21/01/2012 Video gamers have a reason to cheer. The Indian gaming market will grow by a whopping 49 percent to reach $830 million by 2012, according to NASSCOM. India will also be the preferred destination for game development and consumption. Considering gaming is fast becoming a popular alternative to films in the entertainment segment, what works in India’s favour is that it has the advantage of a growing young population, said L. Maruti Shankar, Managing Director, 7Seas Entertainment. Currently, the Indian gaming market rakes in 39 percent revenue from console games, 35 percent from mobile games, 15 percent from online games, and 11 percent from PC games. According to Shankar, the penetration of broadband in small towns and villages will add to the growth of the gaming industry. Also, with 800 million mobile users, mobile gaming is a huge avenue. And with informative and mind games making a foray into the market, parents too are not against children gaming. Sports-based games and action games have a 25 percent market share each, while arcade and puzzle games have a 15 percent share. These games based on movies are also growing in popularity and also serve as a promotional tactic ahead of the film's release, he added. While this trend was earlier popular in Hollywood, these days Tollywood too is fast catching on. However, it cannot generate revenue at the moment. According to Shankar, while these can be used for promotional purposes now, with the increase in user base, they can generate revenue in the future. Recent Tollywood films like Sri Rama Rajyam also explored gaming as an avenue. The game replicated the scene of the Ashwamedha Yagam depicted with Lava-Kusa fighting with Lakshmana, Shatrughna, and Bharata. The characters in the game were equipped with different types of arrows like Garuda Astra, Naga Astra, Varuna Astra, and Agni Astra. Although the game is free, the company has increased its user base with the launch of this game. However, gaming meets its nemesis in piracy. Pirated downloads and CD sales are more than the sales of original games. This could be attributed to the high prices of these games. "The price should come down by 50 percent in order to get better revenues and to beat piracy," said Shankar. 7Seas has a 40 percent growth rate each year since its inception. "We are trying to add another 1,000 intellectual property games to our portfolio to become one of the largest players in the casual gaming segment in India," said Shankar. The challenge for the industry is the lack of skill sets. Some private institutes have started specialised courses on gaming recently, but there is a need for specialised courses at the graduate and post-graduate levels. - Press Release