InfoAnda - United States loses video game jobs to Quebec |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Developing: Senate Preparing To Vote On $838 Billion Stimulus | 11 February 2009
Alcohol 'worse than drugs' in Pacific: report | 19 March 2010
US holds drills off Korea as Pyongyang talks war | 26 July 2010

Syrian security compounds hit by car bombs: TV | | 17 March 2012

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : United States loses video game jobs to Quebec |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Green Business Legal Deals Earnings Summits Business Video Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia Afghan Journal Africa Journal India Insight Global News Journal Pakistan: Now or Never? World Video Politics Politics Home Front Row Washington Politics Video Technology Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland Felix Salmon Breakingviews George Chen Bernd Debusmann Gregg Easterbrook James Pethokoukis James Saft John Wasik Christopher Whalen Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers The Great Debate Unstructured Finance Newsmaker MuniLand Money Money Home Analyst Research Global Investing MuniLand Reuters Money Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Life & Culture Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Left Field Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Article Comments (0) Slideshow Editor's Choice Exclusive: Perry sidelined nuclear waste site critic 9/11 firefighters have higher cancer risk: study Computers to pinpoint wild weather forecasts Obama to drop smog initiative Space junk reaching "tipping point," report warns Gut bacteria picky about what we eat: study Best Buy cuts price of RIM PlayBook for weekend MediaFile: Less FarmVille, more Indiana Jones Video: How AT&T's blocked merger affects you Slideshow: Glacier National Park Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Male circumcision rates at hospitals dip: CDC 11:25am EDT TNT cancels Jada Pinkett Smith's "HawthoRNe" 1:05pm EDT Tropical Storm Lee forms near Louisiana Coast: NHC 2:42pm EDT Job growth stalls, fuels recession fears | 5:05pm EDT Labor market woes sink Wall Street | 4:46pm EDT Discussed 177 Labor leaders must pay for parade if GOP banned, mayor says 121 White House to nominate Krueger as top economist 79 UPDATE 1-Obama warns Hurricane Irene flooding could worsen Watched Buenos Aires Fashion week sizzles Mon, Aug 22 2011 Lockheed Martin presents airship of the future Thu, Aug 18 2011 Experimental plane reaches 13,000 mph Fri, Aug 26 2011 United States loses video game jobs to Quebec Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Gaga, Perry win big at VMAs, Beyonce steals show Mon, Aug 29 2011 Talent agency CAA mulls Silicon Valley office Wed, Aug 24 2011 Insight: Showdown looms on U.S. overseas profit tax break Wed, Aug 24 2011 Obama proposes tax credits for hiring veterans Fri, Aug 5 2011 Analysis & Opinion Zynga’s new game is less FarmVille, more Indiana Jones Millionaires in favor of raising their own taxes remain hopeful Related Topics Technology » Media » 1 of 7. Chase Toole, a concept artist, works on art at THQ Inc., a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software, in their Montreal office August 30, 2011. According to the economic development agency Invest Quebec, 86 companies and 8,236 jobs have migrated to Quebec as a result of a government program under which 37.5 percent of a video game company's payroll is subsidized by the majority French-speaking city in the form of a refundable tax credit. The incentives, which include extra credits for companies that make French versions of their games, have enticed heavyweights such as Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard to open major operations in Quebec. Credit: Reuters/Christinne Muschi By Liana B. Baker MONTREAL | Fri Sep 2, 2011 4:48pm EDT MONTREAL (Reuters) - Outside, the sun is shining, but it is dark in the production room where more than 150 Ubisoft artists, animators and engineers are racing to finish the latest edition of "Assassin's Creed," one of this holiday's hotly anticipated games. They are working not from Ubisoft's headquarters in Paris or California, but in Montreal, Quebec. And they aren't alone. Quebec has become the preferred place for some of the biggest names in video games to set up shop. According to the economic development agency Invest Quebec, 86 companies and 8,236 jobs have migrated to Quebec as a result of a government program under which 37.5 percent of a video game company's payroll is subsidized by the majority French-speaking province in the form of a refundable tax credit. Put another way, for every dollar a video game company spends on paying its development staff, it receives 37.5 cents from the Quebec government. The incentives, which include extra credits for companies that make French versions of their games, have enticed heavyweights such as Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard to open major operations in Quebec. "There's a buzz right now, just like how Hollywood was the place to make movies in the 1920s," said Charles Jolicoeur, a coordinator at Invest Quebec. Last year, Quebec spent $100 million on the program, up from $83 million in 2009 and significantly more than some U.S. states with similar programs such as Texas and Louisiana. The province first set aside money for video games in 1996 after starting a program to jumpstart the film industry a year earlier. According to Jolicoeur, the aim was to move Quebec from a manufacturing economy to a "new economy" by creating artistic jobs for young people. Fifteen years later, the bet appears to have paid off. "The incentives the government provided helped plant the seed, and now it's big and everyone is hiring," said Yanick Roy, studio director of Bioware, an Electronic Arts outfit. THQ, the Southern-California based company that makes the popular "WWE Smackdown vs. Raw" video game, recently made Montreal its adopted home. After putting up disappointing results the last few quarters, CEO Brian Farrell told investors in July that THQ was moving most its resources to lower-cost areas, including Montreal, as part of its restructuring. Studios in New York and Phoenix shut down over the summer. Since relocating, THQ has hired 145 employees for its new studio, housed in a converted newspaper printing press near the cobblestone streets of Old Montreal. The next step is for the company to hire 100 employees every year for the next five years until it reaches a staff of 500. "When you look at our plan, it would be very difficult to do it in a lot of markets. But the right ingredients are in Montreal, with the tax incentives and the quantity and level of talent," said Dave Gatchel, general manager of THQ Montreal. This week, the Montreal newspaper La Presse reported that the Tokyo-based video game company, Square Enix, was going to double its staff and hire 350 developers to become the third-largest studio behind Ubisoft and EA. COMPETING FOR THE FUTURE Ubisoft, the leading video game employer in Montreal, plies its 2,100 game developers in Montreal with a full-time doctor on staff, an in-house gym with personal trainers and a rooftop bar area overlooking the city. The company, which came to Montreal from France in 1997, helped put the city on the map as a video game center. It released top selling games such as "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell" and "Assassin's Creed," trained hundreds of developers and invested in programs at nearby universities. But as new entrants such as THQ move into Montreal, the competition for top video game talent has intensified. Last year, THQ poached Patrice Desilets, the designer of "Assassin's Creed," which spurred a lawsuit between the companies. "The energy is the same here at THQ as when I started at Ubisoft in 1997," he said. "It's a smaller place with less people, and there's the feeling that we're the underdogs." EA, the second-largest U.S. videogame company, came to Montreal in 2004. It has 750 employees on three floors of a downtown high-rise next to top-tier law and accounting firms. EA plans to hire more people in mobile and social games. Playfish, the social games company that EA bought in 2009 in a deal worth roughly $400 million, has 30 employees in Montreal and plans to nearly double its staff by the end of the year. The Quebec government is also pursuing its next big growth area -- online games. Though the local industry is still big-budget console games, sales of these games are declining. Quebec is courting online gaming companies to ensure that jobs and growth stay in the province. Government representatives will attend G-Star, the video game show in South Korea in November, to attract Asian games companies to set up outposts or build data centers in Montreal. "We are going to convince them to have a look at what's going on in Montreal and to join the parade," Jolicoeur said. THQ's Desilets, a lifelong Montreal resident who rose to fame with "Assassin's Creed," said the notorious winter weather should not deter game developers, even ones from California, from considering a move. He said they should focus on what the city offers, like affordable housing, culture and cuisine. "You have winter, but then you realize it's not that bad," Desilets said. "I love it here. One of my dreams is to be the mayor of the city." (Editing by Peter Lauria and Robert MacMillan) (Clarifies reference to the province of Quebec, not Quebec City) Technology Media Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Social Stream (What's this?) Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Mobile Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Contact Us Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Newsletters About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Saturday, 3 September 2011
Concern rising about Iran military nuclear work |
Mexico's Calderon defends war on drug cartels |
EU states divided on Palestinian statehood bid |
Brazil cuts key interest rate to 12% on "substantial deterioration" in its outlook for the economy
Rebuilding Ottawa Senators looking to bounce back from poor season
Tropical Storm Lee takes aim at Gulf Coast
Lady Gaga slams New York Times fashion critic in new column
Authorities arrest 36 in Colombian cocaine gang |
University students boycott classes over allowances
'Star Wars' changes for Blu-ray spark outcry from fans
Vigorous exercise burns calories long after workout
Analysis: What should justice for Gaddafi look like? |
Red Sox legend Ted Williams to be honored on postage stamp
New bionic leg gives amputees a natural gait
More beans and less white rice linked to less diabetes
United States loses video game jobs to Quebec |
Next Jump to stop emailing Borders customers |
Microsemi says could walk away from Zarlink bid |
Microsoft to win from Google Motorola buy: Acer |
Spice Girl Mel B gives birth to baby girl |
Chile air force plane presumed crashed, 21 aboard |
Tony Blair has major, unheralded role in Mideast talks |
Top level Mexican drug boss found slain on highway |
Backups shine as Bears close out preseason with rout of Browns
North Korea readies for harvest as food aid flows in |
Lefty looking better: Mickelson making progress with new putter
Round of season has Matteson in lead at Deutsche Bank Championship
Breakout game for Browns wideout Windsor could be sign of things to come
Turkey expels Israeli diplomats after U.N. report |
North Korea atom drive may rely on smugglers: IAEA |
Apple hunted lost item
WikiLeaks Assange wanted U.S. cables released months ago |
Amazon tablet coming November at $250: TechCrunch |
Oprah to conduct first live chat on Facebook |
Oprah to conduct first live chat on Facebook |
Libyans say Gaddafi bastion may have given up |
Pakistani Taliban claim kidnapping up to 25 boys |
Documents show links between CIA, Libya spy unit |
Eligibility issues: Boise State sits three players in clash vs. Georgia
Greek PM Papandreou rules out snap elections |
Vancouver top cop responds to Cup riot report; coordination needed in major events
EU targets Syrian oil firms, says may get tougher |
Rafa, Murray, Roddick reach U.S. Open third round; Sharapova upset
Michigan State wideout ties school receptions mark in win vs. Youngstown State
At least 27 Somalis killed in Puntland fighting |
Ron Hornaday Jr. wins Atlanta Truck race
Renewed fighting, refugees in south of Sudan |
Zimbabwe's Mugabe calls for elections in 2012 |
A-listers not spared in pandemic film Contagion |
Death in Venice as films set in Iran, Greece impress |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01