Personal Computer (PC) gaming is now a mainstream activity in India – especially during the pandemic – with women, school students, GenZ youth from Tier 2 are seriously considering it as a career option, said Gaming Landscape Report 2021 released by HP India on Wednesday.
The gaming community in the country displayed a growing preference for PC gaming with 9 in 10 respondents believing that a PC could offer a better gaming experience than a smartphone. Some 89% of respondents said PC offered a better gaming experience and some 37% of mobile gamers indicated that they would migrate to a PC for gaming, as per the study.
Over 90% of respondents viewed gaming as a viable career option and interestingly this trend was led by women. Some 84% of women respondents wanted to pursue gaming as a career, followed by 80% of male respondents, along with Gen X (91%) and School Students (88%).
The preference for moving to PCs for gaming was led by millennials and Gen Z respondents (70%), as well as by casual and enthusiast gamers (75%). Some 94% of respondents across Tier 2 cities, 88% across Tier 1, and 87% in metro cities preferred PCs over mobile phones for gaming, HP study further said.
Ketan Patel, Managing Director, HP India Market said, “With people spending more time at home, gaming has seen a dramatic rise, as consumers look to find new avenues for entertainment, stress release and social connect. In this scenario, the PC has emerged as the preferred device that provides the most comprehensive gaming experience.”
Gaming was also seen as a stress buster and a way to socialise and connect with family in the pandemic. Apart from gaming, survey respondents highlighted entertainment (54%), photo/video editing (54%) and graphic design (48%), as other key tasks that they performed on their PCs.
“The shift from mobiles to PCs by gamers clearly represents a massive business opportunity for HP. Gaming is among the fastest growing segments in our PC portfolio and we expect to continue this momentum and consolidate our position as the leading PC gaming brand in India,” Mr. Patel added.
Some 1,500 respondents, both men and women, participated in the survey conducted between March and April 2021 in 25 metros and several Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities across the country.