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Canada to Give Ubisoft Grants

Posted by Zonk on from the could-I-borrow-a-loonie? dept.

The Canadian and Quebecois governments have announced millions of dollars in grants and tax subsidies for the Montreal studio of French developer Ubisoft. Bloomberg has the news that these monies will be given to the studio over the course of several years. From the article: "Paris-based Ubisoft plans to hire programmers, game designers and computer animation specialists in the city over the next five years.."

51 comments

  1. Time by PhilippeT · · Score: 1, Funny

    Give us Canadians enough time and we will be able to say:

    All your Development shop are belong to us.

    --
    A psychopath can't tell the difference between right and wrong. A sociopath knows the difference - he just doesn't care.
    1. Re:Time by Datagod · · Score: 1

      You really mean we will say" Bonjour! All of your base, dey belong to us, eh?

  2. Outsourcing To Quebec by blueZhift · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Interesting. Does this mean that Quebec will become a preferred outsourcing destination for French companies? In any case, this just might get Quebec on Ubisoft's side in the fight against an EA takeover.

    --
    To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
    1. Re:Outsourcing To Quebec by PhilippeT · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      This is not the only industry that receives government subsidies allot of movies are shot in Canada in places like Montreal and Vancouver.

      --
      A psychopath can't tell the difference between right and wrong. A sociopath knows the difference - he just doesn't care.
    2. Re:Outsourcing To Quebec by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      - Cost of living is lowest than Vancouver or Toronto.
      - People speak (lot of them) both French and English.
      - Highly qualified hi-tech work force (McGill, Polytechnique and Sherbrooke universities for instance).
      - The province has a touch of America and Europe so it's fantastic place to live in.
      - Crimerate is very low.
      - Poutine.

      So why not outsource?

    3. Re:Outsourcing To Quebec by Sepper · · Score: 1

      It's a trend that has been going on for at least 10 years.

      The Ubisoft Studio in Montreal date back to 1997. They are the ones made Prince of Persia The Sands of Time, Myst IV Revelation and the Splinter Cell games.

      So, Yes, Quebec is an preferred location for French companies because they can easely ask for bilingual candidates(No suprise here) and can get Tax breaks from both the provincial and Federal Gouv.

      The same reasons why EA games also has a developpement house here, so it's not just French companies...

      --
      I live in Soviet Canuckistan you insensitive clod!
    4. Re:Outsourcing To Quebec by johnnnyboy · · Score: 1

      It's not just French companies. American as well.

      Compuware is a good example that set up shop here.
      Here they can take advantage of a weaker dollar, tax benefits and perhaps grants from the provincial and federal gov'ts. You can't beat the location. It's outsourced and very close proximity to the states.
      The cost of living is much lower, unfortunately you can get highly technical people for less.

      I'm just happy for the work, so I can't complain.

      --
      "If a show of teeth is not enough, bite ... but bite hard!"
    5. Re:Outsourcing To Quebec by EulerX07 · · Score: 1

      EA also started a development studio in montreal last year, altough it's probably a coincidence.

    6. Re:Outsourcing To Quebec by flibuste · · Score: 1

      So why not outsource?

      Because of the last item:Poutine

      You gotta admit it's a negative point in your list ;-)
  3. New version of Frogger? by AtariAmarok · · Score: 3, Funny

    When can we expect our new version of Frogger, then?

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
    1. Re:New version of Frogger? by DrEldarion · · Score: 1

      A better question should be when can we get a nice, good, CLASSIC version of Frogger? These new ones have been horrendous.

  4. Splinter Cell 8, here I come! by pnice · · Score: 1

    YES!!

    --
    My Xbox Live Gamer Card
    1. Re:Splinter Cell 8, here I come! by goster · · Score: 1

      hells yes! splinter cell rocks, but I'm caught in WoW...so even when the new one comes out, I'm still not going to play it

  5. Judging by every single other funded IT project by tod_miller · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I am assuming thier first project (and subsequent) will be Duke Nukem Forever.

    Gov. funded stuff seems to leak money worse than a striper in a wind tunnel.

    --
    #hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
    1. Re:Judging by every single other funded IT project by Ron+Harwood · · Score: 1

      It's a little different since part of it is tax related... so they actually have to have an income. ;)

      --
      BlackNova Traders
    2. Re:Judging by every single other funded IT project by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      well.. california gives breaks for film industry in order to keep it there.

      many, many countries finance films in the name of culture(and novel authors and painters and...).

      why not games? not that far away.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  6. Not that I'm bitter... by Txiasaeia · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Ubisoft, in the past, has turned out some pretty good stuff. I'm not arguing this. What I am concerned about is the current government's tendency to spend wads of cash without asking us, the taxpayers, what we think. There was a "sponsorship scandal" here recently in which the federal government supplied the Quebecois government with millions of dollars of cash in order to make the Canada "brand" more visible in the francophone province. As it turns out, most of that money disappeared into the wallets of bureaucrats and CEOs of advertising moguls, with hardly any money at all going towards this dubious end.

    I love computer games, but I like health care more, which is what our MINORITY government *should* be spending more money on. $57 million dollars would go a long way in hiring new doctors and nurses, equipment, and other hospital staff. I'm also really appalled that the first I've heard of this is on Slashdot and not on CTV, CBC or Global (three major news outlets in Canada).

    --
    Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
    1. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by hsoft · · Score: 2, Interesting

      That's kind of what I think too. Hey, that's 34M$ they're giving to a huge, foreign company so they can create 1000 jobs (if I remember yesterday's news right)

      I think that they should give this 34M to fund *independant developers* instead. They would help our economy better IMO.

      --
      perception is reality
    2. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by Pig+Hogger · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Ubisoft, in the past, has turned out some pretty good stuff. I'm not arguing this. What I am concerned about is the current government's tendency to spend wads of cash without asking us, the taxpayers, what we think.

      Are we a tad jealous that only in Montréal, you can congregate the talents needed to have a big videogame (and pharmaceutical and aeronautical) industry? As the french don't have a culture where becoming an entrepreneur* is de rigueur, high-tech employers are very glad to setup shop there and hire extremely competent people who will almost never risk jumping ship to become the competition; after all, the worst thing for any business is it's competition, so you want to miminize the change of breeding competition within your own ranks...

      * The problem with the french is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur - Ronald Reagan.

      There was a "sponsorship scandal" here recently in which the federal government supplied the Quebecois government with millions of dollars of cash in order to make the Canada "brand" more visible in the francophone province.

      Er, no. The sponsorship scandal (scandal it's *AINT*) was federal money pumped into federal liberal party friends' pockets where outrageous fees were charged to display the word CANADA at various venues. Like, paying $15 million to a racecar driver to wear the word Canada on the back of his suit.

      This scandal, to the tune of less than $150 million, is mere window-dressing to divert the attention from the **REAL** scandal: $45 BILLION (yes $4.5 e10) stolen from the pockets of the salaried workers who paid into the unemployment insurance fund in order to finance the tax cuts of the rich.

      I love computer games, but I like health care more, which is what our MINORITY government *should* be spending more money on. $57 million dollars would go a long way in hiring new doctors and nurses, equipment, and other hospital staff. I'm also really appalled that the first I've heard of this is on Slashdot and not on CTV, CBC or Global (three major news outlets in Canada).

      If you listened to Radio-Canada (french CBC), you would have heard of this above all else (we only first heard from the Singh expulsion yesterday)...

      Public Health Care is a big thorn in the feet of outfits such as Great West Life Insurance who would dearly want it to be totally scrapped, in order to milk the canadian public, just like the US health insurance industry is hammering the people with higher and higher health-care premiums, so it can pad it's 15% overhead (in comparison to the mere 3% overhead of canadian government insurance monopolies).
    3. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      The problem with the french is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur - Ronald Reagan

      1) This is a completely false urban legend

      2) It's a completely false urban legend about George W. Bush, not Reagan

    4. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      well as u might expect, most doctors are paid for by the goverment, that way its FREE for us public, so by swearing your head off like a idiot, you've proven your lack of intelligence, myself personally, i dont have the cash to pay doctors, and i would not want to be lying in a hospitol bed near death with some doctor over me going "ok please sign here, this will cost you XXXXX"

    5. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by Curtman · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hey, that's 34M$ they're giving to a huge, foreign company

      Well, as a Winnipegger.. Let me just say thank god we're not giving it to the Jets anymore. The only thing worse than spending 40M a year to fund a hockey team, is spending 40M a year to prop up a BAD hockey team.

      You're welcome, Phoenix.. No refunds.

    6. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by mrseigen · · Score: 2, Funny

      I wonder why they didn't feel free to give me grants. Ubisoft turns a profit -- they don't need them. I'm a poor student game (er, "art") developer.

    7. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We don't have HMO/insurance company paper-pushers deciding if medical procedures are necessary or not.

    8. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by FozzieCDN · · Score: 1

      I hate to break this to you but this is no different than the Film & TV Grants that are setup to encourage productions to come here to Canada. In fact any Canadian game development studio can apply for this grant since game development falls into the Film & TV category within Canada.

      As for stealing the tax payers money, this has been going on for years, its called "equalization payments".

    9. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by FozzieCDN · · Score: 1

      Just as a follow up to my first post, the article states that there are two seperate grants being given.

      The Province of Quebec is giving 52 million while the federal government is doing 5, both of these are over about 5 years.

      The 52 million that got you all worked up comes from a very lucrative setup the Quebec government has going to entice businesses there. Essentially they will give you $10,000 a year for each technical worker that is employed in the province as well as a 50% return on all R&D work that you perform in the province. This is one of the biggest reasons why Quebec has become a mecca in the past 10 years for software development, its cheaper to do business there thanks to these grants.

    10. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "This scandal, to the tune of less than $150 million, is mere window-dressing to divert the attention from the **REAL** scandal: $45 BILLION (yes $4.5 e10) stolen from the pockets of the salaried workers who paid into the unemployment insurance fund in order to finance the tax cuts of the rich."

      not that I don't trust your word or anything...but can you supply a reputable link for that?

    11. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by sapbasisnerd · · Score: 1

      If you're going to rant on about this stuff it would help if you would get the facts halfway close to correct.

    12. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by EulerX07 · · Score: 1

      57 million more in health will be a 57 million spending, not investment. 57 million to create 1000 jobs that will pay 35-60k a year is an investment.

      Calculate 1000 people with an average pay of 45000 over 5 years. That's 225 million $ in gross payroll. That's at the very least 100 million in tax revenue from the employees alone. A very good investment imho. Plus the products are exported worldwide, increasing our trade surplus.

    13. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by checkyoulater · · Score: 1

      Are we a tad jealous that only in Montréal, you can congregate the talents needed to have a big videogame (and pharmaceutical and aeronautical) industry?

      Of course. The entire country is jealous of the millions of dollars of Corporate Welfare that Quebec has seen from Ottawa over the years.

      --
      Is that a real poncho? I mean, is that a Mexican poncho or is that a Sears poncho?
    14. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by evil-osm · · Score: 1

      Winnipeg had a hockey team?

      --


      E.

      Never rub another man's rhubarb - The Joker
    15. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by pipingguy · · Score: 1


      Maybe the money is coming from what would have been wasted on keeping the Expos in town.

      You're welcome, Washington.. No refunds.

    16. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by tomhudson · · Score: 1
      Sorry, but I can't resist ...
      The problem with the french is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur
      Entrepreneur IS french. This is like saying that english doesn't have a word for "businessman", tabarnac!

      CTV, CBC or Global (three major news outlets in Canada).
      Global is a major news outlet? Not in the eastern half of Canada.

      As for the rest, me to.

    17. Re:Not that I'm bitter... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      There was a "sponsorship scandal" here recently in which the federal government supplied the Quebecois government with millions of dollars of cash in order to make the Canada "brand" more visible in the francophone province. As it turns out, most of that money disappeared into the wallets of bureaucrats and CEOs of advertising moguls, with hardly any money at all going towards this dubious end.

      You must be mistaken. According to this Canadian, only the US government could be so screwed up. Haven't you heard--Canada is paradise!

  7. Hopefully. by Pig+Hogger · · Score: 1

    Hopefully, the current US administration will raise tariffs for foreign subsidized videogames, in order to protect the interests of the indigenous American videogame productors! Otherwise, this would be the end of fair trade!!!!

  8. Government grants?!? by ChibiLZ · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I respect Ubisoft and the Montreal studio, they make excellent titles that are well developed.

    But why does the government have to give money to them? I was under the idea that they were doing quite well for themselves. Could this possibly be a move to try to force out EA, or allow Ubisoft to get a majority of their own shares? I think that as long as they continue to pump out great games, us gamers will be more than willing to fill their coffers.

    OTOH, this will be a good bolster to their equipment, and allow them to more fully exploit the next generation systems coming out. Next-gen titles will certainly be more expensive and/or take longer to develop. Maybe we can now get a Splinter Cell 4 soon for the PS3, XB2, or Revolution.

    Finally, a little OT, but I am always glad to see game innovation coming out of somewhere other than Japan. And maybe we should all get out there and buy some stock now, before it shoots up.

    --
    Don't buy WoW Gold! Make it yourself!
    1. Re:Government grants?!? by Sepper · · Score: 1

      They aren't GIVING any money... It's called a Tax Break.

      --
      I live in Soviet Canuckistan you insensitive clod!
  9. Detailed leaked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Some details of the new Frogger game have been leaked. In this new version, the Frog hops recklessly away, across the road, if an invading army shows up. He also tends to hop faster if Jerry Lewis is on the other side. Oui, grenouille!

  10. Government Financial Support.. by Enevitable · · Score: 1

    Is this the first time that a government has financed a game studio? This could be marking a new era..

  11. Re:Hopefully. -- MOD DOWN by Shadow_139 · · Score: 0

    Please Mod Parrent Down..
    Ye Fair Trade by Taxing everyone else... ? Fair?

  12. Nothing new in Canada by Fr05t · · Score: 2

    In Canada there are tons of different agencies which provide grants, loans, and tax breaks to companies wanting to expand. The logic behind this is it helps new business start, and existing business expand it will bring more money into Canada and create jobs.

  13. Maybe, with government subsidies.... by Trelane · · Score: 1

    they now have the cash to justify making Linux games! Well, I can dream, can't I?

    --

    --
    Given enough personal experience, all stereotypes are shallow.
  14. re: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Glad to hear that Corporate Welfare is alive and doing well.

  15. Ubisoft in Canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Farcry: Blizzard edition is something to look forward to. Stalking trappers and Mounties, avoiding the kodiak bears, and a climactic shootout atop the space needle in Toronto.

    And more pine trees than have ever been done in a game engine before.

    1. Re:Ubisoft in Canada? by kirkb · · Score: 0, Troll

      You mean the CN tower in Toronto, right? Seattle has the space needle.

      --
      Slashdot: come for the pedantry, stay for the condescension.
    2. Re:Ubisoft in Canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Parent is right. The space needle isn't in Toronto, its in Seattle.

  16. Separationism? by quadra23 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Why separate when your doing well in Canada?! This would definitely quench the separatist spirit (with a few/dozen games for the record[s])! More games from Canada, sounds like a plan to me!

  17. I worked at that shithole... by shoolz · · Score: 0, Troll

    ...in 2002. All the employees were worked to the bone in a underheated, pollutant filled warehouse in Montreal's garment district, while the French managment would stand around laughing at that stupid singing fish "Billy Bass". I shit you not.

    On one hand, I think it's great that the government will be helping thousands of budding (and not yet bitter) game developers get a shot at their dream job, I will be writing letters to inform as many people as I can about the horrifying working conditions there, starting with my MP Bill Blakie.

  18. Death for Ubisoft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is a death blow for Ubisoft. Socialism always produces negative results, and corporate welfare is among the most destructive practices.

    Canada had a program called ACOA which disbursed some $2.5 billion in this manner. Within 5 years 97% of the recipient firms were bankrupt.

    Ubisoft is finished.