Games people play

Mumbai, May 27 (UNI) Contrary to popular belief, the history of computer games dates back to 1948. A decade later, in 1958, what could be called the first game- 'Tennis for Two' was developed by William Higinbotham.

The late 70s' and early 80s' are considered 'the golden years' of the industry. Coin or token operated games were a rage. ''Pacman'', ''Space invaders'', ''Car racing'' were played by millions in arcades all over the world. Most of the games could be called simple or even crude compared to today's mega productions. But due to immaginative programming and sheer novelty, it scored high on the most important factor- the fun factor.

From the late 80s' to the mid 90s, video games evolved from arcade and consoled games played on one's TV, to a multi-media, high resolution, multi-soundtrack entertainment that includes personal computers (PCs).

Video games are no longer a 'child's game' (though children are usually still the first to get the 'hang' of it), but a whole gargantuan of an industry, worth billions. In fact globally, the fastest growing segment in the games industry is the 25- 40 year old male segment.

The biggest market for video games is predictably US, followed by Japan and UK. Other important markets are South Korea (which has three T V channels covering gaming competitions), Germany, Spain, France and Canada.

The gaming market in India (exclusive of mobile gaming), was estimated at only 50 million dollars in 2005. Compared to that, the gaming industry of the US which was estimated at USD 8.4 billion for the same period.

So what does this multi-billion dollar gaming industry hold for the country? The answer is: plenty.

With the introduction of the broadband and mobile services, the domestic market is expected to grow rapidly. On-line gaming especially the multi-player version (where many players can join an on-line game via the net), has become very popular especially in the urban areas of the country where internet connections are good.

The main obstacles to the growth of the gaming industry are piracy- around 90 per cent of the computer games are illegal copies, and India is a late entrant to the global gaming circus.

With a huge middle class with disposable income, and a strong programming foundation, India is expected to be a major factor- both as a market and as designers and developers of games in the future.

In fact, the USD 9.8 billion Asia-Pacific market is expected to be worth USD 17.4 billion by 2010, according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

So the next time you hear strange terms like XBoxes, PS3, MMPOG, Half Life, Battlefield, from your kids or friends, join the fun.

It may be 'better than the real thing'.

UNI