“Historically, Boulevard Saint-Laurent in Montreal was the dividing line and meeting point for all the cultures of Québec; English to the west, French to the east, and everyone else in between.

It’s little surprise then that the French company Ubisoft chose it as the location for their first North American studio in 1997, and the multiculturalism (and multilingualism) of contemporary Québec continues to suit the company well. ‘It’s very convenient for us to be able to talk the same language with creators in France, and at the same time the people in Québec are close to the North American market,’ Yannis Mallat, CEO of Ubisoft Montreal, told Gamasutra shortly before a tour of the studio. ‘They watch the same programs, they have the same entertainment, so they know what works.’”

I am 25 today! Gamasutra have decided to celebrate the day of my birth by publishing the second article I did for them while in Montreal; an interview with Yannis Mallat which is also (sort of) an overview of Ubisoft Montreal. I think some of the most interesting stuff in this interview is the stuff about Campus Ubisoft, which I had never heard of before the trip. The website isn’t even available in English yet, that’s how bleeding edge it is.