By Sanjoy Bhattacharya
In the early 2000s, gaming was not a massive industry. While post-pandemic, the soar in the gaming industry has been exceptional. Previously, it was only restricted to compact gaming parlours. However, the times have significantly changed and twisted. Nevertheless, the gaming industry has never failed to attract teenagers and adults. Having known that gaming is something Indian parents don’t encourage as they feel that kids should only do it for entertainment, it has become a powerful industry with endless job opportunities in the market.
In the post-pandemic time, there has been an unprecedented growth in the area of online gaming and is now considered an acceptable profession giving rise to the existence of full time- gamers, live streamers, YouTubers, prestigious gaming collaborative events which are leading to rising in demand and popularity of gaming-related gadgets and equipment among new-age India. More and more consumers are taking to gaming with renewed enthusiasm coupled with limitless Business opportunities with monetisation through advertising, hyper-personalised offerings, and gamification.
According to Business Insider, the modern gaming industry was growing roughly at a rate of 18.6% in 2020, and at this rate, it is envisioned to be worth more than $2 billion by 2023. The gaming industry has significantly risen with the rise in game-a-thons befalling every other day in the country. Even gamification in the education industry is a new revolution.
Today, games have become a full-time earning job for several people. There is both money and interest in the industry, but there are no regulations on online gaming so far. Even the parliament is in talks to impose taxes on the gaming industry for the tax revenue. To be precise, online gaming platforms earn money in these ways:
- Registration fee from the players to enter an online game
- Through a prize money pool
- Marketing revenue through those pesky advertisements
The transformation from those traditional video games to the PlayStation and huge consoles for gaming has become a massive hit. Large consoles and PC games are being curated for mobile platforms as industry players believe gaming is the destiny of social media for the successive generation. More than 90% of millennials and GenZ play video games.
The prompt reasons for the rise in online gaming are –
- Affordable 4G and 5G internet connectivity
- Upsurge in penetration of smartphones
- Popular game-a-thons these influencers promote and organise
- And of course, the global pandemic lead to boredom and people shifting to online gaming mediums for entertainment
- Plug and play PC gaming
With that, the sector is anticipating covering more investors, users and consolidation.
Changes in consumer behaviour
In support of consumer demands and behaviour, the electronics companies are building and churning out more advanced technology features and lucid design monitors, TV sets, consoles and projectors. In addition, the electronics industry invests heavily in AR/VR technologies to make the gaming ecosystem more real and driven.
Meanwhile, gamers now want a host of features in their monitor, including blazing-fast refresh rates and an array of features and technologies to ensure ultra-low latency gaming, making them ideal for eSports and hardcore gamers. The critical buying factor has evolved with time. Earlier, it was the size and price. Now it is viewed in size, connectivity, resolution (Full HD and up), and refresh rate. With the market going up to 360 Hz, customers are doing enough research; earlier monitors used to be the last preference, now monitors fall in the TOP 3 picks after CPU and hard disk. Overall, the monitor investment percentage in PCs has increased.
The latest high-tech innovation by the electronics giant boasts of monitors in 2k and 4k, with the screen size getting standardised in 24 and 27 inches frames. The refresh rate is standardised from 144 to 360 Hz, and 12-bit colour is the most trending among users. It’s the customers’ need since now they want the output to be precise and accurate. Unfortunately, many graphics cards are compatible with 4K monitors only.
With prolonged hours of gameplay, brands are coming up with technology that gives eyes comfort. For extended gameplay, flexibility options like tilt, pivot, swivel and height adjustments are now the need of the hour. In addition to that, the industry is focused on enhancing the immersive designs to give gamers phenomenal clarity during high-intensity gameplay, virtually eliminating stuttering and tearing and allowing gamers to make complex hits on fast-moving targets with incredible precision.
With more than 70% population under the millennials and GenZ category, the gaming marketplace makes India the most promising industry going forward. After seeing a huge mass of people involved in streaming online live games, it has been foretold that there will be an uptick in the sector in the upcoming years.
The author is director, sales and marketing, IT business of ViewSonic India. Views expressed are personal.
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