Asking rate climbs as the game gets going

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Gaming in India is at a nascent stage, but the industry is growing fast and, on the way, blasting a few myths like—not every gamer is a teeny-bopper. This, and more, are revealed by the findings of a survey of 10,000 subscribers of the games-on-demand service of Indiagames, one of India’s top gaming companies. For instance, the finding that 60% of gamers are over 22 years of age shatters the misconception that only teenagers enjoy gaming. It also shows that the peak gaming time is between 7 pm and midnight, which is bad news for TRP ratings. Not just this, the share of women is on the rise—at 13% now—in a decidedly male preserve. But the most heartening feature for the infantile industry in India is that, 2007 saw a dramatic increase in gaming across age groups and income segments.

“The year 2007 has been great, but we believe 2008 will be much more exciting. We will definitely see more people factoring gaming into their entertainment spends,” says Vishal Gondal, CEO, Indiagames. That said, gaming as an industry is still very small in India. Consider this: According to industry estimates, the global market for gaming is expected to grow from the current size of Rs 1,20,000 crore ($30 billion) to Rs 1,60,000 crore ($40 billion) by 2010. India’s share is still a minuscule Rs 312 crore ($78 million).

But all the players and Nasscom (National Association of Software and Services Companies) agree that gaming has tremendous growth potential. According to Nasscom, the size of the industry in India comprising mobile, computer and console games and development touched Rs 192 crore in 2006, and is likely to cross the Rs 1,700-crore mark by 2010. The compound annual growth rate is 72% over 2006-2010. Industry players are, however, more bullish. They peg the figure for 2010 at Rs 2,500 crore.

According to the Indiagames study, mobile gaming in 2007 saw a huge jump in numbers, coming especially from smaller towns and at lower price-points, while online gaming was able to make a mark with about 3 million gamers. Also, the launches of consoles like Xbox 360 and Sony PS3 saw a surge in consumer interest.

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