If you're a gamer, there's no better time than now!The animation industry in India is set to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 27 per cent to touch $1,163 million by 2012, according to a Nasscom report. The industry is expected to end this year at $460 million. Custom content development is the largest segment as of today, with an estimated industry size of $187.5 million, followed by animation entertainment at $120 million. Multimedia and web design contributes another $100 million, while education is pegged at $53 million. The animation industry in India is set to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 27 per cent to touch $1,163 million by 2012, according to a Nasscom report. The industry is expected to end this year at $460 million. Custom content development is the largest segment as of today, with an estimated industry size of $187.5 million, followed by animation entertainment at $120 million. Multimedia and web design contributes another $100 million, while education is pegged at $53 million. The share of education segment is expected to increase from 11.5 per cent to 17.5 per cent from 2008 to 2012. There is immense demand among students to enroll in long-term, skill development courses to pursue a career in animation. Also, as new technologies keep emerging, there is a constant need for skills upgradation courses. The industry expected to go through consolidation with smaller players being acquired by the bigger companies. There are a total of 85 domestic animation movies that have been announced over the last year and 28 are in different stages of production. Over the next two years, 15 animation movies are expected to be released. Animation companies have also started focusing on building original IP, which they can leverage in terms of merchandising and TV broadcast revenues. The report suggests that the production budget for animated movie will increase from $2 million-$2.5 million to $5 million-$7.5 million. The average realisations for a good animation movie will increase between $7.5 million to $12.5 million. Nasscom expects the gaming industry to grow at a CAGR of 50 per cent to touch $1060 million by 2012. The sector will end this year at $212 million. Mobile companies will undergo structural changes to address production slippages, falling revenues and the higher revenue shares retained by telecom operators (up to 65 per cent). Better quality mobile games and enhanced skill sets will result in a rise in mobile game outsourcing deals. Higher revenue shares, third-party contracts and end-to-end development of mobile games will lead to better revenue realization for mobile game developers. The release of locally developed games with international appeal will open up new target markets for Indian mobile gaming companies. Development of domestic localised PC games is expected to pick up. Due to stringent antipiracy measures and a reduction in the affordability gap, the sale of legitimate PC games is expected to increase. Outsourcing deals, especially in the end to end production domain, is expected to rise significantly.
Zapak has some serious plans for the upcoming budget. It will launch Zapak Budget 2.0 - a microsite - in association with Reliance Capital, which will have various features. There will be an analysis of budget across categories by corporate honchos and celebrities, along with video bytes on people’s budget expectations, across various categories. The visitors to ‘Zapak Budget 2.0’ will also be able to upload content on various categories. Daily winners will be announced for the best entries.A special game called ‘Game for Money’ would be featured on this site, to help visitors de-stress. In the game, players can invest his money in various options. Once done, he moves ahead with the intent of earning more money by rolling a dice. The player moves across the blocks, depending on the number which appears on the dice, each of which has a different message – e.g.- ‘Cash Theft of 10,000’, after which the player’s total worth and value of insurance is scored. The Goal is to increase the player’s net worth. And like real life, it’s Game Over when the player goes bankrupt.Simple indicators on the micro site such as What’s Hot & What’s Not, What’s expensive & what’s cheaper and Policy Changes that will impact the common man will make sure that the visitors get the information useful to them. Visitors will also be able to calculate the tax payable and even chat with a financial specialist to put their anxieties to rest and solve their queries.
Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE), announced on 18 July ‘07 the redesigned company web site, www.station.com, will host more than twenty free games, a new look and improved functionality. Station.com is the user-friendly main portal for SOE’s games, communities and information. The newly revamped site will host free trials of the majority of SOE’s MMOs; casual games such as PopCap’s Bejeweled® 2, Jeopardy! ® and Wheel of Fortune®; and mobile games such as Q*Bert™, Snoop Dogg Cruisin’, and the recently released God of War™: Betrayal. In addition, the Station Pass has transitioned into a free online game service available to all players.
“As SOE continues to grow its business and acquire a wider variety of titles, it was only appropriate that the Station.com website be redesigned to offer a more user-friendly and immersive experience to our diverse player base,” said Torrie Dorrell, SVP Global Sales & Marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. “Players from around the world will be able to obtain news and information surrounding upcoming and live games, visit community sites, download a casual game or two and even check out SOE’s latest offerings for the PLAYSTATION® Store. The site is launching simultaneously in English, French, German and Japanese, with plans to role out more languages, services and games in the coming months.”
Players can obtain a Station.com account for free by simply registering on the homepage. From there they will have access to free online games and trials of SOE’s live games in addition to access to community discussion forums, podcasts and more.
Simultaneously, the Station Pass games have become free. The Station Pass consisted of the full versions of the three casual, online action-based strategy games: Tanarus®, Cosmic Rift™ Online and Infantry Online™. Each of these games has consistently maintained a steady fanbase for the more than five years they have been live, and this transition to a free service will allow new and current players to experience these titles.
