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The Sonys and Microsofts of the world queue up to pry open the digital games market in India. Think video games is juvenile stuff? Think again. Over the next three years, the market for digital video games in India could be as big as Rs 500 crore, and a chunk of the buyers may well be outside the metros. Says who? AC Nielsen, a top market research firm that surveyed four cities and towns over two months (September-October) in 2000 for Stracon India, an exclusive distributor of DreamCast video games and console in the SAARC region. Says Surojit Sen, Managing Director of the company: ''No doubt the market for digital games is nascent right now, but we see enormous growth potential over the next few years.'' Sega launched its DreamCast games in March this year, which is to be followed by Sony's Playstation and Microsoft's Xbox around October this year. Of the Rs 500 crore market estimate, Rs 150 crore may come from hardware alone. The players plan to populate the market with set-top boxes that can be used for PlayStation, Xbox or DreamCast. Current estimates suggest a sale of one lakh units in the next one year. The strategic thrust is on upgrading the TV to a home entertainment device offering internet access, music and gaming station capabilities. DreamCast's is a 128-bit game console with a built-in 56-kb modem that allows Internet access when connected to a television. At Rs 12,900 per unit, it also doubles up as an audio CD player. Others like Sony have launched Playstation I, which costs Rs 15,000 and is a pure gaming device. But coming up soon is Playstation II that, like DreamCast, is a web-enabled gaming device. It is already available in the grey market, though, for around Rs 25,000. The latest version of the Sega DreamCast hardware allows internet access over TV, plays DVDs, and offers gaming facilities. The Sega set-top boxes are to be priced in the range of Rs 12,000 to Rs 14,000. A survey conducted by ac Nielsen for Stracon found that apart from the metros, markets exist in places like Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Agra, Pune, and Coimbatore, where the youngsters hang out at cybercafes and internet kiosks, and spend time playing these games. Have market, will play. -Rakhi Mazumdar CONSUMER
SOFT We knew that all along, but marketers of consumer products are giving the phrase an entirely new meaning.
Here's a simple question: you are to choose between two products; one that says it's a great product, and the other that doesn't use such lung-power, but solemnly declares that buying it is actually good for your health. Which one would you pick? A hunderd bucks, says the latter. After all, chomping through a packet of biscuits or scooping a tub of ice-cream clean is easier if you know that it is actually good for your health. Marketers across a range of consumer products are betting that is so. Pick up a shampoo, a toothpaste, biscuits, an ice cream bar, or even a chewing gum. Printed prominently on the colourful pack would be a message on the product's health benefits. Crores of rupees are being spent on developing and marketing such products. ''Health isn't just a serious concern for a large section of the population, but it is an issue that cuts across age barriers,'' says Ramesh Thomas, Principal Executive Officer, Equitor Consulting, a brand consulting company Apparently, the vanguard of the health bandwagon were your humble shampoos. Remember the zpto and ProVitaminb5 shampoos that suddenly descended on the scene in answer to your lustreless hair and dry scalp? You did go ahead and buy them. What worked with shampoos is working with other products as well. Coca-Cola has launched a ''calcium-fortified'' variant of its mango drink, Maaza. SmithKline Beecham now promotes its Horlicks as a drink that provides five times as much calcium as milk, and children who buy Hindustan Lever's Max ice cream may actually be buying a good dose of glucose, instead of fat. Even chewing gums from Perfetti have a health plank to stand on: the baking soda in the gum whitens teeth. The fact that health sells is being put to good use by consumer durables marketers. LG, for instance, hawks the preserve nutrition system in its refrigerators, and Samsung promotes bio-fresh as the answer to keeping food in the refrigerator fresh. ''You have to make the proposition tangible so that the benefits are visible to the consumer,'' says Ganesh Mahalingam, General Manager, Marketing, LG India. As long as the health plank does not crash into the sales of non-health positioned products, staying ''healthy'' should be a good idea for companies. -Ashutosh Sinha CORPORATE
NOTES: DISINVESTMENT Don't try reading the government's lips when it comes to Maruti Udyog. You are bound to be wrong.
In September, the government is expected to make a rights issue in Maruti Udyog as a prelude to the sale of its stake in the car company. But chances are potential buyers will be left high and dry. The two Union ministers-Murli Manohar Joshi of Heavy Industry, and Arun Shourie of the Department of Disinvestment-haven't even met as yet to discuss the sale. Does the government (read: Joshi) really want to divest in MUL? Increasingly, the answer seems to be a No. That has as much to do with the industry ministry's intention as the proposed mode of sale. The plan, as of now, is to sell the government's 49.6 per cent stake in MUL to, first, state-owned financial institutions and then eventually the public. But the FIS are cash-strapped and auto stocks-the world over-aren't exactly hot. That apart, Suzuki Motors, equal partner in the JV, has dug in its heels, and wants the government to sell its share either to General Motors (it owns 20 per cent in Suzuki) or the FIS. Laments Pradeep Baijal, Secretary, Department of Disinvestment: ''We have been pressing for disinvestment in Maruti. But a few issues are pending discussion.'' Meanwhile, MUL is learnt to have posted a net loss of Rs 250 crore on a turnover of Rs 9,200 crore for the year ended March 31, 2001. But the loss was primarily due to a Rs 350-crore depreciation provision. In 2001-02, MUL is trying to get back in the black by stepping up indigenous content in models like Alto, WagonR, and Baleno. But if more models are launched, that rendezvous may get put-off. And, happily for Suzuki, the proposed sale may remain an exercise in theory. -Swati Prasad CEO Survival Kit Connectivity is very important to Saxena, whose company helps make the telecom network possible.
Cellphone/PDA: Motorola Accompli 6188-It is central to my busy life, as it doubles up as a handheld. It makes sense to travel light. Laptop: Dell Latitude PP 01s-It is integral to my working life. Along with my communication device, it is my mobile office and I must carry it everywhere with me. I like to keep a tab on breaking news from around the world... DVD Player: Sony-I am quite a movie freak and carry this portable device to catch up on a movie or two while travelling. Treadmill: Life Gear-It is an ideal device that helps me get some exercise even during a busy day.
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