There’s hardly any kid nowadays who’s not aware of smartphone and its usage. In fact, they are quite equipped in using it quite comfortably and efficiently. With the increase of internet penetration and easy access, parents are always conscious of what kind of content their kids are consuming and what applications are they using frequently.

Soumini Sridhara Paul

Keeping this thought in mind,  Hungama Digital has launched a new OTT platform, Hungama Kids, especially for kids, parents, and teachers to access content created and curated for them. Launched in the first week of November, Hungama Kids is available on Google Play Store and will soon be available on the iOS Store. Hungama Kids has been developed by D’Café. 

The platform provides parents a plethora of features that include a range of parental controls, no third-party advertisements and no in-app purchases. Hungama Kids follows a subscription based revenue-model that allows first-time users to access the content on the app at free-of-cost for the initial 24 hours; thereafter the app services can be availed for Rs. 30 per month or Rs. 299 per year.

Animation Xpress had an informative chat with Hungama Digital Media vice president Soumini Sridhara Paul who explained why it’s important to make more kids aware of content that provides edutainment. Here’s what she had to say :   

> What’s the thought behind the creation of Hungama Kids OTT platform?

Increased smartphone usage has put the Internet in the palms of people across age groups, including children. As a parent, I understand the gravitas of constantly being cautious when your child has access to the Internet. The thought behind creating Hungama Kids was to bridge the gap between the demand and availability of age-appropriate content online. Through the app, we want to create a family-friendly, one-stop-destination for interactive and engaging informative and entertaining content for parents, teachers, and kids alike.

> Tell us more about what does the app offer. 

The users of Hungama Kids get access to a wide range of original content across academic topics such as language practice, general knowledge, science, maths, social sciences and career guidance, which is useful for children, parents and teachers. At present, the app offers 2000+ minutes of informative, short-format content. Our content library hosts over 500 videos in English and Hindi with new content being added each day. The user-friendly interface aids our users to navigate through our content in a seamless manner. To suit the different needs of the diverse target audience, the content is categorized into separate sections for kids and parents, with the section for kids further categorized into different age groups.

> Any original or special content specifically curated for Hungama Kids?  

Hungama Kids has a slew of original content in varied formats such as bedtime stories, biographies, shows on scientific inventions and discoveries. Our young viewers can also enjoy puzzles and academic oriented shows that boost their learning and understanding of their surroundings.

> What marketing strategies do you intend to adopt for this? 

It is important for us to help parents and teachers understand the USPs of the app, hence, we are actively targeting them online and promoting the app digitally. Additionally, we are giving them a chance to explore our library and sample content for free for the first 24 hours.

> Which age groups are you targeting? 

Hungama Kids caters to a diverse group of target audience across all age-groups. Our content is designed for toddlers, school-going children, pre-adolescents and adolescents; in addition we also have parenting tips, career guidance, pregnancy care, amongst other things for parents and teachers.

> What’s special and unique about Hungama Kids?

We are one of the foremost platforms dedicated towards providing family-friendly content that is original and interactive for kids, parents, and teachers; this makes Hungama Kids special and unique. The app provides a comprehensive learning experience with content that ranges across topics available in Hindi, English and Hing-lish. The design of the platform eliminates the aspect of constant supervision from parents and provides age-appropriate content.

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In its second edition, IndiaJoy has become one of the mosted noted hotspots in the world for Digital, Media and Entertainment Corporations to engage in business, DIY, and networking.

The four-day event attracted thousands of big players from the industry and a huge contingent of International and domestic delegates.

Plying over 30,000 visitors that converged over the course of four days, IndiaJoy became a catalyst for Indian media, gaming and digital entertainment companies on the world stage.

Indiajoy 2019 had a power-packed line up of nine world-class events that include IGDC (India Game Developer Conference), Desi Toons, VFX Summit, InfluencerCon, Investor-Publisher Connect, E-Sports, OTT Pulse and the Indiajoy Music Fest.

VFX Summit

VFX Summit

On the VFX front, the summit saw a starry gathering of experts and leaders that have set benchmarks in the content business. Having created complex imagery on celluloid, the speakers spoke about the nuances of creating simulations and images that enhance the process of storytelling. Setting the tone of the VFX event, Technicolor Country Head in India Biren Ghose, in his keynote speech, touched upon the frontiers of stunning possibilities opened up by visual effects technology over the years. Between subjects like de-aging, simulations of actual human beings being created on screen, environment simulations and computer generated animals that look distinctly alike, Biren Ghose showcased MPC’s best works right from Seven World of Ridley Scott to Jaguar Advertisements and Disney Movies.

The hot line-up of speakers who spoke about their landmark projects included VFX supervisors, VFX creative heads of games, Oscar-winning VFX veterans and visionaries that congenially enlarged on the current state of the VFX industry and where it is headed.  While there were hundreds of elements discussed over the course of two days, the importance of previz and storyboarding was a recurrent theme throughout the sessions.

OTT Pulse

OTT Pulse

The first day of IndiaJoy festival played host to the OTT Pulse stage. Consisting of presentations from some of the biggest OTTs around, the event gave way to discuss about what the market in the country has to offer. Some of the interesting points included localisation, multiple language release and monetisation. Global player Amazon Prime also revealed trailers for three of their upcoming Telugu originals.

Desi ToonZ

Desi Toons

Presented by Sony YAY!, a day long conference around the Indian animation ecosystem under the DesiToonZ banner brought in attendees in abundance. With the opening ceremony graced by stalwarts of Indian animation like Rajiv Chilaka, Anu Sikka, Leena Dutta, Ashish Kulkarni and even; Government of Telangana Information Technology (IT) Secretary Jayesh Ranjan, the day went on to punch an amazing lineup of speakers. The keynote was delivered by Star India Infotainment, English and Kids  Anuradha Anuradha Aggarwal, who stressed on the points on how amazing it was to have a convergence of industry professionals under one place. 

The day saw some interesting discussions around theatrical releases, scope of creation, best practices in licensing and merchandising, producing and many more.

IndyWood

Indiewood

Dubbed as cinema professional’s paradise, Indywood Film Market connected delegates with service providers, filmmakers, producers, exhibitors, distributors and other stakeholders of the global film industry.

IFM 2019 saw a flurry of interactive sessions, diverse exhibition arenas, B2B awards function and high profile networking parties.

InfluencerCon

InfluencerCon

With the boom of digital space, Influencers have carved a space of their own. The onset of advertisement and promotional opportunities and brand partnerships that have emerged for influencers has brought on a huge demand for education on the crests and troughs of the market and how creators and brands can find creative ways to form partnerships.

InfluencerCon emerged as the connectivity platform that served as the holy grail of market information and reports and ongoing trends. Some of the interesting panels at OTT Pulse, were about Rise of Regional Content On OTT, Creative writing for OTT, Storytelling for New Age Media, popular film Directors – Mallik, Anish, Sankalp, Tharun Bhascker, TVF Rajesh, Viren Thambidorai of VIU, Prasad of ZEE5, Director Nandini Reddy and David Freeman were seen participating enthusiastically.

India’s Gaming Developers’ Conference (IGDC)

IGDC

The gaming industry has only grown bigger in a rather short space of time, thus the conference was dissected into six sections in reverence of gaming business, game design, game art, the technology used in gaming, applied games and gaming career.

Indian parents thinking of gaming as a hobby is starting to become a thing of the past with dozens of school and college students showcasing their game projects to veterans in the industry from all around the world.

Seeing three large eSports stages raised by ESL, Electronic Sports League, Nodwin Gaming for gamers to compete professionally for trophies and prize money, it seems safe to say, when Olympics counted in eSports, India will be ready with its champions to compete on the global arena.

Epic Games, the creators of arguably the most popular and powerful Unreal game engine, presenting the IGDC event, is a clear sign of rich game development talents available here.  Unreal Engine’s Quentin Staes-Polet expressed surprise of India’s talent availability and community exceeding their expectations, shared by many of the international delegates and game developers at the Indiajoy, India Game Developer Conference. He also said Unreal Engine focus in India is to partner with education institutions to create a pool of quality game developers and game architects.

of Kabam Games CEO Tim Fields on his second visit to India and at Indiajoy, IGDC expressed the need for indie game developers to think about user engagement and user retention by developing games that is lasting by making the user fall in love the game with the first 10 seconds.

Miniclip Anh Luong said the company is really excited by the passion of Indian Game Developers and mobile users who continue to grow and consume quality games.

One of the Italian delegates expressed his delight about the growing game development community in India and also the rise of game development that is happening in India.

The biggest spotlight was to see the great executions of VR technologies by Indian developers and students in spite of VR hardware being unavailable to India. This is a clear indication of how tech-hungry and on the cutting edge our youths are in spite of all the odds, all they require is to know that their parents are proud of the feats that they are accomplishing, and as always, more funding never hurts.

The investor publisher connect attracted 50 active investors and 60 gaming start-ups to tap potential investment and publishing opportunities. IGDC has seen a record 100% increase in number of global and local investors and startups at the gaming startups conclave – Investor-Publisher Connect.

Nazara Technologies, a leading interactive gaming and sports media company, stated it would invest up to $20 million in 2020 in startups and the CEO mentioned that his company is keen to expand its portfolio in India.

This year’s edition attracted some top names in the global gaming industry. The list includes Walter Devins of Imangi Studios (the TempleRun developer), Time Fields of Kabam Studios, Anh Luong of Miniclip, Unreal Engine’s Quentin Staes-Polet of Epic Games and Anish Aravind, of Tencent Games (creator of Pubg games).

With several talks, workshops, panel discussions, esports tournaments, the two-day conference at IGDC has everything to ensure an adrenaline rush to its attendees.

Exhibition Stalls

The venue was dotted with a variety of stalls, displaying diverse offerings from all over the world right from animation series, unique hardware to real-time motion-capture technology and upcoming games. A dedicated open section of the venue saw a passionate gathering of participants vying for the first prize in a string of creative competitions like face-painting, sketching, gaming etc.

Esports Arena

One of the main attractions of day two of IndiaJoy was the esports arena that saw immense participation in the gaming line up. The arena welcomed everyone to try and play classic PC games, console games, mobile games and new games. Games like God of War, Fifa 2019, Spiderman, DOTA 2, CS:GO, Call of Duty, PUBG Battlegrounds and many more were free to take part in.

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Media and Entertainment industry is at crossroads with creators and consumers multiplying by the day. The boom of digital has brought massives waves of new content in a short span of time. India Game Developer conference witnessed a similar theme unfold as it ensued with a variety of gaming entrepreneurs and geniuses sharing their market tricks and wisdom with the attendees.

Tik Tok Statistics

While InfluencerCon saw a starry conglomeration of social media experts and content creators, IGDC halls packed a definitive gathering of gaming experts from around the world.

Becoming the milestone event spanning over 360 degree aspects of gaming industry and sussing the ebbs and flows of the industry, the conference was divided into six sections in reverence of gaming business, game design, game art, the technology used in gaming, applied games and gaming career.

Green Gold founder Rajiv Chilaka

The proceedings of the day were taken ahead in a massive auditorium for the keynote speech advanced by Green Gold Animation founder (Chota Bheem fame) Rajiv Chilaka. Throughout the session, he spoke about his inspiring journey from his first project Bongo to Chota Bheem and his plans to expand further into the OTT universe with more characters and offerings. Speaking about his recent number one Netflix show in the kids’ category Mighty Little Bheem, he joked, “well its always fun creating babies, be it on screen or otherwise”

Avalanche Studios game developer Francesco Antolini

Avalanche Studios game developer Francesco Antolini delved into the nuances and intricacies of game development. Speaking about their game Just Cause four, he revealed that while he took extra care of the fidelity and pixels to make the third part of the game more realistic, Just Cause’s fourth part is going to house even more options and diversity in terms of gaming experience.

Putting the spotlight on the evolution of gaming, publisher development manager of Facebook audience network Nishant Joseph Verghese shared market insights and the profitability of rewarded video. Through series of slides, he charted out the way in which rewarded videos have been beneficial over the years.

Facebook representative Nishant Joseph Verghese

Riot Games VFX professional spoke further about VFX in gaming and how it enhances the user experience with water effects, fire effects and action sequences.

Memesys Culture Lab’s Zain Memom enlarged upon their journey of venturing into gaming and films. He spoke about understanding the purpose, science and tools needed to produce the stories that people consume. Tiazu CEO Joseph Kim delved into the strategies needed for making new games and pitfalls that one must avoid in the development process.

Day four of IndiaJoy concluded with the promise to return bigger and better.

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Gaming community in India has grown and how! Day two of IndiaJoy 2019 marked the largest congregation of the India’s gaming community where experts from around the world jetted down to the city of Hyderabad and showered the attendees with valuable insights about the popular games.

Whilst InfluencerCon saw a spate of India’s most popular youtubers and instagrammers grace the dias over panel discussions, fireside chats and presentations, the venue reverberated with gaming events with exciting competitions held against the backdrop of large LED screens.

What became the highlight of the day was India’s Game Development Conference 2019 sessions that dominated the mammoth festival with its stunning offerings, making the most significant one held in the entire South Asia. With an aim to play a key role in galvanizing the gaming ecosystem, IGDC managed to bring under one roof gaming experts and developers from a variety of national and international studios. 

The gaming industry has only grown at the speed of light and by leaps and bounds over the years. To give a sense of the ebbs and flows of the market and curate the relevant points of discussions, the conference was divided into six sections in reverence of gaming business, game design, game art, the technology used in gaming, applied games and gaming career.

From the design perspective, Jay powell owner The Jay powell company spoke about the strategies for finding good partners for your company. He alluded to the importance of choosing partners creatively and making sure that we understand our aims when we set out to develop a game IP.

India Market Status Quo Panel saw Google’s Shubh Malhotra, MPL Gaming’s P R Rajendaran, Nextwave Multimedia’s Vikash Jaiswal and Gametion’s Vaishnavi P discuss the various facets of the market. They spoke about the current scenario of the gaming industry in India and where we are headed. The recurring theme across all sessions was the fact that India’s gaming community is rapidly growing.

From the business panel we saw seven elements of Hyper casual gaming success being discussed by Crazy Labs’ Shai Sasson. Both the halls reserved for Gaming saw throngs of attendees with a glimmer in their eyes for the gaming advancements unfolding before them. When one speaks of the gaming fever afflicting key players across the globe, Bollywood is no exception. Renowned filmmaker and actor Arbaz Khan graced the platform with showcase the Game titled Rogue Heist he has invested in.

Arbaz Khan discussing his new game Rogue Heist

Jason Keyser from Riot Games discussed the nuances and intricacies of visual effects in gaming. Imangi Studios CEO Walter Devins spoke extensively about the importance of mindfulness and various challenges and bugs that afflicted their game Temple Run and how they got over them. He also announced the upcoming Temple Run 4 game that is going to hit the stores this year. He said that India has always been a big market for his game.

IGDC saw great enthusiasm amongst the attendees and speakers alike, making it one of the most noteworthy set of sessions that furnish an educated perspective on gaming in India.

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The Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield games are among the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch games of all time with  more than 6 million units sold worldwide. Additionally, the games sold just over 2 million copies in the first two days in the U.S., making it the highest-grossing launch of any Pokémon game.

“This past weekend, millions of people began their Pokémon journeys through the new Galar region. With such a momentous launch, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield have proven to be two of the must-have games this holiday season,”  said Nick Chavez, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Games in the core Pokémon RPG series have sold more than 240 million units worldwide since launching with the Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version games in 1996.

In Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, players embark on a journey through the Galar region, where they’ll catch, battle and trade a variety of Pokémon, meet a memorable cast of characters and unravel the mystery behind the Legendary Pokémon Zacian and Zamazenta. In the Wild Area, which stretches between the Galar region’s different towns and cities, players will explore a vast expanse of untamed wilderness that’s full of Pokémon to battle and catch. By teaming up with three other players locally or online in the new multiplayer co-op Max Raid Battles, players will face off against gigantic and super-strong Pokémon known as Dynamax Pokémon.

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