The Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESA) released their Essential Facts 2012 (here’s the PDF) report not too long ago and it’s filled with fun facts! According to the ESA’s research Quebec has the greatest number of industry workers while Ontario is expected to have the fastest growth.
Some notable facts from the 2012 edition:
The average age of a Canadian gamer: 31
58% of Canadians are gamers
54% of males and 46% of females play video games
80% of Canadian households have at least one cell phone, tablet computer or other mobile device
The Globe and Mail picked up on the report and highlighted the fact that Canada’s video game industry is the third largest in the world right now. They also have a great breakdown and visualisation of the ESA’s report, you can view their presentation here.
Previously, I documented a bit about health and video games before, and now it’s worth noting that the Canadian military is going to start using video games to treat PTSD. They’ll be utilizing a virtual reality space to recreate what caused the traumatic stress in the first place.
The new therapy method puts soldiers in a computer-animated situation that recreates the specific incident that left the soldiers traumatized. A therapist then helps the soldiers to work through their memories.
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The VR therapy was pioneered by Dr. Skip Rizzo at the University of Southern California. He says that “the research shows, pretty consistently over the years, that by having the person gradually imagine or be exposed in VR to events in the traumatic memories, that they’re able to process emotional memories.”
The American military has been using the VR-based treatment for PTSD for years and has seen success with their program.
It seems that doing business online is getting harder with every passing month in this country. This is not good. I’m sure most Canadians have heard of this, but I’d thought I’d bring it up again for good measure.
The Conservatives in Ottawa are trying to damage our economy again by destroying the internet. You know about SOPA and the insane propositions in the USA, but now those same media interests are doing the same pathetic actions up here. If you haven’t heard about Bill C-11 and live in Canada please read on!
Massive media conglomerates are lobbying the government to create shadowy legislation: an Internet lock-down, where Internet users are cut off for no good reason, where vast swaths of the Internet are removed or hidden from view, and where users are locked out of their own services.
A similar scheme in the US led to a huge public outcry forcing Big Media lobbyists to back off from their plan to impose the now-infamous SOPA and PIPA1 legislation.
Now, those lobbyists are turning to Canada through legislation like Bill C-11 and trade agreements called ACTA2 and TPP3. Internet law expert Michael Geist recently revealed that behind-the-scenes, Big Media is pushing for powers that include website blocking4, Internet termination for people that threaten their business interests5, and huge threats for sites that host user-generated content (like YouTube)6 in addition to the digital locks7 already in the Bill.
Taken together, these policies would fundamentally change the Internet, severely limit free expression, and hogtie innovators. This approach is backwards: it suffocates online choice and it’s patently unfair.
Politicians and policymakers have an opportunity to put Canada on the map as a leader in Internet openness and affordability. But they have to know that we’re behind them if they stand up to megacorporate lobbyists.
Tell the Prime Minister and the Industry Minister to say no to the Internet lockdown. →
It’s clear that the Conservative Party of Canada is out of touch with reality with their most recent attempt to police and monitor the internet. Their new policy (Bill C-11) will mandate ISPs to store and track everything you do online then hand over your internet history to the police without a warrant!
This is insane and ought to be stopped.
But that’s not all. The government will pay private companies to monitor what you do online!
Watch this video below then sign the petition to stop this internet monitoring.
The government is trying to push through a set of electronic surveillance laws that will invade your privacy and cost you money. The plan is to force every phone and Internet provider to allow “authorities” to collect the private information of any Canadian, at any time, without a warrant.
This bizarre legislation will create Internet surveillance that is:
Warrantless: A range of “authorities” will have the ability to invade the private lives of law-abiding Canadians and our families using wired Internet and mobile devices, without justification.
Invasive: The laws leave our personal and financial information less secure and more susceptible to cybercrime.
Costly: Internet services providers may be forced to install millions of dollars worth of spying technology and the cost will be passed down to YOU.
