Mobile Gaming – India & Bollywood

( Via Zdnet) Mobile gaming is the in thing for India,due to higher penetration of handset users and low cost involved. Computer games based on known characters are very much in vogue in India,says CEO of Maya Entertainment,Rajesh Thakuria, who is involved in producing the Mangal Pandey game and whose company also does special effects for Mumbai filmdom. Mr Thakuria says that the quantum jump in computer and internet. Computer games are essentially of two types - those which are based on original ideas or charactersThen, there are games, which are programmed and designed through licensed game engines, like on the comic character Hulk. As for popularity in India, experts argue that the second category "rocks". The games, based on licensed engines, are likely to expand their base even further in the future, they add. The verdict is that keeping the Indian perspective in mind, mobile games, which are easily downloadable and involving nominal cost, have a great future in India. Says Mr Ghose, "we are in contact with all the major mobile networks and will soon come out with a gamut of mobile-based games, later this year." Bollywood stuff, of various kinds, is hot too. Among others, games based on the hit alien character of 'Jadoo', which featured in the Hrithik Roshan starrer 'Koi... Mil Gaya', are expected anytime. As Mr Ghose says, even though high-end games in the future will come up with enhanced graphic quality, more box versions and will provide greater sense of immersion, "their appeal is likely to remain limited even after five years from now". On the other hand, as Mr Thakuria puts it, "more Indianised versions of mobile and computer-based games are likely to come up.
Mike Masnick writes, referring to this phenomenonMany are getting mobile phones already for the connectivity aspect to it, mobile games are getting more attention. Unlike mobile broadcast, the games tend to be much more interactive, and can be designed in ways that make it easier for users to play the games to fill up their "idle time," rather than having to schedule around larger chunks of content that is being broadcast to them. Finally, adding in the connectivity part, and creating games that use location based info can make the games that much more enticing and interesting to users.In the meantime, however, it sounds like the mobile games being offered in India are fairly simple. Many of the popular games are still based on marketing tie-ins and licensed content (such as games based on comic book characters). There's nothing wrong with "simple" gaming. Simple games online are what has made online gaming so popular. While it may be things like Xbox Live that gets all the headlines, simple online card games tend to be more popular across the board - and that's likely to remain true with mobile gaming as well. In fact, by incorporating location based info into the mobile gaming world, the simplicity of the game can work to its advantage. The more complex the actual game is, it's often just covering up how little is actually appealing in the game. Simple, mobile games that draw in users are likely to continue to catch on much faster than big productions with big names.