Attended the New Media BC overview of the gaming industry in Vancouver. The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) funded a study of the state of the industry in the lower mainland. Fittingly, the session took place at Radical Entertainment (the other big gaming house in Vancouver is EA). Attendees were treated to profiles of 13 local companies which represented the breadth of the industry.

My rough notes are here. The session was interesting as it gave a good overview of the types of markets that are being developed. The companies were listed in broad categories:
Hardware: Phoenix, Nokia
Mobile: Airgames Wireless, Exponentia, IUGO
Platform: Condition 30, Gekido Design Group, Singular Inversions, SXIP, Factory 1, Ludicorp, Next Level, Relic

In our own Faculty we are using simulations to help prepare students for Chemistry labs. The environment we use (Virtual Lab) provides students with the opportunity to experiment and make mistakes prior to their time in the lab. Does it work?  We have observed more concept related discussions in our labs (replacing the 'Is this really red?' type questions of the past).