“Cover me! I`m taking fire!” “I`ve got HP down to 30, need backup on B tunnel!” The

yelling I heard came from the booths next to mine. Accompanying these were the harsh

sounds to staccato gunfire and exploding grenades. The internet café I had visited to

check my mail sounded as if it was in a warzone, with a battle in progress. Hoping for

some quiet and to get some fresh air, I stepped out. I found another group of teenagers

talking an arcane language. “Better get your inventory in place by level 8”. “Go to invi

mode and get DD”. “Flash those crates before charging”. Total greek? Welcome to the

world of the gamer.

In fact, even though the gaming market has been around for a while in India, it is only in

the past few years that it has exploded into a $300 million industry. Often viewed askance

by parents, gaming has rapidly become one of the most popular entertainment pastimes

today. This includes gaming on consoles, PCs and mobiles.

In a country where we still are trying to break out of a mindset of thinking that serious

gaming is a waste of time and meant only for kids, the gaming culture is still in the

nascent phase and still has leaps and bounds to go. But a recent report by NASSCOM,

which shows that the gaming industry is increasing by 53% per year, and that the industry

is expected to be worth $830 million by 2012, should bring cheers to the lakhs of gamers

across the country.

The increased availability of high-end computer hardware, high speed internet and the

market realization of this field by players like Reliance and Sify, have helped to this

trend. With gaming center outlets like Zapak and Sify Gamedromes opening all over the

country, the gaming industry has received a boost. Zapak Digital Entertainment COO

Rohit Sharma says “If you look at countries like China and Korea, it is the stickiest

social networking opportunity. Other entertainment options do not engage on a

social level. In a virtual world, though, you live a virtual life. Already in our cafes,

you see thousands of kids who live in a virtual environment”. This can be explained

by the immensely popular MMPORG “Massively MultiPlayer Online Realtime Games”

genre like World of Warcraft.

Gaming has indeed come a long way since the days of PacMan and Mario. Today

we have games like NFS Undercover and Prince of Persia requiring high-end PCs

with state of the art graphics to play. Visits to a few gaming cafes and talking to

few café owners have thrown up an interesting fact too. When earlier, the gaming

fraternity used to comprise solely of teenagers, nowadays they found their cabins

being increasingly occupied by 20-somethings, young professionals and even a

few 35+ individuals. Realizing and catering to this demand, Zapak has hosted

Corporate Gaming tournaments, generating a huge interest. Gaming has come to be

considered a relaxant and an engaging and fun pastime. Ample proof of this can be

considered by the increasing sales in the last few years of gaming consoles like the

Xbox and the PlayStation series. Market surveys indicate a growth of over 30% in

these sectors. G.A. Sumanth, 26, gamer, event organiser and store manager for Zapak,

Koramangala, is obviously passionate about the subject: “There are plenty of career

opportunities. I started off as a game jockey, organised events, and now am consultant

with a number of companies about strategy games.”

In a country where serious gaming is often viewed with scorn, regular gamers are

quick to explain their views. Naresh Tapa says “ I met almost all my friends at

Zapak. It’s a great place to hang out. I also have a lot of online friends with whom

I play”. Vahini R agrees “ I used to think gaming was all about yelling and staring

at a computer screen. But the kind of atmosphere these places have and the energy

levels here is simply amazing!”.

As for me, I have started searching for a new internet café. The sounds of rapid fire

and incessant yelling and screaming by the gamers was too much for me to handle.