This is the concluding part of the interview with Atindriya Bose, the country manager for Sony Computer Entertainment India.
GG: India is becoming a haven for game development. What do you have to say about that?
AB: It is happening. That’s why you are seeing all these games being developed in India. We definitely recognize the potential. We are doing our best.
GG: What plans does Sony have? Are you planning to set up a studio in India…
AB: Nothing as of now. Like right now, we have gone into lot of different modes of partnerships. Like the Hanuman game, we are doing the publishing so we have underwritten a lot of cost of development. In other cases, we might be working with not underwriting but on a royalty share basis. So there are different modes. But we have definitely brought in, given them on loan the development kits, given subsidized middleware engine, put in technological resource that is continuously handholding, writing and brushing out the ages of the program in London. So in all forms, whether financial, technological equipment, we will do everything to create this market. But we will definitely expect some sort of positive foot forward from the developers, which we are getting and also foot forward from the government.
GG: Will these games come on the PC also? Do you plan to publish these games?
AB: That is true for the world and depends on who publishes. If the person is publishing, we may even look at rights, we will have a window and then tell them like you can now put it into PC but we will not publish it.
GG: What about the motion sensitive controller for the PS3?
AB: Nothing has come to us as of now and again different companies do it the different way. You have the Eye Toy. Eye Toy allows you to do everything that the Wii is doing. It is just the question of how the motion is being captured to influence the game. You can do it with a motion sensitive device, you can do it with a camera that is capturing your motion.
GG: Do you think EyeToy has a market in India?
AB: It has, it has a huge market but you have to realize like each console maker will have to do too many things at the same time and that’s the challenge of it.
GG: Microsoft just launched Gears of War 2? What do you have to say about the game? It is directly pitted against Resistance 2.
AB: Each of these games has their own genre and their own franchise and its follow-ups. The second is that each of these games also has people who want to have both. So it doesn’t affect anyone. In fact, it throws open the first person shooter market.
GG: How successful has Sony been in tackling piracy in India?
AB: It has worked pretty well. It is like a many headed hydra. You hit it here, it comes out there. So long as we have a consolidated programme, we are pretty happy about it. We have a six-city operation. It is working well in those cities and the two-way thing is also working because on one side we are doing the anti-piracy move, another side we have done the re-pricing, the grey market has got affected with the PlayStation 2, PSP prices. So you have to tackle it both ways, it is working fine, we are pretty much clued on to that…
GG: So how successful was that strategy?
AB: It is very important, it is very important. But again you control this set of pirates, someone else comes in. You control PS2 pirates, the PSP stick piracy comes in. So you have to be playing it continuously. It’s like virus anti-virus thing, once cracked it gets into that game.
GG: Racing genre is pretty huge in India. There are many racing games for the PS2 and the PS3? What kind of games are you planning to bring for the PSP? There is Ridge Racer, what about Gran Turismo?
AB: Not heard anything about it. Nothing declared. But Wipeout and all, those futuristic racing games are already there. But that’s perhaps the genre of racing, but from our side I have not heard anything going into the PSP. There is nothing…
GG: Microsoft did not release Fallout 3 in India keeping in mind the cultural sensitivity in India. What is your take on it?
AB: Whether it is Microsoft, whether it is Sony, being an MNC we are sensitive to culture. We are definitely sensitive to culture. There is lots of responsibility on us. We are self control and a self censorship, which is perhaps the reason why both of us we definitely bring in with a PEGI rating, ESRB rating, whether it us, Microsoft or EA, everyone does it. So I think if they have evaluated and felt like that and that’s the action that they have taken for no other reason but for the cultural sensitivity, it is a very bold and good step.
GG: But some people have accused them of curtailing freedom of expression…
AB: It is not the question of curtailing freedom of expression. Getting the products is not an issue. But there is always cultural sensitivities, freedom of expression and cultural sensitivity, there is always a fine balance. I cannot abuse the way I abuse in front of friends in front of my parents. Does it mean that my freedom of expression is curtailed? I have done my own self-censorship. I am with my friends, if they start abusing in front of my parents, I will definitely tell them, ‘Boss, while we abuse don’t do it in my room.’ I am not curtailing his freedom of expression. I am telling him to maintain that balance. You cannot blow things out of proportion and say things. It is a good decision. It is a decision that every publisher should take, they know what market they are targeting and how they want to target the market.
GG: What are the most successful games in India for the PS2, PSP and PS3?
AB: If I say top of line, you have God of War, you have the racing games and that doesn’t need any name, cricket, these are the PS2 games. Nicely the SingStar is doing well on the PS2. You find that Ratchet is an acceptable kids franchise. So you have all. One the PSP, F1 used to be a very good franchise, then you have Tekken and God of War: Chains of Olympus, the games that EA has launched, FIFA and all. It is doing exceedingly well. PS3, no comments, every game is doing very well. You can make it out from the platinum list. They have all done well. Of the new ones, Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty, even the lower price ones that we did, the Rs. 750, that has done exceedingly well. That is the price point. The Platinum ones are flying. One the top end, MotorStorm had huge back orders. Even LittleBigPlanet had gone pretty well in terms of the back order. That was very encouraging. We did a pre-order and there were almost fifty-sixty preorders that came in online.
GG: According to you, where is console gaming heading in India? Where is PC gaming heading in India?
AB: Each is growing. PC, obviously, has a good base. But at the same time, you have to realize that PC gaming has the advanced games, has tunneled in a lot of PC enhancing requirements. The console is being liked by Indians because it is plug and play, nothing more to do. So if anyone is trying to get into serious gaming, he is coming in to console gaming, which is also is reflected in the fact that strategy games are not the biggest games in India. Strategy gamers are perhaps the PC gaming audience. India being a high racing and sports and that sort of console is becoming the thing.
GG: Do you think console gaming is overtaking PC gaming in India?
AB: That has been experienced worldwide. There is no reason why it should… I cannot put a date on it. It’s already showing our growth curve, their growth curve is very different. You can make it out if you go into the shops. Actually the PS2 is eating into the space area that is kept for PC games. It is just a question of how the market settles itself.
GG: What about Sony Home? Can you elaborate on it?
AB: It is a worldwide thing, till I know the world launch date… It is an exciting concept, like all the audience, even all the Sony employees are waiting for it, on the Sony Home. The moment it happens, it is going to happen in the world. No date has been forthcoming yet. But it is a fantastic application because I am privy to list how it operates and all. It is a fabulous concept. It is a concept that is going to get you hooked a longer period of time on to the consoles.
GG: Do you think it will challenge Xbox Live?
AB: It is the same play area, so obviously it will challenge. But in the Indian market, whether it is Xbox Live or our Home, obviously dependent on the connectivity. But in terms of features and what it is doing, it is much ahead of Xbox Live. Xbox Live is more like our PlayStation Network and PlayStation Store, which we already have. PlayStation Home is like Second Life. It is a virtual life.
GG: What about Qore and VidZone? Are you planning to get it to India?
AB: VidZone and all are fantastic concepts. I comeback to the same things, when you download games, why don’t you download it on your PC, stream movies, same reason, if you don’t have the infrastructure, then bringing a feature is meaningless. If you don’t have connectivity, what do I do with the VidZone. I will promote and those guys will say that those guys will say that you have misguided us telling so much can be done.
GG: What games can Indian gamers expect from Sony in the near future?
AB: The games… The international games will all come in, that is well thought out, perhaps the immediate other thing is for the Indian gamers to lookout for is the India content games.
GG: When are you planning to release these India-centric games?
AB: We are looking at within this fiscal year, we are talking about three games, one is Hanuman, the two are those quiz games to come in. Towards the early part of the next fiscal is the game on the rural games of India. There are quite a few in the platter but not finalized to make a press release.
GG: Out of these three, Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge and Resistance 2, which one is your favorite?
AB: Amongst these three, Resistance 2! First person shooter, I find it easier to control. Resistance has got me hooked on. For me it is a natural franchise. But if you really look at it, the game that I play the most is perhaps Buzz and other games as you will put it. That’s the one that I can use to interact with my daughter. My daughter likes the PSP, the reason why the PSP is not getting out of hand is because of the PSN UMD title that we have done because she has got a knack of playing Sudoku. She has got a knack of playing the Buzz Brain Bender game. She loves the seven into two, how fast she can say fourteen! But that is the fun of the game and that’s why it is being carried around and the mother is happy. It is fantastic game to play.
GG: Thank you…!
AB: Thanks.