Blog

India at present has 462 million internet users surpassing the United States in terms of the number of internet users and is now trailing only to China’s mammoth 731 million users. It is expected that there will be about 600 million internet users in India by 2020, according to a report by Assocham-Deloitte. Internet penetration has been growing at a rate of 10% per year and is expected to grow at a higher rate in the forthcoming years. Despite this growth rate, only 22 % of the Indian market is penetrated, leaving a lot of ground to cover. It is expected that this numbers would rise to 50% at the end of the year as the government is aiming to move towards a cashless economy.

As the masses are smitten by the technological advancements and social network, there is scope for huge growth, particularly on mobile. As of 2016, India had an estimate of 262 million mobile internet users living in urban communities, and 109 million living in rural areas. Mobile devices account for 79 percent of web traffic in India compared to 50% globally.  Mobile internet usage is expected to grow since smartphones are available for a lesser cost when compared to other countries. At $158 per unit, India has the lowest average smartphone cost. According to a report, the smartphone market will grow at a CAGR of 23% in India through 2018 and would account for 30% of the global growth during the period.

Indians are spending 8 hours a day on the internet on average, which is more than the 6.15 hours, the Chinese spend. Facebook is the most popular social networking site in the country. Facebook had 165 million monthly active users in India, largest in the world after the US. With the free data by Reliance Jio, the numbers skyrocketed as it the facebook logins surged by a staggering 467%.

However, the average broadband speed in India is at a dismal 4.1 Mbps compared to global average of 6.3 Mbps. So, India has a huge burden on her shoulders to increase its broadband speed to catch up to the global standards. Only a fast broadband connection would enable our users to venture into highbrow research and create any meaningful impact.

Indian gaming industry

Indian gaming industry is currently valued at $890 million and is expected to grow at double digits. In 2016, India accounted for 0.55% of the global gaming industry and is expected to grow because of the internet penetration and increasing game preferences by the young internet users,

In Q2 2016, India ranked fifth globally by game downloads at 1.6 billion and expected to reach 5.3 billion in 2020. It is expected to surpass both Russia and Brazil in the coming years.

Google Play is generating 13 times more downloads compared to iOS which is understandable as the penetration of iPhone in India is very less compared to android based phones. In Q2 2016, over 300 million games were downloaded on iOS and Google Play combined in India.

The gaming industry currently has 250 game developers and is forecasted to increase in the near future as the demand for online games is ever increasing.

There has been an increase in demand of Indian made games. Just like the film industry which is always dominated by Indian content, games made in India are slowly capturing the attention of Indian consumer. The success stories of several online based games like Online Rummy Games, Online Poker are some examples of Indian gamers’ preferences.

These stats clearly indicate that the growth of Indian gaming industry is going to skyrocket in the upcoming years as there are more areas to explore according to experts. The reason behind this increase is due to many factors listed below;

Free Downloads

Many interesting games available to play in Playstore and App store come free. You don’t have to pay a penny for downloading the game from the Playstore or Appstore.  Games such as Temple Run, Subway surfers, angry birds and the latest Super Mario Run were a major hit in India because of free Downloads. Also, the other interesting factor to note is that these games live up to the expectations of people with its invigorating game play. Many of these games could even be played offline and your progress levels will be counted once you go online.

Zero Monetisation

The major reason for Indian gaming industry for becoming a strong Global market leader in terms of Downloads and revenues is that we haven’t started focusing on in-app purchasing, in-app advertising, incentive advertising, and subscription service. Indian games such as Gully Cricket, Real Cricket 16, Best bus 3D gaming are a few games which were built with no in-app features but still made their mark being popular downloads among Indian game lovers. The demonetisation of high-value currency notes and the push for a cashless economy is expected to improve the fortunes of Indian gaming industry in the near future.

Numerous offers from Internet Service providers

Internet service provider companies are already boosting their majority of revenues in the mobility division of their companies by attracting the customers with multiple Internet package offers. As we already know Jio, a MukeshAmbani Enterprise in Telecommunications have already become a strong competitor to all the other Companies in this sector by having introduced the unlimited Usage offer till March 31st in voice and data streams for all their customers. Similarly, all companies have been competing strongly in providing the best offers in data Usage to increase their customer base.

2016 would be remembered as the milestone year for the mobile gaming industry. This year, the mobile gaming industry expanded its market size and witnessed a rapid surge in the number of customers. It is projected that mobile gaming industry is going to earn $40 billion USD in the forthcoming year. IHS Markit predicts that consumer spending on games worldwide would break the $100bn mark in 2017 ie at a stupendous growth rate of 6%. It is not uncommon to see youngsters clinging on to their mobile phones playing games continuously for hours together. Mobile games have become an indispensable part of the gaming industry and there is a common consensus that mobile games would eventually beat the console based games in the near future. At this juncture, it is critical we examine the prevalent trends of mobile gaming and the impact it is creating. So, we’ve listed out a few trends that we deem are going to shape the future of the mobile gaming industry:

Increase in the number of mobile games

The mobile game industry is rapidly evolving when compared to the PC gaming industry or Console Gaming industry due to various factors. The most important factor, however, is that it is easily available to download in the Play store and Appstore. There is a good chance that even a customary visit to the google play store will help you find an attractive game that is creating a buzz in the mobile gaming world. So, it comes as no surprise to see millions of game developed exclusively for mobiles. One of the major assets for the mobile games is that the games are compatible with all the mobile devices. Also, the makers of the game are conscious that data usage will be a factor that can impede its popularity so they make their games playable even in offline modes. However, there shouldn’t be any doubt that an Internet connection would make the game play more exciting because of the competitive nature of some games. Also, some games would require you to play in collaboration with multiple players, so an internet connection is mandatory in such cases. There are also exciting leaderboard contests in most of the games so only by playing with an internet connection you would be able to participate in it. The other important aspect contributing to the popularity of mobile games is that the bugs are fixed instantly when reported, unlike console games where bugs will destroy the credibility of the game developer. There is a wide range of games available for the players to choose – From action, adventure games to strategy and no-brainer games. We can authoritatively state that this is the year where the era of mobile games has officially begun.

Cloud Gaming Features

Cloud gaming features is an incredible technological advancement that has skyrocketed the mobile gaming Industry. Cloud gaming is similar to that of cloud services in the computing world. This feature enables your game to be played even in Offline where your offline progress will be saved to the gaming server once you reconnect.  Games such as Candy crush, Angry Birds, Subway surfer and Temple Run are some of the games following this technology. The fact these games enjoy immense popularity right now is because of its offline compatibility. Cloud gaming concept has arrived big time and here is to stay!

Immersive Gaming (Virtual Reality)

Virtual reality is a concept of being present physically in a nonphysical (aka virtual) environment. This virtual reality is considered as the next-big-thing in the gaming industry as it stimulates the innate emotions and feelings inside the user as if he is playing in a real environment. Virtual reality is still in its nascent stages, and makers are only just getting to grips with it. However, there are some exciting VR-based games like Anshar Wars2, Hunters Gate available now that can be enjoyed provided you have a Virtual Reality Headset (colloquially referred as a compact system). VR is an up-and-coming platform which is projected to replace many existing formats of gaming. However, the heartening fact is that the prizes of VR headsets are coming down drastically thus offering even lurkers a chance to buy.

Stress Buster Games

There are many moments in our lives where we wish to take a break from our stress filled work, don’t we? One of the best ways to beat fatigue and stress at work is to engage yourself in an activity that could divert your thoughts and cheer you up. Mobile games have been very helpful when it comes to beating stress. Games such as Temple Run, Angry Birds, Traffic Rider, Candy Crush are some of the popular games that can be brought under the category of stress buster games. These games enjoy a massive popularity among the consumers as these games do not involve any strategy or tactics for playing. Most importantly, these games help us to relieve from the stresses of the outside world and soothes our nerves. These games with their captivating design and feature capture our focus and keep us glued for a long period of time.

Licensed Intellectual Property for games

Licensed IP’s is a process holding the Intellectual property rights of your game and gaming idea behind it. IP’s help you to get complete control over your idea and prevent others from Duplicating or copying. This Licensed IP’s help you to boost your brand identity and substantially increase your revenue and rankings for your game among the consumers. As there is a surge in the number of games with similar theme getting Intellectual Property rights issues are becoming more important than ever. One must remember that getting licensed IP would require deep pockets. Many Indie game developers have recently jumped on this IP bandwagon to avoid conflict and started getting Licensed IP for the games. Building a game and creating a niche is no easy task, a licensed IP with a gaming company bulwark’s backing would become the norm going forward. Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, Walking Dead: Road to Survival and Marvel Contest of Champions are the most successful Licensed ip games in the mobile industry for the year 2016.