Amidst all the talk about the growth rate of Industrial production and factor fear for industries like IT and Steel, we very rarely hear about an industry very less known in India. I would go as far as to say that compared to markets like US and Japan, it is non-existent in India. Capcom, Blizzard, Eidos, EA Sports and Bungie are some of the best known names in the Industry but their relevance in India seems to be hanging on by a thread and that too because of a minority gamers.I am talking about the Video Game Industry in India. As per a gaming survey done by DFC Intelligence, a market research firm, the industry is worth more than US$ 30 Billion worldwide. It is a 9.5 Billion industry in US alone. In India the industry is worth just $30 million but is expected to grow to $700 million by 2011. Worldwide, the industry is growing by more than 17% annually and US and Japan are its stronghold. The industry has pioneered the development of Sound Cards, Graphic Cards and 3D Accelerators. Former chairman of Nintendo, Hiroshi Yamauchi is Japan’s richest man. Japan is also one of the world’s largest markets for video games
Now let’s look at some interesting facts about the industry:
1. By 2011 the Video Game Industry will be worth 44 billion
2. Just the top 10 games for Playstation 2 alone have sold more than 80.65 million copies
3. Playstation 2 when being sold at its peak accounted for 4 out of every 10 consoles sold
4. Halo 3 and Resident Evil Series are one of the best rated games ever. Halo 3 sold more than 130 million copies on its first day of launch and grossed more than US$ 300 million in its first week of sales. Resident Evil Series sold more than 18.39 million copies despite graphics that are not even close to the likes of Final Fantasy
5. The average age of a gamer worldwide is between 32-35 years
The biggest concern for the gaming industry in India is piracy. A $20 game is sold for less than $3 in the country. Places like Palika Bazaar in Delhi and Fancy Market in Kolkata do a killing in pirated game sales thanks to mod-chips that enable pirated games to be played on consoles.
3 comments:
Another reason of India not doing good in the gaming sector is because ours is still a first generation computer user country. On the otherhand, in US & Japan most of the computer users are 2nd or 3rd generation users. The relevance to this fact is that most people play these games on laptops or computers like you and me. So, it helps the Video Game Industry which is doing better in those countries.
gaming is still in its naescent stage in the country. In fact most of the games launched in India are delayed and first launched in US and Japan.
these are the luxury industries and are bound to do well in economies where there the standard of living is good...India's per capita income has started to rise only now...so this will help in propelling industries of thisnature
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