UTV Software Communications Ltd, the country's first integrated media and entertainment company, aims to become a global name in the international console gaming market. "The phenomenal growth this segment has seen over the past couple of years is only the tip of the iceberg," says Ronnie Screwvala, chief executive officer, in an interview with K Rajani Kanth. Edited excerpts:
UTV's Ignition has showcased its first intellectual property at the four-day Tokyo Game Show. When will this property be released and which are the other games you are lining up for global markets?
This year, we will have about eight titles releasing and three large titles are under production. Of these, EI Sheddai will be released this Christmas, while the other two will be rolled out next year. With regard to True Games, headquartered in Austin (Texas), there we are releasing four MMOGs (massively multiplayer online games), including Miehean and Faxion, starting October and into March.
The total outlay by UTV into its gaming vertical, including acquisition of three companies and its investment in intellectual properties till date, is $75 million (Rs 350 crore). How do you propose to fund your new properties?
Some of the new titles are being funded from the $75 million. Now, it is to reap the benefits of those investments. We are actually looking at the profitability coming out, rather than making further investments. Further investments ... at an appropriate time, we will do it for our console gaming business with a right partnership. Now, what we are looking at is co-producers and co-publishers for our games, who will also make the next round of funding for these games, release and market these.
Who are the co-partners you are talking to?
These are publishers and platform owners like Electronic Arts, Sony and Microsoft. Talks are in advanced stages.
Will you acquire more gaming companies?
Right now, these three companies give us tremendous scope for high growth. At the moment, more mergers and acquisitions are not on our agenda at all. We are trying to benefit from the last two years of investments.
What are your revenue expectations from the gaming business?
Last year, gaming contributed about five per cent to our overall revenues. With new titles in the pipeline and our roll out of pure DTH (direct-to-home) gaming channels, the contribution should be 20 per cent this year and 30 per cent in the next.
Do you have any plans to spin off your gaming business and later take it public?
We believe the whole is bigger than some parts. We believe that sub-listed and demerged entities actually would not allow people to look at the company as a media and entertainment player. We get diluted. Internationally, too, large media companies don't go listing their subsidiaries. They actually spend a lot of time in consolidating these.
Are you considering entering other genres of gaming?
Today, in fact, our focus is not on genres but platforms. Almost every four weeks, a new platform is emerging and a third of the whole console gaming business is consumed via digital downloads. In the past year, one-third of people playing console games didn't buy the game, they downloaded on their Xbox. Now with iPhones and iPads, new games are being downloaded onto these platforms. Social networks are already there. We are tracking the platforms.