(4 November 2009 9:40 pm)

MUMBAI: Continuing their foray into creating games with Indian contents, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has announced the launch of Desi Adda: Games of India - specially developed by an Indian Game Development Studio – GameShastra Solutions, for the two PlayStation console formats: PS2 and PSP.

As a continuing commitment towards partnership with the Indian game development industry, this is the second time Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is working with an Indian game development company to publish ‘Desi Adda: Games of India.

Desi Adda: Games of India comes with a number of firsts:

- First console game completely developed by Indian Development Studio for the PSP

- First console game to be playable in 3 Indian languages : Hindi, Punjabi and in Tamil

- Features six traditional Indian games: Pachisi, Goat & the tiger, Kite Fight, Kabaddi, Gilli Danda and the beat matching dance game

‘Desi Adda: Games of India’ emanates from the inspiration drawn from the good old, traditional games of India on to a contemporary and modern platform. The interest about such traditional games will help broadcasting both the usage of PlayStation as well as the knowledge of the game amongst the young Indians.

The partnership between Sony Computer Entertainment with GameShastra Solutions Pvt Ltd has resulted in the development and publishing of ‘Desi Adda: Games of India‘, for India as well as the global market.

Developed for both the PS2 and PSP, ‘Desi Adda: Games of India’ will be available in the Indian market at a suggested retail price of Rs. 499 for PS2 and Rs. 999 for the PSP.

Sony Computer Entertainment country manager PlayStation Atindriya Bose said, "We are very proud to launch the first Indian game on PSP with localised content, in three Indian languages completely developed in India These are the long-established, traditional games of India that are now inspiring games on the very modern interactive platform of PlayStation. On PS2 and PSP platform, people will, for the first time, get to play these time-honored games and carry forward the flavors of traditional India to the newer generations."

Gameshastra CEO Prakash Ahuja said, “When we presented the concept of Desi Adda to SCEE , we were pleasantly surprised with the enthusiasm and the support that we got from SCEE to build India based thematic content for the Indian market and the Diaspora globally. We are very excited with the way the game has evolved and are thankful to SCEE for all their belief in launching this title across their major platforms. Currently, we are also working on a new genre of game based on Indian Martial Arts, along with multiple titles for the PSP Minis platform for the global market.”

The game is the story of Avinash, son of an NRI businessman, who comes to visit his ancestral village. Since Avinash has lived all his life abroad, and this is his first visit to an Indian village, he is fascinated by what he sees. The story unfolds as he roams around the village, plays the different village games, and meets Gowri and Gopal, a couple who are in love, but cannot get married as the village head, Garjan Singh, is opposed to their match. Avinash must now seek different people in the village, who play a part in this story one way or the other, and try to find a way to get the Gowri and Gopal married and also save the village from the evil plans of Garjan Singh.

The six traditional Indian games include:

Pachisi -Pachisi is a turn based board game played using the cross shaped board and two rectangular dice. It’s a game of change and strategy. Pachisi game played between the Pandavas and Kauravas is the significant event in the great epic of Mahabharata

Aadu Puli Aatam (Goat & the Tiger) - This is a hunt game and game between the extravagant Tigers and the deceitful goats. The general rule of this interesting strategy game is the number of tigers varies from 1 to 4, and the number of goats from 11 to 12 to 23 or 24. The general aim is to hem in the tigers so that they cannot move, but the arrangement of pieces, the method of play and the rules of capture vary from game to game.

Kite fight - In India people fly kites to cut other kites. Specially made threads, mostly coated with fine powdered glass, are used for the kite fight. Kites are made from colored paper and are available in various shapes. Two bamboo sticks called "tuddah" (which is straight) and "Kaamp" which is arched, hold the paper together. The string attached determines the performance of the kite.

Kabaddi - Two teams compete with each other for higher scores, by touching or capturing the players of the opponent team. Each team consists of 12 players, of which seven are on court at a time, and five in reserve. The two teams fight for higher scores, alternating defence and offense.

Gilli Danda is a game like cricket or baseball but without a ball and with a different set of rules. The ball is replaced by a small stick called Gilli. The Gilli 3 to 4 inches long and both the ends are tapered. Danda is a 24 inches long cylindrical stick used like a bat. Player can enjoy batting the Gilli or fielding among the free cattle.

Dance game is a beat matching game, in which the user has to match the beats of a song playing in the background, by pressing a combination of buttons at the right time as they scroll on the bottom of the screen. The aim is to try and successfully press the right combination of buttons at the right time in order to win the game.