Big in India August 2011: PS3 price cut, Ra.One

GameSpot Asia is proud to introduce its new monthly column looking at all the big gaming news from India. Each month, GameSpot Asia will be recapping the biggest news straight from the nation, and for our debut column, we look at the recent PS3 price drops, Disney making moves on an Indian company, and much more.

Sony drops PS3 price in India
The PS3 was obscenely overpriced when it first launched in India, but after several reductions, it is now at par with the European price. Recently, India received another price drop for the system.

At its Gamescom press conference recently, Sony announced the latest price cut for the PS3, which is now also in effect across India. The 160GB version, which was earlier priced at Rs19,990, has now dropped to Rs16,990 ($374), while the 320GB PlayStation Move bundle, earlier priced at Rs 23,490, will now be priced at Rs19,990 ($439).

Disney set to buy out Ignition parent company UTV
UTV, one of India’s largest media houses, may soon be wholly owned by Disney. The company, whose primary operations revolve around film and television, made its foray into gaming with its acquisitions of Indiagames, the only Indian developer to feature on the Develop 100 list of top game developers around the world, in 2006, and Ignition Games in 2007. Disney already owns a 51 percent stake in UTV and, according to media reports, has made an offer of Rs2,000 crore (approximately $438 million) to buy out the remaining stake.

If the acquisition does go through, it is unclear what this means for the gaming division at UTV. Disney’s own gaming arm, Disney Interactive Studios, shut down Blackrock (developers behind Pure and Split Second) in July and Propaganda Games (Tron: Evolution) earlier this year.

Ra.One: The Game announced for September release
Sony has announced that a game based on the upcoming Bollywood action flick Ra.One is currently in development for the PS2 and PS3 (via download on PSN). The title is a collaboration between Sony and Red Chillies Entertainment, the film production house headed by Shahrukh Khan, who also happens to be the star of the movie and the protagonist in the game. While the movie is set for release in October, the game will be out in September and serve as a prelude to the movie.

In the game, players have the option to play as one of two characters-–Ra.One and G.One. The game is currently under development at Mumbai-based Trine Games in collaboration with SCEE in London. Shahrukh Khan has himself developed the storyline for the game, which will feature six prominent characters from the film.

Street Cricket Champions sequel coming to PS3 with Move support
Last year, developer Trine Games released Street Cricket Champions, a unique take on India's favourite sport in the form of gully cricket. While that game was released for the PSP and PS2, a sequel is currently in the works for the PS3, which will be played entirely using the PlayStation Move motion controller.

Cricket is one of those sports that seem the perfect fit for motion-control tech like the Move or the Wii, so it’ll be interesting to see how Trine manages to implement Move controls. Move Street Cricket (tentative title) will feature all three disciplines--bowling, batting, and fielding--and is scheduled for release around the festive season of Diwali (October-November).