Sony Executive Comments On A Little Known PS3 Exclusive

Atindriya Bose - Country Manager (Sony Computer Entertainment )

In my final post about this really massive interview with Atindriya Bose, PlayStation India, Country Manager, I have tried and uncovered some details of a little known PS3 exclusive that is set to release this September.

That little PS3 exclusive, as very few of you would know is R.A. One The Video Game which has the backing up of the hugely popular Shahrukh Khan and the Red Chillies, the people behind the movie. Sony is ofcourse publishing the game and its being developed by Trine.

First of all I asked Atindriya on how come the game came in to existence:

See all these games take about a year to develop. Obviously we have been working on the game and putting all the partnerships in place.  For the first time such a strong IP owner of India (Shahrukh Khan & Red Chillies) has decided to partner with us and develop a game.  This has resulted in to sharing of vision from both the sides (movies and video games). The Indian gaming market is not as large or as mature as now to create games at such a  high level of investment and be profitable and start having a revenue share sort of arrangement. So both of us had to create a business model that is a win-win situation for both. This required a vision which we have found to be interesting in Red Chillies and Shahrukh Khan.

Its not like the international  model where the game comes in two months after the movie and the IP owner looks at the game as a means to just extend the revenue stream which in Indian market would not have worked so we have twisted the business model. So in this case the game comes in first, backed by a lot of promotion around it, leads in to the movie and then the momentum of the film carries the game forward.

The game is coming out on the PlayStation 3 as well as the PlayStation 2. Initially the PS3 version will be made available via the PSN but they are debating a blu ray version for the same.

The game will release on the PlayStation 2 as well as on the PlayStation 3. But the PS3 version as of now will be digitally downloadable. We are not looking at the blu-ray version immediately but we are also keeping that option open if the opportunity comes in.

The PS3 downloadable version because of it’s network capability of the PS3 the game will also be marketed in other countries, especially under the SCEE regions.

The developers are currently targeting a September release date:

Not a specific date. we are coordinating close with the  movie release date. As of now we are targeting a September release.

If you take a look at the trailer above, people are bound to say that its been inspired from inFamous. But Atindriya believes that it is not the case.

If you are stating that its inspired from inFamous then I stand flattered.

It is definitely a super-hero movie. It has one of the best quality vfx effects and everything that is required to make it a good success. It will always remind people of different super heroes whether they were on a gaming platform, everyone wants to draw parallel. But independently it looks to be turning out fantastic on what I have seen.

It is an independent game that is being developed with an independent story line. Whatever snippets I have seen of the game does not remind me of inFamous.

inFamous and inFamous 2 are perhaps one of the best things that have come to the PlayStation 3. There are always going to be parallels drawn. I can only comment on the game development we are doing for R.A. One . From the movie side, I have seen a bit and it is not right for me to comment on how they have conceptualized.

While we have the likes of inFamous in our stable, this game is independent and is specifically focused on the movie R.A. One and trying to do justice to it in the way we have conceptualized the game.

There will be six playabale characters in the game. RA. One, G. One and four others.

In terms of the characters, other than RA One I can only reveal G One. The other characters can only be revealed when they get released by the guys handling the movie.

We have talked about six characters and not all of them are from the movie.  There are four characters that are intrinsically from the movie and the rest two are inspired from the ones in the movie but they are more specifically gaming characters.

The game promises to have a story mode and a fighting mode. The story mode promises to be a full blown 3D adventure with cutscenes. Unfortunately there will be no online mode.

There will be a story mode and other will be a choice mode which will be more like a brawl. The brawl mode is basically about fighting, where you will have the option of different environments and characters.

No we are not looking at an online mode but the game will support multiplayer mode. So with the PS3 it can go up to 4 players and the PS2 will obviously support two players.

Its not a 2d side scroller.  It will feature 3d animations, bundled along with a story mode which will be a mixture of cutscenes and gameplay. So its basically a 3d game.

The PlayStation 2 version will retail for INR 499 but the PS3 version does not have a price yet.

The PS2 will probably will retail at R. 499. The PS3 version is still being debated because there is this issue of the PSN which means we have to adhere to the global mandate of price point and we are also evaluating whether there is any opportunity of a Blu Ray version.

Enough of these teasers. Stay tuned to GamingBolt.com for the full interview very soon.