There was a time when gaming was limited to personal computers (PCs), the privileged, and the school and college audience. Its noted prominence was the ability to bind like minded people cross-culturally and capture social trends.
Today gaming is mobile, mass-oriented, and honestly, has no age limit. It continues to capture social trends but in doing so is also continuously pushing the envelope to innovate, introduce new technologies and honestly become the new frontier for digital.
Gaming is a new avant of entertainment, an entire ecosystem that has become a part of mainstream economic growth and will only continue to grow in its scope. This new currency of communication carries its own revenue opportunities for the player, creator, and publisher.
What started in the pandemic as a bubble, has now evolved to become one of the fastest-growing industries across the globe. As digital penetration continues to grow and gamification becomes the norm, the industry will continue to see growth not only in traditional forms but also through innovations in apps, e-sports, and in-game formats.
Today the largest market opportunity for brands lies in capturing the untapped audiences of Bharat. Bharat is extensive in its geographical reach but digital has made it a reality for brands to reach this audience set and build a bridge to tap into the economic opportunity. Rapid penetration and affordability of smartphones, along with cheap mobile data, have led to mobile phones being the most preferred gaming device. In the struggle to target the over-exhausted target group of audience, gaming comes out as a clear winner with an engaged audience set that is able and willing to spend/ purchase via apps.
Based on recent evaluations, the mobile game market of India accounted for $ 2.2 billion in 2020. With a CAGR of 30 percent which is expected to reach $ 7 billion. The online gaming industry, in India, is one of the fastest-growing segments thanks to the breakthroughs in mobile technologies that are now available on smartphones and affordable data plans.
The willingness of the consumer to spend while playing a mobile game is indeed a lesson for brands on how to expand their media plans to include gaming labels as a medium to capture and grow their user base and revenues. Adding to this, the inclusion of online gaming as an official sport for medal events at Asia’s biggest stage, the Asian Games 2022, is an opportunity that increases India’s gaming industry to come out on top.
The All India Gaming Federation, said, “The online gaming industry is growing at an impressive CAGR of 25 percent - 30 percent and holds significant potential for overall economic growth, job creation, and contribution to the government's vision of a trillion-dollar digital economy by 2025.”
The new digital shelf for commerce will be the ecosystem propelled by gaming. Paid gamers are forecasted to reach ~240 Mn (3x) in the next 5 years. Consumers will make purchases in-game not just for the real world but also for their virtual avatars and world versions as well. The marriage between the offline and online life of the consumer will make it necessary for brands to identify their gaming lever and utilize it to capture revenue.
(Siddharth Puri is Founder, Smile Internet and, CEO Tyroo-adtech platform. Views are personal)
