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“For
the gaming industry to grow, access is very important. The
primary reason for the growth in gaming in other countries
is access - whether it is the US where consoles were subsidised
or China where cyber cafe is visible everywhere. The problem
with India is that the mobile connectivity and broadband penetration
is still low,” says Indiagames founder & CEO Vishal
Gondal.
The
mobile market, Gondal believes, will grow further as mobile
phones become cheaper. With the increase in offtake of smart
phones, the access to data will be easy. Gaming apps in particular
have contributed to the growth of mobile gaming as accessing
games is just a click away.
According
to XMG Studio founder & CEO Ray Sharma, the gaming industry
is on the cusp of transition with more and more people accessing
games from their mobile phones. The amount of time users spent
on mobile has exceeded that of mobile.
“There
is a shift from console to the mobile device. Very soon, we
will see the tablet processing power exceed that of console
games. This transition is similar to what we witnessed in
the 90s when arcade was replaced by consoles,” he opines.
Unlike
the matured markets, monetisation of content is a big problem
in India.
Playcaso
COO Ninad Chaya believes that mobile phones are a primary
source of entertainment for a majority of people in rural
India. The games apps have changed the whole business model
of the business. The Freemium model has played a pivotal role
in getting casual gamers to get hooked on.
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