Earlier this year, Google landed a “landmark” deal with Global Cricket Ventures, the licensing partner to the Indian Premier League (IPL), which would give them the so rights to live stream cricket matches from the IPL on YouTube. This is a huge deal because the streaming of the 2010 IPL season (which starts on Friday and lasts for 45 days) is the first time a large-scale global sporting event will be streamed; with the reach expected to be at least a half-a-billion viewers. Now of of India’s largest gaming companies, Indiagames, has bought the official gaming rights to the IPL tournament to deliver games around the Indian cricket tournament.
Indiagames will be launching a series of web and mobile apps throughout the next 45 days. The first app, called IPL Indiagames T20 Fever, is an online game that uses Facebook Connect to allow users to create cricket teams consisting of both Facebook friends and IPL professional cricketers. The game will also include micro-transaction support, allowing users to users to virtually buy IPL players to improve their chances of becoming the IPL Champion.
A second, not yet released online game, called ‘IPL Indiagames 140Cricket’ will be based on a “Cricket Manager” concept and will target Twitter and Facebook users to construct and manage teams. The gaming company will also be rolling out a Facebook game as well. Indiagames partnered with Facebook to develop all three of the games.
While the IPL tournament will be streaming on YouTube, the fact that the official game will have a presence on Facebook will certainly draw Indian cricket fans to the social network. This should help give Facebook an edge over rival social network Orkut in India.
The game appears to be just a website utilizing FB connect… confused on the ‘partnership’ they had with FB?
Browser plug in?? too much friction to get started
I’m very curious as well as how this is “Partnering with Facebook”.
1. Plugin
2. buggy in everything but IE
3. Check out what the competition is doing in online cricket gaming: Howzat.com: 3d, multiplayer, flash in the browser, 1/10th the size to download, amazing look and feel.
Zapitos, played Howzzat. Was very dissapointed with the entire experience. Very mediocre graphics (litterally 5th grade types). Also the multiplayer experience sucks and was throuwn out every minute. Not to be mistaken with my bad internet connection as I have a 512 kbps line. I guess Howzzat is a really bad comparison to draw into a quality cricket game here.
2 things that would put me off super easily is using internet explorer and that too version 6 (For God sake Grow the F**k up), secondly asking me to install some crappy plugin..
I can play a better game with another user, without going through the really long pre-game process.. Quick and fun.
Add to that, I can’t sign up without a facebook account. F**K that s**t, I dont want to give away details too quick!
Shahzad looks like your forgot to mention a small detail! that you are the Developer of the howzat game.. which you are calling “amazing and cool”
*opps your profile link gave that info up…
given that information which you choose to hide you comments are pure immature and pointless.. go get a life dude.
With Indiagames partnering up with IPL and Facebook, all of the orkut will be shifting to facebook. I’m really excited to try out all the games that are going to be released.
Yeah ..I have heard abt this stuff and think it would make cricket lovers very happy ….
What partnership? I’m missing something, but what is Facebook’s involvement, the site is simply Facebook connected.
This would seem way out of the norm for Facebook to make such an individual partnership. The last sports partnership they did was with CBS three years ago for March Madness and we all know how that went down
Seriously. Partnership? I’m all for good leverage, but this is just connect imo.
I’m not too phased when reading a post f there are a few “typo’s”. But this article is really really bad. lLeena, either do a spell check before publishing or send it to somebody that can write pls.
And, more importantly, this article isn’t fact checked. At all. Its a press release. Poor form TechCrunch.
I am not trying to defend techcrunch in any ways. I spotted the typo too. I am with you it doesn’t bother me, but this one did. “of of” I read it three times and I was like ugh its a typo. I really don’t think this was targeting any of the heavy readers, more so to get new readers from India? Who knows what the motive was, you have to realize IPL is like the NBA/NFL/MLB combined in India.
I can only imagine the amount of searches made of this, and out of those this article makes ample amount of mentions, so that one in ten of those searches would land them to techcrunch. Just a thought/speculation.
Its a partnership with IPL, not with facebook. IPL guys are very strict about who gets to be associated with their brand.
Nah, I’m certain it involves the wallet more than anything else.
Techcruch has been a source of nice and important new for me, but this article is disappointing.
Looks like a promotional article, with little check about the facts, a facebook connect doesn’t mean partnership with facebook.
Wish there was a bury button like the ones we have in Digg
Sigh,
used to play those mobile cricket games back in school days. Not anymore.
This article is letting people know that youtube is not live telecasting cricket in the USA
Spell Mistake: This article is NOT letting people know that youtube is not live telecasting cricket in the US
What makes you think this article deserves a place on Techcrunch?
Umm, site is not supporting Firefox < 3.6, I can't upgrade yet cause of some plugins I got, that's just silly
The opening ceremony of the DLF IPL 2010 twenty 20 promises breathtaking performances by a a number of Bollywood celebrities as well as International artists. The opening ceremony of the 2010 IPL 3 would start today, March 12 at 6pm IST. In India Sat Max TV channel will telecast the live opening ceremony of the IPL 2010.
i wanna join it..
Thats a fantastic new for all the enthusiast cricket gamers. Finally an officially licensed cricket game for IPL.