Tinsel Town goes gaming & networking

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: networking site, Big Adda, to build a community, rockon.bigadda.com.

The only problem is that broadband connectivity is still poor and far behind the cell phone as far as the subscription base is concerned. Says Sivanand Pare, COO, Big Adda: “We would like to associate with the film industry to help them build long-lasting connect with the audience so that they can market their movies better.” Big Adda has plans to include ads on its site while promoting the films, but Pare admits that advertisement is a derivative of the number of page views.

Mobile opportunity

Providers of mobile phone games are joining the frenzy as well. While Nazara has focused its attention on cricket icons, Hungama has become aggressive in getting music rights and Mauz has carved its niche in mobile advertising. Nitish Mittersain, CEO, Nazara Technologies, says, “We have reached a three-year, exclusive tie-up with Indian cricket icons like Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virendra Sehwag for developing gaming products based on their personalities. Twenty per cent of revenue coming to us through these products goes to the celebrities. Similarly, we have tied up with all cell phone operators on a 40% sharing basis.”

Also, Nazara is planning to launch games around film stars. On anvil are games around current sports sensations like the Olympic gold medal winner Abhinav Bindra. Nazara had also developed gaming based on Walt Disney’s Rounders one-and-a-half years ago by developing ‘poker’ based games for the film’s lead actor, and it had earned $5,00,000 from the US market where the product was launched.

Mobile content providers like Nazara are waiting for 3-G to become a reality as it will help them go for mobile advertising in a big way. “Nazara earned revenues of Rs 20 crore last year (2007-08),” adds Mittersain. In another development, Aurona Technologies, the gaming division of the Pyramid Saimira Group, has won a game art contract from Deep Silver, an Austrian developer and publisher.

As per the agreement, Aurona Technologies will develop ‘Ride to Hell’, a game based on the biker gangs that were prevalent in the US in the 1960s. The game will be released by Deep Silver on PC, Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 platforms. The gaming industry is poised for a 100% growth every year, say insiders, as the market is growing very fast.