As the Nintendo Wii begins to quietly make its way into stores across India with ninja-like stealth in readiness for its September 30 launch date along with the DS Lite, we caught up with Mahesh Toshniwal of Samurai Games India Pvt Ltd, official distributors of the Wii and DS in India, to confirm to us the news that surfaced recently and to give us answers to some questions that many of you may have had on your minds.
Firstly, can you tell us a bit about Samurai India; its history and current operations?
Samurai introduced 8-bit Nintendo video games in India in 1987 and was instrumental in bringing Nintendo Home Video Games to India. Samurai is an authorised reseller of Active Boeki K. K. of Kobe, Japan, who is the distributor for Nintendo in South-East Asia, the Middle East and India. Incidentally, Active Boeki’s chief is an Indian from Ajmer - Mr Suresh K. Lal.
What is the release date for the Wii and DS in India?
Release date for Wii and DS Lite is 30th September, 2008.
How much will the Wii and DS be priced at?
The MRP for the Wii is Rs 19,990 and the DS Lite is priced at Rs 7,990 inclusive of all taxes.
Will the Wii come bundled with Wii Sports?
Yes, the Wii will come bundled with Wii Sports and with an original 220 Volts Nintendo AC adapter.
Will you also bring Wii and DS first-party titles to India and what will be the price range for Wii and DS games?
Yes, we will bring first-party as well as licensee software to India and prices will depend on the individual titles.
What is the role of HCL in bringing the Wii and DS to India?
We have tied up with HCL to sell the Wii and DS through 20 stores across Mumbai and Delhi. Based on the success of the operation, these arrangements may change over time.
Will the Wii in India be PAL or NTSC-U/C?
The Wii will be NTSC.
Besides Nintendo, which publishers’ games will you distribute?
We have already tied up with a few publishers and negotiations with others are underway.*
Hit the jump for the rest of the interview
The NTSC-U/C Wii is available for Rs 16,000 in the grey market. What is the advantage of buying a genuine Wii for Rs 20,000 supplied by your company?
The Wii available in the grey market is without bill and warranty and comes with a duplicate 220 Volts adapter. The grey market Wii brought in from America has a 110 Volts adapter, which is replaced with China-made 220 Volts adapter and passed off as original. Entry to the Fun Club and Loyalty programme will also be restricted to buyers with bill.
Since there isn’t any marketing campaign undertaken yet, how do you aim to inform the consumers about the Wii and its potential?
We have 20 years of experience in marketing video games and we feel that hands-on experience is the best way to spread gaming fever. The Nintendo Wii has been developed for a casual gamer and we will promote it as a family game. The Wii will provide a platform for parents and children to interact with each other everyday, which is something that has become a very rare sight these days.
How do you aim to curb Wii and DS piracy as well as fake Wii accessories?
Pirated software and accessories are a pain and we hope to educate people to fight piracy as, apart from being illegal, these products are of poor quality, some of these games are incomplete, and you get no after-sales service or upgrades.
Will first party accessories for the Wii and DS be sold here?
Yes, in time, we will go for first party as well as licensed accessories.
*There is an indication that Samurai will distribute EA games in India for Nintendo platforms, although we have no official confirmation of this.
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Oh wow… an adaptor warrants 4K extra. Can you say fail?
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Dear h3lios
4K is not just for Original Adopter. Legal Imports attract 34% import duty/ 2% Central Sales tax and 12.55 VAT. Now does 4 K look justified. In addition you get 12 Months warranty on Console.
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Hi,
This is good news.Does anyone know the addresses of retail stores in Delhi where the wii shall be available on Sept 30?
If yes,would be obliged if someone could mail the list of these stores to me at kumarpuneet2010@yahoo.com
thanks
kumar
i have a wii and it is PAL but wii that is coming to india is NTSC…..why?
DRATZ….my dad just got me a DS Lite from Singapore….and because of that i need to buy a Step Down Transformer to level the power input for charging the DS…if i had only known that it was being launched in India!…oh yea, i’ve heard stuff about the ‘DSi’ which is supposedly a enhanced version of the DS Lite…is this being launched in India too?
Thanks Anyway’s,
SiD
HEY 30th SEPTEMBER HAS GONE BUT THERE WAS TO NEWS ABOUT THE RELEASE IS ALL THIS TRUE . IF IT WAS LAUNCHED THEN WHERE?
IS IT GOING TO BE LAUNCHED LATER
Plz REPLY
You can find more information on the status of the launch here:
http://www.gamingindians.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5585&view=findpost&p=198483
I am appalled by these amateurs who setup a distributorship to ‘officially’ distribute a product but only end up ripping off a few people.
I don’t see how a 3rd world country should have to pay 50% more than first world prices? It still makes sense to buy a $249 wii (NTSC) with sports from US and replace the adapter.
There is enough demand from the # of requests in forums for wii’s in India. A wi i is not a gamers souped up system, it’s a family unit that has low-fi graphics, but high on fun and interactivity.
Thumbs down to short-term thinkers like Samurai India, who feel that pricing it above the US market, for an NTSC, not a PAL system, with the only value being an adapter, that only replaces the 110 volts adapter.
I predict a big flop! I hope Nintendo listens and launches it officially, and learn from how the iPhone 3g failed in its marketing with Vodaphone and Airtel.
Eli
http://www.noiZemag.com/
please advise your distributor / agent in Mumbai, India
you can also send mail - mmehta@vinmar.com