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.
Key drivers
?Killer appliances, better broadband connectivity and higher disposable incomes are driving the industry,? says Rohit Sharma, COO, Zapak Digital Entertainment, the online gaming company that has been growing at a scorching pace, winning 3 million registered gamers within 9 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
?We are headed towards a free-for-consumer model,? says Kejriwal, ?but once the consumer comes free, the challenge is to induce him to shed some rupees.? So in a game like Bombay Taxi, once you begin to enjoy it and go from level to level, it gets tougher. ?At one level you find it difficult to get past a cop unless you pay? this can be one micro-payment idea,? adds Kejriwal.
According to Sharma, while the casual gaming industry is driven by advertising, the hardcore gaming segment is riding high subscriptions. ?At Zapak, by the next quarter, we will see more than 150 brands advertising from across sectors like FMCG, telecom and consumer durables.? About 50% of Zapak?s users are between 12 and 25 years of age. Another 25% is above 25 and another, 25% below 12. ?There are large numbers between 6 and 12 as well on Zapak Tiny,? says Sharma. ?I don?t see why our marriage game can?t become an advertising site for jewellery brands,? points out Kejriwal.
Says Gondal of Indiagames, ?More people are playing during primetime. Also, 34% of gamers are working professionals and business people. Preachers of in-game advertising have something to munch here.?
Focus on content
All the players admit that the ?market is hot? for gaming, but insist that India needs to buck up on infrastructure and content creation. ?In five years, there will be a huge demand for content,? says Kejriwal.
At the moment, there are 3 million broadband users and, according to industry estimates, the number will grow to 20 million by 2010.
Not surprisingly, all the players are focusing on content in a big way. At Zapak, which has 100 million page views a day, there?s a team of 200 busy in content-creation and development. JumpGames, which says its puzzle games do really well, is stocking up on content too. ?We are partners with Disney in India,? says Bhargava, adding, ?we also distribute content for Japan gaming company Konami and this year we expect to sign fairly large licensing deals.?
From developers? perspective, the worldwide gaming content market is estimated at nearly $ 7 billion in 2006 and is expected to cross $13 billion by 2010. So, most players admit that focus on India alone isn?t enough for growth. Says Bhargava, ?Focus purely on India won?t make enough money. We are live in 35 countries, including Europe, Asia and Australia. This year, we plan to take our popular puzzle games to the US.?
The gaming scene in India is still tilted towards casual gamers who play for short periods of time. The core or serious gamers still accounts for only 2-3% of the total gamers in India. Which only means there?s tremendous potential for growth, and gaming companies are betting on this.
