Date:14/10/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/10/14/stories/2005101402230400.htm

Back Telecom cos set to cash in on gaming

Nithya Subramanian

New Delhi , Oct. 13

AFTER ringtones, cool wallpapers and MMS, mobile gaming seems to be the next big business with telecom service providers claiming that the demand for such games is on the rise.

According to market research by In-Stat/MDR, the Indian mobile gaming market has the potential to generate annual revenues of about $336 million by 2009. It contributes about five per cent to the global wireless market. Last year, the estimated revenue from business stood at about $26 million.

Airtel, for instance, has claimed that it is witnessing a 500 per cent increase in daily downloads for its value-added services, even as the exact number of downloads of mobile games could not be ascertained.

Normally, games based on Hollywood and Bollywood themes, cricket and other sports are popular. So while Hutch offers Spiderman, Rahul XI, Karpov Chess and Rubik Cubes to just name a few, Airtel has Batman Begins, Master Blaster Sachin, KBC-2 besides puzzles and games such as Sudoku.

Mr Rajesh Rao, CEO, Dhruva Interactive, a company which not only provides gaming services but also develops gaming products, said: "A mobile revolution is happening in India and one in three phones is gaming-enabled." He said that India, with over 60 million mobile phones, provides a huge market for mobile gaming. Currently, there are about one lakh active game consumers, downloading at the rate of one game a month.

The company is credited for creating internationally popular games such as Maria Sharapova Tennis and Phil Tylor Darts. These two were among the top five games on the Vodafone charts. "In India, service providers such as Airtel and Hutch have started offering these games. As a company, we want to provide high quality games for the mass market," Mr Rao said.

Normally companies such as Dhruva enter into a revenue sharing arrangement with telecom service providers. The cost per download varies from game to game, but the range is typically between Rs 50 and Rs 99. However, some exclusive games such as Spiderman offered by Hutch could cost as much as Rs 150 per download. These are much higher than ringtones or wallpapers that can be got for about Rs 10 per download.

"The revenues from gaming could be much higher than ringtones in the long run. While ringtones thrive on volumes, games are designed to have a larger shelf-life," Mr Rao added. Besides the youth, gaming is catching on with people of all age groups. The aim is to attract not only avid, hardcore gamers but also a lot of casual gamers who are looking to spend some time playing games while travelling or waiting for friends, he said.