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Ever had one of those days when your private stealth jet’s AI decides to go sentient, rampaging all across the Middle East while trying to “find” itself the meaning for its existence - especially while on the day when you really, really need to get somewhere fast? It’s only one of the more creative excuses I could come up at this time, because despite being invited to the God of War: Chain of Olympus Launch Event in Mumbai (with a special appearance of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue), none of us from TAP went. I have a throbbing pain in my chest, and her name echoes agony!
Fortunately, such was not the case with GamingIndians stalwart and Gran Turismo junkie Sameer Desai. Not only was he able to break inside the Sony Auditorium with the utmost ease, Sameer tracked down Sony Computer Entertainment of India’s Country Manager, Atindriya Bose, for a little round of one-on-one (Latino Kratos need not apply). How conveniently convenient! Time for some “good cop, bad cop” - GI style. More after the jump, yo.
GamingIndians: You have focused on casual gaming with the PlayStation 2 (PS2) in India with games like SingStar Bollywood and Buzz, The Maha Quiz. Has this approach worked for you sales-wise?
Atindriya Bose: Yes, we have placed an emphasis on the social gaming aspect. We have been actively promoting SingStar, Buzz and the Eye Toy. We frequently hold SingStar Nights; we have held such events at Jazz By The Bay and Hawaiian Shack in Mumbai in the past. We have also carried out in-store promotion for these games. And it has worked; SingStar is picking up, and the PS2 has sold tremendously well.
GI: Is causal gaming the way forward and do you have any more games coming?
AB: We will continue to target the casual gamers, because I feel it is the best way to get people interested in gaming. Once they get a taste of it, it is only a matter of time before they progress to core gaming with the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and then the PlayStation 3 (PS3). Regarding specific games, we are thinking on the lines of newer variations of SingStar and Buzz.
GI: Sony has clearly said that its main focus in India will be on the PS2. But with fewer developers making PS2 games now, are you looking at Indian developers for PS2 games? Will we see more localised content in the near future?
AB: Well, I wouldn’t say there are no PS2 games coming out. But yes we are now seriously looking at Indian developers as well. We already have all the elements – we have Indian mythology that is so vast and fantastic, we have the story-telling capabilities of Bollywood, and game development is already being undertaken by the BPO industry, albeit in bits and pieces. So what we need to do is tie all these factors together and bring all these talents together.
GI: Will the racing game ‘Streets of Mumbai’ make it to the PS2?
AB: Yes, that is one of the games we are looking to bring to the PS2. We are in talks with Trine Studios in that regard. We are in the process of identifying Indian studios so we can work with them and provide them with the dev kits and technical know-how. Hopefully we can soon develop 100% Indian IPs that will gain worldwide recognition.
GI: Does Sony plan to start a development studio in India?
AB: That is not something we are looking at for now. But of course, if we do come across someone who is doing great work, you never know.
GI: How do you plan to market a game like God of War: Chains of Olympus. Will you be heavily advertising it, or are you relying on the God of War name and word-of-mouth?
AB: We do plan to undertake a certain amount of publicity for the game. You will see in-store promotion etc. But we cannot go all out in advertising a game like this due to its 18+ rating. We don’t really have strict guidelines for age restrictions in India, so its up to us to take on that responsibility and exercise a certain amount of self-censorship. But yes, there will be promotion for the game. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (GT5) is another matter. We will not only be promoting the game well, but we’re also planning GT5 tournaments soon.
GI: Polyphony Digital has, along with Logitech, designed a racing wheel specifically for GT5. Will that wheel (Logitech Driving Force GT) be available in India?
AB: That is for Logitech to decide, although I don’t see why it shouldn’t be here. We can definitely talk to Logitech about it. We can even go a step further and offer to market it ourselves.
GI: Can you give us a release date for the full version of GT5?
AB: This is the Prologue version. But we have no information regarding the release of the full version. It has not been announced for this year, unless they are keeping it a secret.
GI: What about the PS3 debut of the God of War franchise?
AB: There is no announcement regarding God of War on the PS3.
GI: Sony has announced a red God of War Edition PSP in Europe and America. Will we get that here too?
AB: It is unlikely. We will bring in different variations and bundles from time to time, but with regards to the God of War PSP, again I come back to the 18+ rating that the game carries. In the end, it doesn’t make sense if we’re only going to sell 100-odd units.
GI: I have heard from quite a few people that the PSP is doing very well in India, even outselling the PS2. Did you foresee this?
AB: Not at all. We’re frankly a little surprised at the way it has been selling. We underestimated the demand for the PSP and now we’re running out of stock. Even for God of War, we sat down with Milestone to estimate the demand, but we’re already running out of stock on the release date itself. However, I wouldn’t say the PSP is outselling the PS2. Those who say this is are the ones who keep an eye on the core gamers. The PSP is more popular with the core gamers, whereas the PS2 is for everyone. But we are thrilled with the way both are selling.
GI: In GT5, two of its new features – 16-player online racing and GTTV – will require the PlayStation Network, which is not yet available in India. Will that happen soon and will we get the PSN Store in India for the PSP and PS3?
AB: Yes you will. PSN itself is there; its just a matter of switching it on. But the PSN Store will come and we plan to bring PlayStation Home as well. Indians are intelligent; they will find a way to get what they want. According to our estimates, there are already about 2,500 people in India who are signed up on PSN even before the service has officially been launched. But first we need to see if there is enough broadband penetration, without which the service will not be effective. We’re hoping for Wimax to gain popularity. That will add a lot of value to the PSP with its Wifi capabilities and the ability to view maps via GPS.
GI: During the launch of the PS3, Sony had said it was only bringing 1,000 units to India, and that it would continue focusing primarily on the PS2. How has the PS3 performed?
AB: It has surpassed our expectations. Both PSP and PS3 sales have caught us off-guard.
GI: There have been a few complaints regarding non-availability of the PS3. Just last week, someone from our community paid upfront for a PS3 at a Sony World outlet in Ahmedabad. But he has to wait for days before he gets his console. Why is this the case?
AB: It is a case of logistics. We do not have PS3 stock and the stock comes to India from Holland, so it takes longer to get here than, say for example, a PSP shipment would take. We’re actually running short of PSP and PS3 stock, but for different reasons. The PS3 is a logistical issue, whereas the PSP is simply sold out and is in short supply worldwide. But we expect that this is a one-time problem and will be rectified soon.
GI: Can we expect new colours, SKUs, and bundles for the PS3?
AB: It depends. If we think certain bundles or starter packs provide value to the customer, we will work to bring them here. But if that option isn’t cost-effective, it doesn’t really serve its purpose and the customer is better off buying the console and games separately.
GI: Since the 60GB PS3 has been phased out, will the 80GB SKU be available in India soon?
AB: For now, the 40GB PS3 is all we will be selling here. But perhaps towards the end of the year, we will bring the 80GB PS3 as well.
GI: Two massive games will be releasing in the coming months on the PS3 – Grand Theft Auto 4 in April and Metal Gear Solid 4 in June. What has Sony planned for these games?
AB: These games are not being distributed by Milestone. It is being done by E-Xpress Interactive. But what we will do is undertake a marketing campaign around the release of these games.
GI: But we’ve been told that, unlike God of War: Chains of Olympus, and GT5, these games will see a delayed release. Why can’t we have them in India along with Europe?
AB: There are some publishers who are less willing to negotiate when bringing games to India. Other distributors bring games to India in smaller numbers as compared to Sony/Milestone so publishers may not give them the same priority. We have a larger distribution network thanks to Milestone, so our orders are substantial. That helps in negotiating for prices and release dates.
GI: So is there no way we can get GTA4 or MGS4 on Day 1 in India?
AB: We will work with E-Xpress to see what can be done. May be we could introduce a bundle with MGS4. Even if the games come to India 2-3 weeks after international release date, we will carry out our marketing around that.
GI: Do you see the Xbox 360 as competition for the PS3 in India?
AB: Not really. We’re kind of in the same boat. Console gaming is nascent, so we don’t really see the Xbox 360 as competition; we’re just happy to see gaming gain popularity. Maybe, once that happens, we will become bitter rivals like Pepsi and Coke.
GI: The Xbox 360 is expected to see another price cut in India in the coming days. Can we expect the same with the PS3 in the near future?
AB: We are comfortable with the way the PS3 is priced. We will reduce prices when we see fit, but at the moment, we are happy with the current pricing. I hear the Xbox 360 Core console will drop to Rs 10,000. We welcome such a move, because it means more people will be able to afford next-gen gaming, which is the future of console gaming.
GI: Why is it that the same games cost more on the PS3 than they do on the Xbox 360 in India? The prices are the same in America and Europe.
AB: That is a strategy Microsoft has adopted in India. They feel cheaper games will equal more sales. We feel the Rs 2,499-2,799 price range is justified for a next-gen Blu-Ray title. We have been reducing prices for PSP and PS2 games on a regular basis, and in time we will do the same with PS3 games.
GI: Do you plan to push the Blu-Ray video format in India? Will we see more Bollywood films on Blu-Ray?
AB: We have brought around 30 Blu-Ray movie titles to India. The problem is that it is not viable for us to censor Blu-Ray content like we can with DVD releases. A substantial investment would be required to allow editing of Blu-Ray titles so that they are suitable for Indian audiences in accordance with the censor board’s guidelines. So we are unable to bring too many foreign titles to India. Bollywood too will take time to adopt Blu-Ray, since there isn’t an installed base of Blu-Ray players in India, nor the facilities to manufacture Blu-Ray media.
GI: Even though gaming is gaining more and more popularity in India, video game journalism isn’t given enough support and importance here. Games for preview and review purposes are hard to come by and there is little help from publishers.
AB: We have held gamers’ nights where gamers and journalists can come and preview games. Such events have been organized by Milestone and EA in the past and we will continue to do so in the future. This is a learning process for us, and something new in India. So give us some time so we can get a system in place for this. The other alternative is debug consoles. However there is a lengthy and complicated process behind that. We at Sony India are unable to provide debug consoles; they have to come directly from Sony in Europe after a lot of paperwork and several legal formalities. Even EA India was unable to get a debug console from us; they had to do so from Europe.
Once again, thanks to Sameer for allowing us to put this up. You can check out the Discussion Thread over at their forums. Pata pata pata pon!
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March 27th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Hee Hee !! Latino Kratos FTW !!
March 29th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
man I like the Kratos figure…wonder how much that’s for…
March 30th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
“There is no announcement regarding God of War on the PS3.”
Yeah, but too bad the RAD guys couldn’t wait to put a “Coming Soon on PS3″ ad on the back of the Chains of Olympus manual. Now that’d be the time meesa gets himself one. That, or with FF XIII, whichever comes earlier. And we all know which one will.
March 31st, 2008 at 11:19 am
I dont’t think he even knows that there is a PS3 teaser on the back of that inlay booklet. If that isnt a confirmation that its coming on the PS3, what is?
peace
April 1st, 2008 at 9:29 pm
“I hear the Xbox 360 Core console will drop to Rs 10,000″
!!! Well my rock IS starting to smell a little moldy….