Asking rate climbs as the game gets going

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Monday , February 04, 2008 at 2317 hrs months of launch.

Ask Sharma what are the most popular games and he quips, “Cricket, Bollywood and action games.” He points out that, what is driving content is quality. “We have a good mix of local and global content. We are constantly investing in content and technology. We plan to invest $100 million in 3-5 years.” Zapak has 15 gaming cafes in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata, and is aggressively ramping up, intending to set up 2,000 cafes over the next 18 months.

For mobile gaming company JumpGames, cricket downloads are the top draw. Incidentally, in the gaming space, mobile gaming is growing the fastest. “It’s the biggest part of the business, pegged around Rs 150 crore,” says Salil Bhargava, CEO, JumpGames. “Expect an inflection point for the mobile gaming business in India in two years,” adds Bhargava. “With networks getting better and handsets coming loaded, it’s a great time for the mobile entertainment industry.” But Neeraj Roy, MD & CEO, Hungama Mobile, cautions: “We still have a long way to go. We need to educate both consumers and the industry on how best to adopt mobile entertainment.”

Challenges remain

Infrastructure challenges like broadband connectivity and poor networks apart, there is a whole mindset issue at stake. “Gaming as a culture is still to be accepted,” points out Bhargava. “We police our children too much,” adds Alok Kejriwal, CEO, Games2Win, another top online gaming company.

Cricket is also one of the most popular games for subscribers of Games2Win. But there are other top draws like the Great Indian Arranged Marriage, where gamers can simulate an entire Indian wedding experience right from the time the prospective groom and bride meet as curious relatives look in to tying the knot. Then, there’s the Naughty Series game (a girl and a boy have to circumvent odds just to meet) and the hugely popular Bombay Taxi that required you to negotiate congested roads before you can park your car.

According to industry estimates, in terms of genres, casual games still top the chart (47%), followed by strategy and action games (17% each), sports (9%), massively multiplayer online game (4%), and racing (6%).

Revenue models