HP pitches for the millennial play

With its newly launched gaming portfolio, PC major is looking to find relevance

There is an infamous (albeit anonymous) quote that gamers across the world identify with: “Video games ruined my life. Good thing is, I have two more”. The quote has also become a familiar qualifier for companies looking to understand and communicate with gamers; a category labeled variously as ‘serious consumers of fun’, ‘addicts’ and ‘fanatical about experience’. As HP steps into the still nascent market for gaming devices in India, it is looking into every insight or comment that lets it understand the country’s group of gamer-consumers better. At the same time, it is also hoping to leverage its new launches to get the HP brand greater visibility and recall among young consumers who have largely moved away from the personal computer space.

Today, HP is the leader in India’s PC market with 28.4 per cent share of the market (IDC, December 2016). Its dominance over the consumer and commercial PC segments has remained intact during the past few quarters, despite tough competition from rivals like Lenovo (which is the global leader now), Dell, Asus and Acer. A section of consumers, however, were left unaddressed as gaming laptops and computers were missing from its India portfolio. 

According to Ketan Patel, senior director, personal systems at HP India, although the firm had a wide product range in the country, internal reviews showed existence of a gap in its portfolio. “The gaming devices category is growing at 15 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) in India. We thought it’s the right time to get into the category,” he said. HP launched its global gaming computers series Omen on 15 March in India. While, HP has been present in the category with Omen series in several markets including the US, China and Australia, its late entry in the Indian market has been the result of a wait and watch strategy.

As per a recent report from Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and market research firm TechSci Research, the gaming industry in the country remains miniscule at 0.55 percent of the global market. The report says that  the market is anticipated to grow significantly over the next five years “on account of macro economic factors such as improving demographics, rising disposable income, changing gaming preferences of the consumers, etc.” The report estimates that the gaming industry in the country will touch Rs 5,370 crore by 2022 from Rs 3,600 crore now, growing at 6.6 percent in the years between. Improvement of internet connectivity and increasing penetration of consoles, computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones will fuel growth. The number of gamers in India has already crossed 70 million, the report estimated and added, “The gaming industry in India has grown rapidly over the last decade, predominantly on the back of increasing smartphone and internet penetration coupled with rising income levels of consumers in the country.”

Gaming lets companies such as HP expand the presence of the brand, especially as it helps address a new category of consumers. Another motivation behind getting into the category is the opportunity that it provides consumer facing companies like HP to catch consumers young. According to industry estimates, nearly 80 percent of gamers are aged below 30 years and more than two-third of them are part of millennial brigade, born in or after the year 2000. “Gaming is synonymous with the millennial generation. The move will help us capture young consumers and hugely benefit the brand,” said Patel.

HP says that its products will be affordable and the company will introduce products for all gamers — from entry level enthusiasts to professionals. It has launched eight new devices, seven laptops and one desktop computer priced between Rs 79,990 and Rs 1,39,990. 

Patel says the rationale behind launching a series of products is to address all kinds of gamers. “The market for serious gaming in India is still very small. Majority of the consumers are looking for devices to do some casual gaming. Thus, we wanted to make sure that our portfolio covers all,” he said. According to the CII-TechSci report, “Casual games accounted for 14.82 per cent share in India’s gaming market in 2016 and revenues emanating from the casual gaming segment in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.73 per cent during 2017-2022, to reach $119.48 million by 2022.”

To widen its offering and back it up with supporting devices, HP has launched a range of accessories and its entire gaming devices range is compatible with virtual reality (VR) headsets. Patel claims that HP is the first company to launch VR ready gaming solutions in the country, which according to experts, will boost India’s gaming industry in coming years. By launching with VR ready solutions, HP is also trying to differentiate its brand from others in the market such as MSI, Asus, Lenovo and Acer, say industry experts.

Engaging with gaming communities will be a key part of HP’s promotional campaign in coming days. The firm has set aside a budget for its new project. Sponsoring and arranging gaming events, contests, and advertisement campaigns on social and digital media will be its focus.