Canadians make games. We’re the third-largest games producer in the world. Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Rockstar, and dozens of other noteworthy game makers have studios scattered across our fair land.

And heaven knows we play games, too. We spend about a billion dollars annually on our hobby, and the Entertainment Software Association of Canada reports that over half of Canadian adults play video games of some sort each month.

But where is our critical voice? Where are our game-loving citizens who write about the interactive entertainment that moves and intrigue them, the games they dislike or downright disapprove of?

Right here.

At FamilyGamer we endeavour to provide Canadian readers with expert, home-grown opinions from real people: moms, dads, kids, and everyone between. Our writers, though clearly fans of games, are not “fanboys” or “fangirls.” We are educated, mature, and, in many cases, have been writing about games for years (I’m the Globe and Mail’s game blogger, and I’ve been writing professionally about games for publications throughout Canada and the United States for more than a decade). We aspire to do more than just discuss graphics and features; we want to look at games from fresh angles while exploring context, discerning meaning, and appreciating artistic design.

Of course, Canadian sensibilities are at the heart of it all. We’ll let you know which games are made in the Great White North (did you know last fall’s Prince of Persia was designed and developed by Ubisoft Montreal?), which feature Canadian content (you may want to consider the Wii version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, if for no other reason than that it’s the only one to feature Alberta’s lovely Banff Springs Golf Club), and which do justice to our national identity (Call of Duty 3 may not be the best entry in Activision’s popular Second World War series, but it’s the only one that features a platoon of Canadian troops riding in to save the day in one of the war’s major battles.)

Simply put, we want to ensure Canadians have access to mature and intelligent game journalism that addresses our specific interests and concerns. I look forward to being part of Canada’s new voice in games criticism. I hope you’ll join me.

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