ITV

Tag: Indiagames

  • Lean Disney to focus on core strengths

    Lean Disney to focus on core strengths

    MUMBAI: World’s biggest media and entertainment group with over US$22 billion in annual revenue The Walt Disney Company is prepared to restructure its India operations under the recently-appointed managing director Mahesh Samat, who rejoined in October.

    Disney has lately been working towards a lean structure, aligned more to the international organisational set-up. The India operations will be focusing on consumer products business and Hollywood films — its main strengths.

    After sustaining major losses, Disney has planned to temporarily drop its Hindi film production business that includes interactives, media networks, licensing and merchandising.

    Disney India head of revenue – media networks Nikhil Gandhi and head of interactive Sameer Ganapathy have resigned already. Also, Disney India may reportedly trim its workforce by 35-40 per cent in a couple of months.

    It was earlier reported that Disney India may be closing down game development at Indiagames. Ganapathy, who had replaced Indiagames co-founder Vishal Gondal after Indiagames was acquired by Disney, lead the interactive business which included development and delivery of multiplatform games and digital products including apps for multi-brands under The Walt Disney Company – Indiagames, Disney, Marvel, UTV, and Disney Pixar.

  • Lean Disney to focus on core strengths

    Lean Disney to focus on core strengths

    MUMBAI: World’s biggest media and entertainment group with over US$22 billion in annual revenue The Walt Disney Company is prepared to restructure its India operations under the recently-appointed managing director Mahesh Samat, who rejoined in October.

    Disney has lately been working towards a lean structure, aligned more to the international organisational set-up. The India operations will be focusing on consumer products business and Hollywood films — its main strengths.

    After sustaining major losses, Disney has planned to temporarily drop its Hindi film production business that includes interactives, media networks, licensing and merchandising.

    Disney India head of revenue – media networks Nikhil Gandhi and head of interactive Sameer Ganapathy have resigned already. Also, Disney India may reportedly trim its workforce by 35-40 per cent in a couple of months.

    It was earlier reported that Disney India may be closing down game development at Indiagames. Ganapathy, who had replaced Indiagames co-founder Vishal Gondal after Indiagames was acquired by Disney, lead the interactive business which included development and delivery of multiplatform games and digital products including apps for multi-brands under The Walt Disney Company – Indiagames, Disney, Marvel, UTV, and Disney Pixar.

  • Disney plays Fun Indiagames with Den

    Disney plays Fun Indiagames with Den

    MUMBAI: Indian Cable Television Distribution Company Den Network Limited and Disney India’s gaming arm Indiagames have launched ‘Fun Games,’ a subscription based gaming service. The service will offer a range of exciting games from the catalogue of Indiagames branded titles.

    Den Networks CEO SN Sharma said, “Disney India is to launch exciting games for kids under the name of Den Fun Games.’’

    Further, he emphasized, “At Den, we give the best value for money by using the most advanced technology.”

    “Today, MSOs reach out to major population in India and, by collaborating with Den, we are able to popularize our gaming content amongst them,” said Disney India – interactive, VP and head, Sameer Ganapathy.

    Den’s Fun Games offers three games which will be refreshed regularly for players to acquire new skills. The games include Egg Jump, Mailbox and Tower of Hanoi and are available for monthly Rs 45 and quarterly Rs 90 subscriptions.

  • Disney plays Fun Indiagames with Den

    Disney plays Fun Indiagames with Den

    MUMBAI: Indian Cable Television Distribution Company Den Network Limited and Disney India’s gaming arm Indiagames have launched ‘Fun Games,’ a subscription based gaming service. The service will offer a range of exciting games from the catalogue of Indiagames branded titles.

    Den Networks CEO SN Sharma said, “Disney India is to launch exciting games for kids under the name of Den Fun Games.’’

    Further, he emphasized, “At Den, we give the best value for money by using the most advanced technology.”

    “Today, MSOs reach out to major population in India and, by collaborating with Den, we are able to popularize our gaming content amongst them,” said Disney India – interactive, VP and head, Sameer Ganapathy.

    Den’s Fun Games offers three games which will be refreshed regularly for players to acquire new skills. The games include Egg Jump, Mailbox and Tower of Hanoi and are available for monthly Rs 45 and quarterly Rs 90 subscriptions.

  • ‘Convert pirate users into paying consumers & gaming industry will be worth Rs 3 billion’ : Vishal Gondal – Indiagames founder

    ‘Convert pirate users into paying consumers & gaming industry will be worth Rs 3 billion’ : Vishal Gondal – Indiagames founder

     Gaming firm Indiagames is on the move. It recently came back into the online gaming space with its Games on Demand concept. UTV also took a majority stake in the company. Indiantelevision.com's Ashwin Pinto caught up with Indiagames founder Vishal Gondal to find out how the company has evolved and the plans ahead.

    Excerpts:

    How has your business model evolved over the years?
    We started off as an online games company. We did free flash games where money came from advertising. However, we found that it was not scalable and limited. So we took a call to move out of online gaming and into the services business.

    Then we saw the opportunities in mobile gaming and so we became a developer and then a publisher of mobile games. Last year we returned to online gaming with a new strategy games on demand. We have a subscription based gaming service. Users can play unlimited games for a flat fee.

    Right now we are at a time when gaming is starting to take off in India. How do you see the gaming space faring vis-a-vis traditional entertainment like TV, films?
    Globally gaming is bigger than film. In the US, it is bigger than Hollywood. The same thing will happen in India eventually. In every mature market where it has spread it has done that – like Korea, China. India has a lot of young people who do not watch 'Saas Bahu soaps.

    They are not as much into current television, which is dominated by the housewives. I am not saying that this segment is bad. However going forward more people will get into interactive entertainment. Gaming is part of this, along with activities like Second Life. More and more people will take to the virtual world.

    What would you say is the main challenge gaming faces
    in India?
    The problem in India is not that people don't game. The problem is that people buy pirated games. Nobody was paying for legal games. Indiagames is trying to build an eco system where price points are such that the consumer does not want to pirate anymore.

    If we are able to convert the pirate users into paying consumers, that alone will make the gaming industry worth Rs 3 billion.
    'We are about to launch a Godzilla game; we are about to release a cricket Twenty20 game'

    What kind of price points are you looking at?
    To give you an example; for the games on demand service we offer unlimited games for Rs 200. Today when you pay Rs 150 for cable TV, do you want to buy pirated tapes of TV content? Our logic is the same. When consumers can get all games for Rs 200 why would you buy pirated games for Rs 100?

    Who are your partners for games on demand?
    We have partnered with pretty much all the major gaming publishers in the world for content. So we have distribution deals with firms like Popcap, Atari, Activision, Codemaster Playfirst. We also have a tie up with MTNL, Sify, among other platforms. We also work with Qualcomm, Microsoft to make sure that our games are cutting edge.

    UTV recently bought a majority stake in Indiagames.
    What synergies do you see here?
    UTV is an integrated entertainment firm. If you see what Ronnie is doing, he is building a business that encompasses the entire gamut of entertainment from TV, to films, to online entertainment. So the UTV deal allows us to be a part of the bigger picture. Bindass is UTV's effort tap into the youth. The youth want gaming and so we will work with Bindass to see how we can integrate gaming with their offerings.

    UTV also has a stake in Ignition, which is a console game publisher. Between Ignition and us we have capabilities across all platforms. We will be looking at how we can exploit IP into the console space and vice versa. UTV will also create IP in the form of movies and TV shows. So we can adapt some of these into games, which we then market.

    Are we going to see more tie ups like this as traditional entertainment firms seek to broaden their horizons?
    The Indian film and media industry are getting more professional. They are also converging a lot. Previously, the film industry was a different silo, the broadcasting sector was a different silo the net industry was a different silo.

    However Fox buying MySpace triggered off a chain of events where media firms want to have their share of the pie in every segment to boost customer interaction. So if customers are increasing their time spent on the internet, mobile then for traditional media firms who are in TV or print it is a natural progression for them to look at exploiting the other screens too.

    You will see more corporate deals. Traditional media firms realise that it is difficult to build a new media business from scratch. It is better to buy such businesses from market leaders in their respective fields. Adobe and Cisco also have a stake in Indiagames.

    What targets have been set by Indiagames in terms of market share?
    It is too early to talk about revenue targets. On the market share front on the mobile side we enjoy upwards of 50-60 per cent share. On the online front we are the only firm to offer games on demand service. The other players are trying to sell MMOPGs which is a niche segment. It is early to say if there is competition online as the market is new.

    What have been some of your biggest properties so far
    and what have you learnt from their success?
    We have worked on properties like Bruce Lee, Jurassic Park, Rush Hour 3. In India, we also distribute content from the likes of Electronic Arts, Fifa, Batman, Transformers.

    It is important to work on the right kind of property. You cannot take any movie or any story or any character and convert it into a game. The brand has to lend itself to gaming. In the past games have come out of family drama. However cricket, action, sports games work better than love stories.

    Which are your five big markets globally and how many
    partners do you have?
    We have 150 partners globally, Our key markets are the US, Australia, Japan, Europe and India. We have offices in London, Los Angeles, Beijing, Mumbai. These are the core hubs where we do business from. We recently set up an office in Madrid, Spain to cover Southern Europe.
    What would you say is the main difference between
    developing games for the internet and for the mobile?
    The screen size is the first major difference. Attention spans differ. For the mobile you design a game for someone on the move. His time with a game is limited. He/she also has limited access to 10 different keys. Online people tend to spend more time on a game. The control is wider.
     
    When you work with a firm like NBC how much of a
    collaborative process is it?
    It is very collaborative. We have to work with the production team, share creative ideas with them. We have to get approval for game concepts. We work together to exploit the complete commercial value of the property.
     
    Could you shed light on the relationship between gaming and social networking?
    Gaming was the first social network. If you look at xBox Live you see gamers wanting to connect with other gamers. This is how social networking was born. After that social networking was adapted to other common interests. We have had social networking since the first multi player games came up.
     
    Where does Indiagames get creative ideas for new games from?
    We have a team that brainstorms on creative ideas. We have to see whether properties are relevant in different markets. You do not want to have a situation where a property is only well known in one market. So we have to do research to find out whether people in the US, Australia, Europe, India know about the property. If it is less or more in one country then what is the extent? Our business is about taking calculated bets.
     
    From a client viewpoint what does Indiagames bring to the table vis-a-vis the competition?
    People know that India is good for technical execution. India has been looked at as an outsourcing base. We have changed this perception. We were the first firm to start licensing games from India. Nobody in the world thought that Indian firms could go the publishing route. Our first success was Spiderman which we worked on with Marvel. We proved that we could not only produce quality stuff in India but that we could market the same globally.
     
    Going forward are you looking to sign long term deals with entertainment conglomerates like NBC Universal for games or will it still be on a project to project basis?
    It is better to work on a project to project basis as all projects that they do may not be relevant for us and vice versa. I don't know if this will change in the future but as of now we work on a case by case basis.
     
    What are the major projects Indiagames is now working on?
    We are about to launch a Godzilla game. We are about to release a cricket Twenty20 game.
     
    Do you think that game developers in India have an advantage in terms of being able to learn from the experience of mature markets like Korea?
    There is always an advantage in being able to learn from different markets. At the same time each market has its own nuances and challenges. It is important not to just blindly follow what a country like Korea is doing as there are cultural issues and local intelligence.

    Indian preferences for games tend to lean more towards the West than the East. Indians play games like Counter Strike, Fifa, need For Speed. China and Korea on the other hand have a lot of massive multiplayer online gaming.
    How important is organising on ground events for you?
    Very! We have been doing the Cybergame championships for sometime now. We are working with the CII and the government to see if T-Sports and gaming can be recognised professionally as a sport. It should be given equal status as any other sport. We have the Indian national champions who will be going to Seattle to compete in the Cybergame Championships. We also organised an India versus Pakistan event where Kapil Dev was the chief guest. They played various games like Counter Strike.
     
    Finally where do you see Indiagames five years from now?
    Right now we are leading in the mobile space. Five years from now I see Indiagames leading in all gaming spaces.
  • Indiagames launches Games on Demand cyber cafe partnership program

    Indiagames launches Games on Demand cyber cafe partnership program

    MUMBAI: Indiagames has announced the launch of its Games on Demand partnership program for Cyber Cafes. This initiative from Indiagames will help over 100,000 private internet cafes in India compete with organised players in the market.

    Says Indiagames founder & CEO Vishal Gondal, “Besides broadband subscribers and home PC users, there is a large percentage of people in India who access the internet through internet cafes. With the launch of the Games on Demand Cyber Café Program, we hope to take a world class gaming experience to the masses.”

    When it comes to gaming in India, there are a host of issues like software piracy and the high prices of gaming software. Games on Demand is a unique offering that aims to successfully address all these issues. In addition to access to licensed original games, the Games on Demand service will prove to be a new source of income, as well as a great customer retention and loyalty tool for internet cafes, states an official release.

    Games-on-Demand is a unique service which enables a user to choose and play from a catalogue of over 300 games without ever needing to purchase or install them on the local PC. Games on Demand features popular international games like Age of Empires II, Brian Lara’s Cricket, IGI 2 Covert Strike and Toca Race Driver 2 amongst others. New games will be added every month thus offering consumers something to look forward to, the release adds.

    Games on Demand is currently available to home internet users via Indiagames’ partnership with leading broadband service providers like Airtel, MTNL, Tata VSNL, and You Telecom. The service will also be soon launched on BSNL which has India’s largest broadband subscriber base.

    The Games on Demand retail initiative from Indiagames will be supported by a host of advertising and publicity initiatives as well as on-ground events. The company is in the process of starting an online advertising campaign to support the initiative. Currently, the service has over 100 games on offer at just Rs 225 per month. These games will cost almost Rs100,000 at retail prices for legal software. Indiagames has tied up with leading publishers like Microsoft, Codemasters, Playfirst, Atari and Activision amongst others for this service, the release further adds.

  • NBC gives the game of ‘The Office’ a Flash make-over

    NBC gives the game of ‘The Office’ a Flash make-over

    MUMBAI: Mobile games are closing the gap to traditional computer games with the launch of a new technology that enables richer mobile experience.

    US broadcaster NBC has announced that The Office Games has produced a flash-enhanced game for its series of six mini-games, based on Verizon Wireless’ new Flash Lite for Brew technology.

    NBC says that the new The Office Games feature cleaner graphics, enhanced sound and quicker relay times and can be played on select Get It Now-enabled phones. As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, Indiagames had developed NBC’s The Office Games to be played at the office or at home.

    With shorter play times, Verizon Wireless says that its customers will find the intuitive array of games easy to navigate and simple to play — which is good for a break, after a stressful meeting or on an awkward phone call. The games feature the characters from the television series participating in a selection of cubical game-play including Wasteketball, Paper-Football (Hateball), Table-Top Golf, Office Paper War, Chair-Racing and more.

    Indiagames VP US Sean Malatesta says, “We are proud to bring the comedy of The Office to Verizon Wireless using the incredible Flash Lite technology. It truly has been a great partnership indeed. These games are so addictive — and the new graphics make them even more fun!” .

    Indiagames is striving to bring high-quality CG games to mobile. With increased mobile phone screen sizes, Indiagames has begun to rollout a series of graphically driven games, similar to desktop games, but made for mobile. The new high-resolution graphics for NBC’s The Office Games are closer to those seen in traditional video games — with clean transitions during score updates and between games. Similarly, the maneuverability has been enhanced to capitalize on player reaction times.

  • Indiagames launches Games on Demand with MTNL Tri-band

    Indiagames launches Games on Demand with MTNL Tri-band

    MUMBAI: Online and mobile games company Indiagames has launched its new service – Games on Demand with MTNL broadband service Tri-band.

    The service promises to offer existing and new MTNL Tri-Band subscribers unlimited consumption of PC games at monthly subscription fees of Rs 300 for the premium package and 150 for the casual games package.

    As per an official release, the tie-up will give MTNL users the benefit of :

    1) Accessing a broadband gaming service from Indiagames on MTNL Tri-band at an affordable subscription fee

    2) Unlimited game play of premium international games

    3) Saying goodbye to pirated games, with full versions of the latest PC games

    4) Free mobile game download with every subscription

    Commenting on the launch of the service, MTNL Mumbai executive director M S Rana said, “Games on Demand one of the most important value added services offered by MTNL for its consumers. We have always been on the lookout for enhancing user experience and feel that the new service would bring affordable world class gaming entertainment within the reach of consumers.”

    Indiagames Ltd CEO Vishal Gondal says, “The Games on Demand service will have a catalytic effect on the currently nascent but rapidly growing gaming audience in India by bringing compelling content at a great value for money price point. Further, with over 80 per cent of games in India being sold illegally, we believe that our unparalleled price and service offering will significantly expand the segment of legitimate game sales in India”.

    Gondal further added that “We have been delighted by MTNL’s speed of response and turn around times and are looking forward to rolling out the service on India’s largest basic telephony provider in metros.”

    The service will include popular international titles such as Age of Empires II, Brian Lara’s Cricket, Flight Simulator, Rise of Nations and IGI 2 Covert Strike amongst others, adds the release.

    As an additional value add, Indiagames and MTNL will offer the service with all its features on a free trial basis for the first 4 days and a free mobile game download on registration. To experience this service and register, customers can log on to http://god.indiagames.com/mtnl or call 1504 for further details.

  • Indiagames develops mobile game for NBC’s sitcom ‘The Office’

    Indiagames develops mobile game for NBC’s sitcom ‘The Office’

    MUMBAI: Indian gaming firm Indiagames is helping US broadcaster NBC Universal in its push into the lucrative mobile games market. It has made a mobile game based on the sitcom The Office.

    The series of six mini-games is in soft release. The game will be available on all cellular devices and providers by September.

    NBC’s The Office Games features the characters from the television series participating in a selection of cubical game-play including Wasteketball, Paper-Football (Hateball), Table-Top Golf, Office Paper War, Chair-Racing and more, everything that Michael Scott would not approve of.

    Indiagames developed these user-friendly games to be played at your office or at home. With shorter play times, the array of games is easy to navigate and simple to play–perfect for a break, after a stressful meeting or on an awkward phone call.

    Indiagames CEO Vishal Gondal says, “We’d like to see America’s workplaces fraught with the tension of intense competition at chair races and wasteketball! And, we wanted to give our consumers a game that is fun and provides value for your money. We think we’ve accomplished both of these goals with the launch of NBC’s The Office Games”.

  • Indiagames partners with Airtel to launch ‘Games on Demand’ service

    Indiagames partners with Airtel to launch ‘Games on Demand’ service

    MUMBAI: Indiagames has launched its new service ‘Games on Demand’ with Airtel Broadband and telephone services. The service was launched with cricketing maestro Sachin Tendulkar playing an online rally game.

    This service offers legal games at a bare minimum monthly subscription fee of just Rs. 199. Indiagames has partnered with a number of leading games publishers like Microsoft, Atari, Playfirst, Alawar, Merscomm, Cenega, Meridian, Techland, amongst others, to be able to bring a variety of premium single and multiplayer games, which include popular titles such as Age of Empires, Driv3R and Flight Simulator to this service, states an official release.

    Commenting on the launch of its Games on Demand service (G.o.D), Indiagames CEO Vishal Gondal said, “With over 85 per cent of games in India being sold illegally, we believe that with our unparalleled price offering we will significantly expand the segment of legitimate sales and bring the experience of high quality online gaming to millions of gamers in India. Our online gaming service would give consumers a legitimate reason to opt for a broadband service, thus accelerating the growth of the broadband user base in India”

    “Today, customers are looking for rich content to enhance the overall broadband experience. As a leading service provider, we aim to offer the hottest on-demand content through as many channels as possible,” says Airtel Broadband & Telephone Services CMO Akshay Kumar. He added, “Online gaming is fast gaining popularity across the world and with the Games on Demand service on Airtel, we are gearing up to give our customers a cool and enhanced gaming experience with the power of a high-speed network.”

    The G.o.D. service offers advantages like high speed downloads without additionally charging for data transfer during download, multiplayer compatible games, automatic patching and security. To further enhance the value proposition Airtel and Indiagames will be offering the service with all its features on a free trial basis for the first fifteen days. To experience this service, consumers can log on to http://www.airtelbroadband.in/games.