Start-ups will play a key role in Indian gaming: Andrej Zdravkovic of AMD

In a Q&A, the head of Software Development and Management at AMD says dissipating entry barriers to high-end gaming has been a key driver of growth in India's gaming market

The Indian gaming industry was valued at $543 million in 2016 and was projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.61 per cent. Andrej Zdravkovic, head of Software Development and Management at global semiconductor company AMD, says dissipating entry barriers to high-end gaming has been a key reason for the growth of gaming market in India. In an interview with B Dasarath Reddy, he says sees a possible start-up wave in local game development with the expansion of domestic gaming market. Excerpts:

Question: How do you see the gaming market in India?
 

Answer:  We see the signs of a fast growing market here in India. Rising interest in high-end gaming was quite visible at our annual GameOn event held in Hyderabad. Obviously there is a barrier to entry as the cost of high-end computer systems is quite high. But we provide various levels of gaming technology and even on this high-end system, you can get our CPU-GPUs at a very reasonable price point. That's what is driving the local people here to actually come and see what can be done with AMD products.

Question: What is your USP over competitors such as Nvidia in the gaming technology space?
 

Answer: Competition is always good for the industry. Nvidia is a good competitor on the graphics side, and Intel is good on the CPU side. But we are the only company that has both. We are the only company in the world that can offer a very high-end APU (accelerated processing unit), so one piece of silicon is both the CPU and the GPU.

Question: What place do Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies have in today's gaming industry?
 

Answer: AR and VR are good examples of the technolgies we deploy in our products. AR creates a very interesting situation where you can get involved with the world. VR is still a little cumbersome as you need to wear a big set of glasses, and you also have to use a cable. But the technology is maturing and is pushing the industry forward. We have announced many different technologies and innovations to support VR going forward.

Question: Most of the gaming stuff comes from outside. How do you visualise the potential for game development in India?
 

Answer: In the last GameOn, we had 3-4 local game developers taking part in the event. I am certain, as the industry grows, many start-ups will engage in creating games. Games also have a cultural side to them. I am sure these start-ups will bring local cultural elements into their creations to make them popular among local people.