Game on

Last week I went to Ameerpet, a suburb in Hyderabad. There on a massive construction, on the top floor I saw a billboard. It was big and covering the whole story. It was of 'Zapak.com'. It was clear that the gaming portal owned the place. I got curious. I pondered. Why would a gaming portal need to own a place so big. Was it Zapak's office? But why have an office in a downtown residential place. I entered the building. To my amazement it was Gaming Café. Being an ardent gamer myself, the placed looked like heaven to me. I came back and thought, I need to check this out.

ADA Group's online gaming venture Zapak Digital Entertainment is planning to increase its offerings and open gaming cafes in the country. Rohit Sharma, COO, Zapak Digital Entertainment, has said that by March 2008, 250 cafes may come up in 35 cities. Alredy eight such cafes are up and running in major metros of the country. These online gaming portals are reaching its audience. So the buzz all about? And what's the hurry? To answer this question we will peak into the booming gaming industry. By the way this so called industry has not got the 'industry status' yet and the big player are confused whom should they approach. The IT and Telecom? or the Sports ministry to get tax benefits. Yeah, you read it right... tax benefits for the gamers! So if next time while playing a game on your mobile, u thought its just a pass time, hold on it could become a career! Some gamers spend about 6 to 12 hours a day in gaming. So what are the opportunities for a pro gamer

Job profile : Play computer games at tournaments for prize money

Functions: Strategy, Arcade, Adventure, Sports, and other types of computer games

Preferred education: None--it's enough to play computer games with passion. Those who want to develop computer games can now get degrees in game design and theory.

Certification & licensing: None

Getting ahead: Determination, talent, and great computer skills

Skills & knowledge: Hand/eye coordination, speed, concentration, competitiveness, teamwork, ability to strategize

Where they work: At the top levels, most computer game players play on teams or clans

Job outlook: Highly competitive

Earnings: Top players earn six figure salaries

The industry is still in a very nascent stage. It accounted for only 21 crores in 2007 but this is growing at a very fast rate. By 2010, India's online gaming market will exceed $200 million. Companies like Reliance and Sify were the first entrants into the gaming café segment. About 50% of the gamers come from the 4 metros. The major revenue comes from three sources,

• Advertising
• Games developed for brand promotion.
• Brand/logo placement inside an existing game. E.g. Honda logo in a racing game
• On-Site advertising: Banner ads on gaming sites and gaming pages of portals

• Subscriptions
• Organised Cyber Café
• Revenue accruing to Reliance & Sify from online gaming activities at Web Worlds & Game Dromes.

There are some obstacles ahead. Firstly there seems to an anti-gaming culture in India. Secondly there is infrastructure issues like poor broadband penetrations. Lastly the game development is not considered as a serious career option in India.

Download: IMRB report on Indian gaming industry