According to a recent study by HP, nearly half of gamers rely on YouTube and fellow gamer buddies to enhance their skills while 61% are not aware of gaming courses that exist in India.
“We want to make gaming mainstream and create an inclusive gaming ecosystem that caters to everyone’s aspirations to game and grow,” Vickram Bedi, senior director (personal systems), HP India, told ET. “To make our gaming portfolio more affordable, our gaming PC range starts around Rs 50,000 and we also offer PCs through a monthly EMI scheme of just Rs 3,499.”
“Beyond products, we have opened Omen Playground stores across India where gamers can experience PC gaming free of cost and engage with gaming communities to socialise with top gamers and upskill themselves.”
Besides this, the ‘HP Gaming Garage’ hosted on the edX platform will offer access to curated online modules, covering esports management, game design and game programming in 12 languages including English, Hindi and Telugu, the company said in a statement.
The HP India Gaming Landscape Study 2023 showed that nearly half of serious gamers claimed to earn between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 12 lakh per annum in 2023, which is higher than the previous years.
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Sponsorships and esports tournaments have emerged as significant income sources. Apart from being a gamer, the respondents indicated having eyes on being an influencer or esports manager in future. One in three gamers participate either for monetary gains or recognition, it said.The study revealed a positive shift in parent’s perspective towards gaming, with 42% of the respondents approving of gaming as a hobby.
However, concerns about the stability of a gaming career and the potential for social isolation persist among parents. The study showed parents have inadequate information about gaming prospects in India, as 49% of them depend on friends and family for information.
Gaming is also not limited to a specific demographic, as 75% of GenZ and 67% of Millennials are serious gamers. As per the survey, which covered 3,000 gamers across 15 Indian cities, 58% of women respondents were identified as serious gamers.
