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Japanese publisher Square Enix has announced long term plans for India with a primary focus on game development on mobile and social platforms.
The Final Fantasy, Hitman and Tomb Raider publisher will soon set up an office in India that will serve as a link between Indian game developers and its Japanese headquarters.
The first order of business is the Game Development Contest India 2012, through which Square Enix aims to discover the best game development talent in India over the coming months.
We all know that India is going to be the next big market for games, but no one knows when that push will come,” said Yasuhiro Fukushima, honorary chairman at Square Enix at a press event announcing the contest.
Smartphone and tablet sales are very strong in India, and it is the fastest growing platform for games around the world. So we want to work closely with Indian developers to make sure that when that big push does happen, there are quality Indian games available to audiences both in India and abroad,” he added.
Fukushima doesn’t expect instant results, but has a more long term plan in mind. If this contest helps us discover some great games, that’ll be fantastic, but more than that, we’re looking for promising talent whom we can work with in the long term. I envision that three years from now, there will be hit titles coming out of India that the world will enjoy, and five years from, top Indian developers will be well known on the global stage.”
Square Enix’s Game Development Contest India 2012 is offering cash prizes of over Rs 20 lakh, plus the opportunity for promising developers to work more closely with the Japanese publisher.
Those interested in participating can find out more details at the official contest website and Facebook page.
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