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Digital Media and Canada: The Future Is Here

Creating a Digital Experience

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STRENGTHS OF CANADA'S 2300 DIGITAL MEDIA

FIRMS INCLUDE:

  • Animation and special effects
  • Video and computer games
  • Education and training products
  • Business applications and web marketing

Canada has a worldwide reputation for expertise in digital media — and a remarkably successful track record. This strength extends into the development of exceptional content for all types of nextgeneration devices — PCs, consoles, wireless and mobile devices — and even into the virtual world of online work and play!

Canada is the best place in the G7 to do business, and our $3.5-billion digital media sector offers many investment and partner- ship opportunities.

 
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Hollywood's Wow Factor - The Multimedia Oscar® Goes to Canada

  • Contemporary film production would be impossible without Canadian advances in animation and special effects. For years, almost every film nominated for an Academy Award in special effects was produced with Canadian-developed technology. Some films include Batman Returns, Shrek the Third, King Kong, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Harry Potter series and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
  • Hollywood relies on industry-leading companies such as Side Effects Software winner - a two-time Oscar® winner – and Toon Boom Animation, which won an Emmy Engineering Award for its animation software.
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"Canada is a great place to make games. We've got thou- sands of talented and creative people across the country making some of the most popular games in the world. Along with the strengths of the education system and the great quality of life, I can't think of a better place for EA to be."

- Rory Armes, Senior Vice-President and
Group General Manager
Electronic Arts Inc.

It's How We Play - Video and Computer Games

  • Canada is ranked third in the world in video games, after the U.S. and Japan. Some 20 percent of the top-selling games in North America are developed in Canadian studios.
  • Electronic Arts has four development studios in Canada. The company's portfolio includes sports blockbusters from its EA SPORT™ brand, including FIFA, NHL and NBA Live, as well as other global hits such as Need for Speed, Skate, Mass Effect and Army of Two.
  • Ubisoft's Montréal studio produces megahits such as Splinter Cell Essentials and Assassin's Creed.
  • BioWare's Baldur's Gate has become a successful series, and Next Level Games scored with Mario Strikers Charged for the Wii.

Canadian mobile content developers and publishers are taking advantage of wireless handsets to provide entertainment on the go.

  • IUGO Mobile Entertainment has succeeded with major entertainment and sports titles such as Star Wars, Spider-Man, Boom Blox and Tiger Woods PGA Tour.
  • Blister Entertainment published North America's first location-based game — Swordfish™.
  • Magmic Games publishes a full range of content from original intellectual property to partnering with top entertainment publishers, including the licensed brands Call of Duty and Guitar Hero.
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It's How We Learn - Education and Training Products

  • Canadian digital media companies are setting new standards in courseware design, edutainment, consulting and flight simulation. For business, Canada provides instructional products for the trans- portation, communications and manufacturing sectors. CAE, for instance, is a world-leading manufacturer of full-flight simulators for all major aircraft types.
  • Kutoka Interactive develops award-winning interactive educa- tional materials for children. Its products are found in more than 40 countries and in 14 different languages.
  • The NECTAR Foundation develops state-of-the-art curriculum- based multimedia software for mathematics, languages and science education.
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It's How We Work - Business Applications and Web Marketing

  • Canadian companies have shown the world how to use digital media to design and deliver superior interactive experiences.
  • The Autodesk AliasStudio line - used by BMW, DesignworksUSA, Nokia and General Motors - manages workflow from concept sketch through to engineering.
  • Blast Radius designs for clients such as Jordan, Nintendo, BMW, AOL, Heineken and Philips.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN CANADA TODAY

For in-depth industry-specific analysis and reports, statistics, news, events and contacts, visit Industry Canada's website at www.ic.gc.ca/ICT.

For further information about doing business with Canada and to contact a Trade Commissioner in your area, visit the Canadian Trade Commissioner website at www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca.

Other brochures in this series - on ICT, wireless, security and e-health - are available on Industry Canada's website.

Canada Educates the Best

  • Canada's professional schools offer more than 100 new-media programs, including:
    • the Art Institute of Vancouver's Centre for Digital Imaging and Sound
    • the Centre for Digital Media of the Great Northern Way Campus (Vancouver)
    • Ontario's Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (the third-largest classical and computer animation school in the world)
    • the National Animation and Design Centre of Montréal
    • Canada is home to world-renowned development facilities for companies such as Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Softimage (a division of Avid), Side Effects Softwareand Autodesk. Canada's educational institutions - notably in the digital media technology hubs of Vancouver, Toronto and Montréal - provide state-of-the-art research and incubation facilities.
    • Emerging technology clusters keep Canada on the leading edge, such as Mobile Muse, an innovation network for mobile content development and services, and Fortune Cat Games Studio, a not-for-profit game software-development incubator program.
 
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