At a time when mobile gaming is growing rapidly in the Indian market, Aircel India has launched a first-of-its-kind gaming card. Styled along the lines of their Pocket Internet range, the retail initiative will allow users to download and play unlimited games along with unlimited internet access at an affordable rate.
The entire gaming library of Electronic Arts (EA) and Disney UTV will be available free for those who use the card. For Rs 39, Aircel customers with Java or Symbian- enabled handsets can access the internet at 2G speeds for a validity period of seven days. For Rs 69, the validity extends to 14 days. The application will not work on the iPhone, Windows phone or BlackBerry, although the Android compatible version will be available in the next few weeks. There will be no talk time attached with this card. Sankara Narayanan K, Regional Business Head, Aircel, Chennai and Murthy Chaganti, unveiled the card. Addressing the press, Sankara Narayanan said, “Limitless is a concept we have followed throughout. Now, we are introducing it to our young customers.” He also spoke about the impact that Pocket Internet has had on consumers, who use their mobiles for accessing online content.
Murthy Chaganti said, “We have the highest number of Facebook users and produces the second highest number of Google searches. With 55 per cent of our population below 24, we will have 109 million entering employability in the next few years. Also, 75 per cent of our Internet users are youth.” He added that gaming is the fastest growing mobile technology at the moment, even though it is still in the nascent stages in India.
“Here about 1.75 per cent of people will use mobile for gaming, as opposed to 4 per cent in France and 9 per cent in Germany. This is the opportunity for growth we are looking at,” he said.
The card’s first look had been unveiled by the Chennai Super Kings in a ceremony held earlier, and the card would be available across India from November 22.