 | Jayant
Sharma |
The last
ten years have been quite challenging for the Indian video gaming industry. The
market was initially dominated by PC gaming and consoles had extremely low penetration.
This was primarily due to the high price point for both hardware and game software. That
equation has however changed in the last two years. A number of factors have contributed
to this - console prices have come to affordable levels, cost of software has
come down substantially and releases are now day and date with their European
launch. Additionally, the rapidly
increasing footprint of modern retail has led to heightened consumer awareness
for the category. The growth of retail chains coupled with innovative marketing
strategies has geared up the growth of the console gaming segment. This is further
supported by other positive influences like lifestyle and tech portals, blogs,
forums and magazines. Challenges
- pricing and retail
As of today pricing and piracy of software is still
a big barrier towards growth. Console hardware and software have high import duty
and taxes (ranging up to 50%). The heavy taxes and duties coupled with low volumes
leads to higher price levels that could otherwise be far more competitive. In comparison, the
pirated content is available at Rs50 - 150 a title as this is stolen content on
which no taxes are paid. Piracy has several adverse effects for the industry as
a whole, not only is piracy a loss of revenue for publishers and distributors
but is a prohibiting factor for new entrants too. In
general, Indian consumers are spoilt by the low cost of entertainment content.
Music costs no more than Rs50- 350, home video around Rs150-750, theatrical around
Rs150-250. Gaming thus becomes an expensive entertainment option as compared to
other forms of home entertainment. However, it is important that consumers acknowledge
the value proposition offered by games - if one were to take to account the 40-50
hours of entertainment offered by games vis-à-vis home video or music.
Additionally, there is lack of dedicated
game retail stores, coupled with the shortage of dedicated floor space for gaming
in the large format retail stores. Hence the contemporary retail should improve
their infrastructure to meet aspiration of the gaming sector.
The
Milestone story so far
As a leader in PC and Console software and hardware
distribution, Milestone has been in the industry for over a decade. We represent
leading global publishers- Sony Computer Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Capcom,
Atari, Empire Interactive and NovaLogic. Milestone provides distribution, logistic,
marketing, public relations and trade relations solutions to our partners.The
company is essentially responsible for marketing and distribution of the entire
range of PlayStation hardware and peripheral products in India as well as Sony
Computer Entertainment's software portfolio. Each
of the PlayStation consoles - PS2, PS3 and PSP have a unique positioning within
the consumer psyche and therefore require distinct marketing strategies. At the
moment, the PlayStation2 is witnessing a huge spike in its sales followed by the
PlayStation Portable. PlayStation 2 sales have been growing steadily month on
month and this should continue for sometime due to retail channel expansion, pricing
and the fact that it is an entry level console. Milestone
also represents Electronic Arts (EA); for their PlayStation format games in India.
Be it the smash hit FIFA, Need for Speed and Cricket franchises
on the PSP and PlayStation 2 or genre defining titles like Mirror's Edge and
Dead Space on next-gen platforms, EA has always been the front-runner in
the Indian market place and commands the largest market share in the packaged
goods gaming space. As a strategic
positioning for Milestone, we are broad-basing our product offering to cover the
entire spectrum of console and PC Games and will aggressively forge relationships
with leading third party publishers with a strong multi-platform product portfolio.
In this direction, our recent distribution
relationship with Capcom - makers of critically and commercially acclaimed franchises
such as Devil May Cry and the popular Resident Evil series across
PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC platforms, further cements our market
leading status in the Indian gaming space. Outlook
In
spite of all the challenges, the next year looks extremely exciting for gaming
in India. With new publishers entering the market and the existing ones ramping
up marketing support, we will see the industry grow exponentially and should continue
to track high two digit growth for the next 3-5 years. The
groundwork for getting consoles and games to consumers has just begun - With retail
expansion, wider distribution, marketing support, right pricing and increase in
the availability of legitimate games; gaming will emerge as a key home entertainment
consumption category for the huge youth population in India.
connect@animationxpress.com | 
