The Hindu Business Line : Zapak to set up gaming café chain

Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd, the online gaming company from Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, will invest $100 million (Rs 447.6 crore) over three years to cash in on the gaming boom in the country.

The investment will be made to not only enlarge content portfolio of zapak.com and establish a development centre but also to set up a chain of gaming cafes.

Making the announcement at the launch of their new cricket game, Mr Rajesh Sawhney, President, Reliance entertainment Ltd, said the company was aiming at 100,000 kiosk seats in three years. Starting with 15 stand-alone cafes next year, Zapak plans to reach out to 200 cities through a franchise model in the future.

The cafes would provide the essential broadband access for its online offerings and help build Zapak communities.

Mr Sawhney expects the Indian gaming scene to go the Chinese way, that is move towards a very profitable online gaming model and become the biggest online business in five years.

"Console will be affordable to less than a million," he says. Currently operating on an advertised based model, Zapak, says Mr Sawhney, is seeing 20,000 registrations a day.

According to Chief Operating Officer, Mr Rohit Sharma, next year should also see the launch of an original massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). "Internationally, gaming is bigger than Hollywood, and expected to grow to $55 billion industry by 2008. We expect gaming to be bigger than Bollywood too," said Mr Sharma.

Zapak expects to see the Indian gaming market to each $200 million (Rs 895.2 crore) by 2009, and apart from content sharing and other 360-degree brand building arrangements in the future, it will also generate uniquely Indian games, including mythological ones.

More Stories on : Outlook | Strategy | Entertainment & Leisure

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
AIA Engg raises Rs 125 cr thru QIP

Midhani bags contract from Polish co for titanium alloy

Amrit Banaspati in restructuring mode

Great Offshore may be listed by Dec 27

Essar dispatches first cargo to British Gas

Bharat Oman plans Rs 1,000-cr public offer

Tata Power to tie up funds for Mundra project by Aug

O&M ties up with Marka for Bangladesh foray

Union urges Vizag Steel to promote ancillary units

Kerala moves to revive Keltron

`SAIL, Ministry to forego part of Chiria mines'

Petronet in talks with Shell to use Hazira facilities

GSPC group in talks for natural gas

Zapak to set up gaming café chain

New chief for HMT tractor biz