Paradox Studios has got into an alliance with the legendary football star Baichung Bhutia and Total Sports and entertainment India (TSEIPL), the agency representing the dynamic football captain. The studio has signed a two-year exclusive worldwide contract to create Mobile game titles based on the popular football icon. The games are scheduled to release across the leading networks in the Indian market.
Speaking to Animation ‘xpress Paradox CEO Salil Bhargava stated,” If you look at sports in India, outside cricket, there are very few sports Icons in the country and Baichung is one of them. He is captain of the Indian football team as well as the only Indian footballer to have played professional club soccer in England. Often dubbed as ‘Maradona of Indian Football’, the football captain enjoys an immense fan following in India. With the world cup just around the corner, the timing of the tie up with Baichung is perfect”
We plan to release at least four different football based games featuring Bhutia, the first of which shall coincide with the soccer world cup and we hope to cash in on the additional mass awareness and hysteria around soccer that the world cup will generate”
Baichung Bhutia stated,”Mobile gaming is growing fast and I believe that having such games available on mobile will help popularise the game. Football is a physical game, but a lot of good performance also depends on how one deals with it mentally, people who play the mobile game will get that experience”
Total Sports Asia’s Navneet Sharma shared, “This is a very valuable opportunity to explore India’s emerging Wireless gaming market. Paradox is a leader in the Indian gaming space and has a deep understanding of the Indian market. We are extremely glad at this strategic alliance with Paradox”
“We anticipate that the game will first gain popularity in pockets and gradually spread across like wildfire” he added.
On the anvil are pro tips on football by Baichung Bhutia which will be part of the instructional manual of the games, contests and challenges where winners can participate as well as an online extension of the mobile games.
“Games themed around local brands enjoy greater popularity. Besides making a game around an Icon is a better option than making a game around a film because the shelf life of Icons is longer” shared Salil.