How Smartphones Are Promoting Online Gaming High internet penetration and digital payment practice have also acted as catalysts
By Nidhi Singh
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The popularity of online gaming industry has reached new heights, riding piggybank on ubiquitous smartphones in India.
Mobile gaming is the most user-friendly medium in the online gaming domain. With the industry changing so fast, it would be interesting to note how new technologies change future of gaming.
A report titled, "Online gaming in India: Reaching a new pinnacle' by Google India and KPMG predicted that by 2021the size of the industry would grow to $1 billion from $ 290 million.
The report emphasized that increasing internet penetration would catalyze the growth of digital games. Other factors include rise in the manufacturing of budget smartphones and improved digital payment practices.
However, limited development of local games and paid ones are major challenges in this high-potential industry.
Piyush Kumar, CEO and Founder, Rooter and Madhav Gupta, Co-founder & Partner, Baadshah Gaming, told the Entrepreneur India that the greater use of smartphones has taken the gaming industry to a whole new level.
Gaming Industry Moving Away From Consoles And Pcs
Kumar reasoned, "Our world has shrunk to fit into a smartphone screen, where we virtually live throughout the day. Besides regular communication features, these devices also fulfill a need that has now become basic — entertainment."
The gaming industry is moving away from consoles and PCs/ Macs and is skewed towards mobile phones, following the success of Pokemon Go and other such games in 2016.
"Consumers have spent 25% more on mobile games in 2016, as compared to that in 2015 as per IDC and App Annie report. The data also suggests that while games only constitute 35 per cent of total iOS and Google Play app downloads, but the revenue generation is more than 80 per cent," he said.
"eSports constitute a large part of the gaming industry and with the growth of TV viewership of sports in India, the sports gaming market will expand further," he added.
India Players Now Looking For Added Thrill In Gaming Experience
Gupta said the online gaming industry was poised to grow at a pace much higher than that predicted by the Google and KPMG report.
"One of the major contributing factors to this growth is the availability of cheaper smartphones and lowering of consumable data cost. The emergence of Indian companies has further fuelled the growth with the creation of country-centric content for players," he explained, adding that Indian players have evolved and are now seeking thrill in gaming experience.
He further stated that with easy accessibility to various gaming portals and flexible regulations in the country, the sector is gearing up for a revolution.
The Sector To Benefit From Emerging Technologies
Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director, South Asia, Nvidia said unprecedented spread of Net connectivity, access to data at cheap rates and greater use of mobile phones have the business grow at such a fast pace.
"AI is developing fast, and its core functions of computing, sensing and cognition will be used to improve the gaming experience. The gaming industry will draw from AI, Big Data, cloud service and other emerging technologies and use animation, literature, movie and live broadcasting to generate disruptive content. Game developers are expected to increase investment in research and development to improve quality and spend less time in chasing trends," he explained.
