2008年时，印度老牌游戏公司之一Dhruva Interactive公司创始人及董事长拉杰什劳（Rajesh Rao）决定退出手机游戏市场，因为在2005年至2008年间，该公司推出的多款手机游戏均无功而返，只好将腾出来的精力投放到掌机游戏和其他游戏类型。但3G时代的来临，让拉杰什劳决心重返这一前景光明的市场。

indiagames-mobile-games

印度近期的3G手机无线频谱和运营执照竞标，着实令游戏市场兴奋了一把。因为3G服务的开通，意味着更高速的移动互联网，原先仅300KB的手机游戏运行空间现在也可以扩充到2至3MB，并且支持更多游戏功能和多人在线游戏环境。游戏应用开发商Hungama公司总经理马利什·马利克（Manish Malik）认为，3G服务将提供更大的带宽，更高速的连接和更便捷的下载。

印度互联网和移动网络协会（Internet and Mobile Association of India ）与市场调研公司IMRB International日前联合公布的一项报告指出，印度游戏产业总营收已达54.1亿卢比。安永国际会计事务所（Ernst and Young）在《2008至2009年动漫游戏产业报告》中也预测，印度游戏市场总营收将达100亿卢比。市场调查及咨询公司Frost and Sullivan更是乐观预言，该市场在2014年总营收将超过300亿卢比。

Hungama公司的马利什·马利克表示，Hungama擅长开发宝莱坞主题游戏，3G技术将支持公司根据玩家的需要，为手机游戏添加包括剧照、视频截图等在内的更多功能；3G技术不但可使手机游戏受益，在线游戏也会受到刺激，获得飞跃式的发展。

Hungama公司于本月23日宣布与卫星电视技术服务供应商Tata Sky公司达成一项合作协议，将通过Tata Sky每周向用户推出2至3款新游戏。虽然印度目前的手机游戏普及率仅为1%至3%，但马利克仍然对此满怀信心，认为再过两年这一数据将达到10%。根据普华永道会计事务所（PricewaterhouseCoopers）的预计，2015年印度3G手机用户将达1亿人。

马利克还提前算了一笔帐，称如果游戏用户原先在每款游戏上的开销是35至40卢比，3G服务开通后这一数字很可能增长为150至200卢比。他估计，仅从手机游戏营收这一项中，开发商就可以分得10%至15%的收益。

另外，印度综合媒体娱乐公司UTV（UTV Software Communications Ltd）也早已闻风而动，向游戏产业中投资7500万美元，其中，手机游戏占1000万美元。该公司十分看好这一游戏市场的发展潜力，并预计将在2012年从游戏产业中收获30%的营收。

ITV Indiagames公司与国有运营商BSNL公司（Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd）达成了一项协议，ITV Indiagames将面向BSNL用户提供250款游戏产品，并为这一群体制作基于3G技术的手机游戏。该公司董事长维沙尔·贡达尔（Vishal Gondal）表示，有了3G技术支持，公司今后两年至少可以向手机平台输送100款新游戏。

Ace2Three.com公司的创始人及董事长迪帕克·加拉帕里（Deepak Gullapalli）表示该公司目前正在测试可以投放于3G手机平台的游戏，并预计每名手机运营商将从游戏产品中创收500至600万美元。

In 2008, Rajesh Rao, founder and chief executive of Dhruva Interactive, one of India’s oldest gaming companies, decided to exit mobile gaming.

Between 2005 and 2008, the company launched several mobile games, but did not see big money in the business and vacated the space to focus on console and other games.

That was then. Excited by the prospects of growth in mobile phone gaming, Rao is back.

The recent auction of radio spectrum and operating licences for the so-called third generation (3G) services that provide high-speed Internet access to mobile phones is driving expectations that the gaming market would expand exponentially.

For instance, the average size of games for mobile phones is 300kb, but those for 3G phones can offer 2-3mb of space for games with advanced features and multiplayer environments.

This, says Manish Malik, general manager, gaming and applications of Hungama, a local firm in the segment, will be possible because 3G offers larger bandwidth, faster connections and easier downloads.

Currently, the mobile gaming industry is pegged at Rs.541 crore, according to a study by the Internet and Mobile Association of India and market research company IMRB International.

This would reach a market size of Rs.1,000 crore by 2012, says the Animation and Gaming Report 2008-09 by industry lobby Nasscom and consultancy Ernst and Young. By 2014, it is likely to surpass Rs.3,000 crore, research and consulting firm Frost and Sullivan predicts.

“Hungama specializes in Bollywood-centric games. So, it will be possible for us to add more features, including stills, video shots, for the benefit of the consumer,” says Malik. “It’s not just mobile which benefits from better connection. Online gaming, too, will get a fillip.”

Hungama has on 23 September announced a tie-up with satellite TV services provider Tata Sky Ltd to introduce two to three games a week for subscribers.

Though mobile gaming penetration in India is only 1-3% of the mobile subscriber base, Malik expects it to grow to 10% within the next two years.

Consulting and audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers expects India will have 100 million 3G users by 2015.

Malik also forecasts that from spending anywhere between Rs.35 and Rs.40 per game, consumers would spend anywhere between Rs.150 and Rs.200 because of 3G services. Telecom operators will earn 10-15% of their revenues through mobile gaming alone, he predicts.

Of UTV Software Communications Ltd’s $75 million (Rs.341.25 crore) investment in gaming, $10 million has gone to mobile games. The company expects 30% of revenue to come from gaming by 2012.

In a tie-up with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), UTV Indiagames offers 250 games. The firm is likely to create 3G-related pilots for BSNL customers.

“With the advent of 3G, we could bring in as many as 100 new games on the mobile platform over the next two years,” says Vishal Gondal, chief executive officer, UTV Indiagames.

Rohit Sharma, chief executive of digital business at Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd, which owns a mobile gaming firm called Jump, said the 3G rollout would aid the firm’s growth.

“The rollout of 3G will have an impact on the mobile, online and DTH (direct-to-home) space, areas where gaming is expected to grow by leaps and bounds,” he says.

According to him, 3G will help game content developers such as Jump to launch high-end games, particularly social and multiplayer games. That’s exactly what Deepak Gullapalli, founder and chief executive officer of Ace2Three.com, a content developer, is planning.

The company operates popular card games on the Internet such as Rummy, Bridge and Trump, which it now plans to extend to the mobile space in anticipation of 3G.

“We are already testing prototypes of these Internet games, which can then be used on mobiles. We will work on a multiplayer format where a number of people can be connected to the same game,” he said.

Each mobile operator can make up to $5-6 million through gaming content, Gullapalli says.（source:livemint）

声明：本文中文为游戏邦翻译，英文原文采用livemint，转载请保留版权信息，谢谢！