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For all those who have been following the Indian gaming scene, Mohit Anand’s departure from Microsoft India came as quite a shocker. The news of him stepping down from his post of Country Manager for Microsoft India’s Entertainment and Devices Division was completely out of the blue and caught everyone by surprise. In the ensuing confusion, quite a lot of news sites came out with their take on the circumstances that led to the event, which frankly, seemed to be quite a study in contrast with what we have known about the relationship of Mohit Anand and Microsoft India. So, to set the record set, we decided to talk with the man himself and clear out some of the rumors that have been swirling around on the World Wide Web.
Right from the beginning of the interview, it was quite clear that Mohit, post-resignation, has stayed abreast with what kind of news concerning him has been floating around on the Web. Talking to Reggie, our Associate Editor, he commented on the pot-shots we had taken in our previous article about the whole affair, all in good humor. Continuing in the same breath, he confirmed that he has resigned from Microsoft India and is now serving out his eight weeks of notice period. The end of this notice period will be the culmination of almost eight years of his association with Microsoft in which the company has afforded him, in his own words, “a great time” with “amazing opportunities”.
That certainly does not sound like someone who is leaving the company because of “internal issues”, as some other news sources have made it out to be. Naturally, Mohit was quick to dismiss these reports as a “bunch of crap”. He maintained that his association with MS has been nothing short of marvelous. The only reason why he is moving out of the company is to “pursue his own dreams”. Talking about his time at Microsoft India, he said that he is very much satisfied with what he set out to achieve and the results that have followed. The growth in business revenue, nationwide presence and business turnover in terms of volume reflect the same.
He was quick to point out the fact that when he talks about volume, it should not be seen as just the Xbox 360, but the various other products such as hardware peripherals, PC games and the commercial software that make up for the volume. He did give the Xbox 360 due credit when he said that, “in hindsight, the single most important event that changed the profile of gaming industry in India would be the launch of Xbox 360”. Though admitting the fact that there is always room for improvement, the Xbox 360 has managed to entrench itself well in the Indian market as a good, visible brand.
When we asked him about the rumors that have been making the rounds that he is getting into game development with a certain Mr. Ajay Banerjee, he was quick on his feet to shoot down this speculation as well. Amidst quite a lot of laughter, he declared that the only Banerjee he happens to know is from his immediate family, a doctor at that and is certainly not in any mood to make a career switch. Sigh! There goes our hope of ever seeing a “Trauma Center” on the Xbox 360. He himself happened to stumble across this rumor at the GamingIndians forum and dismissed it as “figment of some ones imagination”.
Obviously, at this point, he cannot tell us which company he will be joining next and in what capacity as he is still under his notice-period with Microsoft India. However, he assured us that he still will be closely associated with the Indian gaming scene. It is the reason why he has always preferred to work in India as according to him, “this is where all the action is”. He assured us that when the proper time comes, all the relevant channels will be intimated about where he will be working next, which would be sometime mid-April.
We, at The ANGRY Pixel, have enjoyed a great working relationship with Mohit, both at a personal and professional level. Here is TAP wishing Mohit all the best in his future endevours!
May the mongoose keep rolling!
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March 6th, 2008 at 7:46 am
I know he’ll officially deny this but the sales figures did have something to do with his resignation or that’s what I’ve heard…but heythis is the internet and as Phil harrison puts it”you should not believe evrything that’s up on the internet”
March 6th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Conspiracy theories and “rumors” seem to be the flavor of the season, innit? You would know!
March 6th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Oh yeah am lovin it so far :-p
March 7th, 2008 at 5:18 am
Yeah definetly the market in India fir gaming is full of Grey market people which sell 360 imported from other countries like KOrea which is less in price, so the sales 360’s Indian verison is less also abt orginal games nothing accept orignal PC game sales well. Also most of the console people buy from grey market is NTSc and games available are PAL format.
May be but anyways 360 did made a place in India where PS dominated 2 earlier generations.
March 7th, 2008 at 10:46 am
i have heard….. Microsoft is gonna approach me for his position now…. in next century… so im packing my bags as well…
March 7th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
@Richdad - I tend to disagree just a little. M$ has significantly reduced the prices from 19990/- to 14990/- for the Core and have thrown in 2 free games. Thats a better deal, if you ask me. Bottom line - you’re right about the fact that 360 is now pretty much getting to Ps2 status in terms of general public awareness.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Take it from someone who was with MS from prelaunch Xbox in late 2001. The MS guys would be the biggest pack of two faced pricks you have ever met. From the internal management team of Bowman and McClean right through to Mitch Koch in the US they will drop you like a lump of shit once they look like there will be some mud on them and their precious careers.
Some journo should ask them about the internal relationship these oh so happily married men have with their oh so precious staff and collegues. They can rot in their freaking MS offices as far as I am concerned. Mohit Anand’s life will be far better off without the arseholes
April 1st, 2008 at 6:40 pm
@One who knows. MA is no better… he fits very well in the culture…