Pyramid Saimira unit to develop Hanuman game for Sony

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Gaming firm Aurona Technologies Ltd, a unit of Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd will develop a console game for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe to cater to Indian audiences, the company said.

The game, based on the Hindu-mythological character, Hanuman, will be Sony's first foray into launching country-specific titles for India's market for Playstation 2 games, it said in a release.

"The number of Playstation 2's in India is quite high so this game can be reached out to a larger audience," said Hetal Bhuva, Business Development Director of Aurona Technologies said.

The game will be released by the end of the calender year and the deal could also see sequels to the title, she added.

Aurona, which has developed over 50 games since 2004 for various platforms, sees potential in creating games for audiences in China and India, Bhuva said.

The Hanuman game will target ages 6-16, but Aurona plans to tap a broader age bracket with later games, "We will come up with titles for the older age group which is 16-24," she said.

India's animation, gaming and visual effects market is estimated to have reached 13 billion rupees in 2007, according to an entertainment and media industry report by FICCI and PricewaterhouseCoopers.