Zapak and the Online Gaming Scenario in India. Offline is as important as Online. Product Placements as Future Revenue Opportunities?
(Rate this article)
Loading ...Email It!
Zapak has announced that it is organizing a live event at Mumbai’s World Trade. The event is supposed to go on for 3 days. The event gives it scope to associate it with gaming titles such as Fifa, Counter Strike, and Need for Speed.
I think the move to organize, while not new, is smart primarily because of a few things:
- The PC Penetration in India is quite abysmal. Only about 30% of Users access the Internet from home according to the I- Cube Report for 2007.
- 36% of our population accesses the Internet from Cyber Cafes, which may not have the optimum hardware and software capabilities to optimize gaming.
- Due to those reasons, Gaming in India has not really taken off. What thee events do – is make Zapak accessible to a Game savvy but non Internet savvy user or a user who may be game as well as Internet savvy but may not have access to both. For those users, the on ground events are added incentives to ‘create’ access.
- What such events also do is they strengthen Zapak’s brand strength in terms of gaming. Online games do not have too many capabilities – in terms of use experience and gameplay options. By associating with games such as Fifa, CS, and NFS, Zapak is strengthening its gaming reputation especially among hardcore gamers who are often the most loyal and vocal supporters of brands.
Zapak is already allowing users to connect with each other on a social level (convergence - for all those reading my ongoing series on Technological Innovation). Once they have enough on ground users ready, I think Zapak is looking to make them connect through the Internet as well by providing them with the tools. In September they announced the plan to launch about 250 Zapak “Gameplexes” across India by March 2008. The Tier I cities are No. 1 on the list. Then Zapak is looking to move into Tier II and Tier III cities as well.
The idea is to create an organized gaming format where users can connect and form a highly involved gaming community – thus become more attached to the Zapak Brand. Loyalists, I imagine is what Zapak is looking to create.
The other thing that Gameplexes do is give the users a never before experience and as I said earlier – give them an incentive to get a computer at home – along with an Internet connection. The likelihood of them then accessing Zapak from home is high – top of the mind favourable recall.
The challenge for Zapak will be now to create high end games of its own over periods of time and Integrate them with the Internet as well as “Gameplex” platform.
I see Zapak tying up with Consoles like the Wii or the PS3 in the near future to engage users and sell gaming consoles as a bundle. Either way Zapak Gameplexes are going to be New Media properties to watch out for. Expect a lot of Cross Reliance Tie Ups. Have a look at what Sony and Fifa did.
The other trend I think Zapak can capitalize upon once it has a sizeable user base – (and im talking Millions) – is that of product placements. Brands within games have immense qualitative appeal.
Zapak can be used as a game development platform because of its consumer behaviour expertise in terms of gaming and also because it will be a media platform. Expect this to be a niche, high margin business.
The challenge for brands and Zapak will be:
- How do I engage the user with the brand non intrusively without actually overselling?
- How can the brand be strategically tied into the game to maximize sub liminal impact?
- How to make the user interested in the game in the first place?
A lot of companies that are going in for in – game placements or are creating games of their own are making the common mistake of overselling. Gamers are interested in playing a game not viewing your brand, In the process of gaming, if your brand can benefit me then it’s a different thing. Emphasis must be on superior gameplay and non intrusive soft sell advertising.
Loading ...
online gaming is becoming a serious game with new players and rules being added every now and then. not far behind is India with gaming platforms coming up everywhere.
to add to all this is the maket thats opening up to various avenues, like for instance the gaming portal launched by Relaince, Zapak.com, a one stop portal for free ware games.
to me it seems like gaming is going to be the next big thing in India.