How Mobile Gaming Will Help Esports Evolve In India In 2021 And Beyond

Indians are taking a keen interest in smartphone gaming. We¡¯ve seen how games like PUBG Mobile and COD Mobile have provided a massive boost to this trend. And even after PUBG Mobile getting pulled from the Indian market, the craze for mobile gaming is skyrocketing.

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Looking at this craze, smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm recently announced the Qualcomm Conquest esports tournament, providing a massive platform for mobile gamers in India to participate and test their skills on popular battle royale game Garena: Free Fire and be able to win a cash prize of Rs 50,00,000, among several categories.

We were curious to know about their sudden interest in the Indian esports scene and what they plan on bringing to the table, while also understanding what they went through for organising an event of such stature.

We got to interact with Rajen Vagadia, VP and President of Qualcomm India & SAARC, who told us about Qualcomm¡¯s vision into the esports segment and how India is doing everything right to be at the forefront.

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Esports in COVID-19 world

With an event of this size, I was curious to know how they¡¯ve planned on executing this, especially since COVID-19 pandemic is still showing no signs of stopping.

Rajen shared that this plan wasn¡¯t something that was whipped out of the blue, but in fact, it has been in the works for a few years now, ¡°We¡¯ve been working on this for almost two years. What took us so long was also to understand the whole gaming ecosystem. It is a vast country and to select the right platform is key, those things took some time. To be honest, apart from this I am struggling to figure out what were the challenges. While I'm not considering the government regulation, let's say sometimes there are some regulations, which probably are not very clear or rather they are clear on, on real money gaming, and this, this is competitive skill-based gaming. I consider these as socially competitive. It allows you to engage, connect.

He added, ¡°The only challenging bit will be the finale which we plan on doing an offline event where we¡¯ll gather the winning teams together. That part we'll wait and see what is safe for the players then. Safety for us is very important, whether it is for us, for our gamers or spectators. And we'll ensure to make this decision keeping safety in mind. If situations don¡¯t permit, the finale too will be concluded online. ¡°

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Making it about Free Fire

It was definitely surprising for Qualcomm to pick Garena¡¯s Free Fire for the game in the tournament. Rajen revealed, ¡°The advantage we have with the Free Fire is it's one of the, probably the platform which spreads across all segments and all levels of proficiency. So while the device restrictions are not a concern since it¡¯s played across almost every tier of the phone, we believe that one of the big things it matters for Qualcomm is democratizing as is technology. So as 4G is available, right from an entry phone to an expensive smartphone at the highest tier. Likewise, what we believe is that gaming is not a prerogative of only the chosen few at the high end. ¡°

Also check: Free Fire Names 2021: Best Stylish Nicknames For Free Fire, Pet Names, Clan Names

Ensuring fair play

With so many players competing with each other, some notorious players are bound to not play by the rules. Either by using a cheat tactic or some cheat apps that would enhance their scores. But Rajen revealed that they¡¯ve got this covered, ¡°In an esports tournament, typically the finale is what goes as an offline event, rest every round or even, even the selection rounds of the initial rounds, are all online. And here in this case, we will have admins and moderators who will be constantly looking at all the gamers.¡±

He added, ¡°The game already has anti-cheats so that¡¯s an additional layer of protection. And then whenever the finale comes, whether online or offline, we will closely work with the Free Fire team to keep things in check.¡±

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Changes needed for the esports scene in India

Rajen revealed how the Indian mobile gaming market is doing everything right to help the industry and players thrive, ¡°I don¡¯t think much changes are needed. I think we are positioned in the right way. Number of players, number of games, or type of games, engagement level, number of hours, the right type of devices. All of these are probably right in place.¡±

He added, ¡°If there's one thing we¡¯d love to see is maybe some local game developers or some publishers bringing local games. I'm very hopeful that in the near future, we might see these games coming from India.¡±

Esports gaining mass popularity

Today, we all witness the popularity and love for cricket and its players in India. We asked Rajen when he thinks such popularity will ever be associated with esports in India.

Rajen explained, ¡°I think in terms of popularity, we¡¯re already there, with around 400 million players in India, which other app or use-case has got similar numbers? Maybe WhatsApp. It's almost 400 million. TikTok was probably somewhat similar, right? So theoretically we have already arrived. Now, globally esport is getting more and more recognition and I think India will keep pace with that.¡±

He added that this popularity will only rise with access to the right kind of technology, ¡°What will help us though a little bit more is the arrival of 5G, which is probably around the corner, whenever it happens. as it also opens up a lot of other avenues. 5G in India is almost here along with the entire world. So what happens is all the benefits that 5G or cloud-based gaming will bring to the world, we wouldn't be left behind. So I see this, that technology is available. The right interest is there. The community is already built up. It is actually a pretty well knit social community. I would say the gaming community and this competitive spirit is really helping. The new generation. So I'm very excited. I think it is. It's, uh, it's right around the corner.¡±

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Gaming isn¡¯t negative

Rajen concluded the conversation talking about the myths surrounding gaming and how it should no longer be seen from a negative lens, but as a medium to help the youth thrive.

Rajen said, ¡°Online gaming has been one thing in the time of COVID that has shown how we can stay connected in a social way. There are so many positives of either online gaming or the gaming on the phone. Whether it is learning strategy when at a young age, you're forming teams, you're strategizing with them. It shows you how to work together.

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He concluded, ¡°Gaming helps in improving your reflexes and as you develop your skills of gaming, improve memory, motor skills, social connect, discipline, dexterity, problem-solving capability -- all these are helpful later in life. So I think this is a beautiful thing and I think we should not forget that when we look at gaming.¡°