The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.

The International Game Developers Association recently released its Game Developer Demographics: An Exploration of Workforce Diversity report, a global survey that for the first time examined the demographics and makeup of the game development workforce. Almost 6,500 game industry professionals responded to the survey, some of the key findings of which are outlined below.

Claude Martel was reappointed as president of Montreal-based Alliance eLearning during the election process for the organization’s 2005-2006 executive committee. Martel is president of Montreal’s Educonsillium, an e-learning services provider. Two new members will also be joining the administrative team at Alliance eLearning: Rowena Roy, president and general manager of Netic Hypermédia Inc., and François Ste.-Marie, director of training solutions for human resources firm ARINSO International (Canada). Alliance eLearning, a volunteer-staffed division of Quebec new media body Alliance numériQC, also recently changed its name from the rather more lengthy RIAN eLearning d’Alliance numériQC.

Quebec well down digital highway: survey
Alliance numériQC, the association for Quebec’s new media industry, recently released its Indicateurs numériQC 2005 survey of digital device adoption in the province. Conducted in partnership with CEFRIO, a provincial educational/IT think-tank, the survey found that two-thirds of Quebecers now have a computer – either desktop or laptop – in the home; as well, 63% own DVD players and 56% own a mobile phone. In addition, more than a quarter of Quebec households boast a video game console, and nearly 30% subscribe to interactive or web TV services. According to Harold Gendron, market information coordinator at the Alliance, the purpose of the survey is to help device and content manufacturers better understand the unique profile of the Quebec market.

The concept of the networked home where computers and entertainment devices seamlessly merge is still a long way off, according to a recent survey by Port Washington NY-based market intelligence firm NPD Group.

For the fifth year in a row, Montreal’s Festival de nouveau cinéma staged a "cyberpitch" competition allowing young new media producers to pitch their work to a jury of professionals drawn from the city’s new media community. This year, however, through an adjunct program called Open Source: Creative Encounters, the festival’s organizers invited members of the public to comment on the competition’s submissions as well as other festival material, spawning a new event dubbed Formule i – the i standing for interactivity.

New media firms could be found in abundance at this year’s Young Entrepreneur Awards, an event sponsored by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). The annual awards recognize the best companies led by under-35 management from each province.