, 2007, 7:30 P.M. EST – Telefilm Canada announces the four Canadian game development firms to receive up to $250,000 each as Round 2 winners of its Great Canadian Video Game Competition.

The names of the Round 2 winners were revealed by Wayne Clarkson, Telefilm Canada’s Executive Director, at a gala event hosted by the Interactive Content Exchange (ICE 2007) in Toronto.

“The level of talent and entrepreneurship shown by Canadian independent game developers has been nothing short of amazing. We believe these four Round 2 winners best meet the criteria of the Competition, and we are excited to see how their prospects will progress over the next several months,” says Clarkson.

The names of the four Round 2 winning companies (followed by location, project name and platform) are:

* Big Blue Bubble, London, Ontario, Hobby Shop, console

* Cerebral Vortex Games, St. Catharines, Ontario, Ambush! Trivia, PC/Mobile/Xbox Live Arcade

* MindHabits Inc., Montreal, Quebec, MindHabits Trainer, handheld

[b]* Hothead Games Inc., Vancouver, B.C., SWARM!, PC.[/b]

The funding will allow the four firms to create a playable prototype. In addition, Round 2 winners will develop commercialization and marketing plans necessary to attract other financing and private investment. Round 2 winners will continue to receive support from their mentors.

The winning projects were evaluated by a proven industry jury that comprised Yannis Mallat, CEO, Ubisoft Montreal; Ron Moravek, Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Electronic Arts Canada; and Kelly Zmak, President, Radical Entertainment (Vivendi Universal Games Canada).

The four companies made winning pitches to the jury at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco in early March. In September, one company will receive up to $500,000 in matching funds from Telefilm to support the commercialization of its game.

The Great Canadian Video Game Competition, created with the input and support of industry, takes place in three rounds that mirror traditional industry financing: Innovation (Round 1); Product Development (Round 2); and Commercialization (Round 3).

[b]Round 1 winners[/b]
Round 1 winners announced last January include: Dark Matter Entertainment, Toronto; HB Studios & TPB Productions, Lunenburg; Hop To It Productions Inc., Toronto; Humagade Ltd., Quebec City; LiveWires Designs Ltd., Vancouver; and 33 Magnetic Inc (formerly known as Murmur Inc.), Toronto.

[b]About the Competition[/b]
The Competition is made possible through Telefilm Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canada New Media Fund and the sponsorship of industry partners Electronic Arts, Radical Entertainment and Ubisoft. Event sponsors include BC Film, Electronic Arts, New Media BC, New Media Business Alliance, Ontario Media Development Corporation and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Media sponsors include Electric Playground and G4Tech TV.

The Great Canadian Video Game Competition provides a needed opportunity for Canadian game developers to build their own capacity and original intellectual property. Competition information, including company profiles, is available at www.telefilm.gc.ca/game.

Developing and promoting the Canadian audiovisual industry, Telefilm Canada is a federal cultural agency dedicated to the development and promotion of the Canadian audiovisual industry. Telefilm provides financial support to the private sector to create distinctively Canadian productions that appeal to domestic and international audiences. The Corporation also administers the funding programs of the Canadian Television Fund.