To all the nay-sayers who think there ain’t no way the gaming situation here can ever improve on our home turf, well, you may be right! But one thing’s for sure, it can only continue growing and that’s largely thanks to the efforts of companies like Microsoft and Sony. According to Rajesh Jain (Executive Director of KPMG), “The main drivers for the growth of the gaming industry in India would be seeding initiatives by the players, marketing, and pricing of the games – which is an important aspect in India.” Currently India’s gaming industry is worth about $30 million right now, and that’s even including the grey market.

Jain further adds, “At the end of the day, the prices at which the games are brought is important” but also mentions that it’s not the “cost of the box” which matters, but the “cost of recurring games.” We already know Microsoft has been doing a heck of a lot of work to drive their message (with booze, no less); and thanks to the 54% decrease of the import duty imposed on game titles, you can expect to find products quite comparable or even a bit cheaper than what you would you normally find in other countries (although currently, this mostly applies to those published by Microsoft Games Studio). Even for games that haven’t even been released yet, Microsoft will sell them for approximately Rs. 1,895. Same goes for recently released PC games: you’ll find S.T.A.L.K.E.R and BioShock for less than Rs. 700. Quite the admission price!

Source: MetroNow (Click below to read what other companies had to say)

The response to the Xbox has been phenomenal… absolute demand has exceeded our expectations and plans… I have more than 1,000 retail touch points across the top seven cities. We are everywhere – Mohit Anand / Microsoft India

This kind of organised marketing thrust was missing when the first Xbox was launched… It has gone from being a product for a cult group to a lifestyle product. – Anand Gurnani / AnimationExpress.com

What is needed is localised content and games designed for the Indian market – Tony Garcia / CEO of FX Labs

Indian consumers might catch everyone unaware by bridging the gaming gap with the developed markets more quickly than anyone could have imagined – Tanisha Kaul / Sony India

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• TS Says:
  Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 03:34 pm GMT +5.5 at 3:34 pm

  With companies like Gameshastra, FX Labs (which is already shut) and DQ (already shut) screwing around with employees and clients alike, I dont think we will have a future for Gaming in India. Ateast not making it. We will merely be consumers and a big one. SONY’s biggest mistake is betting on Gameshastra and Aurona (this is still better) to deliver good content. Which is not going to happen!