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.

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Now here’s something that flew over our heads, utterly and completely. Mohit Anand has stepped down from his status as Microsoft India’s Country Manager for Entertainment and Devices Division, due to some, at least according to VARIndia’s report, “internal issues”.

Speaking exclusively to VARIndia, Mohit Anand said, “The news is true that I have quit Microsoft. However, I would not be able to comment where I would be joining next.”

Egads, man! The last time I met Mohit in person was at the Mass Effect launch party, and was even a bit surprised he didn’t show up at Nikhill’s Pizza Whore session (though I was later told that he had a family wedding to attend to). Still, sucks to know he’s gone. For what it was worth, Mohit was a pretty vocal guy. Barring the BioShock incident, the dude was fairly open to whatever questions we had to throw out. Hopefully, Microsoft India themselves will issue an official statement on this matter, maybe even throw some insight on the whole “internal issues” remark. I mean, sure, Mohit isn’t much of a Halo-player (especially if all he does is run over people in the Mongoose), and yeah, there was that time he shot the Arbiter during the Halo 3 Pre-Launch Party’s live demonstration of the single-player campaign. But he does fancy himself an Age of Empires nut! No doubt, in my eyes, does this count for something.

Thanks to Helios for the scoop, and Singh for the Photoshop job on the Mohit Anand Faceplate. There’s a story behind that pic actually, but I think we’ll save that for some other time.

The world is such a better place when you’ve got what everyone has. But what makes it even better is when you’ve waited for something for the better part of a decade! Since November 2002, we’ve waited. But now it’s here and Live will now see a new breed of gamers - Maharaja styleee!

Announced to launch officially on 05/11/07, we all waited for that day when Monday would be everyone’s most favourite-est day. But yesterday (04/11/07, well?!), I walked into my regular game/music store to pick up my copy of Orangebox so I could check what all the buzz around Portal was, and what actually greeted me was the nice, ‘hard-to-rip-off’ orangey soft pack screaming for my attention! Xbox Live was here and a day before the official launch date! Now I don’t know how much trouble this will get me into, but what the hell, I’ve said it now!

So yeah - Gold subscriptions here now in 1, 3 and 12 month subscription options and Live points are here too. I picked up a pack of 1600 points for ± 1000 INR (± $26). Picked up good old Castlevania - SOTN and Geometry Wars, although strangely, Doom was not available for purchase! Strange, indeed.

Up next, I’ll check out all the “Edutainment” products we were promised. Hell, maybe they WILL have an ‘Arbiter teaches typing’ game after all!!

In what concludes our coverage from the Microsoft Xbox LIVE India press event last week, we have a quick two-minute chat with Country Manager Mohit Anand. Just right after Robbie Bach and Alan Bowman decide to hightail it out of the conference hall, those sneaky critters! We discussed with Mohit on whether there’s an expected LIVE subscription target, what GFW Live will mean for India, and the whole deal with Ubisoft. Although that last question doesn’t particularly hold much relevance, especially in light of Tech2’s recent report on Assassin’s Creed, it was something we felt that needed to be addressed. In which case, Mohit doesn’t know the reason himself! So much for that inquiry.

But seriously, do I nod too much in these videos?

When Microsoft throws a party, expect no rupee spared. The “Unofficial” Halo 3 Pre-Launch Party held at the magnificent Oberoi Hotel in Delhi was a sprinkled spectacle to behold. Not only was it the fanciest place I’ve ever been to get some face time with one of the most hyped Xbox 360 titles coming this year, but it was also a great place to meet up with other like-minded gamers both from the press and other game companies. Shucks, the free buffet and open bar didn’t hurt either. High-five!

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