Five students from the University of Prince Edward Island will attend the first ever Montreal Games Summit. The summit will bring together experts in video gaming from across North America to discuss the latest in video game design, programming and marketing.
The five students are studying an Advanced Topics Course in Video game Design in the Computer Science Program at UPEI. This is the first time the course has been offered at the University.
The students will be assisted to travel to Montreal with a $2000 grant from Technology PEI.
“The video game industry is now a multi-million dollars business and we see great potential for the development of this industry in this province,“ said Development and Technology Minister Mike Currie. “We already have two companies developing games in the province and I think the investment in skills and knowledge could pay real dividends for us in the future.”
Magnet Games Marketing, which is located in the Atlantic Technology Centre, is currently involved in the development of games which use cell phone technology. Lotus Media is developing a product that uses video games technologies.
Jason Doiron is one of 11 students enrolled in the UPEI course and will make the trip to Montreal.
“It will be a chance for us to see how the material we are learning in class is used in the real world,” said Doiron. “Bumping shoulders with the professionals may result in a job for any of us.”
The video gaming industry is forecast to grow by 44% worldwide in the next five years - from annual sales of $23.2 billion in 2003 to $33.4 billion in 2008.
For more information about the Game Summit, visit www.montrealgamesummit.com .
Technology PEI is the Government of Prince Edward Island’s lead agency in the development, adoption and use of information technologies in business and community in the province.