45% of Indians started playing games during pandemic period: Dentsu Gaming Report

Gaming in India has come a long way. Indian households have always exempliï¬ed activities which can be done together. Hence, games like scrabble, carrom, Snake & Ladder, Playing Cards, TicTacToe, etc., are known to almost everyone. In India, the gaming boomed in the 90s with the adoption of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization policy and opened its doors to global economy. Households got access to television sets and with that came the ‘video game’.

By 2000’s, India’s video game arena was dominated with Sony’s PlayStation which brought popular 1st generation of games like Tekken, Smackdown, Crash Bandicoot, Cricket 2000, etc. This dynamic changed in the mid-2000s owing to exposure and the introduction of social media platforms. Games like Farmville, Maï¬a Wars, Café World, etc., gained lot of popularity and got the players to recruit others to progress.

The strongest catalyst in the consumer behaviour was the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic. As per the recently-released Dentsu Gaming Report India 2022 – ‘For the Game’, around 45% Indians started playing mobile games due to the pandemic. With the growing digital penetration and sophistication across India, the gaming segment will be a key beneï¬ciary and will likely rival other key traditional forms of media and entertainment in both size and scale.

‘Real Money Game’ revenues currently constitute 57% of market size, but future growth is projected to be driven by in-app purchases growing at a 34% CAGR. There were 120 million paying users in FY22, which represents a whopping 24% conversion rate.

Commenting on the report, Anita Kotwani, Chief Executive Officer, Carat India & Lead, Dentsu Gaming, said, “Gaming’s growing cultural impact, combined with the promise of the metaverse, has generated endless opportunities for advertisers. With the meteoric expansion of e-sports and streaming platforms, gaming has shifted from solitary play to spectator sport. Gaming platforms are now the main avenue for social connections and self-expression. One cannot follow the cookie-cutter approach anymore given the fluidity & dynamism of the industry.”

Kotani further said, “Dentsu Gaming offers the minds and tools necessary to create and develop strategies that are relevant to the culture, promote it and graduate the brand to be a cultural icon itself. Dentsu Gaming was created to deliver the tremendous expansion of gaming needs to our clients through creative partnerships, products, and solutions. We bring together enthusiastic, diversified expertise to help brands add incremental value through mutually beneficial relationships with game publishers and partners. Dentsu has access to in-depth gamer audience information via priority data and analytics. Our CCS (Consumer Connection Systems) data platform has been boosted by data fusions of unique bespoke gaming surveys as well as the GWI (Global Web Index) Gaming survey, providing us with advanced gaming audience data from across 24 markets.”

Key Highlights:

There is a game for everyone. In varying degrees, gaming is consumed across age groups as there is some or the other game available on some or the other device. People can choose their own devices, genre, and platform. The choices are virtually unlimited.
The COVID-19 Pandemic has acted as the biggest recruiter in the gaming pool. Around 45% of the Indian population started playing games during this period. Cheaper internet and one's need to kill time and connect with people were the biggest drivers.
Gaming-related content is on its way to be mainstream content. Gaming-related web series, merchandise, fashion, and music are all indicators of gaming culture making its way into the day-to-day lives of people.
Gamers are not media isolated. They watch and follow a lot of content on TV as well as Online TV. They spend around 28 hours a week on the medium.
Casual gamers make up the largest cohort in the gaming audience pool. They mostly prefer smartphones as their gaming device. They choose to play puzzles, trivia, 3match, and especially board games like Ludo, Scrabble, UNO, etc. They are not into spending a lot of money on gaming but are prone to In-App micro transactions to progress their game.
E-sports in India has evolved as a new form of entertainment. The scope for brands to associate with E-sports is massive and the receptivity from the gaming community is also high. Gamers understand that brands & sponsors are vital for the E-sport industry to go big.
AR/VR (Augmented Reality/ Virtual Reality) in India is still at a nascent stage. The challenge in the market is due to high cost and lack of exposure & experience. Contrary to smartphone apps made in India, the apps and technology that employ AR&VR are also underdeveloped.
The rapid rise of gaming in India has also affected the Education and Learning industry. A lot of education and coaching centers have now incorporated animation, game development, coding, etc., in their curriculum and offerings. Even the apps and education formats are gamified to engage the students and assist them in learning.
Gamers are passionate about gaming-related stuff but are also quite interested in fashion, fitness, and food.

Gaming as a habit is an expensive hobby. On average, a hardcore gamer spends Rs 6,500~ (~approx) on accessories and peripherals to enhance the gaming experience.