Online gaming taking off in India
According to an article in Wired, online gaming in India is about take off big time in India. The article mentions some of the things I have already covered before in my coverage of Sify Ltd. (Nasdaq: SIFY) and Rediff (Nasdaq: REDF). The article mistakenly says that the number of internet connections increased from 25 million in 2004 to 39 million in 2005. However, that number is not the total number of ‘connections’ but the total number of ‘users’ who use the internet in India. Yes, the number of internet users in India is supposed to surpass the 100 million mark in the next couple of years.
Some key points from the article:
1. Some Internet Cafes derive 30 percent and 40 percent of their revenues from online gamers. – Positive for Sify
2. “The growing appetite for gaming has led one internet cafe chain, Sify, to launch a broadband-only, gaming-oriented cafe brand called Game Drome, which both hosts and promotes local and national competitions” – I have talked about Sify Gamedromes before as well
3. “According to a report released last month by the San Francisco consulting firm Pearl Research, which focuses on gaming trends in Asia, the Indian online games market will exceed $200 million in 2010″ – Good for Sify as they have launched A3India MMORPG game. I am still trying to find out how successful it is? Sify also earlier said that online gaming hours at their Iway Cyber cafes grew by 100 percent over the last fiscal year
4. Why hasn’t Rediff jumped into Online Games? How come they are not taking advantage of the growing broadband penetration in India by launching a broadband portal? More on Rediff soon.
The growth in Online Gaming is a definite plus for Sify. We are still waiting on how the A3India move pays off in the future. As a Sify shareholder this news certainly makes me happy, even though the stock price doesn’t.
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