Now, now. What ever made you think that office going chaps don’t game? Zapak’s Corporate Gamer says otherwise. This event was specifically organized for all those cubicle warriors who game in their offices to release stress or just pass their time if they have nothing to do. It was one of those rare initiatives that you never see happening around. Reliance Money presented this event and it was amazing to see that they were promoting Corporate Gaming as they recognize the importance of Gaming in Offices where it immensely helps in easing the tension and improving team spirit.
This event was held across three cities which included Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. There was a knockout round that spanned for four weeks, every weekend. In all 30 people qualified for the finals, 10 winners from each city which competed against each other in six games. 5 players from each city for Counter Strike 1.6, 1 player each for games like Zuma, Heavy Weapons, Bejeweled 2, Fifa 07 and Need For Speed: Most Wanted. Mind you, this wasn’t a hard core gaming event. It was one of those events which consisted of a perfect blend between Casual Flash-based games like Zuma, Heavy Weapons and Bejeweled and other games which are a complete hit among the Indian masses which include Counter Strike, Fifa 07 and Need For Speed. Zapak has a stupendous amount of active user base which has crossed over 4 Million users. With such numbers, it’s no biggie to realize that there is indeed a massive market for Casual flash-based games that adults enjoy from Offices or Homes. The flash-based games were also narrowed down based on the popularity of those Games on Zapak.com. Zapak’s Corporate Gamers initiative from the start was to encourage all office goers who enjoy casual games on a casual basis to step out of their cubicles and show everyone that they can game too. We have to say, 2 thumbs up to Reliance, Zapak for taking such an initiative.
The Zapak Corporate Gamer finals took place at Hard Rock Cafe in Mumbai. Shame on you if you live in Mumbai and have never visited the place. A secret, I never visited this place either until now. Shame on me too! The whole place was booked just for this event on THE D Day, i.e. 21st March ‘08. A perfect choice of location I must say, it was essentially a pub with the gaming platform just above the bar with huge projector just behind the computers which everyone in the bar could see. The ambience was perfect with the DJ spinning the music, free drinks at the bar and free sumptuous food. So now let’s see, free drinks (Including Hard Drinks) – check, free food – check and gaming – check. I say that’s the golden combination any office going Gamer could want. The event was portrayed somewhat like a Sports Bar type of theme. Any one who did not compete in the event could just hang back and chill, drink beer and watch the participants playing on the big screen. Now, don’t you think it was a perfect setup for the spectators and participants as well?!
To be brutally honest, the Zapak Corporate Challenge started on the slow side when games like Zuma, Heavy Weapons and Bejeweled 2 were being played. They weren’t all that of a thrill to watch on the big screen. Let’s be frank, the flash-games did not have much to show. The excitement reached its climax when Need for Speed, Fifa and Counter Strike made an appearance. That’s when the crowd got into the mood. Mind you, it wasn’t a huge crowd to begin with. The event was a private one, only for participants and their families. Apart from that only the press was allowed. The fact that irritated me was the lady speaker who was asking every one to cheer up and scream to support their cities when in reality the ratio of volunteers for the event to the number of participants was 1 to 1. A select few did scream to cheer but it seemed more irritating than a cry of team spirit.
I also had an interesting chat with Arun Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer, Zapak, where he mentioned that Zapak has made an investment of nearly US$100 Million for building up infrastructure for Gaming and their main focus is PC Multi-player Gaming because they believe that Multi-player Gaming is the future. One interesting fact that he mentioned was that Zapak is going to introduce Five Massively Multi-player Online Games for their Gameplex centers across the country where users can buy the Zapak Game Cards and indirectly pay the subscription for the Multi-player Game. He said “In India, subscription based multi-player games don’t work because they require Credit Card payment and users are not comfortable with it or the penetration of Credit Card isn’t upto the mark so we will be offering our Game Cards through our Gameplexes which will be an indirect method of payment for the Subscription for the MMO Games.” Mehra added, “At the end of April, the first MMO Game will be introduced, after which 4 more will follow”. Intrigued, I asked whether the MMO games are going to be ones developed in India or from other country to which he replied “No we are looking at the best MMO’s played world over.”
Basically, if we look at the old track records, Zapak is the largest company in Gaming in India. Zapak seems to be well determined to promote gaming through their Gameplexes. It seems clear that Zapak has no intentions of currently spreading their wings into the Console territory and they would be completely focused on the PC Gaming segment as of now. The concentration on Casual Games seems practical and logical because of the user base but I would like Zapak to use its influence to spend a tiny fraction of its resources for Hardcore Gamers who have potential in Counter Strike, Fifa, Need for Speed, Quake etc. It would be like an icing on the cake for them as it is the only organization which has the financial muscle to invest in the Gaming Industry in India.
In all, in spite of being the first event of its kind, the Zapak Corporate Challenge was organized brilliantly and it was a great idea and gesture towards casual gamers who simply can’t compete with the regular gamers. So, you are the guy who is working in a small cubicle and bored out of your life. The only way to pass your time is to play that favorite flash game of yours. Gradually, the one time boredom activity continues for days/weeks/months, now if you tell me you have been gaming continuously for years in your office without getting fired then please, Oh please! give me details about the place you work in. I would love to join that job. Anyways back to the topic, so you have played that game so much that you are so good at it that you have achieved every possible high score for it. Oh but wait…there is no one to appreciate your prowess in that game. All your colleagues probably think you are crazy or something when they hear you screaming out of joy when you beat your own high score in that particular game. Well my dear, this event was made for you. Reliance is going to hold this event on an annual basis, so if you missed it this year, there is always a next year.