Last week RipTen reported on several demo tours for the 3DS in the United States.  Now Nintendo has also revealed tour dates for Canada as well!  Be sure to check it out if you’re in the area and want to get some hands on time with the anticipated new handheld before its release!  You can view an initial list of tour dates and times below!

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Want to stay up to date on the latest Nintendo and 3DS related news, information, editorials, and more?  Follow me on Twitter @KingNintendoFan or Like Me on Facebook.  Be sure to tell me what you think about this exciting tour!

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• 3DS Demo Tour Dates Revealed
• 3DS Retail Demo Kiosk Locator
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It looks like Canada is finally getting a Pokémon Black and White Mall Tour of their own.  While this Mall Tour doesn’t sound as elaborate as the one the U.S. is getting, it still offers Canadian Pokémon fans the opportunity to play the new games early, as well as:

-Coloring Stations
-Face Painting
-Limited Supply of Pokémon Giveaways

The Canadian Pokémon Mall Tour locations and dates are:

BRITISH COLUMBIA
Feb.12th
10:00am–9:00pm

Feb.13th 11am
7:00pm
Grand Court at Metrotown Metropolis

ONTARIO
Feb.19 & 21
10:00am–5:00pm
Kids-Fest, International Center, Mississauga,
NOTE: Free admission

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Want to stay up to date on the latest Nintendo and Pokémon news and information?  Follow me on Twitter @KingNintendoFan or Like Me on Facebook.  Be sure to let me know how you feel about this tour!

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• Pokémon Black And White Global Link Delayed
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A gruesome report coming to us from Canada tells the tale of two teenage boys (16 and 18) who raped and murdered an 18-year-old girl after she apparently ignored their textual advances. The victim, Kimberly Proctor, was found dead under a bridge with bodily burns so severe that she was only identified via her dental records.

The teenagers who committed this act (whose names are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act) were arrested and plead guilty to first degree murder after bragging about their deed in the online social setting of the popular MMO World of Warcraft. Evidence against the two includes detailed text messages that outline their plan to murder Kimberly and dispose of her body.

Several outlets are using this as a means to once again tie gaming to murder due to the fact that both of these jackasses played video games in their spare time. And if that’s not enough, the mother of the 16-year-old self proclaimed nihilistic atheist, and supposed mastermind behind the murder, is asking for public support from anyone who can “speak kindly” on the behalf of her son. The same son who ranted about his hate for human kind on his Facebook page (since deleted) that included a sketch of a naked woman with blood red organs strewn about.

I often found myself stumbling on my own words when trying to talk to a pretty girl in my early teen years, but I never thought to kill any of them for not taking an interest. If it was up to me (and I wish it was), I’d tie the limbs of these two morons to some wild west horses and send them running off in different directions. Ah well, that’s what I get for playing too much Red Ded Redemption.

[Source: The Vancouver Sun]

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Yes, “centre,” because that’s how they do things up here.

It is the goal of the Canadian city of London, Ontario to create a new technology centre which uses video games to do more than simply entertain, but educate. “A video game is a virtual world created to entertain us. There’s no reason we can’t use the same technology to answer scientific or medical questions or create interactive classrooms,” said Michael Katchabaw, a computer science professor from the University of Western Ontario.

Katchabaw goes on to note the potential applications, such as providing a realistic but risk-free environment in which fire fighters can train, such as learning to “handle hazardous materials using the HazMat Hotzone program set in a virtual version of a New York subway,” or allow history students to walk through a simulated medieval village (though no mention of whether or not they would get credit for initiating a “Leroy Jenkins” charge).

Michael Schmalz, the president of the London-based game developer Digital Extremes, notes that there is a “huge opportunity” to recycle the technology found in video games:

“You can make a game for $15 million and 40% of that will be pure R&D. It will be cutting edge technology with wide applications but it gets shelved because all we do is video games,” said Schmalz, whose company has created games such as Dark Sector and the multi-player version of BioShock II.

Schmalz notes that the “competitive realities” of the video game industry can make sharing such ideas difficult, since companies tend to work in secret on their projects until the time of a game’s release nears. However, he adds that this kind of centre of excellence could possibly bring together academics and video game companies in such a way that the technology is commercialized to other companies and industries.

So far, the bid has been backed by the city council with a $5 million commitment. The project is also being supported by local video game companies, Fanshawe College, and Western, while the city has applied to Industry Canada for additional assistance.

Of further note, the London Free Press points out that while the city has a “growing cluster” of video game firms, its presence is still “dwarfed” by those in other Canadian cities, particularly Montreal and Vancouver.

Source: London Free Press (via GamePolitics)

Image: GamerCreated.com

• Darkness II Trailer Shows Off Sweet Executions
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• The Darkness II Limited Edition Pre-Order Bonuses Detailed
• New Darkness II Trailer Shows Off Quad Wielding Combat
• What is The Darkness? This New Trailer for ‘The Darkness II’ Helps Explain

For some time now, the gap between the US and Canadian dollar has been fairly small, with the two being more or less equivalent—the Canadian dollar at times even on top. Hardware and software prices have generally shifted to match this fact in the last year, but the PS Store was slow to change. Not anymore.

Grace Chen, Senior Manager at the PlayStation Store wants Canadian PlayStation users to know they can expect to see content prices on the PS Store being adjusted to match the current exchange rate as we approach this week’s store update on Thursday, May 1.

The prices will be updated in stages, but all should be fixed by today’s update–just in time for the release of Echochrome.

Source: Playstation Blog

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• Sony: Re-branding the Way We Talk About the Way We Talk
• New Video Game Releases: Feb. 6 – Feb. 12
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• RipTen Review: AMY (XBLA)
• Twisted Metal Multiplayer Demo Rolls Out January 31

A mysterious flash teaser site hit the web today, courtesy of Ubisoft Canada, and within hours it was causing quite a stir on gaming news site N4G, as well as several game related message boards.

The short flash teaser shows a blood covered feather slowly drifting downward towards a white surface. DNA type information flashes on the screen at two points during the feathers decent, along with the words “Nothing is true. Everything is permitted. November 14th, 2007. Be prepared …”.

Some fans believe it is hinting at a possible suprise, while others say it is just an attempt to hype up the games release date. Assuming the game ships on the 13th as expected, the date it would be available for sale in stores would most likely be the 14th.

The 14th also happens to be the same date mentioned in the teaser, which is causing a great deal of confusion and debate. Our very own, Michael Bencic, who resides in Canada forwarded me the information about the trailer this morning. However since we both looked at it and thought two different things, we decided to contact Ubisoft Canada for an official comment via email before going forward with a story about a teaser that could end up being nothing more than a way to promote the games release.

It is important to note that Michael has been working with Ubisoft Canada and his contact Katia, for some time now. He emailed her asking for clarification and she responded “lol. Can’t tell… be patient…”. Armed with an official response, be it brief, Michael and I discussed the response, the teaser, and weighed the obvious exclusions that would point to it being a release date reminder.

Having dealt with many PR firms, we believe that if it was a release date reminder, there would most likely be some sort of means to drive sales and ramp pre-orders for the game. Being that there is no “click here to pre-order the game” button leads us to believe that this is more than just a means to promote the games release. To find out what it is exactly though, we are all apparently going to need to “be patient”.

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