This is the concluding part in the three-part series of interview that GameGuru.in (GG) conducted with Atindriya Bose, Country Manager of Sony Computer Entertainment, India.
GG: What other localized game content are you planning to roll out in India?
AB: We looked at the hardcore games, not yet required to be localized, so you know it, I know it. But in terms of the social gaming aspect where we want to invite anyone from friend to family and everybody, we would love to have as much Indian content as possible. Next in line is a quizzing game that is coming out, which is called as The Buzz. It is also like SingStar, a huge franchise internationally and works on the format of the KBC or Who will be a Millionaire, only thing is, in terms of the interactivity, it is much more fun. Because here it is not just about points. You can actually have the option when you win, like you can actually take away points from others, you choose who you want to take points from or you can say like this is a very tough question, I cannot answer and has a negative, I want to pass it on to the third guy. So it has a more interactive feel. We have also worked with Derek O’Brien and Indianized the content. Sixty percent of the content has universal appeal. Another forty percent or fifty percent has been Indianized to make it relevant for the Indian market. So that is coming in too!
These are only baby steps, over a period of time as a market grows, you will see hardcore games getting into a lot of Indian content; because if you look at Hollywood today, every big film franchise that comes out has a game of its own. You have a Harry Potter, you have a Spider-Man and you have Simpsons and Surfs Up. It just requires the right type of developing in India and production houses will see the value of the Bollywood IPs.
GG: Have you tied up with anyone in Bollywood?
AB: We have not tied up with anyone. We are definitely sending out feelers, talking to people. It is too early to do it because unless you a developer base, developers who are willing to invest that time, talking to the production houses doesn’t make sense. You require software guys and animator who can do it. From Sony’s side, I am already in talks with our central development studio, in terms of how we can more formalize developer adoptions, how we can help them out with either development kit or training kit, how to port games, for all those things, we are in talks.
The business has a process cycle, you have to get all the bits of the business processes in place, then only the markets grows otherwise it does not grow out of consumer charity.
GG: PlayStation Store is coming out in 2008. Can you elaborate on it?
AB: Two parts of it. One is the PlayStation Store and other is a PlayStation Network. The PlayStation Network, we are happy to say that we haven’t promoted it, if you look at Live, it has been launched. We have not promoted the PlayStation Network yet, though that is already there for Indians and is free registration. Over a period of the last few months, quite a few Indians have registered. Anyone who buys a PS3 is quite advanced. You don’t have to market to him, so much he finds out all these aspects and we have seen that whatever the sales figure was, at least twenty percent have actually registered on the PlayStation Network in their own way.
Yes we will also do the PlayStation Store for India market; we are just holding it back, no rush here, because there is an infrastructural issue. We don’t want to release a PlayStation Store in India and then have people realizing OK, from the brand side they have done all, but the infrastructure doesn’t allow me to enjoy it to the fullest. Then they experience the frustration much more and generally in this case get directed towards format owner rather than the infrastructure.
GG: Sony Home. At the SingStar event we spoke to Tim Stokes who said that Home will be rolled out in India, the same time it gets out all over the world…
AB: Sony Home is almost like you can create your own identity. You can access it through PlayStation 3, it’s like a whole PlayStation world, where you can create your own avatar, roam around chat around, play games compete in the game rooms, so it is a whole online experience that is happening through the PlayStation. Similar things are there in the online world. So it is a replication, because it is through PlayStation 3, your experience is much higher. You cannot hold back anyone, when the PlayStation Home comes in it will be opened up for India also. So Indians can take an avatar and go and chat up, have friendships and have playing sessions with someone from Spain, France or Mexico.
GG: Metal Gear Solid 4 is to the PS3 what Halo 3 is to the Xbox 360. So will you be doing any marketing, the same way Microsoft did by marketing the game in a very big way in India?
AB: There are format drivers and there are games. Every software merits its own bit of marketing. In the Indian market, perhaps we are currently looking more into the social gaming aspect, which is why games like SingStar Bollywood is being promoted so much. As we move onto the Metal Gear Solid, which is a very strong gaming franchise that we have, we also have plans of marketing it but do we have to imitate what the competitor is doing? Maybe not! There are different ways of marketing it. If they are doing it one way, we may be doing it the other way. But in terms of giving support to each and every franchise that we have, each franchise has its own merit and we will support it accordingly.
GG: Let’s talk about the future. There are reports that the PS4 will not be disc based. It will have a hard disc drive and games will be delivered through the net. Is that true?
AB: It is too forward looking! Given the fact that PlayStation 3 has just come in and PlayStation 2 is still showing signs of very high level of sales across the world. I think it is a bit too early to discuss PS4. When the market is ready, and we actually identify that yes the market as ready, there will definitely be newer versions but currently I think it is the time of PS3, it is the time for PSP and it is the time for PS2, and that’s where we will concentrate.
GG: How is Sony combating piracy in India?
AB: It’s not just for Sony, it’s something there for whoever there is in the software business. Everyone is trying to tackle this problem. At the same time, the government is more receptive in India as compared to many other countries. There are bodies that are looking at the piracy issue; it is not just about Sony. Piracy affects anyone who has digital rights and anyone who is a content creator and India I think is much ahead in content creation, thanks to Bollywood, thanks to everything. It is up to us to protect our rights. We have our own bodies and we have our own piracy raids. We have our own way of tackling this problem, which is more through raids and more through educating the consumers.
At the same time, we also recognize the fact that if someone is selling a product at a price, which is one-twentieth of your price, then there is hardly anything that you can do. So from our side also, it is important that we bring down the price of the software, which is what we looked at. I could have talked about piracy, but it didn’t have a moral right. My software is being sold at Rs. 1999 and pirated software is 99. But now that I have a software coming in at Rs. 499, Rs. 599, Rs. 699 and Rs. 999, I have every right to go to the customer and say “Look, this is why you should pay it and I have done my bit. You now get official software. You enjoy your product, an official product. I will support you by giving you the right price, accessible to you and support you in the form of good service, which is an authorized service and you won’t have a problem, you have modified the product and if anything happens, everyone puts up their hand.’
GG: Would you be sponsoring any gaming clans?
AB: Maybe or maybe not! It is the question of PlayStation or any gaming is all about experience. Our marketing will be more experiential. We will have our own PlayStation experience activities. Whether, it will be through sponsoring of the tournament, if it adds value to the brand, we may. But everything will be evaluated on the basis of the marketing needed and where we are in terms of marketing.
GG: What about tournaments? Besides the FIFA Interactive World Cup on the PS3, will you be having tournaments on the PS2 and the PSP?
AB: FIFA Interactive World Cup is a franchise thing. It is such a big franchise and adds so much value to each other. If you look at the whole tournament, it’s perhaps three very strong organizations who are getting together to create this experience. There is PlayStation, there is EA and there is FIFA. Each brings their own value and a very recognizable value for that. So, that is an experiential route that suits everyone very well and that’s why everyone has jumped in. Can we have tournaments on PS2? Yes! There is nothing that is stopping SingStar from becoming the next Indian Idol or Voice of India. You can have SingStar brought to you by…(so and so sponsoring company)!
GG: What about accessories for the PlayStation consoles? Will you be rolling out any special accessories in India?
AB: We will launch every accessory that we feel will add value. We have an accessory range. For SingStar, we are brining in Buzz, the buzzers, the SingStar mics, the EyeToy camera, everything will come in. When we have the new PlayStation Portable, we will also bring in Go! Cams. Everything that is right for the Indian audience, we will bring it in.
GG: What games can gamers expect in the future in the holiday season of December?
AB: Games wise, everything that is happening internationally is what is going to come in India. We have the same release dates. Certain games we hold back because maybe that franchise or the understanding of that game in the Indian market may not be as high as other markets. We would and we try brining in every game that we roll out internationally for the Indian audience, as a format owner, we also are continuously in talks with all the publishers so that they bring in their franchise also. Nothing gets held back. EA is already there. I am equally in talks with and continuously in touch with people from Eidos, THQ and Konami. I have also met the people from Koei, who came for the NASSCOM conference.
So we are in talks with all the publishers selling in India. Lots of people are getting very interested, Ubisoft, Atari, all of them are very keen. Many of them are, like EA is going to use our Sony DADC plant for local replication. The other 30 third party publishers also have started talks to produce in India and therefore be able to hit the price points, which we have told them is going to make accessible to the consumers.
GG: What kind of a gamer are you?
AB: My favorite game mostly lies in the racing genre. I like racing! My favorite is a combination of MotorStorm and Ridge Racer. To play, very complex, very high-end games, it may not be. I am not right up there, anyone can perhaps beat me pretty easily but I can give them a run for their money if you come in to the Buzz or SingStar. Those are social games, it is easier to play, and I can jump in pretty easily. What can I do if you all of a sudden throw to me a Ratchet & Clank or Metal Gear Solid.
GG: Thank you so much for your time…
AB: Thanks.