Thanks to the rise of multiplayer online games such as PUBG and Fortnite, the term ‘football’ is commonly used recently. China has the biggest export market and India comes in 16th place. Little do people know that the gaming industries are over ten years old and that more developers and investors have just jumped into the industry in India in the past few years.
Many in India are aware of esports as a lucrative career choice, and hardware manufacturers are also making their research and development so that Indian gaming hardware is compatible and affordable.
However, what is esports exactly and how is the Indian gaming industry shaped today? Who is the main player, who can contribute to redefining the concept of gaming in India in this type of gaming? At a panel discussion organized by Intel India, we met several key stakeholders to address some of those questions.
Sports vs Gaming
It is like comparing Apples and Oranges to equate sport to games. These two aspects are different. Sports involve certain skills, a certain amount of preparation and are a professional sport requiring pay and a particular pool of prize money. Gaming is known as a recreational practice, mostly for entertainment purposes. Whilst games are still entertainment, a sports athlete has a lot of hard work and commitment. An exporting player trains and perfects his skills for hours, simultaneously teamwork with teammates, to perfect his movements.
Gaming in India
According to a 2018 report from Forbes India, China holds the world’s largest gaming market. In 2018 the total revenue amounted to $37.9 billion, followed by the US, Japanese and Korean.
India is 16th, producing approx 8,000 crores. According to a Newzoo survey, revenue from North America will hit almost $409 million in the next four years, while revenues from export-oriented games are projected to produce $210.3 million in 2019.
This shows that in the gaming market there is enormous potential and that India has to tap into this field. There were only 25 developers in India in 2010, and that number has now swollen by up to 250.
Role of the Stakeholders
Gaming is not seasonal and therefore operates throughout the year. The smooth functioning of this ecosystem is the responsibility of different industries and stakeholders. In addition to mental exercises and proficiency preparation for gamers, they will require hardware of the right kind to place them on top of each other.
Everyone plays a crucial role in ensuring that emerging players and professionals get a necessary accessory or hardware, from eCommerce platforms like Flipkart to high-end gaming hardware companies like Asus. E-commerce platforms, such as Flipkart and Amazon, ensure customers get their products at a lower cost than offline markets and are available in different parts of India. In terms of affordability and availability. Connectivity is key to the development of the gaming industry and telecom providers work 24 hours a day to not only provide users with cost-effective data planning but also make high-speed data available across India.
Sports as a Career Option
Parents in India may help their child choose a career in sports, such as cricket, hockey, and even soccer, but they’re tired of diving into esports. At present, in India, the infrastructure and environment are not ready to sustain lucrative livelihoods for many skilled gamers. However, the gaming industry can bring several positions if you are looking for them. According to Akshat Rather, it is a risky proposition to choose to be a player in India, because it has little reach.
Gaming as a Career Option
However, in the gaming business, there are other ways to pursue it. You can choose a career in game reviews, you can choose to play and chat about games and they can be a coder, who can write amazing code to create AI for games. Even data controllers are a good way to track latency and data problems and then voice-over artists are the main avenue for experts to find game content for Indian gamers.
Challenges for Gaming in India
In India, not only the community building sector but also the infrastructure is facing a lot of challenges. The Indian game ecosystem isn’t mature at present. Except for Tencent, there is no other major publisher who is locally active in India and that’s just what we lack. Gaming will need academies, like any other sport, to help emerging gaming players improve their skills.
At present, there is no single gaming training academy in India but the head says that in the next two years not less than three will be in place in India. Since the gaming industry in India is about 4 years old, it still has a lot to catch up with nations such as China and North America. 5 G is on the way, but, as rapid Internet is the backbone of the gaming sector, this must be accelerated. These are some of the obstacles facing India’s current export scenario. Many people like gaming as a hobby, but there’s more than that. You can also create your gaming career and make a lot of money from this business. In recent years, the Indian video gaming industry has seen immense growth, making it a serious profession. Gaming is a big competitor in which professionals with a good balance of imagination, fun, and technology are needed. Creativity and enthusiasm are the most critical skills in this area. In this article, a glimpse into the gaming community is mentioned.
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