Digital agency WebChutney is entering the game development business, and Mobile VAS company One97 Communications* is turning Game Producer. In what appears to be an extension of an earlier partnership, wherein One97 tied up with WebChutney incubated venture NetworkPlay for mobile advertising, the two are joining forces to now create gaming franchises. WebChutney CEO Sidharth Rao told MediaNama that the company is working on developing iPhone and Android applications, and plans to release its first franchise for the Apple App Store in June, which will shortly be followed by a launch for Android devices. These will be paid games, though the pricing has not been decided, and, in his words, "these will be physics based games, not the 'burst the baloon', 'pop the bubble' nonsense". Now the gaming business is risky, like movies. It's a hit-or-miss business; if it works, it tends to work very well, and if it doesn't work, it disappears without a trance. You never know how it's going to turn out, and there can be major marketing spends, and the entire investment can go for a toss. Webchutney has significant creative resources, having developed flash based "viral marketing" campaigns for multiple clients (samples: Vikram-Betal, Makkadman, Gajodhar, Ek Ruka Hua Faisla). But what does One97 bring to the table, and when the iPhone and Android stores are small developer friendly, why does WebChutney need to tie up with One97? Rao said that One97 is Producing (i.e. bankrolling) the gaming initiative, and has an engineering team that is…
