In India's growing gaming world, localisation is the new joystick. While 13-year-old Sriram loves Tinkle comics' popular characters Suppandi and Shikari Shambu, he would rather play with them online rather read the book – a clear pointer that local gaming is here to stay. The change is being fuelled by huge growth numbers – India's gaming industry is set to grow from Rs 4 billion in 2007 to a projected Rs 14 billion in 2011. "Games like NBA, FIFA and Rally that used to dominate the Indian gaming industry till about two years ago are being swept aside by India-flavoured games.
From console to mobile phones, games that involve characters like Shikari Shambu, Kaaliya the crow, Yuvraj Singh and Kabbadi are an instant hit" , said Priyanka Ganguly, a game tester with Tinkle Online. The change is across all gaming mediums: in July this year, Reliance Entertainment owned Jump Games had launched a mobile game based on the multi-starrer Hindi flick Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Console gaming major Sony PlayStation India, on the other hand, has teamed up with Amar Chitra Katha to launch Cart Kings -- a racing game where some of the age-old Tinkle characters would travel through some of popular tourist spots in India.
More than a year back, Zynga, developer of the very-popular Farmville, Cityville and Mafia Wars, opened its first India office in Bangalore. The recent report on India's entertainment industry, jointly authored by corporate lobby FICCI and consultancy major KPMG, says the growth of the Indian console gaming market (at Rs 4.9 billion in 2010) is happening mainly on the back of localised content. "Over the next two years, the console gaming industry would have an overwhelming number of games based on localised content," says Atindriya Bose, country manager for Sony PlayStation India.
"This is a new trend. In two years, this market will grow faster with the arrival of games based on local stories" , he said adding that Sony is looking forward to the launch of the RaOne game, a console game based on the Shah Rukh Khan starrer RaOne that is slated for a Diwali release. Anshu Mor, head of Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft , says entering the Indian market has been a challenging experience for the Xbox team. "There are several perception issues in India" , he said. "Many consider gaming as just an entertainment. They fail to understand that there is huge business around this" .
From console to mobile phones, games that involve characters like Shikari Shambu, Kaaliya the crow, Yuvraj Singh and Kabbadi are an instant hit" , said Priyanka Ganguly, a game tester with Tinkle Online. The change is across all gaming mediums: in July this year, Reliance Entertainment owned Jump Games had launched a mobile game based on the multi-starrer Hindi flick Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Console gaming major Sony PlayStation India, on the other hand, has teamed up with Amar Chitra Katha to launch Cart Kings -- a racing game where some of the age-old Tinkle characters would travel through some of popular tourist spots in India.
More than a year back, Zynga, developer of the very-popular Farmville, Cityville and Mafia Wars, opened its first India office in Bangalore. The recent report on India's entertainment industry, jointly authored by corporate lobby FICCI and consultancy major KPMG, says the growth of the Indian console gaming market (at Rs 4.9 billion in 2010) is happening mainly on the back of localised content. "Over the next two years, the console gaming industry would have an overwhelming number of games based on localised content," says Atindriya Bose, country manager for Sony PlayStation India.
"This is a new trend. In two years, this market will grow faster with the arrival of games based on local stories" , he said adding that Sony is looking forward to the launch of the RaOne game, a console game based on the Shah Rukh Khan starrer RaOne that is slated for a Diwali release. Anshu Mor, head of Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft , says entering the Indian market has been a challenging experience for the Xbox team. "There are several perception issues in India" , he said. "Many consider gaming as just an entertainment. They fail to understand that there is huge business around this" .
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