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ASPIRATIONAL PLAY

Thomas K. Thomas

New Delhi, June 28

From gulli-danda and by-lane cricket, consumers in small towns and cities are quickly graduating to games on mobile handsets, which was so far considered to be limited to urban youth. More than 70 per cent of gaming-related download s are happening in States such as Bihar, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Kerala.

“Our statistics show that a majority of the downloads related to gaming are now coming in from the category B and C states. This is because mobile users in smaller towns are more aspirational and feel that gaming would be the best way to show that they are tech savvy,” Mr Nitish Mittersain, CEO, Nazara Technologies, told Business Line. Nazara is the number-two player in the mobile gaming segment with a 25 per cent market share.

Value-added service providers are also now working on providing cheaper games. “We are working on a tariff plan that will allow users to download games by giving a fixed subscription. For as low as Rs 15 a week, mobile users can play up to 100 games any number of times whereas at present they have to pay for every download,” said Mr Mittersain.

However, mobile gaming lags other value-added services such as music and SMS-based services. “While the gaming market is currently estimated to be around Rs 60 crore, the music segment would be ten times that. Pricing of the games, handset capabilities and low uptake of GPRS are some of the factors that are stopping the growth of mobile gaming,” said Mr Mittersain. According to a report from In-Stat, the mobile gaming segment in India is set to cross the $330-million mark by 2009.

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