India’s gaming population has seen a rise in the number of paying users. This willingness to pay was further reflected in the growing number of gaming subscriptions in the country, with India ranking among the leading markets for Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus subscriptions.
A few years down the line, SEGA withdrew from the market in the face of overwhelming competition from Sony and Nintendo. The Indian gaming scene switched up from being two-dimensional to 3D with Sony’s entry in the market. From then on, games such as FIFA, Mario Kart, Counter Strike, Call of Duty and DOTA gained popularity among Indian gamers. With the growing purchasing power of the middle class, game consoles such as Wii, PlayStation, and Xbox can be found in more Indian households than before. Market forecasts also suggest the continued growth of game console revenues largely contributed by PlayStation, and Xbox close at its heels.
Video games: a stroll down memory lane
Some of the earliest and fondly remembered game consoles in India were produced by Mitashi Edutainment, a Mumbai-based video game distributor formerly known as Maze Marketing. In 1998, the company successfully partnered with Japanese gaming giant SEGA to introduce both hand-held and in-home consoles that used cartridges and cassettes, at affordable prices to the Indian market. This was also around the time when other major players such as Nintendo, Sony, and Namco Bandai were trying to penetrate the market.A few years down the line, SEGA withdrew from the market in the face of overwhelming competition from Sony and Nintendo. The Indian gaming scene switched up from being two-dimensional to 3D with Sony’s entry in the market. From then on, games such as FIFA, Mario Kart, Counter Strike, Call of Duty and DOTA gained popularity among Indian gamers. With the growing purchasing power of the middle class, game consoles such as Wii, PlayStation, and Xbox can be found in more Indian households than before. Market forecasts also suggest the continued growth of game console revenues largely contributed by PlayStation, and Xbox close at its heels.