Paanchvi Pass takes a gaming avatar

The next big step for the gaming industry could well be the direct-to-home (DTH) platforms as Bharti Airtel readies to offer games based on television shows and comic characters as a content differentiator on its upcoming DTH service.

The first step in this direction will be the DTH premiere of the game Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain, featuring film actor Shah Rukh Khan. The Paanchvi Pass game will also be launched across other gaming platforms including mobile, IPTV and online.

According to Ramit Bharti Mittal, nephew of Sunil Mittal and director of Bull Dog Entertainment, "Both DTH and IPTV platforms have huge potential for games, that is why Paanchvi Pass will also be launched on Bharti's DTH and IPTV services." Interestingly, Bull Dog is the license holder for all the Paanchvi Pass formats, be it for television or gaming.

Bull Dog entertainment has tied up with Indiagames, a UTV company, to produce and release the game-version of Paanchvi Pass.

"We may also develop two more international television shows, India's Top Model and Amnesia in the game format," Mittal told Business Standard. Mittal said that his company was also open to acquiring gaming license based on comic characters.

Currently, both Tata Sky and Dish TV, the two existing DTH companies, also offer games for kids as a value-added service. However, movies and radio channels have been the content differentiator for the existing DTH companies so far.

Meanwhile, apart from King Khan, Indiana Jones, Batman and cricketer Sourav Ganguly are also set to storm the mobile and online gaming market this summer.

Even these games will be targeted at not just the mobile and online game enthusiasts, but also the 5.5 million DTH and half-a-million IPTV subscribers in the country, gaming industry sources revealed.

"Developing games for DTH and IPTV platforms require a large investment in terms of both man hours and money because of the technical complexity involved. We are looking at releasing the DTH-version of Paanchvi Paas in a few months after we launch it for mobiles, online, and the DVD version," said Samir Bangara, COO of Indiagames, the company that will create the game version.

However, till the DTH versions of these games become operational, Paanchvi Pass, Indiana Jones, Batman and Indian Premier League (IPL) games, among others, will be targeted at the over 2.5 million active mobile gaming enthusiasts or the Rs 150-crore mobile gaming market in the country at subscription fees of Rs 40 to Rs 200 per game.

According to Bangara, because of the increasing popularity of mobile games coupled with increasing penetration of GPRS-enabled mobile phones, the size of the mobile gaming market based on end-user charges may cross Rs 1,200 crore by 2010.

Along with the release of Hollywood movie, the Indiana Jones series, next month, a game featuring the lead character Indiana Jones (played on-screen by actor Harrison Ford) will also hit the market along with the new version of the Batman series.

For the IPL games, popular players like Sourav Ganguly, Shoaib Akthar and Gilchrist, among others, may be adapted for games, sources indicated.

Shah Rukh Khan, a self-confessed gaming enthusiast, is not new to the world of mobile games. Games based on Kaun Banega Crorepati and the Bollywood film Don have been in the market for a while.