Sony Computer Entertainment has just released ‘Hanuman Boy Warrior’ the 1st ever console game to be completely developed in India. The game which is also the 1st that can be played in both English and Hindi, is developed by Hyderabad based Aurona Technologies which created the game in nine months flat.
Made at a budget of INR 25 Million with a marketing budget of nearly the same amount, Hanuman Boy Warrior is pegged as an action adventure game targeted at the casual PS2 user, Hanuman Boy Warrior has a depth of game play of about 8-10 hours. It is distributed by Milestone Interactive and has entered the market with 10,000 SKUs at a sweet price point of Rs 499/-
The publisher conservatively believes that the game will do volumes of around 45,000 units per year for the next 3 years.
Atindriya Bose, Country Manager – PlayStation, Sony Computer Entertainment said, “We are very proud to launch the first Indian game on PS2™ with localized content, completely developed in India. Hanuman is our very own classic hero and is ever-popular across India & with Indians abroad. The launch of Hanuman: Boy Warrior has marked a very significant milestone in the Indian game development industry and also signifies the importance we attach to the Indian market and the Indian Game development industry.”
Santosh Pillai, CEO of Aurona Technologies Limited, said, “We have created the console game Hanuman: Boy Warrior to capture the hearts and minds of India’s current and aspiring game players and their families. Immersive game play is at the heart of this fascinating game. Using the PS2™ console, the player helps the hero to fight evil-doers at several mystical landscapes of the epic period. We believe the game has the necessary ingredients to become a classic.”
“The game was conceived and made at Aurona’s Hyderabad studio. The project team – ranging from game designers and programmers to artists and QA engineers – takes pride in the fact that Boy Warrior is a landmark in the Indian game market. Credit also goes to Sony’s management in London and Mumbai as it was their commitment that inspired us to complete the game dot on time,” Dr Pillai said.
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A conversation with Sony Playstation India Head Atindriya Bose and it bears that the company has a very clear strategy regarding how it wants to go about creating Indian Games and developing the Indian Game Development space as well.
The Indianness of the game
Talking first about ‘Hanuman Boy Warrior’, Bose shared, “The game is focused on divine power and is based around Hanuman’s adolescent days starting from when he is the playful Bal Hanuman who is not aware of how powerful he is to when he finally realizes all his might. The entire treatment, be it the art or the theme or the story has complete fidelity to Hanuman and the way we know him through Indian tradition and mythology” shared Bose.
The story of the game is narrated by Vayu who is voiced by Haresh Bhimani. Even the art interpretation follows the image of Hanuman as depicted on religious calendars that are used throughout the country. The dress, the power, the utilization of the power, Hanuman is accessible but awe inspiring.
“Contrary to most games, Hanuman subtly illustrates the values of respect, love and most of all the – power of good, to the players. This is a perfect model illustrating that Evil is not destroyed or killed, but is ‘freed’ of its bad Karma. the final fun in this game is not about killing the evil in the goriest possible way. Following Indian tradition, in the last scene in the game when hanuman kills the last rakshasa he frees the souls, because no one is universally evil, and then the evil bows to Hanuman. We have imbibed the essence and signature of Indian culture into the game completely.” added Bose.
Bose mentioned that in terms of quality, there has been no compromise on the game play quality, technology or the animation in the game. “It has gone through Quality Control at Sony Playstation UK and I have seen mail exchanges where they have specially lauded the quality level from a first time effort” he added.
Sony’s Platter of Indian Content
Hanuman Boy Warrior is the 1st even as Sony has planned a complete platter of games developed in India which will be out soon. These Include a Indian Village Games based title being developed by Hyderabad based Gameshastra which will be on PS2 as well as PSP making it the first Indian title for a next generation platform. Another title under developed at Gameshastra for Sony is based on Mumbai Gang Wars and is being made for the PSP.
Sony is also publishing a couple of education based quiz titles which are being developed by Candela Software which is front ended in the UK and backended in Bangalore.
Talking about the games, Bose shared, “We are trying out various genres, the game being developed at Gameshastra around the Indian village setting includes games like Kabbadi, Gilli Danda, Kite Flying, It also has song and dance.”
“In the educational games, one is a universal general knowledge quiz while the other has been specifically created as a joint entrance quiz for Indian medical and Engineering. It’s a pure education game and allows you to keep practicing in a more innovative way on the console”
All of the above mentioned games which are currently in development will be out before the end of the year.
Developing the Indian Game Development Space
Talking about the Indian games space Bose shared “There is such a lot of value that Indian developers can add globally, its just about nurturing the ecosystem.”
The installed base for PS2 in India (Including the grey market figures) is around between 430,000 to 450,000 units, and at a price point of INR 6000, very accessible to the consumer. Though we refer to India as a dormant market, this kind of an installed base scale out does several countries.
“The overall gaming consumer ecosystem is quite healthy, all the platforms are contributing. When you go onto an online platform and game, you get a taste of its addiction, and then want to play deeper games. Gaming has made the journey in India from being a waste of time to a pastime, and then it will move into a pastime that adds value there is a lot of consumer positivism that’s there.”
Way to go! Let’s welcome the new era for Indian gaming!