Category Archives: India

India’s games market enjoyed 16% growth in 2012, according to the Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2013.

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Space Dust Studios is now open for business in Melbourne, Australia and is made up of seasoned games industry pros. The team’s tagline is ‘Veteran developers gone rogue’ and its first game is in development now.

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Mobile and portable publisher Gameloft has reportedly closed its Indian studio without warning.

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Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has teamed up with Trine Games to develop a videogame based on the upcoming Bollywood Sci-Fi flick R.A One.

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A new report from games industry market analyst firm Pearl Research suggests Internet cafes are still a major motivator in Asian game markets.

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The Indian release of the next-gen iteration of Sony’s biggest game franchise is to be marked by the country’s first ever midnight launch.

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Indian firm Reliance Big Entertainment has bought a 50 percent stake in Codemasters.

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Indian 26-year-old Chirantan Patnaik has taken the official Guinness world record for the longest continuous play session of GTA IV.

Patnaik played the Rockstar epic for 40 hours 20 minutes at the offices of blog NeuralChaos.com from September 4-6.

An exercise regime of running and yoga helped him reach his goal, apparently, which beats the previously held record of 28 hours and 1 minute, held by an American.

What format? He was playing the game on PS3.

Thanks, MTV.

A new console was announced at GDC yesterday, a 3G-enabled box packing a punch somewhere between a PSone and a PS2, according to maker Zeebo. Here’s its home site.

Zeebo plans to launch its “video game console for the next billion” in Brazil next month for $199 and in other countries later this year for $179.

The discless box is aimed at developing countries and is a little larger than a Wii, apparently.

Zeebo CEO John Rizzo said the machine isn’t meant to directly compete with the likes of PS3 and Xbox 360, but rather give consumers in India, China, Brazil and Eastern Europe – those who generally can’t afford the latest high-end consoles, or the games published for them – a bite at the gaming cherry, so to speak.

In many of these countries, cell phone service is more readily available and cheaper than wired broadband, said Rizzo.

One word: Phantom.

“Launching a new console is not for the faint of heart,” Rizzo said.

Live the dream, dude. Get lots more on Yahoo.

Sony’s released an 80Gb PS3 SKU in India, priced 25,990 rupees (£361).

It replaces the current standard 40Gb model and comes with a DualShock 3 in the pack.

“The introduction of high definition gaming and entertainment systems among the Indian audience is the result of extensive research into the entertainment needs and preferences of the next generation of PS3 owners,” said Atindriya Bose, SCE’s Indian country boss.

More on GameGuru.

GamingIndians reports that Microsoft India has cancelled Bethseda’s Fallout 3 in the country and has cited “cultural sensitivities” as the cause.

The statement in full:

Microsoft constantly endeavors to bring the best games to Indian consumers in sync with their international release. However, in light of cultural sensitivities in India, we have made the business decision to not bring Fallout 3 into the country.

Just as to what cultural idiosyncrasies aren’t being adhered to is unknown at this time.

By Mike Bowden

Ernst and Young believes the Indian gaming market now has all the elements in place for huge future growth.

“Disposable incomes of the upper middle class are growing with the economy, favourably influencing gaming growth,” said the firm in a report. “The action, though, is still restricted to the top eight cities but with the right investments the potential for box business in India is immense.”

The market, apparently, is “warming up”.

“Indian consumers are warming up to gaming as an entertainment alternative with proliferation of gaming devices moving northwards,” said a rep.

More on MCV.

Speaking with Develop, SCEE’s country manager for India, Atindriya Bose, has said that the country will soon play a major role in worldwide videogaming development.

“The competence and the state of readiness of the Indian developers makes it imperative that India soon will emerge as a key development hub for many international games companies,” said Bose.

“There are already established players in the animation area. The country’s capability in the IT space today is unquestioned. There are gaming companies being set up to be able to combine these strengths and move into the space of game development.”

More through the link.

By Mike Bowden

SCEE has launched its new, slimmer PS2 model in India, hoping to take advantage of Diwali.

The machine is being offered at 6490 rupees (£82), with games starting at 499 rupees (£6.28).

“We are excited to introduce the new PlayStation 2 at an attractive and accessible price point for the Indian gamers,” said PlayStation India boss Atindriya Bose.

“For a country like India where there are many gamers just starting on consoles, PS2 indeed plays an important role as the best entry level gaming console.”

Press release after the link. Thanks, GamingIndians.

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GamingIndians has posted up a trip report and a bunch of photos from a visit to EA’s new Indian facility in Hyderabad, and it doesn’t look like the worst place in the world to work.

Looks as though mobile’s going to be big for the Indian outfit, but development of art assets for the company in general is going to become increasingly important.

“Various studios that are part of the EA fraternity may have the need for getting parts of the game developed in India; maybe developing some of the art assets,” said Amol Gurwara, EA Hyderabad’s head of operations.

“Rob [Kahlon, art director, worldwide outsourcing at EA] is going to build up the group that provides art support. These groups aren’t as end-to-end as the mobile division, but eventually they will also get there.”

Interesting stuff. Take a look.

According to this AngryPixel report, Soul Calibur IV won’t be releasing in India because distributor Ubisoft’s refusing to drop prices for the market.

Indian games distributor e-Xpress said it won’t be buying in the title because of Ubisoft’s stance, and fears – in India, at least – are now that many future Ubisoft games may be blocked from release in the country. Including Fallout 3.

More through the link.

According to this India Times piece, Sony’s planning to release a fourth version of the PS2 hardware before Diwali, this year to be held on October 28.

That piece claims the new machine will launch in both India and Europe simultaneously, and will feature “slimmer, sleeker and more suave” styling over the current version. Apparently, it won’t have an external AC adapter.

More through the link.

Quatrro BPO Solutions has acquired localisation and testing firm Babel Media for around $25-30 million, writes GI.

“This is our biggest acquisition in terms of profitability, topline and bottom line and I see this move as an intergral part of Quatrro’s agenda of ‘Going Beyond the Existing’ and building strategically important businesses in undeserved and uncontested market spaces,” Indian based owner Ramon Roy said.

“With this acquisition, we have bought India into the gaming testing and localisation space.”

More through the link.

By Mike Bowden

According to this Angry Pixel report, Forza 3 is unlikely to appear on two discs, despite the recent Intellisponse leak on the game suggesting a two-DVD product.

The news comes from Dhruva Interactive, an Indian company who’s already worked on 3D assets for both Forzas and games in the Gotham series.

“One way or the other, the core game will be shipped on a single disc,” said the source. “Content won’t be sacrificed… fans will be pleasantly surprised for what’s in store.”

Take a look.

From the Major. Namco’s posted a demo of Tales of Vesperia, but only for the Asian and Indian Marketplaces.

The game is region free so grab it now, if you can.

By Mike Bowden