THE FOOTPRINT OF GAMING ON INDIAN ECONOMY

“Gaming brings people together“

~Lisa Su

Online gaming has gained a strong foothold within the Indian entertainment industry. With a projected user base of more than 628 million gamers, this gives a whole new boost to the gaming ecosystem within the Indian economy. Gamers of all ages, game creators and designers, investors and advertisers are all working together to develop the new cutting-edge games, ideas and deals for players in this ecosystem. All this interest and potential makes India amongst emerging global economies, one of the top gaming markets.

Gaming brings people together

~Lisa Su

What is online game?

The term ‘Online Gaming’ has multiple interpretations today, as internet and network platforms

facilitate procurement or game-play of almost all games. Online gaming is defined based on:

Channels used to procure or access the game
Device used to play and
Mode of game-play

Online games are procured or accessed through online platforms and involve the direct game-play experience or monetisation of the internet. All genres are used in online games and can be played in solo, multiplayer and massively multiplayer modes.

Understanding the Indian gamers:

An average Indian online gamer

-is a below 24-year male

-is introduced to online gaming through their friends, family, peer group and social media

-is engaged in gaming for stress relief and social interaction

A heavy gamer engages in gaming over a wide range of genres. Casual gamer(s) spend similar time across gaming, social networking and online multimedia. Here are some of the insights:

Usually, Indian gamers do not pay huge sums for online games. Online gaming average spending accounts for 11% of the overall entertainment wallet and one-third of the online entertainment wallet (including online video and TV, online music and online gaming) for online gamers. The mind share, represented by the time spent on gaming, also has a similar share i.e. 15 per cent of total time spent on the smartphone per day.

Heavy Gamers vs. Casual Gamers

Distribution by age groups:

Distribution by gender :

Device preference:

Impact on Economy

The online gaming segment is pegged at $1.1 billion by this year. India comes among the top five mobile gaming markets in the world and is said to 300 million gamers in FY 19. And in the post- Covid-19 times, the online gaming market in India is witnessing a skyrocketing increase in user engagement.

It is evident that foreign companies have taken note of the growth and user base of the Indian gaming market and are looking to invest in these new opportunities, such as:

-Tencent, Steadview Capital, Kalaari Capital, Think Investments and Multiples Equity which have all invested in the unicorn company Dream11

Effect of CoVID-19:

In this pandemic hit era, people mostly spend time indoors; some turn to gaming platforms to kill their boredom. These sites are drawing online traffic from hundreds of thousands of new visitors. Many land-based casinos have switched to online platforms and discounts and bundle offers are being promoted online by gaming companies and online gaming stores to encourage people to play video games. Poker tournaments are also being held more often. Also, with the bans of several Chinese app games, the homegrown gaming startups & startups seems to have bright future.

Flipside of Gaming:

In view of these trends, the importance for self-regulation within this Industry cannot be emphasized enough especially when it comes to responsible gaming which is still a new concept in India. Further regulation would help with pushing gaming companies to educate players about gaming responsibly via the information on identifying gaming addiction and how to manage it, implementing self-checks, timeouts and even limits upon their accounts.

WHO has identified the following ill-effects of gaming:

-Behavioural and mental changes

-Lack of other hobbies and poor academic performance Lethargic nature, which will also lead to weight gain

-Gaming addiction can slow down brain growth

-Gaming addiction negatively affects eyesight and also results in Insomnia

Conclusion:

The gaming industry does seem to have a bright future in India and contributing to our economy. So for an industry growing at such pace needs proper regulations in place along with creating awareness of the concerns of gaming in our society.