Is Gaming a viable career option in India today?

By Ruchi Shrimali

 

 

With the favorable soil of a young population and the virility of increasing Internet penetration through mobiles, laptops and personal computers, India’s PC and Online Gaming sectors are poised for healthy growth. A study by the Market Xcel, a market research firm, indicates that Indian gaming industry will grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32 per cent to Rs 3,100 crore by 2014. See details of the study

 

The only chink in the armour of animation and gaming sector in India is the severe scarcity of skilled professionals in these fields. India already offers animation and game development services at highly competitive rates when compared to other leading outsourcing destinations for these fields, such as South Korea and Taiwan. Yet, the need of the hour for the industry is to increase the talent pool, proactively.

 

Those who want to make a career in Gaming will find five genres to choose from:

 

 

• Video Gaming is about electronic or computerized games played on TV or other video display devices.
• Console Gaming is about games played on game consoles such as Microsoft’s Xbox or Sony’s Play Station, where controller is used as an input device and TV or computer monitor serves as the output device.
• Wireless Gaming is about games played on handheld devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), tablets and mobile phones.
• PC Gaming is about video games played on a personal computer. They may be stored on CDs or DVDs or played online.
• Multiplayer Gaming is about playing games with other gamers logged on to the game. Elaborate games allow players across the globe to connect and compete with each other.

 

 

In India, where conventional career options are still in vogue, a gaming career still sounds off-beat. Unlike Europe and America where gaming has the status of a sport and a full-time career in gaming does not sound frivolous, India is still in its infancy about grooming game developers and professionals. 

 

Still awaiting support from major sponsors and the media, The Indian gaming industry is riddled with uncertainty at the moment. The most stable jobs in the field are perhaps that of game testers or achievement farmers for globally addictive games like Second Life and World of Warcraft (often referred to as WoW). 

 

The career has attracted a few spirited youngsters betting on game designing as a lucrative career in the next few years. "Since the older generation has no idea about gaming, the parents become the biggest hurdles in pursuing a gaming career," says Himanshu, a gaming enthusiast who is still in Class XII. 

 

At present, there are no formal gaming tournaments organized in India. More jobs related to the field are available in games production and coding rather than hardcore gaming. 

 

Game development is a risky career but is picking up pace. Do you agree?

 

Other interesting reads:

 

- Get ready for the next level of Gaming!

- Making money out of Gaming