The device preference of people for playing games has changed over the course of time. India being a mobile first country, mobile gaming was always at the forefront. Now, as per ‘HP India Gaming Landscape Report 2021’, gamers are trying to explore the PC gaming market too. As per the report, 37 per cent mobile gamers want to shift to PC indicating strong potential growth for the industry and 90 per cent of the respondents of the report mulls gaming as a viable career option.
According to HP India Market managing director Ketan Patel said, “With people spending more time at home, gaming has seen a dramatic rise, as consumers look to find new avenues for entertainment, stress release and social connect. In this scenario, the PC has emerged as the preferred device that provides the most comprehensive gaming experience. The shift from mobiles to PCs by gamers clearly represents a massive business opportunity for HP. Gaming is among the fastest growing segments in our PC portfolio and we expect to continue this momentum and consolidate our position as the leading PC gaming brand in India.”
For the report total of 1,500 respondents completed the survey between March and April 2021, across 25 Metros, Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities across India with a mix of male (72 per cent) and female (28 per cent) respondents between the ages of 15-40 years, representing SEC A1 (businessmen with workers), A2 (businessmen with no workers)and B1 (petty traders from urban areas) segments. Here are the key findings of the report:
- 94 per cent of gamers from tier two towns like PC over mobile for gaming.
- Nine in 10 gamers believe PC is better equipped for gaming than a smartphone.
- 84 per cent of the respondents believe PCs are equipped better than smartphones for gaming purposes whereas eight per cent think smartphones are as good as PCs for gaming and four per cent believe smartphones are better compared to PCs for gaming purposes.
- 68 per cent of respondents prefer PC gaming for better graphic, 65 per cent for display performance speed and 59 per cent for internal storage.
- 60 per cent of respondent gamers are looking for gaming PCs below Rs 100K and women gamers especially are more willing to buy gaming PCs over Rs 100K.
- 37 per cent of the surveyed gamers want to shift their mobile devices to gaming PCs and the potential migration represents a phenomenal shift for PC Gaming industry and the shift has been corroborated by exponential rise in Gaming PC sales in last few years and the shift to PC gaming is led by millennials and enthusiasts.
- 63 per cent believe better processing speed, 59 per cent believe it is because of larger visual display and 58 per cent believe better sound effects are the main reason behind the migration of the devices.
- 91 per cent consider the gaming industry as a viable sector for professional avenues, 86 per cent would prefer to explore gaming more seriously alongside my existing job.
- 84 per cent of women and 80 per cent male consider gaming as a career.
- 88 per cent school students and 79 per cent of gen Z are inclined towards choosing a career into gaming.
- 84 per cent tier two and 84 per cent of tier one gamers and 78 per cent gamers from metro are inclined towards gaming as a career.
- SEC A2 by 84 per cent and SEC B1 by 81 per cent more likely to choose gaming as a profession.
- 91 per cent of gamers believe gaming improves attention and concentration, and a best source of relaxation and recreation. 92 per cent believes gaming helps reducing stress, induces positive feelings and helps reduce work/study pressure
- 92 per cent thinks gaming helps in enhancing multi-tasking ability, 90 per cent thinks gaming helps improves decision making and problem- solving skills and actions and activities on screen provide mental stimulation which enhances coordination lastly 86 per cent thinks gaming enhances short/long term memory
- 91 per cent of respondents believe that gaming helps in socialising with peers in the community and make new friends
AnimationXpress has been closely observing the gaming industry since the inception of gaming culture in India and we believe the preference of playing games on various devices is also depending on the choice of games a user wants to play. Since the launch of Riot Games’ Valorant, users are urging more to play games on PC and to get hands on gaming PC. Whereas we believe that once BATTTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA launches, the urge of buying gaming smartphones will increase again. Not only that, Riot and Respawn are also planning to launch Valorant and Apex Legends respectively for mobile which will again shift the device preference of users towards mobile.
Also, gaming has indeed become a viable career option for many and there are various career options around gaming; some of them are – gamer, game developer, game influencer, game artist, programmer, game publisher, game tester, game communication expert, gaming journalist and so on. Since gaming and esports go hand in hand, there are few more career options as well like esports organizer, esports shoutcaster, esports player, esports team coach, esports communication expert, esports production manager, and so on.
Not just that, the Government is also pushing the AVGC (Animation, VFX, gaming and Comics) sector with its Centre of Excellence that helps students and enthusiasts to opt gaming as a viable career option. Apart from that, Asian Games in Hangzhou that is scheduled to be held in 2022 will include esports as a medal event and India is yet to declare the participants for that officially. Soon, to synchronise the sector, the Indian government will be rolling out written guidelines on gaming.