Does it suck to be an Indian gamer?
arko1983
In the zone
ya it suks here.I mainly play strategy games like supreme commander 2,company of heroes(mainly this),c&c 3,4,etc.I own game in steam for which i have to plead my elder brother to buy cause i dont have a credit card.in many games they kik me out of lobby saying ur ping suks.but it seems i hardly lag any games under 450 ping,(i am using bsnl 512 kbps connection)
Reaper_vivek
BAN...KAI
Indian Gaming Scenario has developed significantly in the past few years, mostly for the easy availability and affordable prices of proper hardware..Gaming isn't confined to Online Gaming, PC gaming as the number of consoles sold in India has been on a rise.
Piracy :
*Legit* availability of games is still an issue, though flipkart and nextworld have made it very easy and affordable for us to buy..As Vamsi said earlier, lack of information among potential gamers and the new gamers is a major cause for piracy..
The Price on most of the games isn't justified as we are just paying the Indian equivalent to the US cost, eg Steam and console games..I love the fact that PC games are priced as low as Rs300 in India and almost all games are priced below Rs1000...I used to indulge in extensive *downloading* of games earlier as I was unaware of the costs of legit games..I have now decided to play only those games which I can afford(bought 5 games recently
) and not download the games off torrent sites or the likes...I am in a fb group of 250 gamers(we play COD mostly) and off those only 20 and less have ever bought original games and only 4 or 5 have bought more than 5 games legally...Mind you that most of the members belong to affluent families and can easily afford 2-3 games a month...They don't because there is a cheaper alternative and there isn't a difference between the 2 versions, sans the MP part...
Console owners are continuously searching for ways to jailbreak, so that they can enjoy games at affordable prices...I feel for them, Rs2500 each for almost all games on an X360 or a PS3, Poor chaps
Lack of awareness and *that feeling* of doing something illegal and getting away with it are the 2 main causes of Piracy in our country....Having said that there is a growing Gaming population who are fighting against piracy, with their own li'l steps, thanks to places like tdf, erodov and techenclave... The fact that we are discussing this topic will definitely help most of the tdf members to be more aware of the Indian gaming scene and a li'l more responsible on their part...
A gamestop in every city isn't a feasible idea..This falls under the commercial aspect of gaming which is to an extent controlled by the government..They don't build proper roads in cities..It would be a shame to imagine they doing something for a *useless* activity like gaming...
Competitive Gaming and Management:
Almost all of the gamers, I know of, think of gaming as a leisure activity..The life span of a clan isn't much right now..Leaving a few players of top clans(ft5, EvoX, ATE, etc) almost all stop playing once they graduate or get a job..No one is interested in pursuing gaming extensively as a career..I am a member of a COD4 clan and have been to 2 editions of BYOC with my team..
BYOC, which is held twice every year, is a special tournament..3 days of Non-stop gaming, though the best part is meeting up with hundreds of fellow gamers and connecting over the one thing we like...It's no Dreamhacks but it's still something..The management(Xtreme Gaming) has received a lot of negative criticism lately..I too was disappointed with their arrangements but they are still the only major organizers in the country..We have new tournaments like Game Kshetra, IGC etc...The management needs to step up and innovate.
Online Gaming :
I am a victim of ISP harassment and there are millions along with me..The government thinks that it is sufficient to just BE CONNECTED to the internet..If only they knew that the definition of *Being Connected* has changed in the past 5 years..Earlier people would use the Internet only for mails and searches..Now it's all about bandwidth..with over lakhs of videos being added on the internet daily, we need something more than a "2mbps Broadband Plan"..the ISPs have switched from Dial-Up to Broadband but they are leagues behind the speed with which bandwidth usage is increasing...
I use BSNL's 750UL plan, earlier I would get a ping of 50-70ms on all Indian servers but since 2 weeks I get pings in the range of 300-400...I have been to the exchange a few times and called them almost everyday since then, but they didn't do ****..Even my bandwidth hasn't been doubled for the first 6GB as per the new plans..in my locality, only BSNL operates the Broadband system...Airtel which is abundantly available just 3kms from my home says "Sorry, We don't have laid the lines in your area"...Leaving aside my personal bad luck, the ISPs have failed to keep up with the world..The sad buffering in videos, pathetic downloading speeds and limited plans have all collaborated in keeping the Online gaming scene in chains and continue to halt the progress..The pings which a normal user gets in Indian servers is average to good. But we can't play in offshore servers as the ping goes for a toss..When we play against Sri lankan clans/ Singapore clans the ping ranges between 250-300 which is pathetic BUT think about the popular servers which are based in Europe, UK and US...Until we get good pings all over the world the Indian Gaming community will just expand in our own little bubble and players won't get the opportunity to socialize or play with our offshore counterparts...
Video gaming isn't encouraged by our parents..I haven't met a single person who claims that his/her parents understand the need of video games...India is a developing country and it is the case with all industries in India..Gaming is also a developing hobby/career/Activity..It will definitely improv for the better but, unless the ISPs, the distributors work hard and dramatically change their pace, it will take a lot of time...
Gaming can be highly addictive, DOTA, SKYRIM, etc, and thus it needs to be monitored as well..I have friends who play DOTA for 18-25hours at a stretch..one of my friend even left his job to get better at DOTA...But as with everything else there is a bad side to Gaming...
Gaming isn't something which needs approval of others or their acknowledgement, to indulge in..just like many don't approve of adventure sports or other *unpopular* activities...But it shouldn't be ignored or left to sustain on its own..We need support from all sides, mostly from the current lot of gamers..If the people who are passionate about gaming, right now, continue to do so in the future, we might see an IMPROVED version of Indian Gaming Scene....
Hoping for the best...and fvck you BSNL :X
Piracy :
*Legit* availability of games is still an issue, though flipkart and nextworld have made it very easy and affordable for us to buy..As Vamsi said earlier, lack of information among potential gamers and the new gamers is a major cause for piracy..
The Price on most of the games isn't justified as we are just paying the Indian equivalent to the US cost, eg Steam and console games..I love the fact that PC games are priced as low as Rs300 in India and almost all games are priced below Rs1000...I used to indulge in extensive *downloading* of games earlier as I was unaware of the costs of legit games..I have now decided to play only those games which I can afford(bought 5 games recently
) and not download the games off torrent sites or the likes...I am in a fb group of 250 gamers(we play COD mostly) and off those only 20 and less have ever bought original games and only 4 or 5 have bought more than 5 games legally...Mind you that most of the members belong to affluent families and can easily afford 2-3 games a month...They don't because there is a cheaper alternative and there isn't a difference between the 2 versions, sans the MP part...Console owners are continuously searching for ways to jailbreak, so that they can enjoy games at affordable prices...I feel for them, Rs2500 each for almost all games on an X360 or a PS3, Poor chaps
Lack of awareness and *that feeling* of doing something illegal and getting away with it are the 2 main causes of Piracy in our country....Having said that there is a growing Gaming population who are fighting against piracy, with their own li'l steps, thanks to places like tdf, erodov and techenclave... The fact that we are discussing this topic will definitely help most of the tdf members to be more aware of the Indian gaming scene and a li'l more responsible on their part...
A gamestop in every city isn't a feasible idea..This falls under the commercial aspect of gaming which is to an extent controlled by the government..They don't build proper roads in cities..It would be a shame to imagine they doing something for a *useless* activity like gaming...
Competitive Gaming and Management:
Almost all of the gamers, I know of, think of gaming as a leisure activity..The life span of a clan isn't much right now..Leaving a few players of top clans(ft5, EvoX, ATE, etc) almost all stop playing once they graduate or get a job..No one is interested in pursuing gaming extensively as a career..I am a member of a COD4 clan and have been to 2 editions of BYOC with my team..
BYOC, which is held twice every year, is a special tournament..3 days of Non-stop gaming, though the best part is meeting up with hundreds of fellow gamers and connecting over the one thing we like...It's no Dreamhacks but it's still something..The management(Xtreme Gaming) has received a lot of negative criticism lately..I too was disappointed with their arrangements but they are still the only major organizers in the country..We have new tournaments like Game Kshetra, IGC etc...The management needs to step up and innovate.
Online Gaming :
I am a victim of ISP harassment and there are millions along with me..The government thinks that it is sufficient to just BE CONNECTED to the internet..If only they knew that the definition of *Being Connected* has changed in the past 5 years..Earlier people would use the Internet only for mails and searches..Now it's all about bandwidth..with over lakhs of videos being added on the internet daily, we need something more than a "2mbps Broadband Plan"..the ISPs have switched from Dial-Up to Broadband but they are leagues behind the speed with which bandwidth usage is increasing...
I use BSNL's 750UL plan, earlier I would get a ping of 50-70ms on all Indian servers but since 2 weeks I get pings in the range of 300-400...I have been to the exchange a few times and called them almost everyday since then, but they didn't do ****..Even my bandwidth hasn't been doubled for the first 6GB as per the new plans..in my locality, only BSNL operates the Broadband system...Airtel which is abundantly available just 3kms from my home says "Sorry, We don't have laid the lines in your area"...Leaving aside my personal bad luck, the ISPs have failed to keep up with the world..The sad buffering in videos, pathetic downloading speeds and limited plans have all collaborated in keeping the Online gaming scene in chains and continue to halt the progress..The pings which a normal user gets in Indian servers is average to good. But we can't play in offshore servers as the ping goes for a toss..When we play against Sri lankan clans/ Singapore clans the ping ranges between 250-300 which is pathetic BUT think about the popular servers which are based in Europe, UK and US...Until we get good pings all over the world the Indian Gaming community will just expand in our own little bubble and players won't get the opportunity to socialize or play with our offshore counterparts...
Video gaming isn't encouraged by our parents..I haven't met a single person who claims that his/her parents understand the need of video games...India is a developing country and it is the case with all industries in India..Gaming is also a developing hobby/career/Activity..It will definitely improv for the better but, unless the ISPs, the distributors work hard and dramatically change their pace, it will take a lot of time...
Gaming can be highly addictive, DOTA, SKYRIM, etc, and thus it needs to be monitored as well..I have friends who play DOTA for 18-25hours at a stretch..one of my friend even left his job to get better at DOTA...But as with everything else there is a bad side to Gaming...
Gaming isn't something which needs approval of others or their acknowledgement, to indulge in..just like many don't approve of adventure sports or other *unpopular* activities...But it shouldn't be ignored or left to sustain on its own..We need support from all sides, mostly from the current lot of gamers..If the people who are passionate about gaming, right now, continue to do so in the future, we might see an IMPROVED version of Indian Gaming Scene....
Hoping for the best...and fvck you BSNL :X
actualy gaming in india is good as the prices of pc games are very low in india compared to that in us or uk.i got battlefield 3 for rs 1299 but in other countries it costs arnd $60 which is 3000rs so it doesnt suck to be an indian gamer.its just that indians think its not worth to spend even 1000rs on a gud game
pkkumarcool
Game & anime Lover
they are cheating in case of pings which is most imp factor...
RaMpAgEr^GodZ
Broken In
Well i guess times r changing. Sponsers r coming 2 india n getting clans under their name Just its Slow as internet penetration is quite less here. Example the top clan of dota the roccat.rog clan of india has been sponsored by roccat(ya the top manufacturer of professional gaming hardware).So just times r steady Waiting n patience is the way to go N dont forget the gaming scene also on rise (byoc,wtf-events) n events alike.
Confused_user
Journeyman
Yes it sucks. First, there is on reliable broadband, second, there are hardly any game stores. And above all, most people (even my batchmates) tend to think gaming is for kids.
Currently I'm fighting with my dad to get a gtx 560.... And guess what happened when I asked the local shopkeeper for it... He never even heard about it!
Currently I'm fighting with my dad to get a gtx 560.... And guess what happened when I asked the local shopkeeper for it... He never even heard about it!
pranavgautam67
JERK
Am i The Only one Who Dont Think so ?
(I Dont Think There Is Any Problem With Online PLaying)
I Have That normal 512kbps Plan !!!
And It Is Okay For Me, Not So Good , but Its Fine !!
I Can Play Multiplayer Easily !!
I Play Cod Black Ops Multiplayer So Easily !!
(I Dont Think There Is Any Problem With Online PLaying)
I Have That normal 512kbps Plan !!!
And It Is Okay For Me, Not So Good , but Its Fine !!
I Can Play Multiplayer Easily !!
I Play Cod Black Ops Multiplayer So Easily !!
Morpheus
Broken In
I occasionally come here to read this forum but today after reading this thread, I had to put down my rant too here in this thread. As few others said that PC gaming is expensive, I have to disagree because there is not much you can do about it. You have to buy the hardware to run the games, no other way. And talking about games, they are pretty cheap than what it costs in US. Flipkart offers games for even cheaper than Steam or Origin. Game developers invest a lot into making a game so our excuse of being comparatively poor than western countries where games are made or game companies already making enough money doesn't makes piracy right. I agree that not everyone is able to buy games with price tag of INR 700-2000 so the only way to get more sales in India is to reduce the price even further below. Although, I must admit that even I resort to pirating games sometimes when I get short on money but I buy them later on.
Taking about the shitty infrastructure of internet in India, this is the worst part that pisses me off.
Playing online, downloading patches and DLCs or hell, even streaming yt irritates the hell out of me. Even after paying 2-3k a month to the ISP, all we get is FUP and nightmarish latency.
Taking about the shitty infrastructure of internet in India, this is the worst part that pisses me off.
Playing online, downloading patches and DLCs or hell, even streaming yt irritates the hell out of me. Even after paying 2-3k a month to the ISP, all we get is FUP and nightmarish latency.
NoasArcAngel
Wise Old Owl
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
C:\Documents and Settings\SAMSUNG>tracert 59.178.178.178
Tracing route to triband-del-59.178.178.178.bol.net.in [59.178.178.178]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 192.168.1.1
2 20 ms 12 ms 23 ms triband-del-59.178.191.254.bol.net.in [59.178.19
1.254]
3 23 ms 21 ms 21 ms triband-del-59.178.178.178.bol.net.in [59.178.17
8.178]
Trace complete.
C:\Documents and Settings\SAMSUNG>
No it doesnt suck to be an indian gamer. Even with moderately high pings if one has skill he can pwn . although i agree that a lot of improvement is required in the broadband sector specially low pings, and low downtime and less chokes and losses. Then there is the issue of hosting gaming servers, if the hardware is not proper there is no use of playing.
Yes as one of the above pointed out the only way to reduce the cost of games further is not in your hands, because of the high duty and taxes on the media which is imported games are much more expensive in India. But pc games have become cheap because the licences for manufacturing have been given in india and that way we can produce the cds in india which leads to a very cheap game production cost. compared to original games for the ps3 and the xbox 360. The ps3 games are made in austria, there were some reports that sony might start making games in india that way they would become dirt cheap here.
as the cost of labour is high in austria and the number of games produced is also limited it pushes the prices higher
then there is the low availability of high end hardware, to be truthful it has improved a million times. I remember 4 years ago when the 8xxx nvidia series of gfx card was launched they were available in chennai / mumbai . in delhi very few people had them. I had to pay a 5k premium on a 8800gts fatal1ty edition to buy it in delhi and only smc international in nehru place stocked that card. Nowadays many vendors in delhi stock such stuff because there is an increase in demand and the concept is rising. In my times it was difficult to get performance parts because no one knew about them, others imported them from abroad.
Lets face the hard facts , most of us here are from middle segment or the richer middle segment families. And video gaming is addictive. Our parents want nothing but the best for our future. it is hard for most of us to understand this fact. but when you pass from school and you have no degree in hand and nowhere to go then you will wish you had studied. IT IS the hard fact that you have to study and to succeed in the competition you have to work. So i guess parents are not wrong in telling their children to study it is very important. You dont want to be working as a waiter in some cafe shop to earn a living and still play games...? playing games becomes secondary, once you start the real life, once you start living on your own you earn money.
Gaming is just a phase in life, like when you become a teenager the attraction / shyness in front of girls. if you are sensible after some years you will not be addicted to gaming. The sad problem in India is that there are not many career oppurtunities if you are a gamer. You have to work real hard and even then you will have a very low income, because of the less number of tournaments.
So gaming now and no job later, it is up to you to decide and act. I do not condone gaming , Hell what would i not give up for playing 16 hours a day . But i cant and i understand that so i manage as they say there is a time and place for everything.
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
C:\Documents and Settings\SAMSUNG>tracert 59.178.178.178
Tracing route to triband-del-59.178.178.178.bol.net.in [59.178.178.178]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 192.168.1.1
2 20 ms 12 ms 23 ms triband-del-59.178.191.254.bol.net.in [59.178.19
1.254]
3 23 ms 21 ms 21 ms triband-del-59.178.178.178.bol.net.in [59.178.17
8.178]
Trace complete.
C:\Documents and Settings\SAMSUNG>
No it doesnt suck to be an indian gamer. Even with moderately high pings if one has skill he can pwn . although i agree that a lot of improvement is required in the broadband sector specially low pings, and low downtime and less chokes and losses. Then there is the issue of hosting gaming servers, if the hardware is not proper there is no use of playing.
Yes as one of the above pointed out the only way to reduce the cost of games further is not in your hands, because of the high duty and taxes on the media which is imported games are much more expensive in India. But pc games have become cheap because the licences for manufacturing have been given in india and that way we can produce the cds in india which leads to a very cheap game production cost. compared to original games for the ps3 and the xbox 360. The ps3 games are made in austria, there were some reports that sony might start making games in india that way they would become dirt cheap here.
as the cost of labour is high in austria and the number of games produced is also limited it pushes the prices higher
then there is the low availability of high end hardware, to be truthful it has improved a million times. I remember 4 years ago when the 8xxx nvidia series of gfx card was launched they were available in chennai / mumbai . in delhi very few people had them. I had to pay a 5k premium on a 8800gts fatal1ty edition to buy it in delhi and only smc international in nehru place stocked that card. Nowadays many vendors in delhi stock such stuff because there is an increase in demand and the concept is rising. In my times it was difficult to get performance parts because no one knew about them, others imported them from abroad.
Lets face the hard facts , most of us here are from middle segment or the richer middle segment families. And video gaming is addictive. Our parents want nothing but the best for our future. it is hard for most of us to understand this fact. but when you pass from school and you have no degree in hand and nowhere to go then you will wish you had studied. IT IS the hard fact that you have to study and to succeed in the competition you have to work. So i guess parents are not wrong in telling their children to study it is very important. You dont want to be working as a waiter in some cafe shop to earn a living and still play games...? playing games becomes secondary, once you start the real life, once you start living on your own you earn money.
Gaming is just a phase in life, like when you become a teenager the attraction / shyness in front of girls. if you are sensible after some years you will not be addicted to gaming. The sad problem in India is that there are not many career oppurtunities if you are a gamer. You have to work real hard and even then you will have a very low income, because of the less number of tournaments.
So gaming now and no job later, it is up to you to decide and act. I do not condone gaming , Hell what would i not give up for playing 16 hours a day . But i cant and i understand that so i manage as they say there is a time and place for everything.
Psychosocial
Violent serenity.
To begin with, yes being an Indian gamer sucks. Now this is my opinion. I think its bad because most of the gamers here are teens or young adults. The money they are spending is not their but their parents's. Parents dont allow their children to spends 1-2k on single games. Hence piracy rules here. Piracy = less mp (on consoles atleast). Even if everyone was buying og games, the internet plans are simply pathetic. Only i know how many times inwas kicked out of a CoD4 game because my ping was too high.
Secondly hadware is a pain in the ass to find in this country. The situation is not so bad for people living in cities but for people like me who live in small cities/towns, its just pathetic. Shop keepers have no idea of what they're selling. When you ask them about the products they dont have, they'll just try to market the crap they have in store. Also worth pointing out is how expensive hardware is.
Another thing is that gaming is frowned upon by most people. Especially elders. I am thankful that i have a dad who is a gamer too. But i have seen my friends' situations. They are not allowed to upgrade their PCs, they are not allowed to buy consoles and some lost their internet connection because their parents found that they use it to play online games.
Secondly hadware is a pain in the ass to find in this country. The situation is not so bad for people living in cities but for people like me who live in small cities/towns, its just pathetic. Shop keepers have no idea of what they're selling. When you ask them about the products they dont have, they'll just try to market the crap they have in store. Also worth pointing out is how expensive hardware is.
Another thing is that gaming is frowned upon by most people. Especially elders. I am thankful that i have a dad who is a gamer too. But i have seen my friends' situations. They are not allowed to upgrade their PCs, they are not allowed to buy consoles and some lost their internet connection because their parents found that they use it to play online games.
it sucks a lot as everyone told here..!!
first is that poor internet connectivity and we have no other options left and are bound to use costly broadband plans and 3g data packs...!! and unlike other countries we are given a limited usage and that too of very less bandwith...
Secondly there are no any game shops in smaller cities like varanasi(up) and other cities.. we are bound to make our way for online shops..
Thirdly power failure prob's sucks us and surges our components..!!!
So conclusion is:-there is no doubt that it sucks to be an gamer specially in developing countries..!!!
first is that poor internet connectivity and we have no other options left and are bound to use costly broadband plans and 3g data packs...!! and unlike other countries we are given a limited usage and that too of very less bandwith...
Secondly there are no any game shops in smaller cities like varanasi(up) and other cities.. we are bound to make our way for online shops..
Thirdly power failure prob's sucks us and surges our components..!!!
So conclusion is:-there is no doubt that it sucks to be an gamer specially in developing countries..!!!
thejunglegod
Journeyman
I don't think it sucks to be a gamer here in Idnia. The scene here is pretty much the same the entire world over. People in the US have to deal with high ISP rates as well.
The only major gripe I have is the availability of certain games. For ex. I wanted to get myself a copy of Anno 2070. However, every game shop I visited did not even know such a game existed. I tried around 4 stores then switched to Flipkart only to find it out of stock. I guess it still is out of stock. Also, Blizzard. It pisses me off to no extent that Blizzard never "officially" releases games here in India. Had to get my copies of WOW,SC2 & D3 from Playasia. Other than that, I guess our country is definitely stepping up as far as the games realm is concerned.
The only major gripe I have is the availability of certain games. For ex. I wanted to get myself a copy of Anno 2070. However, every game shop I visited did not even know such a game existed. I tried around 4 stores then switched to Flipkart only to find it out of stock. I guess it still is out of stock. Also, Blizzard. It pisses me off to no extent that Blizzard never "officially" releases games here in India. Had to get my copies of WOW,SC2 & D3 from Playasia. Other than that, I guess our country is definitely stepping up as far as the games realm is concerned.