The Hindu Business Line : Gaming with hi-tech gizmos

GONE are the days when video games were the only option for the gaming enthusiast. Now, he has a multitude of choices — computers, gaming consoles and even mobiles. With the arrival of sub-Rs 10,000 computers, gaming will also enter new locales.

Samsung recently kicked off India's first gaming festival, the World Cyber Games 2005. Gamers from all over the world gathered at Delhi to contest against one another. Mumbai-based Indiagames partnered with the company for the event. Mr Vishal Gondal, the young CEO of Indiagames, said, "We are promoting gaming as a hobby as well as a sport through events like this. We expect one lakh participants from across India."

In fact, special zones have been set up at events such as BangaloreIT.in where one can experience the latest in gaming. .

India has approximately five lakh PC gamers, including the casual kind, who enjoy a game or two as recreation, and hard-core gamers. PC gaming has a niche audience in India, mainly comprising youth and college students, said Mr Rajesh Rao, CEO, Dhruva Interactive, a game developing company at Bangalore. This hobby is, surprisingly, not restricted by age. "The average age of gamers, according to our survey, is 10 years," said Mr Cyril Ferry, Head of Sales, Indiagames. This is in contrast with the average US gamer being 31 years old.

Games such as Counter Strike (a multiplayer team game), Warcraft, Quake, Unreal Tournament, FIFA football and Need for Speed (a car racing game) are popular here. With broadband becoming more affordable in the country, the younger generation are also getting hooked on to online gaming. MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) involve gamers around the world. This new trend in the industry will boost multiplayer PC gaming in the long term, while mobile and set-top box gaming will create new audiences in the near future. Console gaming (through vendors such as Sony and Microsoft for PlayStation and the Xbox, respectively) is not attracting Indian gamers, as it is not affordable, said Mr Gondal.

For now, mobiles are the buzzword among game developers. Mobile gaming in India, according to Mr Rao of Dhruva Interactive, is still nascent. The Indian mobile gaming business currently represents approximately five per cent of the world market. As mobiles become more sophisticated and smart phones become affordable, the number of gamers will rise rapidly, he added.

Service providers are also offering games that can be downloaded over mobiles. Reliance Infocomm-backed Paradox Studio recently offered a game based on the Everest Challenge for Coca Cola's soft drink Thums Up. The response received was overwhelming, said Mr Salil Bhargava, the Chief Marketing Officer. "3.5 lakh people played this game in a week," he revealed. As mobiles get more high-tech, 3D games are expected to arrive in India in a year. Bangalore-based Dhruva Interactive is also working on 3D mobile gaming. Said Mr Rao, "We will launch 3D mobile games in the first quarter of 2006."

The current gaming market in India is around Rs 70 crore. With more than one million gamers, the country is a prospective gold mine for game developers. Industry sources predict a drastic rise in the Indian gaming market, which is set to increase more than twofold to Rs 150 crore by next year.

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