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New Delhi: To create awareness about esports in India, Mobile Premier League (MPL) has launched a television campaign called ‘Maidan Naya, Khel Wohi’ (playground is different, but the game is the same) to encourage participation and promote a culture of esports in the country. MPL has brought Olympic medalist and multiple Grand Slam winner Leander Paes and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Geeta Phogat as endorsers.
Through this campaign, MPL aims to showcase the importance of esports and highlights the need for specific skills, talent and practice for succeeding in esports, similar to that needed in physical sports. The esports sector has witnessed exponential growth in the past few years but needs regulation and greater recognition.
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To be sure, the online gaming industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40% to $2.8 billion by 2022, up from $1.1 billion in 2019, according to a Deloitte India report. India is one of the top five mobile gaming markets in the world, with a 13% share of global game sessions, and is expected to add 40 million online gamers during 2020−22.
Esports has also been recognised as a medal winning sports at global sporting events such as 2022 Asian Games. With this campaign, MPL aims to create a place for esports amongst the various other sports in the country. Additionally, the campaign also highlights the importance of responsible gaming, which focuses on a safe and fair environment for all stakeholders in the gaming industry, including gamers, developers, and gaming platforms.
India is expected to account for over 30% of the global esports market in coming years said Sai Srinivas, co-founder and CEO, Mobile Premier League. According to him the campaign aims to instill curiosity among Indians about esports so that the true potential that the digital sports has can be unleashed.
“Esports witnessed exponential growth in 2020. With esports being included as a medal sport by the Olympic Council of Asia, I believe that India will see a rise in many successful esports athletes. Not just this, we hope to soon see some “Made in India” games being played at International sports events like the Asian Games. The aim of this campaign is to unleash the power of esports and bring it on par with physical sports,” he said.
Unlike global markets where computers and sophisticated gaming consoles dominate the esports market, India is led by mobile gaming with the penetration of affordable smartphones and data.
“The future is digital sports and is led by smartphones especially in a market like India. It is also the only sports that act as a leveler with users from big metros or small towns having the same level playing field when it comes to esports. All they need is a mobile device and data plan,” Srinivas added.
The campaign is being promoted across television, print and social media platforms.
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