Zapak Gameplex in Fun Republic Malls

ENTERTAINMENT: Anil Ambani and Subhash Chandra come together for Gaming venture.

Two of the country's top business houses "" the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and the Subhash Chandra-controlled Essel Group "" have come together to set up gaming centres across the country. Groundwork for these centres will begin on April 1. Chandra's E-City Media has struck an alliance with Zapak Digital Entertainment to this effect.

Vishal Anand, vice-president of E-City Media, informs that Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd will set up its online gaming zones across all the four Fun Gaming sites in India located at Fun Republic malls in Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mumbai. Zapak would bring the added attraction of 8-10 terminals for Fun Gaming patrons in addition to the existing variety of arcade options.

Globally, gaming is one of the leading entertainment businesses with the industry size pegged at around $35 billion today and E-City Media sets to reap this opportunity. "The gaming market is going to explode in India and we see this as a perfect opportunity to strengthen our position in this dynamic and burgeoning industry," Anand says.

He feels that Zapak would be an appropriate ally to innovate the existing gaming market across the cities where Fun Gaming already has a strong foothold among the youth and is a popular gaming and leisure destination. "Zapak's appealing international and fresh content will innovate the gaming experience in Fun Gaming zones," Anand adds.

According to Anand, presently the footfalls at Fun Gaming zones in Mumbai and Ahmedabad is between 50,000 and 70,000 and 30,000 in Chandigarh and this alliance is meant to increase these numbers and bring newer gaming concepts to Fun Gaming zones.

Rohit Sharma, COO, Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd, says, "We are happy to associate with Fun Gaming to extend the Zapak Gameplex experience in gaming arenas. Online gaming is gaining significant popularity amongst youngsters today and creating more access points is critical for our growth."

While Zapak is expanding its Gameplex presence (currently in 14 locations across 11 cities), it has plans to create 50,000 gaming seats in India in the next two years. This association with E-City Media is another step in this direction. Moreover, since malls receive a high number of footfalls from the youth, this alliance merits Zapak in terms of gaining more popularity and hitting more access points.

The gaming zones also present an opportunity for advertisers who are targeting the youth. And E-City Media will enable advertisers to run their branding campaigns in the form of kiosks and on-ground promotions in addition to the in-game branding on Zapak games.