One97 and Webchutney forge partnership for electronic gaming

The partnership will produce interactive gaming titles across a host of handheld and other electronic gaming consoles, gadgets, platforms and devices.

One97, a mobile value-added service company, and the India-based digital agency Webchutney have collaborated to produce interactive gaming titles across a host of handheld and other electronic gaming consoles and gadgets for various platforms and devices depending on the requirement. The partnership will offer mobile games across all genres, including role-playing games (RPG), adventure/action games, arcade, puzzle/card, and strategy games.

The alliance will help Webchutney to foray in the mobile gaming space, and broaden its horizon by providing the resources and support to develop, distribute, and release games worldwide on different platforms. On the other hand, it will help One97 broaden its portfolio, through a franchise with an Indian agency.

Talking about the collaboration, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, managing director, One97 says, "We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to work with an agency which has such a talented team."

Sharma further adds, "We are working together on some games and its related experiences, with developed technology, and even on the artwork and stories. This alliance also underscores our long-standing commitment to foster the industry's best creative talent. Our partnership with Webchutney will enable us to broaden our pipeline of exciting new content as we continue to strengthen our industry position and pursue long-term growth opportunities."

Talking about choosing One97 as a partner, Sidharth Rao, chief executive officer and co-founder, Webchutney, mentions, "We chose to partner with One97 because of their reach, multi-platform experience, and marketing expertise. Moreover, we have been working together for the past several months on various other assignments, and it was clear to us that One97 supports our commitment to produce engaging experiences across multiple channels and consumer touch-points."

Webchutney is building a studio for game development, and will work with One97 to produce games for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch platforms. The game studio will operate as a separate business unit within Webchutney. It will eventually develop gaming content and solutions for the entire range including Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian, N-Gage, PSP, DS, and Flash.

The interactive games will be produced in India, but will be available to a global audience, especially in North America and Europe, through the respective app-stores and other shareware platforms like android marketplace, and apple stores. They will not be limited to an exclusive distributor or an operator.

The prices of the games will be at par with the global industry which will match the costs at which app developers offer their wares -- ranging from epic, big-budget games, to low-priced, inexpensive games offering inimitable experiences.

Though Webchutney refused to comment much about the finances involved in the deal, they accepted the fact that revenues will be shared between both partners.