Having been ranked as one of the top five in the world, as far as the growth of mobile gaming is concerned, it should not come as a surprise if India grabs the first position soon in the leaderboard. As per an article published in The Hindu, there are already some indications which seem to be suggesting that India will soon be a $1.1 billion worth mobile gaming market by 2021 with over 628 million users. The esports market has taken a giant leap as the game developers are cashing in with every available opportunity to come up with something new to impress the online gamers. Now, let us see the factors responsible for the surge in digital gaming and how it is going to rock the future generation for centuries.
Increase in the usage of smartphones:
The smart phones nowadays are so well modelled and advanced that they are vested with every possible facility to work as efficiently as or perhaps even better than the computers. Therefore, the game developers are able to come up with any sorts of graphics and formats with the smart phones known to be technologically quite strong to accommodate them. So, it has become easy for the public to gain access to various types of games as most of them are no strangers to smart phones. As per an article published by Forbes, by the end of current year, it is projected that there will be as many as 530 million smartphone users in India. No wonder, why the game developers are able to build their business by many folds by capitalising on the usage of smartphones.
The ever-increasing charm of eSports:
The digital gaming owes its success in the recent past to the popularity of esports too. Barring football, if there is any other sport which has turned global and is played in every continent, then it has to be esports. The situation is no different in India too. Like traditional sports, esports have also organised competitions that are played between professional players through video games. Sensing the enthusiasm, a mobile game publishing company called Nazara technologies has acquired 55 percent stake in a gaming solution company called Nodwin gaming with an intention to invest $20 million for the development of esports in the next five years (Source: Forbes). In Fact, they have an ambitious desire to boost and make esports as spectator sports in India by creating local leagues etc., as has been revealed by Manish Agarwal, CEO of Nazara. As a matter of fact, an esports startup called eGamers Arena, partnering with World Cyber Arena is going to host qualifiers in India to be selected for a championship to be held in China. Such tournaments and leagues are already happening on internet in Online Rummy, Poker, Chess etc.
Machine learning and Artificial intelligence:
The machine learning, a by-product of Artificial intelligence is another reason for the growth of digital gaming industry in India. It is nothing but empowering the computer itself to organise and correct the game controls and present the output in a better manner based on the collection of the trend and past data without needing to be humanly programmed. This artificial intelligence bestows the users with all possible comforts giving them the best gaming experience. AI helps developers to come up with new varieties of games very quickly, aided by proper algorithms. The artificial intelligence has sensationally mobilised the virtual gaming world, driving many people crazy towards it. Knowing the potency of AI in gaming industry, a few engineering dropouts formed a company called Absentia and developed a mechanism called Norah.ai for quick creation of all game elements providing the game developers with more options.
New additions and experiments in online gaming:
With games like Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, Angry birds, Farmville already becoming household names for years now, the game developers keep succeeding in enhancing the popularity of digital gaming by adding new games and experimenting with them. Like for example, as soon as Bahubali became a biggest blockbuster hit in India, in came the game in its name with all the iconic characters of the movie. There is a game called WWE which brings to us all the superstars whom we have enjoyed seeing in the ring. Even the games like Rummy which were used to be played widely in India during functions, gatherings, etc., by family and friends have been developed online by the gamers which resulted in numerous websites offering a chance to play this game 24×7, educating us in detail through their how to play Rummy tutorials. Likewise, the game developers leave no stone unturned in keeping us engrossed and enthralled by adding fresh additions to the gaming world.
Conclusion
The giant leap that the digital games have taken, can’t be attributed to any one reason, but a combination of all the above factors and perhaps a lot more. Indians love games and their preference is tilted towards local content, smooth interface and smart game choices. With more and more companies making their game multilingual and putting their app out there, the gaming industry is all set to take the world by storm.