Esports Premier League (ESPL) has roped in TECNO Mobile as its Presenting Sponsor for the second edition of the country’s first franchise-based league for gaming after the overwhelming success of the inaugural edition last year. While the tournament, beginning today, seeks to tap into the growing landscape of esports in India to help the competitive gaming community, it also presents a huge opportunity for the smartphone brand to empower the users with value for money devices that can seamlessly take their game to the next level. The company, through this league, is promoting its recently-launched POVA 3 smartphone that offers key innovations to help Indian gamers better their gaming experience. Arijeet Talapatra, CEO, TECNO Mobile India, shares with Ramesh Kumar Raja the benefits of this league and how the handset maker is encouraging gamers to pursue their passion for mobile gaming, in order to take esports to the next level in India. Excerpts:
Gaming happens to be the next big thing for smartphone makers after cameras nowadays. How do you look at this emerging trend as a business as well as an R&D opportunity?
The Indian gaming industry is estimated to be valued at $3.9 billion by 2025. The developments have heightened gamers’ expectations from the technology sector and there is an increased demand for better and more powerful gaming devices with high-end processors, augmented speed, and longer battery life. We are already contributing to this historic gaming revolution with our feature-rich gaming smartphones in the mid-range segment that augment the gaming capabilities of the gamers.
With the launch of POVA 3, we are focused on redefining the gaming experience for the consumers. To offer an uninterrupted experience in gaming and content consumption, POVA 3 will be the first in the segment to offer a 7,000mAh battery with a 33W fast charger coupled with powerful gaming Helio G88 processor.
How TECNO Mobile is helping smartphone gamers in India achieve the best possible experience?
TECNO POVA caters to the needs and requirements of gaming enthusiasts combining speed, power, and performance in one. The motive behind such a series in the mid-segment is to give aspiring gamers a chance to showcase their talents thereby giving them a chance to create a legacy in this field and take mobile gaming to the next level in India. The POVA series brings to the customers, industry-best features and provides a good combination of fast processors, and excellent battery life as well as addresses the upgraded requirements of the customers and their expectations from a gaming smartphone. As the gaming industry is seeing an emergence of new players every day, TECNO is continuously working towards offering technologically advanced products to consumers at disruptive pricing.
| “The indigenous Panther Game Engine boosts technology, enhances the gaming interaction, and betters the visual experience in heavy-duty games like BGMI, Call of Duty, Free Fire, Battlegrounds, etc. This feature also prevents screen tearing, ensures natural colour reproduction, elevates the performance of the touch panel, and manages the resource allocation between the game and the chipset efficiently for preventing heating from long gameplay hours” |
Which specific gaming features you are currently working on and how it’s going to be a game-changer for you?
Our newly-launched smartphone POVA 3 offers key innovations to help Indian gamers better their gaming experience. The indigenous Panther Game Engine boosts technology, enhances the gaming interaction, and betters the visual experience in heavy-duty games like BGMI, Call of Duty, Free Fire, Battlegrounds, etc. This feature also prevents screen tearing, ensures natural colour reproduction, elevates the performance of the touch panel, and manages the resource allocation between the game and the chipset efficiently for preventing heating from long gameplay hours.
The smartphone will come with powerful gaming Helio G88 processor. Since gamers spend a lot of time looking at their screens without blinking, the displays of POVA series smartphones are easy on the eyes and come with Health mode. The mode comprises of Eye care mode, Anti-addiction reminder, Lying posture tips, and supports the vibration adaptation of games.
Being the third-largest smartphone player in the sub-10k segment, TECNO Mobile definitely has a business edge to tap the gamers from non-metro cities. How do you look at this development?
With the increasing internet penetration and variety of mobile phones being available in the market, the opportunity to tap the non-metro cities is increasing every day. Being the third-largest smartphone player in the sub-10k segment, we aim to reach the people living in non-metro cities by giving them an opportunity to experience the benefits of premium phones at disruptive rates. At TECNO, our focus is to offer innovative technology to consumers across segments and the length and breadth of the country.
| “Being the third-largest smartphone player in the sub-10k segment, we aim to reach the people living in non-metro cities by giving them an opportunity to experience the benefits of premium phones at disruptive rates. At TECNO, our focus is to offer innovative technology to consumers across segments and the length and breadth of the country” |
How will TECNO Mobile use the prominent esports IP like ESPL 2022 for gaming intelligence and the betterment of mobile-based gaming technology?
We aim to encourage amateur and aspiring gamers to pursue their passion for mobile gaming. Our collaboration with esports and gaming events will encourage sprouting talents to create a legacy in this field and take esports to the next level in India. We believe that mobile gaming is truly here to stay and TECNO POVA promises to help the gaming enthusiasts of India achieve the best possible experience combining speed, power, and performance.
How big is the gaming industry and what are the advantages of such associations?
India’s gaming community is witnessing a boom and growing exponentially at a rate of 37% per annum. With the POVA product line, we are determined to provide Indian smartphone consumers with a trinity of speed, power, and performance that supplements the Zillenials’ never-ending hustle and further motivates them to ‘Stop at Nothing’. Our association with ESPL is bringing us forward towards achieving the same goal. We are looking ahead to a valuable partnership to create a more exciting online gaming ecosystem.
What is the most exciting aspect of ESPL 2022 for you?
Gaming is an emerging community in India and with challenges and competitions like ESPL people get a platform and chance to showcase their talents and capabilities. This year’s ESPL is not just targeted at attracting the esports enthusiasts but also professional athletes who will be playing on popular battle royale game, ‘BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA (BGMI)’, for the cash prize of Rs 1 crore.
| “Gaming is an emerging community in India and with challenges and competitions like ESPL people get a platform and chance to showcase their talents and capabilities. This year’s ESPL is not just targeted at attracting the esports enthusiasts but also professional athletes who will be playing on popular battle royale game, BGMI, for the cash prize of Rs 1 crore” |
How better affordability and enhancement in smartphone technology are helping mobile gamers and the competitive gaming industry in India?
The Indian gaming industry is estimated to be valued at $3.9 billion by 2025. A concentrated number of the Indian population still resides in tier II or III cities and don’t have access to surplus cash which makes it important for the mobile industry to understand and cater to the needs of this section. As smartphone users continue to grow exponentially in India, we have introduced feature-rich smartphones in the mid-budget segment to make high-end mobile gaming experience accessible. Our goal is to empower potential gamers in pursuing their passion for mobile gaming. TECNO will continue to provide gaming-ready devices and solutions that enhance the player experience on multiple levels while providing cutting-edge technology to our customers. We will also continue to empower the gaming community in India through such partnerships in Esports and contribute to building the overall Esports ecosystem in India.
| “Our endeavors have always been to be ahead of the curve as we outperform the competition by consistently introducing best-in-class functional innovations that create greater accessibility for Indian consumers. In alignment to Digital India vision, we are committed to offer our consumer more choices by offering a wide range of product portfolio from 6k to 30k catering to their needs” |
Some latest reports suggest that mobile titles are big in India as they facilitate easier connectivity and accessibility for users and leverage the power of the mobile-first ecosystem of the country. How TECNO Mobile is looking to tap this big market in the coming days?
At TECNO, we focus on pioneering the next generation of smartphone innovation that has the potential to take users’ mobile experience to a whole new level. Our endeavors have always been to be ahead of the curve as we outperform the competition by consistently introducing best-in-class functional innovations that create greater accessibility for Indian consumers. In alignment to Digital India vision, we are committed to offer our consumer more choices by offering a wide range of product portfolio from 6k to 30k catering to their needs.
Also Read: The Rise and Rise of Esports: Smartphones emerge as a key enabler