Microsoft India does know how to throw a party. They set the ball rolling with the launch of Halo 3, following up with Gears of War, Mass Effect and then Gears of War II. With the Halo 3: ODST all set to hit the Indian shelves, Microsoft India went all out with launch party for this hotly anticipated game.

Held at PVR Cinemas, Saket, New Delhi, this event had it all; right from big-screen gaming to booth babes and free Halo 3: ODST T-shirts. A strong crowd turnout and lot of excitement followed. TAPians Vijay and Ren were right there to catch the moments on their camera. Inexplicably, video cameras were not allowed. But then, pictures speak a thousand words. Hit the jump to see a couple million!

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After being out of touch for a while, our Editor, Krishnan Rajagopal and Sameer Desai from GamingIndians got some time to spend with Mr. Jaspreet Bindra, Country Manager of Microsoft India’s E&D Division. What followed was a discussion on what Microsoft India’s plans are for the forthcoming months. Everything from Windows 7 launch to fate of RROD Xbox 360 consoles post warranty and even unused Xbox 360 kiosks were discussed. Click on the link to have a look at what Microsoft India talked about as our man who was there quickly recounts what was said and what it would mean for the Indian gamer.

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Been a while since we have had a contest at The ANGRY Pixel. We got our hands on some spare code for Call of Duty: World at War map pack for the Xbox 360 which we would like to give away to you. But of course we can’t make it a simple mail-us-and-enter-sweepstakes kind of a contest as well; what fun is it then? So while keeping it simple, we have decided to ensure that at least a deserving guy gets to win the code.

If you think you should be the one getting the free code for World at War map pack, then just send us a screenshot of your stats page showing your kills and deaths. Hit jump to see an example of what your screenshot should look like. Of course we do not need to tell you that the stat page is available at the Call of Duty website. Email your entries to contest @ theangrypixel . com (without the spaces) with the subject line, “WAW Map Pack”.

Many thanks to Microsoft India for the code.

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How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice! And if that fails, an inexpensive GPS, Google Maps and front-row tickets could probably do wonders. But how do you get to Jaspreet Bindra, the man holding all the strings to Microsoft India’s Entertainment & Devices Division? Well, after trying for over four months through the usual PR channels, we finally decided to use my Xbox MVP status to try and spend some quality time with the newly appointed Country Manager and ask some really hard hitting questions that were just burning to be answered. So, last Wednesday, with a lot of help from the absolutely adorable Abhishek Kant – Community Program Manager for Microsoft India – we managed to burn up the telephone wires for the better part of an hour with the warm and very approachable Jaspreet and the Assistant Product Manager for the Xbox 360 – Sanjoy John, getting down to brass tacks about the Xbox 360 and the Games for Windows platforms in India.

We were originally supposed to schedule a video interview with him sometime next week, but with Vijay and Reggie rowing the slave galleon pretty hard next week (not to mention how every spare moment in Vijay’s life is now spent playing Gollum And Its Precious with his Leader Class Bulkhead action figure), we decided we’ll just roll with what we have for now and do the video interview when the stars are aligned just right. One note about the following interview, when you see text marked out in italics like this, that’s just me inserting my thoughts on what’s being said or just being the kooky klass klown. Consider yourself warned.

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With Gears of War 2 just around the corner (read tomorrow), we’ve all gone the extra mile to walk around in Marcus’ footsteps – watched marathon sessions of Futurama, bought all the Gears action figures, drooled over the metal Lancer paraded around by CliffyB and Major Nelson and heck, even pumped steroids into our veins and larynges just to be that much closer to Marcus “Candy Bar” Fenix. (You know, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside…)

Or, if you don’t want to go through this much trouble, and spend the better part of daylight huddled in a dark room posting on Facebook, there’s a handy little Facebook app that we got hit up with some time back. We’re still kinda unclear on who designed this, but it’d sure be nice if they could actually, add, like, umm, you know, Gears of War 2 stuff – newer enemies, newer locations, newer weapons, newer contests, newer goodies – instead of all the stuff we’ve been seeing every other minute since we got our Xbox 360s. Hopefully, someone in PR would soon be tasked with the unenviable (oh?) job of getting to work on all this, but until then, if, for some reason, you’ve made the unpardonable sin of forgetting your Gears lore, head on over to the Facebook app page here to jog your memory and add the app to your profile. Quite obviously, you need a Facebook account.

And don’t forget to pick up your copy of Gears of War 2 in stores tomorrow, with the standard edition going for INR 2195 and the Collector’s Edition with your very own photo of Maria for a scant INR 2510.

Lucky buggers in Mumbai, get ready to have your first glimpse of Marcus Fenix and his band of brothers as Microsoft-India prepares to show-off the eagerly anticipated Gears of War 2. Head over to Blue Frog on November 3rd to keep your date with the game. Cocktail and snacks are on the house.

Click on the image on the left to see a bigger, better, more badass version.

In other news, a similar event was scheduled for Bangalore as well with Consoul playing host to Microsoft. Gamers from the city would have been invited over to Consoul, Bangalore’s premiere console-only gaming parlor, to try out the game all by themselves. However, it seems like as of now, the event has been put on the backburner. We will update you as soon as we have some news regarding this.

Edit: More news on the Bangalore event after the jump.

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Yee-ouch, what a huge difference a single week can make, that too right just before a major game release like Fallout 3. It was an admirable attempt for Microsoft India to step-up to the plate and try to bring over the Xbox 360 version, so that everyone can hold hands together and play prosperously in our precious nuclear holocaust simulator. But now, not so much. Microsoft India has gone on record saying that due to some “cultural sensitivities” – Fallout 3 will simply not come to retailers (officially, that is).

This shocking news has certainly come in a strange light of instances where several big-name titles (Fallout 3 especially after the whole rating dilemma with Australia) have been getting the launch shaft due to similar reasons. One recent occurrence reported by EDGE was that Gears of War 2 was not to be made available in the countries of Japan (as well as Germany). Would India be denied of some much needed Locust-slaughtering after today’s fateful news with the PIP-Boy 3000? MS India’s Sanjoy John assures us that this is not the case at all, and that India can expect Gears 2 in time for release just like the rest of the world. With that said, at least some of us will be able to sleep easy tonight.

Fable II: October 22nd 2008
Fallout 3: October 28th 2008
Gears of War 2 (Both Standard and Collectors Edition): November 7th 2008

Unfortunately, we still don’t have any clues as to when the PC and PS3 versions of Fallout 3 will arrive here (if at all), understandably because Microsoft India’s only concerned about their own console version and that seeing them bring the PS3 version would seem both awkward and hilarious (hilarious mostly for us). For now, it’s all up to local distributor e-Xpress Interactive.

Thanks to KeyFox KeyEffects Keyofx for the info. Who’s my bestest fwiend? Dat’s wight, you aaare.

After the previous country manager Mohit Anand packed his bags and left for Channel [V] in March, the Entertainment & Devices Division for Microsoft India had been left leaderless, even as rumors began circulating that the Redmond giant’s Indian arm was shutting down operations across “several Tier 2 cities”. Finally, to end all speculation about who would be heading the E&D division, Microsoft has announced that Mr. Jaspreet Bindra, currently leading the Online Services Group (OSG) will be heading the E&D division come September this year.

According to the press release, Mr. Bindra will now be responsible for the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows businesses in addition to overseeing operations across the Entertainment (music, TV and video), the Consumer Productivity Experiences (keyboards and mice) and the Mobile and Embedded Business lines. Frankly, we’re happy we now have a new brand person to hound at the Microsoft offices and hopefully, he won’t hog the Mongoose as much as Mohit did in Halo 3. Or maybe he’s more of a Gearhead. Uno, perhaps! Either which way, I hope he’ll finally manage to bring some debug units into the country. It’s been way too harsh without ‘em!

Press Release [Pic]

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[Image: Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers]

Looks like somebody up there (or down here) finally decided to have some pity on Indian gamers without an Internet connection, a credit card, a Play-Asia account and oh, about 3 weeks of patience. Or in some cases, way longer. After having ignored the country for a long time, except for Lost Planet: Extreme Condition on the Xbox 360, Jap videogame giant Capcom have tied up with local distribution giant Milestone Interactive to bring all their upcoming and back catalog titles to the country.

While the distribution would initially stick to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the PSP platforms, Milestone says they would also be offering PC and PlayStation 2 titles somewhere down the line. The back catalog, which currently includes hot property such as Dead Rising, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition and Devil May Cry 4 will be available starting this week at stores all over the country, with newer games such as MotoGP ‘08, Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5 being available in accordance with the international street dates for these titles.

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