For all those unhappy Xbox 360 owners in India, there seems to be a faint glimmer of light at the end of the long, dark tunnel. After having braved numerous RRoDs, delayed launches of highly anticipated games and more than a handful of false starts with Xbox LIVE, it seems like, come October 24th, 2007, something’s gotta give.

Those who have been to the Xbox India website would have noticed a countdown timer, slowly but surely ticking down for the moment when something big is all set to be announced. We might be jumping the gun here thinking that Xbox LIVE should become officially available here once that that countdown timer hits all zeroes, but then, we might just be right on this one, considering Microsoft India’s Entertainment and Devices Division head Mohit Anand said that it should happen sometime in October. As if the suspense wasn’t already unbearable, Mohit assures fans that keeping a tab on the timer will be worth it. In fact, the news doing the rounds is that it can be more than just one announcement! It could be two! (gasp) Sort of like a one-two sucker punch…

So what is it? Xbox LIVE? Price cut? New accessories? HD-DVD player? Holiday bundles? Free footrubs for customers? Fans, predictably, are running amok with theories, everything from a simultaneous launch of SKATE and Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground to things much worse, like a new ad-campaign featuring Yuvraj Singh and Akshay Kumar jumping around like kangaroos on steroids! Like one member put it at a forum, it could also be the moment when all the Xbox 360 consoles RRoD at the same time!!

All we can do is cross our fingers and wait for the good news. If MS India leaves us disappointed us yet again, then Mohit Anand can be bet his bottom that he will be getting a LOT of hate mail, especially after his assurance that it will be something big. In the meantime, you can head over to the forums and tell us what your wish list is for the D-day.

Let your imagination run wild!!!

To all the nay-sayers who think there ain’t no way the gaming situation here can ever improve on our home turf, well, you may be right! But one thing’s for sure, it can only continue growing and that’s largely thanks to the efforts of companies like Microsoft and Sony. According to Rajesh Jain (Executive Director of KPMG), “The main drivers for the growth of the gaming industry in India would be seeding initiatives by the players, marketing, and pricing of the games – which is an important aspect in India.” Currently India’s gaming industry is worth about $30 million right now, and that’s even including the grey market.

Jain further adds, “At the end of the day, the prices at which the games are brought is important” but also mentions that it’s not the “cost of the box” which matters, but the “cost of recurring games.” We already know Microsoft has been doing a heck of a lot of work to drive their message (with booze, no less); and thanks to the 54% decrease of the import duty imposed on game titles, you can expect to find products quite comparable or even a bit cheaper than what you would you normally find in other countries (although currently, this mostly applies to those published by Microsoft Games Studio). Even for games that haven’t even been released yet, Microsoft will sell them for approximately Rs. 1,895. Same goes for recently released PC games: you’ll find S.T.A.L.K.E.R and BioShock for less than Rs. 700. Quite the admission price!

Source: MetroNow (Click below to read what other companies had to say)

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Could it be? A light at the end of the dark, dank tunnel? After 22 days of being cut off from the Xbox 360, it looks like my troubled times may be nearing their end. When we managed to contact the head honchos at Microsoft India running the show, we were told that they have sorted out all the knots at their end and will be addressing all complaints within the next 24 hours.

There was a logistics problem and the same has been resolved now, all pending replacements will be closed in the next 24 hours.

said Mohit Anand, Country Manager of Microsoft India’s Entertainment and Devices Division. Oh SNAP! Now all I have to worry about is whether my replacement console will follow Brian Ashcraft’s in going kaput 5 minutes after being plugged in. I sure as hell hope not - at least give me enough time to wrap up The Darkness, BioShock and Halo 3. Wonder if the replacement will have the new heatsink, though. I will let you know the minute I pick up my replacement unit.

Every time I talk to Microsoft India’s customer support or Redington’s hotline, I can only think of echoing Calvin: “Someone’s out to get me!” After my Xbox 360 did a little red danse macabre, three times in succession, on August 30th, and trying to get it to work every which way, I threw in the towel and called up Microsoft to get it replaced. After getting an RMA issued for my erstwhile companion of 8 months or so, I am told that I’d have to wait for 5 “business days” to get it replaced. And the sordid story begins…

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