Jul
24
Gaming In India: An Overview
Filed Under Entertainment, Industry, games | 4 Comments
Take a minute off your busy schedules and ask yourselves this “What is the future of Gaming Industry?” Although being an extremely clichéd topic, it is one question that comes a begging. People constantly rant about “Old is Gold” and “retro gaming rules” and what not. Although I support the idea of respecting older games, I stand here to honestly admit that I am a realist. If one wants to catch up even a fraction of the action, one has to constantly update his PC or get a console. People who don’t agree with me are invited to jump out of the window, from a great height. Just saying “I am satisfied with the past” will not cut it anymore. The gaming era and the industry itself have changed. Wake up. And welcome to the place we call “reality”.
A look at Microsoft E3 Conference will give you a better idea why exactly I am writing this down here. People are too satisfied with what was made 6-7 years ago. I am being specific about the gaming condition in India which is seriously a big let down. Why is CS: Source the most popular game here when games like GRAW and Fallout Tactics are superior in every way? Or is it bad marketing? No. The answer to this ridiculous behavior in all Game Cafes is the simple fact that everyone thinks buying anything above an nVidia GeForce 6200GS would make them bankrupt. This is far from the reality I must say.
A decent 8600 GT can be purchased in less than Rs 5000 and the 8800 GT for Rs 9000. They still won’t put any cards simply because there is no demand. And why there is no demand? Because 70% of the gamers in India have no idea that games like Fallout Tactics or MGS 4 or Killzone 2 even exists. For them, NFS Underground, Cricket 2007, CS: Source and Warcraft 3 is the crème ‘la crème of the gaming realm. Being a hardcore fan and player of Warcraft 3, I must say, it is a great game but, it is not a reason for never trying out Command and Conquer 3 or Supreme Commander or Dawn of War!
I did say I am a realist and will stick to it forever. Therefore I accept that most of the time, Internet gaming for Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter and Gears of War PC are difficult. But it isn’t difficult on LAN! Who on earth stopped Game Cafes from installing these games instead of the 7 year old crap that we are served? I say MGS 4 multiplayer kicks Godzilla ass. Who thinks otherwise? Not because people agree with me. It is because no one has a damn opinion in the fist place. I can go and rant about how I scored 50 Takedowns in Burnout Paradise and people just nod saying “uh huh”. I never got an “Oh really? Wait till I have something to say about that!”
Although the newer games are given very high attention in USA and Europe, in India, the competition is just absent! It may exist on an individual level in a sporadic pattern, but it is not yet a trend which is very sad. The fact that people just shut their eyes and ears whenever something new turns up saying “I am happy with the retro!” is truly annoying. An average Indian would buy a stock PC for Rs 25,000. I agree it doesn’t come with a high end card but such a commodity can be purchased without any trouble and the falling prices only add to the ease of purchase. Too costly you say? No, that’s not the case.
You could get a console. Yes, Consoles provide tremendous gaming potential, if purchased at the right time. I said this just so that some fool doesn’t go buy a PS2 tomorrow and say “What the hell there are no new games on it!” Only a dumb and desperate gamer would go for a PS2 at this time. Although sadly, this is the time when most PS2 consoles are being sold in India because of the convenient price of Rs 6990/- and even as low as 5000 bucks in the grey market. Why exactly do people frown at the PS3 just because it is priced at 20 to 25 K is beyond me. People, this is your wake up call. THIS is the time to get a next-gen console. When a console is launched, it is ridiculously over-priced. The Xbox 360 was priced at Rs 30,000 and PS3 at Rs 40,000 at the time of their launch. Even the games were too expensive. Only after a year, do the prices become reasonable. The X360 is available for about 15,550 bucks and the PS3 for around 25000 bucks. What are you waiting for? This is the best time and price combo you will get. Anything below this would be too late and the console would be obsolete. By “below” I mean next year. There are some great games scheduled for launch on both Platforms. So go and treat yourselves to a shiny console soon.
After saying all this, HOW on earth will I forgive myself for not mentioning the Nintendo Wii? I didn’t mention it because,
1) Getting an original Wii is difficult. You must order it from EBay etc and pay the shipping charges which are quiet high.
2) Poor collection of games in India. Why on earth will someone buy Cricket 2007 and NBA 2008 on Wii? Ever heard of a Low End PC with 256 MB of Ram and a CRT screen? That will run these games. No need to buy a Wii for that. As far as great games on Nintendo are concerned, they are not available here easily. You need to get to EBay again.
3) The English version of the Wii costs double the Japanese version. Why on earth is this rule implied, I have no clue. Even in the grey market! Why would I buy a Wii for 22,550 Rupees when I can get a PS3 for that amount? Clearly the both PS3 and X360 have superior GPUs and faster processors. Unless there is a solid price gap, the future of Nintendo’s new console is pretty slim and mediocre in India.
Allow me to conclude. Unless there is an astonishingly fast change of gaming attitude, the current lineup of games will be poorly accepted or not accepted at all in India. Cybercafés need to start upgrading their game Engines in order to enable gamers to play games like Command and Conquer 3 and Unreal Tournament III. People, graphic cards are not costly. So get a hold of one. Consoles must be bought at the right time to enjoy their great potential. Nintendo hates India and we want Wii (If that was unintentionally funny, please forgive me).
Jan
12
The Tata Nano Firstlook: The Pre-Release Verdict
Filed Under Cars, Industry | 13 Comments
At the New Delhi Pragati Maidan Auto Expo 2008, history was written. There came a car that is as promising as anything has ever been. The all new Tato Nano, a venture of Tata under it’s leader Mr. Ratan Tata, was finally shown off at the Expo. And not so surprisingly, the car has been welcomed by the people all across the world. Be it the common man, or the automobile industries’ most eminent names or the global media, this conceptual venture has been gladly talked about by everyone. Although it is too early to pass on a verdict on the whole deal as of now, because the car would be launched in the market no early than September 2008, I really want to have my say.
In the words of Barack Obama, and now, Mr. Ratan Tata himself, “They said this day would never come”. In an interview put up on the Tata Group’s official website and the Auto Expo PC, Mr. Ratan Tata has made a lot of promises. But I see no reason why I shouldn’t question the authenticity of his words. There are going to be many drawbacks with this vehicle. To begin with, there is no way the car’s price is going to settle at Rs. 100,000 (approximately 2600$). The price everyone’s talking about does not include the controversial VAT and Road taxes. And with the constant rise in the prices of raw materials used in the vehicle industry, there’s no telling what heights the price would get to by September 2008. It’ll be quite enough a challenge for Mr. Ratan Tata to stick to his promise and keep the price as he’s always talked about. In a country with a population of almost 1,200,000,000, how many can really afford a 1 lac rupee car? And once bought, how many can really keep up with maintenance and the rising prices of the fuel? A vehicle can never be a one time investment, people will regularly have to shake up their pockets no matter how hard they try to avoid it.
There’s been a word around at Mr. Ratan Tata’s press conference that the vehicle is environment friendly. Are you thinking what I am thinking? A car with a price tag of Rs. 100,000 is bound to sell like hot cakes at first because of the comparatively low price than the other vehicles available in the range (the Maruti Suzuki 800). Even a general auto-rickshaw that can be seen on almost anywhere in India has a price much more than that of the Tata Nano. So can we expect the Nano to exchange places with the auto-rickshaw and other smaller commercial public transport media? Yes, why not. And this is certainly not going to make things any merrier. Tata Nano will run on petrol and/or diesel. Anything that runs on petrol or diesel is bound to harass the environment. And the more the Nanos sell, things aren’t going to get any better. In a nut shell, a huge number of Tata Nanos with improper emission systems will prove very destructive.
Now, let’s take a look at the issue regarding safety norms. With the kind of roads here in India (which ensure tremendous wear and tear) & the driving mentality of the people here, and most importantly, the number of people here, no amount of detailing is good enough to make the vehicle safe enough. As far as personal opinions are concerned, I will have to say the design looks really weak to me. The tyres are comparatively small, the ground clearance is hardly 19 centimeters (not apt enough for Indians roads), and for a price tag of Rs. 100,000, what can we really expect out of the vehicle’s outer body and the safety equipment fit inside to make your driving sessions secure? Although the low top-speed levels, the engine at the back and the smaller tyres make the vehicle terribly slow, Tata could have done a lot better than this to ensure rugged safety norms.
For a price tag of 2600$, the car doesn’t have much features to offer. It’s like two scooters joined in the middle with a metal rooftop pulled over it. To summarize, the Tata Nano is over hyped. The common man will NOT buy it. They’d rather go for a Maruti Suzuki 800 or cars priced beyond that. May be they’ll just stick to the two-wheelers they’ve been using all these years. The only scope for this car selling is the commercial transport category. This is bound to take the place of the yellow-black or the yellow green auto-rickshaws you see on the streets. But then again, with the prices of non-renewable fuels going up and even beyond, I am not hopeful enough. Even if it sells well at first, we’re bound to see some terrible traffic jams, more air pollution, and people on the streets hurling abuses at each other for exchanging some paint.
My verdict on this car .. flop-mania’s coming!
PS: Is it just me or every one has forgotten the Apple iPod nano? Shouldn’t the Tatas be worried about a lawsuit coming there way?