Kotaku: India

Square Enix Setting Up Shop in India

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 05:10:00 EST

Square Enix is starting operations in India and is staffing up. If you speak Japanese and Hindi, and have an awesome hairdo, apply! (That last part is not a staff requirement—just a game character one.) [Square Enix Japan] More »

Assassin's Creed Heavily Inspires Indian Movie. Blows Our Minds.

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EDT

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Indian films are famous for their dance numbers. Tamil super hero flick Velayudham has them in spades. It also has what looks either Ezio or Altair from the Assassin's Creed games—make that, really looks. More »

Did Angry Birds Help Tackle Political Corruption in India?

Brian Crecente — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:00:00 EDT

India's decision to take tough steps against political dishonesty may have had a little help from a flying, angry bird. More »

Sony is Making a Bollywood Sci-Fi Game for the PS3 (and PS2)

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 05:30:00 EDT

A Sony development team in the UK is working on a game adaptation of upcoming Bollywood sci-fi flick Ra.One. More »

Chinese Consoles Invade India

Sam Winstrom — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EDT

Video games are hot in India right now, but don't expect to see many of these gamers on Xbox Live or Playstation Network anytime soon. More »

Gaming Technology Helps India Prepare For Terrorist Attacks

Mike Fahey — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:30:00 EST

This 3D model of Bangalore's Garuda Mall would be right at home in a modern video game, but it's much more than that. It's part of a simulation aimed at helping emergency response teams deal with the all-too-real possibility of a terrorist attack. More »

250 Foxconn Employees Poisoned By Pesticide

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 03:00:00 EDT

This time it isn't an employee falling off a roof or out of a window. This time, it's pesticide. More »

South Indian Assassin Movie Looks Kinda Familiar

Owen Good — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EDT

Looking at a trailer for Velayutham, a Tamil-language film that opened this week, I'm betting its story is not canonical to the Assassin's Creed continuity. It's made by a producer famously unconcerned about infringing on others' marks as well. More »

Tennessean Plays GTA for 40 Hours Straight, Pees Three Times

Owen Good — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:00:00 EST

Barely four months after an Indian equity broker logged a world record by playing Grand Theft Auto IV for 40 hours and 20 minutes, a 19-year-old college kid in Tennessee has beaten it. More »

Man Plays Grand Theft Auto For 40 Hours Straight

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:00:00 EDT

What did you do between September 4 and September 6? Twenty-six year-old private equity broker Chirantan Patnaik played Grand Theft Auto IV — for 40 hours and 20 minutes straight. More »

India's Got Mario Talent

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:00:00 EDT

A group of talented folks do their version of Super Mario Bros. for television program India's Got Talent. More »

Search Is On for Darjeeling's "Arcade Boy"

Owen Good — Sat, 30 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT

If someone can pull off the needle-in-a-haystack search for a kid who managed a game parlor in the Indian Himalayas 10 years ago, a "mysterious benefactor" will send the arcade a Dreamcast. More »

Have You Been To An Arcade 7000 Feet Above Sea Level?

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 19 May 2009 08:00:00 EDT

Probably not. This one is located in the Indian city of Darjeeling (yes, like the tea). And while it's not much of an arcade, that's still pretty high. More »

Bollywood Gets Into Gaming

Brian Crecente — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:40:00 EST

Following in the footsteps of their California kin, India's Bollywood has started courting the video game market with their own movie stars. More »

India Gets First Indian Made 3D Game

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST

Video games based on Hollywood movies are nothing new. Video games based on Bollywood movies are newer. Hit flick Ghajini is getting just that. More »

How Splinter Cell Voice Actor Survived Mumbai Terrorist Attacks

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:00:00 EST

In late November, we brought word that game voice actor Michael Rudder (Far Cry Instincts, Prince Of Persia: The Warrior Within, Splinter Cell) was among the casualties in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. More »

PS2/PSP Sales "Healthy." PS3 Sales? Still Waiting To Take Off...

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:00:00 EST

That's Atindriya Bose, country manager of PlayStation India. He's here to tell us all about India, a growth region Sony has been supporting full force. More »

Xbox India Expects Big Gears of War 2 Sales

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:40:00 EST

On November 7, Gears of War is truly getting a global release. The same day it hits North America and Europe, the game will also be appearing on Indian retail shelves. To celebrate its release, Microsoft India recently held a Gears 2 event in Mumbai. More »

The PS2 Is Now Officially An Open Platform

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EDT

The PlayStation 2 is far from dead, and the console is outselling the PS3. With Sony Europe's developer relations manager George Bain announcing that it's no longer necessary for developers to submit upcoming titles to Sony for content approval, don't expect the PS2 to die off anytime soon. The platform is now open, and this action will certain spur on a spate of low-cost titles. Bain cited territories like Russia and India that are now able to "create low-development cost titles and release them in their market”. Dev kits are still an necessity, but there are no longer PS2 licensing fees. "This has never been done before," notes Bain. "This is something we're actively promoting." More »

Fallout 3 Not Coming To India

Mike Fahey — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:20:00 EDT

After all that trouble Bethesda went through to make the game pretty enough for discerning Australian tastes, now Microsoft has decided to cancel the 360 version of the game in India due to 'cultural sensitivities'. This means no Fallout 3 for the country at all, as the PS3 and PC versions were never scheduled for release there. Gamingindians.com ran the official statement from Microsoft. More »

Sony Sees India As "Key Development Hub"

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:00:00 EDT

Sony Compunter Entertainment is looking to India. Makes sense as the country has established itself in the animation industry, so gaming seems like a logical next stop. Says SCEE country manager for India Atindriya Bose: More »

Sony Wants To Turn India Into Game Development Nexus

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 EDT

In an effort to further cut costs, Sony Computer Entertainment plans to further its influence in India. The company is transferring tech from its London studio to India and will also train local developers to balance costly dev costs. Says Sony's Atindriya Bose: More »

Tales Of Vesperia Demo Hits Asia

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:20:00 EDT

Here's some good news, bad news, and then good news again! The first good news is that Namco Bandai's Xbox 360 exclusive Tales of Vesperia now has a demo up on Xbox Live. The bad news? Currently the demo is only available in India and Asia...but do not fret! There is no fretting! Users in other regions who just so happen to have a Japanese Silver account set up are more than welcome to download the demo and fool around with the title. The icing on this Oreo good-bad-good cake? The demo only weighs in at 278 MB, and it runs in good old English, so no battling with the squigglies. Sweet! More »

Xbox 360 Credit Card Rarer, Better Than Diner's Club

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:20:00 EDT

Charge your MS points to this and watch time and space tear themselves apart. As part of their ongoing attempts to convince Indians to part with their cash and embrace the 360, Microsoft have teamed up with local bank ICICI to offer the Xbox 360 Visa card. Besides giving fanboys the chance to show their fanboy colours to...shop assistants and waiters, it actually seems a pretty sweet deal, since signing up for the card entitles you to 360-related discounts, like discounts on games and peripherals, including 10% off controllers and 15% off...Kameo. More »

Why There's No GTA IV In India

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:00:00 EDT

April 29th. Remember that? Some game called Grand Theft Auto IV went on sale (wha?) pretty much in planned regions save for India. According to Indian game distributors E-xpress interactive, the game has been delayed for Xbox 360 and PS3. The reason? There are global shortages. You know, we hear a lot of game shortages, which is something I often have a hard time believing, but looking at the staggering number of copies sold in the game's first week, I believe it. No word when the game will finally drop in India, but imported PS3 versions are available. At a price! More »

Irrational's 'The Lost' Gets the Bollywood Treatment

Maggie Greene — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 20:00:14 EDT

I love promotional music videos for games, since they're usually so wonderfully terrible they're fantastic. It's even better when there's a weird story attached: GameSetWatch turned up a NeoGAF post regarding the fate of Irrational's cancelled release, The Lost. The game has resurfaced (with reworked graphics, but with core mechanics and story relatively intact) as an Indian release for PCs under the title of Agni: Queen Of Darkness. As GSW neatly sums up, "... evidently this title went south, Irrational got bought by 2K and turned their attention to BioShock, and FXLabs managed to rejigger it for a Bollywood PC release." But that's not all! It even got its own music video featuring Bollywood star Malaika Arora. I'm entranced. More »

Xbox India Honcho Quits, Refuses to Sell Rockets

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:00:29 EST

Phil Harrison isn't the only game exec to recently leave his former employee and end up elsewhere! Xbox India boss Mohit Anand oversaw the Xbox 360 launch there and was one the most recognizable faces in India's quickly growing gaming industry. A few days earlier, he made the unexpected announcement that he would be leaving the company. Rumors swirled that he'd be heading up Nintendo's effort to bring the Wii to India. If true, that's pretty much make Anand the go-to-guy for launching stuff on the Indian subcontinent! Says Anand: More »

India Considering Ban on Violent Video Games

Maggie Greene — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 16:30:17 EST

With a backstory that is apparently the absolute height of family melodrama, the Indian Parliament is currently considering a ban on violent games. According to speculation in a GameGuru article, after a political figure realized that the game she helped her grandson acquire - Manhunt 2 - was banned in the UK, she set out to make sure it would also be banned in India. Oh dear. As Desicritics intones: More »

Sony Wants India (India Looks At Sony As 'Just A Friend')

Mark Wilson — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:00:42 EST

India, like many countries that aren't known as massive gaming markets now, has the potential to expand massively in the next few years. And SCE (Sony Computer Entertainment) is interested, planning to build multiple retail partnerships in India's top 20 cities. From SCE's Atindriya Bose:

The Indian gaming market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 78 per cent by 2010, and barely one per cent of the country's gaming potential has been tapped...However, we are still at a very nascent stage, even though there is a lot of potential for the industry.

It's tough to talk about the growth of video games in an area where they aren't a very large deal to begin with. But if we can be so forward as to offer Sony two words of encouragement: "SingStar Bollywood." More »

Rumor Smash: SOE Not Being Sold to Indian Company

fdemarco — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:00:00 EST

When I am cruising the interwebs for news, I usually tend to breeze right by ridiculous headlines like India's Zapak set to buy Sony Online, but apparently things like this are taken very seriously by some. More »

Sony Online Entertainment Looks To India

Mike Fahey — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 11:20:15 EST

India may be the world's best source for colorful musical numbers and technical support, but the MMO industry is just getting started there, and Sony Online Entertainment will be there. They are currently in taks with local talent, with plans on opening a studio in the country early next year.

"We need to have Indian content for our games and we are looking for local partners," said Dave Christensen, VP of business development and international operations at SOE, speaking during a gaming conference in Mumbai, India.

SOE is currently working on an MMO based on Ramayan 3392 A.D, the futuristic comic book retelling of an ancient Hindu epic. The game will launch in India, and if successful it will spread to Europe and the US. More »

Indian Game Portal Gunning For Global Launch

Maggie Greene — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 15:00:51 EDT

Not content to let East Asia alone make a play for global domination, an Indian company called Zapak is getting in on the act: the online games portal is starting a wide-ranging plan of investment and development, aimed at opening portals in China, Europe, and the rest of the world, as well as development and opening more internet cafes: More »

Finally, Etch A Sketch The Game

Mike Fahey — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:20:20 EDT

Race from Level 99 is going to completely blow a gasket when she catches wind of this one. Indian developer Gameshastra (which is extremely fun to say) has signed a deal with California casual game publisher Freeze Tag to create Etch A Sketch for the PC, Web, and MAC. Gameshastra also has the rights to create platform versions of the game, listing specifically Xbox Live Arcade and the Wii, though no concrete plans have been announced. What will you do in Etch A Sketch: The Game? I'm hoping it is only limited by your imagination, as well as the need to only move horizontally or vertically in a single, unbroken line. More »

Bollywood to Boost Indian Gaming?

Maggie Greene — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 16:30:21 EDT

In the perfect example of a happy symbiotic relationship, the Bollywood film industry looks like it's ready to pair up with companies to develop mobile games. The main intent is (of course) to boost revenues for the films, but a pleasant potential side effect would be to boost India's gaming industry. Of course, since a great percentage of Bollywood films are spectacles including catchy song and dance numbers, we're not talking about the easiest types of film to convert into games (although we have previously covered the Bollywood games with SingStar and Dance Mela), never mind games for mobile phones. More »

Bollywood Star for Prince of Persia Film

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 02:00:56 EDT

One thing we know: the Michael Bay/Jerry Bruckheimer adaptation of Prince of Persia will feature explosions, slow-mo and at least ONE fruit cart exploding in slow motion. What we don't know: who will play the lead. Mumbai tabloid MID DAY is reporting that Bollywood actor John Abraham (above) will. See, a fan named Venetia Sarll has been rallying for Abraham to get the part and has posted sketches of him in Persia garb. What does Abraham think? More »

India Getting Xbox Live

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 00:00:46 EDT

Good people of India! This September Xbox Live will rolling out for consoles on the sub-continent. Currently, gamers there have been without Live, somewhat defeating the purpose of owning an Xbox 360! The Live launch will take place in late September, and will correspond with both the Halo 3 drop and the Xbox 360's first anniversary in India. Subscriptions will come in 1 month, 3 month and 12 month incriments and will be "attractively priced." Apparently, an Xbox Live bundle is being planned as well and would include a Live subscription, broadband internet connection and a game. So, start practicing those f-bombs today! More »

Nothing Says Dancing More Than Bollywood

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 05:00:50 EDT

Dance Mela is an Indian online rhythm game complete with Bollywood soundtrack! MMO developer Kreeda Games has lined up "less than $10 million" in venture capital for its debut title Dance Mela. While it will be free to play, the game will use micro-transactions in hopes of turning a profit. Not a fan of micro-transactions, but Bollywood soundtrack? Oh, man that sounds AMAZING. Brian Ashcraft More »

Sony's Advertising PS3 Campaign For India

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 16 May 2007 09:00:57 EDT

Late last month, the PS3 launched in India. Well, we hear it launched, but didn't really see any photos of the people lining up and buying the console. Most India news sites were running stories that read like a press release. Reader Dave provides this update: More »

Inflatable Pokemon Ash Decapitated In India

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 14 May 2007 05:00:03 EDT

Ack! What have they done to Ash?! Reader Dave in Mumbai explains: More »

PS3 Launches In India

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 08:30:27 EDT

India, you've got your PS3 launch! Sony's new gaming 60GB machine went on sale late this week for Rs 39,990. For those keeping score, Rs 39,990 is US $975. And that is a lot of money, especially to when you compare it to the Rs 7,990 ($195) needed to get a PS2. But, hey, it's like that EVERYWHERE, so why should India be different? Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's Tim Stokes says: More »