Game, Set, Winning Match

Are video gamers better learners? Will playing video games keep Alzheimer바카라�s disease away? Can gaming be an IQ test? The answers are the topic of several news stories that get thrown up in a random Internet search for 바카라�video gaming바카라�. And, pray, why gaming? Isn바카라�t that kid바카라�s stuff that kids shouldn바카라�t be so crazy about in the first place바카라�a pastime that바카라�s not just lazy, but brings together disagreeable ingredients like shooting and violence. Sometimes, the associations can get horrific, as residents of Noida near the national capital experienced last week when a schoolchild apparently addicted to a violent video game was suspected of killing his mother and sister.

In a country where many parents still frown on sports as an encroachment on their kids바카라� study time, gaming surely can바카라�t be a legitimate fancy, you바카라�d ask. But what바카라�s really happening is that gaming in India is slowly shedding its niche, stereotyped image. And its future as a mainstream entertainment option, ind­ustry folk say, looks promising. The smartphone, they say, is turning gaming into more than just child바카라�s play.

Sample this: India has been inching up in the list of top five countries for game downloads. In May, a study by KPMG and Google projected that India바카라�s gaming industry would have around 310 million online gamers (from about 120 million now) with a market size of $1 billion by 2021, more than thrice what it was in 2016. As investor Vani Kola of Kalaari Capital puts it, gaming is witnessing a 바카라�sil­ent yet a massive evolution바카라�.

Recent reports say Mumbai-based Nazara Technologies, the company beh­ind the popular Chhota Bheem game, is eyeing an IPO (Initial Public Offering). And, if you looked at Google Play, Baahubali: The Game topped the 바카라�most popular바카라� game category during 2017 in India, beating international titles like WWE Champions, Super Mario Run and Pokémon Duel. Or take Smaaash Entertainment, a venture backed by Sachin Tendulkar, that바카라�s betting big on games with arcades in several Indian cities.

Mass Market?

The growth story from a game-downlo­ads perspective may appear pretty exciting given that India currently has about 350 million mobile internet users. 바카라�The real question is, when will it become a market that monetises? That바카라�s been the reason why most people in the business say India is not yet a gaming market,바카라� says Rajesh Rao of Dhruva Interactive, among India바카라�s oldest game publishers. When he started Dhruva in 1997, gaming was still practically non-existent, except for a minuscule band of devotees like himself바카라�the ones, he jokes, who probably got hooked when a visiting uncle brought home a console.

바카라�It바카라�s really only now, thanks to the mob­ile phone, that it is getting mass-market attention,바카라� says Rao, who also heads Nasscom바카라�s Gaming Forum. If Dhruva had to find a way to survive by becoming a services company working for global game publishers rather than building its own games, it was because, as he puts it, 바카라�We just couldn바카라�t get a sense of market viability for making games for India. Even ­today, very good games are being made for mobile phones, but they still aren바카라�t monetising well enough.바카라�

But Rao is sensing change. 바카라�How did we suddenly go from paying Rs 30-50 per ticket to shelling out a few hundreds for a movie ticket?바카라� he asks, referring to the multiplex boom. 바카라�It바카라�s because the movie-­going experience became really good. Similarly, today we don바카라�t mind paying Rs 500-600 a month for Cable TV or DTH? The mobile brings you a Playstation-like capability of sorts in your hands, in full High Definition. And that바카라�s what changing the game.바카라� So we have housewives playing Candy Crush or ­Bingo Bash and grandparents exploring card games on smartphones or tablets. And there바카라�s no more need for 바카라�side-loading바카라� (transferred games from another device offline) as data is getting faster and cheaper.

바카라�Everybody is playing, not just the ­early adopters, cool dudes and millennials,바카라� says Rao. 바카라�This is a phase of discovery and habit-formation. Games had a bad image that바카라�s being rapidly shed. There바카라�s a better understanding of why kids find games interesting. That바카라�s a big deal.바카라�

Nazara CEO Manish Agarwal believes there is a paucity of entertainment opt­ions in India and gaming is one of the few interactive forms of content consumption. 바카라�No wonder it appeals to all age groups...from four to 70,바카라� he says. 바카라�Perhaps 80 million mobile gamers today are casual or infrequent users who mostly download free games, while the remaining 20 million are serious players who would pay. In the next three years, the number of evolved gamers will go up to 100 million, while the total number of gamers goes up to 300 million. That makes it exciting from the point of view of business scale and opportunity.바카라�

In 2016, Nazara clocked 22 million downloads for its games on Google Play and this year, till September, the figure was 34 million. Top games this year inc­lude Chota Bheem Speed Racing, Motu Patlu Run and RCB Star Cricket. Five years ago, Agarwal says, only western games were available in India. That바카라�s changing as 바카라�whether it is Baahubali, Chotta Bheem or cricket games, when you talk about entertainment, it needs to connect with you바카라�.

Meanwhile, state governments in Karnataka and Telangana are wooing the animation and gaming segment with sops, as part of the IT ecosystem in Bangalore and Hyderabad. For instance, the Karnataka Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics Policy, unv­eiled in August, proposes a Rs 50-crore venture capital fund, an inc­ubator and production grants. In Hyd­erabad, work on a 16 lakh sq ft facility, billed as a one-stop shop for gaming and animation, began this year.

바카라�I think Baahubali, the movie, did a great job of creating awareness for 바카라�Made in India바카라� visual effects. People could see the quality,바카라� says Rao. Soon, industry experts hope, people are going to want more, say, eSports or offline Virtual Rea­lity or Augmented Reality kind of exp­erience. 바카라�Gaming will then become a 360-degree affair rather than being limited to a mobile phone,바카라� says Agarwal.

바카라�Sports and entertainment are what this market is all about,바카라� says Nikhil Vora, founder and CEO of Sixth Sense Ventures, which recently picked up a min­ority stake in Smaaash Entertainment. Unlike amusement parks, arcades such as Smaaash, which are located within city limits, can potentially get more frequent visits from patrons, while also offering more than movies and dining. 바카라�This combines everything you get in those options, plus more,바카라� says Vora.

The Hardcore Gamers

Some weeks ago, Ankit Panth logged into his computer to start streaming a live video. As he attended to a string of messages on social networks, he fixes up a game with an online buddy. 바카라�You guys are lucky, you바카라�ll get to see a game,바카라� he announces. He twirls a knife a few times and then selects a hand gun to fire at targets inching towards him as though on an assembly line. 바카라�Now, let me practise.바카라�

In the world of eSports, the 28-year-old Mumbai-based professional ­gamer goes by the moniker Ankit V3nom Panth. A pro for at least nine years, he leads a team that plays Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS-GO), a game of terrorists versus counter-terrorists, at tournaments across India.

But, just what are eSports? These are contests for video-game junkies, something like an IPL for gamers, where teams battle it out on computers for prize ­money, pitting speed, skill and strategy honed from countless hours of gaming. Over the past couple of years, the pace has picked up and there is an eSports event every two months or so. 바카라�Earlier, we had only about four in a year,바카라� says Panth. A few weeks ago, he had been shooting for UCypher, the eSports league backed by one of Indian television바카라�s most recognisable names, Ronnie Screwvala. Come January, UCypher will go on air, on MTV. The teams will bid for professional gamers, who will play for Rs 51 lakh in prize money in the first season. Will this do for eSports what the Pro Kabbadi League did for the humble Indian sport?

This year, the top team at The International Defence of the Ancients-2 (DOTA-2) championships at Seattle took home $10.9 million. DOTA-2 is a 바카라�massively multiplayer바카라� online game that is popular at eSports tournaments along with League of Legends and CS-GO.

Panth feels things could well be heading that way in India too. He has got some sponsors and managed to keep a team going for several years. Although young fans ask him for selfies on the street, he says it is tough to earn a steady income as a professional gamer as the scenario hasn바카라�t been consistent. 바카라�Entries (at tournaments) have increased, but whether gaming can be a career option is still doubtful. We have to wait and watch,바카라� he says. On his live stream, as he is playing, he is also chatting with younger fans smitten by gaming. 바카라�Don바카라�t watch me play. Exams are more important because we don바카라�t yet know the future of gaming in our country,바카라� he advises.

바카라�They don바카라�t know that I am still struggling,바카라� Panth tells Outlook. 바카라�Sometimes I earn Rs 20,000-30,000, sometimes Rs 5,000. In a big tournament, I may earn Rs 1 lakh. But what if I lose?바카라�

Incidentally, this year, the Olympic Council of Asia decided to include eSports as a medal sport for the 2022 Asian Games in China. So can competitive gaming become a television spectacle here as well? 바카라�Can we give it the next platform, that바카라�s what we are asking,바카라� says Supratik Sen, CEO of USports, a comp­any owned by Screwvala. 바카라�It바카라�s in an interestingly poised place globally. Therefore, we put together UCypher.바카라� Their league is designed as an open qualifier system and the first year will have six teams playing CounterStrike, DOTA-2, Tekken and Real Cricket on PC, console and mobile. 바카라�It바카라�s new age entertainment and it바카라�s going to be a new-age sport,바카라� says Sen.

Game on?

By Ajay Sukumaran in Bangalore