Exploring The Indian Games Market
While we tend to think of gaming as a global phenomenon, it can be easy to forget that in large (ie most) areas of the planet, it's not exactly a prominent pastime. Whether it be through poverty, language barriers or even a complete lack of interest on the part of console and software companies, we don't usually think of places like Africa, the Middle East, South America and Eastern Europe when we're talking about games.
Which makes looking at the gaming cultures there all the more fascinating. Gamasutra spoke with Gunjan Bagla, an Indian market advisor, and uncovered a ton of info on just how things are done on the subcontinent.
While there are more than 23 official languages in India, the gamer demographic in India is quite comfortable with the English versions of imported games. I expect consumers might prefer Indian localizations like Chennai Chase or Mumbai Mayhem instead of LA Rush, featuring Indian environments or characters but still played as an English version.
Probably most interesting are the fact Microsoft are the only platform holders actively pursuing the market (the 360 recently being officially launched and supported in the region), consoles are still outside the financial reach of most and, probably due to Sony and especially Nintendo's indifference to the region, the grey/import market flourishes.
Well worth your time.
Q&A: Gunjan Bagla Talks Games In India [Gamasutra]
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