Game on: Phonemakers tap eSports to woo young Indians
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New Delhi: Smartphone brands are increasingly tapping into the fast-growing eSports segment in India to increase visibility and boost sales in an otherwise muted market.Brands such as OnePlus, Realme, iQOO and Infinix are sponsoring large-scale mobile gaming tournaments and partnering with eSports teams as a core marketing strategy amid growing influence of mobile gaming on the Indian youth, industry watchers said.India has almost 450 million mobile gamers, which is expected to reach 720 million by 2028, according to Krafton India, the company behind popular eSports title Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI). The surge in mobile gaming is fuelled by the rapid growth of affordable smartphones and cheap data packages, creating a thriving ecosystem. Now, smartphone brands are tapping into that segment to grow their sales.In June, OnePlus announced a partnership with top-tier eSports teams God's Reign, K9, and Cincinnati Kids. The partnership extends to deep product integration, with players providing real-time feedback to shape current and future OnePlus devices.Realme, iQOO and Infinix have also entered into similar partnerships where the feedback loop from gamers are allowing them to market their devices as ones built by gamers for gamers, experts said."With gaming being a top indicator of smartphone performance, our collaboration will showcase the raw power and capabilities of our devices," Nipun Marya, chief executive of iQOO, told ET. "By supporting India's eSports teams, we're not only fuelling their passion but also demonstrating our commitment to delivering hardcore performance that every Gen Z demands."Many devices of these brands support higher frame-rates in online games, helping players to gain higher accuracy and improve the overall experience."It's a great way to showcase the performance of the devices," said Upasana Joshi, research manager at market tracker IDC India. "If the top eSports players are using their products, it becomes a good testament for the rest of the market about its reliability, especially when it comes to gaming, which is a high-performance use-case that pushes devices to their limits."The strategy is particularly relevant when the overall market is down for smartphones, she said.Smartphone shipments fell 5.5% on-year in the March quarter, marking a slow start to the year with 32 million units shipped, according to IDC. Smartphone brands and telecom operators are also sponsoring major eSports tournaments in India, where their devices are used in the matches.They are also hosting eSports tournaments in smaller towns and colleges to identify grassroots talent, helping build the ecosystem. OnePlus, Realme and Infinix didn't reply to ET's emails seeking comment until press time Monday.Market research firms said India is primarily a mobile-first market when it comes to gaming, with over 94% of users using handsets for the activity."While earlier there used to be gaming-focused smartphones from these brands, they used to be niche. Now they are mainstream," said Shilpi Jain, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research. "Nearly every device now comes with some dedicated features targeted at mobile gamers, as competition has increased in this segment," she said.Shilpi Jain, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research said the development, while not new, has gained prominence as mobile gaming evolved from being a niche use-case to a mainstream juggernaut that has grown by leaps and bounds in India.The mobile gaming segment has also attracted the attention of telecom operators, who have launched dedicated prepaid plans aimed at mobile gamers that offer higher data limits and in-game rewards.For instance, Reliance Jio has plans starting as low as ₹48 for a 3-day pack with 10 MB of data offering access to its cloud gaming app that hosts hundreds of games.
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