Saturday, September 4, 2010

Markathon April-May 2010




Dear Readers,

The media is abuzz with the just released 3G auction results. Service providers must be praying hard and keeping their fingers crossed hoping that the massive investments they have made are justified and they reap commensurate profits. At the same time customers’ are expecting new & innovative services which would give them more value and make the whole experience much more “fun”. The Value Added Services market is pegged at $45 billion and with the entry of 3G services, a paradigm shift is expected in the VAS market.One such possible new service that could be offered is mobile gaming. It’s a concept that has been gaining attention off late but it’s yet to achieve its full potential. And possibly the introduction of 3G services could be the turning point. With its arrival the potential of virtual gaming has increased manifold. High quality and large games can be downloaded quickly with larger bandwidth, which would enable consumers to access these games in a matter of seconds. And now high end mobile devices are available with more processing power and larger screens which will enhance the overall gaming experience for the consumer. Consequently this could possibly have an impact on the sales of handheld gaming consoles too.
In this month’s Cover Story we thought of going a little offbeat and explore an industry that is not much in the limelight and analyse how it works and what does the future hold in store for it. Yes, I’m talking about the “Gaming Industry” in India.
Gaming in India has never been popular in India and nor is it now, compared to other sports or games. The popular perception is that it’s neither lucrative nor is it something that exercises your brain or body. As a result, gaming as profession or hobby is considered a waste of time and hard-core gamers are looked down upon. And presently gaming to whatever extent is popular predominantly in urban cities.
Our Cover Story takes a look at the general profile of an average gamer in India, gives an insider’s perspective of the gaming industry, looks to ascertain what does the future look like for the gaming industry and suggest some possible avenues by which gaming industry could earn more profits.
In the Vartalaap section, staying with the flavour of the season, we have an in depth discussion about the telecom industry with Mr. G. Ramprasad, CEO, Tata Teleservices Chennai Area). He throws some light on the marketing strategies of Tata Indicom, the growth strategies for Tata Photon and also gives his take on the future of 3G.
Hope you find this issue of Markathon as informative and as interesting as ever. Looking forward to your continued support & love. Please feel free to pour in your opinions & suggestions, because YOU complete us.
Happy Reading.

Kaushik Subramanian

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