Low broadband penetration is stunting growth in gaming
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
India is at a nascent stage of gaming but holds burgeoning opportunities along with challenges, speakers at the India Gaming Summit 2007 said.
"With 57 per cent of the Indian population below the age group of 25 years, it makes India apt in terms of demographics to explore gaming. The market is eager to take on to gaming provided the cost is right and the resources are within an arm's reach," said Reliance Entertainment president Rajesh Sawhney.
The main issues blocking the progress of the gaming sector are connectivity, costs and reluctance to move to the subscription model.
"If the above problems are sorted out, then the $3-5 million gaming industry will grow at a much faster pace," Sawhney said.
Although mobile has seen rapid growth, it alone can't drive the gaming industry. "We are still at a very low broadband penetration. Our target was to achieve 10 million subscribers in 2007 but we have only three million subscribers. The telecom companies are striving hard to achieve 10 million broadband subscribers by 2010," said Sawhney.
The event was organised by Zapakmail.com and Internet and Mobile association of India (IAMAI) in partnership with Intel.
The morning session included a panel discussion involving Sony Online Entertainment VP business development and international operations David Christensen and Shanda Interactive Entertainment business development director Desmond Lu. It was moderated by Level Up India MD Venkat Mallik.
Said Christensen, "The demographics in India is favourable to take gaming forward and it is good that players have already started exploring various platforms."
Speaking about the gaming industry in China, Lu said: "Virtual social communities, no software cost and lack of other entertainment choices have been instrumental in the growth that we are witnessing today. Shanda Entertainment has been leading the space with a market cap of $2 billion."
Remarking about India, Lu said, "Gaming cafes hold a lot of potential here, particularly in smaller cities as people don't have much choice for entertainment."