Rajesh Rao

With players like EA, Microsoft Xbox and Sony Playstation in the Indian market, one could definitely expect big things from Indian game developers in the time to come.

At ABAI this year, the discussion by Rajesh Rao of Dhruva Interactive and Alok Kejriwal of Games2Win on 'Gaming Trend: East vs West' highlighted the current opportunities and emerging trends in the gaming industry in India.

Taking the first strike, Rajesh began with his presentation focusing on the types of the games which include: console games (Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, etc), PC games, mobile games and casual games. Said Rajesh, "The console gaming market is comparatively big worldwide. The next vertical of gaming which is growing at the fast pace is the casual gaming section."

Alok Kejriwal

Using statistics, Rao explained that revenues of gaming industry worldwide have been more than that of the film industry. "The revenue of film industry was USD 1.5 billion in 2005, whereas the gaming industry revenue was USD 28 billion. In the year 2010, it is expected that the film industry will generate revenue of USD 10 billion and the gaming industry, USD 43 billion."

ADVERTISEMENT "Program from the Industry" in "GAME ART" AAG has a tie up with Lakshya Digital, Which makes Students eligible for consideration for employment in Lakshya Digital Contact Us: 0120-4231 611, +91 9999031107 www.aag.co.in

Talking about the production cycle of a game, Rajesh explained the budget, time and manpower used in developing a gaming across different platforms. Console games take 18 to 24 months, with a team of 40 to 150 artists whereas a casual game is developed in 6 to 12 months with 6 to 20 people and a budget of USD 50K to 600K. In case of mobile games, a game is developed in 6 to 9 months with 5 to 20 artists and a budget of USD 50K to 300K.

"The emerging trend in the gaming sector is MMOG which is already a rage in Korea and China. Casual gaming is growing because it targets all age groups and is liked by kids and grown-ups as well."

Taking the discussion forward, Alok explained the entrepreneurial side of the gaming business. He emphasised that apart the animation business, gaming is another sector which is growing at a fast pace and one should venture into this business also.

Talking about some of his company's games, Alok said, "Games like Bombay Taxi, Make me up and The Great Indian marriage are some of the games liked not only by Indians but also by gamers in other countries. Rather, India plays a very small role in getting traffic to our site, with a figure of 8 per cent."

He concluded by saying, "Casual games are fun but serious business with low investment, high returns and low risk involved. In the time to come, it is expected to grow in a big way, with a number of people getting into the business."