Canadian game fans have something to look forward to at home as the Montreal Game Summit has been announced and new details have been revealed for the event.

Taking place in Montreal's Palais de Congres on the 27th and 28th of November, the gathering will focus on the latest developments and issues concerning the electronic entertainment industry.

The Montreal Game Summit of 2007 is touted to be quite different from its predecessors as it claims a makeover in the flow and orientation of the program. Specifics as to what the changes will be haven't been disclosed yet but we'll update you as soon as things are made known.

Game industry visionary Dave Perry will deliver the keynote speech while industry leaders such as Stormfront's Don Daglow, Foundation 9's Jon Goldman, Ubisoft's Clint Hocking and Eidos' Julian Merceron will also give their thoughts on the state of gaming in Canada and around the world.

Video game news site Siliconera has posted a partial list of titles that will be available in playable form at this year's San Diego Comic Con. There are some big titles here too, like Blue Dragon, Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations and a bunch of Naruto titles, so try and check 'em out if you're stopping by on July 26 to 29.

So far, the Capcom booth has the most number of playable titles available, followed by the Foundation 9 and Viz Media booths. Of course, this is just a partial list. We have yet to hear from companies such as Sony, Square-Enix and Konami about what playable games they'll be offering. Keep checking back here for more updates.

• Capcom Booth
• Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations (DS)
• Devil May Cry 4 (Xbox 360, PS3)
• Harvey Birdman (PS2, PSP)
• Mega Man Star Force (DS)
• Mega Man ZX Advent (DS)
• Moto GP 07 (PS2)
• Rocketmen: Axis of Evil (Xbox 360/PS3)
• Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Wii)
• Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (Xbox 360, PS3)
• Zack & Wiki (Wii)

The complete list behind the Full Article link!

 

Probably one of the biggest independent game developer presence coming to Comic-Con International: San Diego, Foundation 9 Entertainment (F9E) has just recently polished up their list of game demonstrations for the San Diego show. And with their official announcement via press wire, they've chosen five new games in their portfolio for non-interactive and playable demonstrations.

Godzilla: Unleashed rampages first in their list of games, of which this city-stomping title of monstrous proportions will be offered as a playable demonstration for the first time since E3 2007. Sonic Rivals 2, The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008, and Super Puzzle Fighter II: Turbo HD Remix are also expected to make a showing in the event.

"We're excited to let fans get their hands on some highly anticipated releases and see what they think," said Foundation 9 CEO Jon Goldman. The company is also planning to continue its Comic-Con tradition of selling merchandise for games and games, especially action figures and comics on F9E's original intellectual property, Death, Jr.

Event fans will be able to spot Foundation 9's booth, number 4630, at the San Diego Convention Center from July 26-29.

A video game based on a movie that is based on a book doesn't have to be disappointing. Many have been successful and amazing adaptations. And being avid readers as well as gamers, we have to admit our bias for this upcoming adaptation: "The Golden Compass" is going to be a video game.

The image below is of Lyra and Iorek Byrnison, a huge Panserbjorne or armored bear.

 

About the game. Sega of America Inc. and Sega Europe Ltd. announced that a "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass" game is under development by Shiny Entertainment (acquired last year as another subsidiary of the very busy Foundation 9 Entertainment). This big, multi-platform project is based on the movie adaptation (out later this year) of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy of books.

• The game lets you assume the role of Lyra (we're not sure if you can also take the role of the daemon Pantalaimon).
• You can also assume the role of Iorek Byrnison.
• You travel to the north to beat The Gobblers (we assume the so-called "anti-Christian" sections of the trilogy will not be very relevant to the game and the movie in order to appeal to a wider audience).
• Release date is around Christmas 2007. Consoles: Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3), Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360. Handhelds: Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP). There is also going to be a PC version.

Shiny Entertainment created Earthworm Jim, MDK, and Sacrifice; those three games sold well, were critically acclaimed, and continue to be critically acclaimed. Shiny Entertainment also brought us the often-maligned Enter The Matrix - which got mixed reviews because it looked unpolished and rushed, so let us hope that the "His Dark Materials" game will follow in the footsteps of Sacrifice instead of Enter The Matrix.

About the movie. "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass" will be released December 2007 by New Line Cinema.

About the books. If you like reading books (even those that don't have pictures), Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy is worth considering. Reviews of the award-winning trilogy (Whitbread, Carnegie, Astrid Lindgren) are available online.

Okay, guys. If you had a rough time in high school, this is your second chance. If you are having a tough time in high school, this could help you up your cool factor and get in the loop. Brooktown High: Senior Year does appear like some candy-pop franchise, and maybe it is. But for what it's worth, admit it. It does appeal to your inner desires. Or something like that.

It's the perfect place to recreate your High School minus all the stress of growing up all over again. Actually, if you want to dig more and use this as some kind of reflection tool on your character, it's up to you. But really, the game just wants you to find that special someone that you'd want to have a chat and chill out with...and maybe get to know better.

Anyhow, the game's slated for a spring 2007 release date. But we won't let that date get here without giving you as much of a glimpse as to the walls within Brooktown High, so we've got loads and loads of screenshots to fill up your yearbook. And of course, the key features are here as well. Check them out.

• The first true dating simulation for the PSP system
• Create and edit your own character
• Date 20 different male and female non-playable characters
• Interact with students in different social circles including jocks, nerds, preppies and rebels, each with their own unique personalities and tendencies
• Go on dates in different locations such as the mall, the movies, and the beach
• Fast-paced mini-games include joke telling, shopping, and tongue wrestling

Check out the the rest of 'em screens after the jump!

  

This is our first look at the gameplay for Brooktown High: Senior Year, a game published by Konami and developed by Backbone Entertainment (which is owned by Foundation 9 Entertainment). By the looks of this GameTrailers video... it's a dating-in-high-school simulator. Like... the darn thing has a grade tracker. Classes to attend. Cheerleaders to make out with. Detention to suffer. Hall monitors with purplish Force lightning to avoid.

Hall monitors with purplish Force lightning... what happened? Palpatine was tormented as a child, that's why he became a Sith Lord?

Yep. High school. Three years of my life I'll never get back. And at the end of the day? You're just playing a video game.

Through a number of acquisitions, mergers, and investments in 2006, Foundation 9 has emerged as the largest independent developer in the world, and 2007 is shaping to be another busy year for the company. Foundation 9 currently has more than 30 different projects in the works on all gaming platforms for more than 10 publishing partners. These projects will be released throughout 2007 and 2008.

Announced projects slated for release in the first half of calendar year 2007 include, Brooktown: Senior Year for the Sony PSP, Death, Jr. & the Science Fair of Doom for Nintendo DS and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for Xbox Live Arcade, all published by Konami; Call of Duty: Roads to Victory for PSP, published by Activision; and Prince of Persia: Rival Swords for PSP, published by Ubisoft.

Other projects in development include the recently announced Godzilla: Unleashed, to be published by Atari, Inc., Dirty Harry, to be published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, all-new original title Harker, all-new comic book property, Pherone, and many other as yet unannounced projects.

According to recent reports, the whole gaming industry experienced a dip in performance this year. Depending on what platform, a loss of between 200 to 700 review points was incurred. Fortunately for Foundation 9 Entertainment (F9E), they didn't suffer the same. The company has even made substantial gains in the realm of product reviews.

"We’re very proud of the work our teams have produced this year and will be excited to continue offering our publishing partners and, ultimately consumers, better videogames," Foundation 9 Exec. VP Richard Hare said. The official is also the designated Chief Creative Officer of the company. As of now, Foundation 9 has already produced a total number of 350 titles (more than 30 this year alone), making them the largest independent developer in North America.

Based on the scores compiled, the company performed 5% better this year compared to 2005 after they've earned a total increase of 370 review points. Its PSP titles scored a total of 73% while its DS games scored 75%. The average for both platforms are 70% and 64% respectively.

Foundation 9 is well known for titles like PSP's Death, Jr. 2: Root of Evil as well as its prequel, and DS' MechAssault: Phantom War.

Developer Foundation 9 acquired Earthworm Jim PSP and The Matrix: Path of Neo developer studio Shiny from Atari. The thing is, the Earthworm Jim title stayed with Atari. So, when Gamasutra asked studio head Michael "Saxx" Persson what would happen to the planned Earthworm Jim for the PSP, what he could say is that "we're not working on it anymore," and he couldn't say what Atari's take on it would be. More exactly (to quote):

Saxx: We were working on that, and we're not working on it anymore. But it's really up to Atari to make an announcement about that, I probably can't even make that statement officially, but obviously we're not working on it. But they haven't made an announcement as to what they're going to do with it. We don't know...it's just one of those things.

Gamasutra: A friend of mine did get to see it, and he said it was pretty true to form.

Saxx: Yeah, I mean the squash and stretch worked really well, and the 3D character...we spent a fair amount of time on that. The backgrounds looked really cool, nice and colorful, the animations were tight, and...it was a good first playable, for sure. But that's how it goes. It's up to Atari, and I'm sure they can find a capable developer to do it.

Perhaps we'll hear something from Atari about this. Earthworm Jim's been progressing nicely, it seems, and it would be disappointing to see such a promising - plus nostalgic - title left unfinished because of a horses-in-midstream acquisition.

Beyond the worm's ultimate fate, Saxx says it's an exciting time for Shiny with this move to Foundation 9. It's different, he says, when the studio's part of a developer rather than a publisher. Now they can - or have to - run it from the perspective of running a business, and as a result, Sax foresees a "lean, mean" Shiny in the future.