This Indian startup wants to give the power back to gamers

If you’re a console gamer, you’ve probably already noticed this: gaming is expensive. New games can cost US$60 a pop. Used games often aren’t that much cheaper. This is especially true at chain stores like Gamestop, where gamers can sell their used games for a pittance but buy used games at only a fractional discount when compared to the cost of buying them new. It’s a terrible system, and the folks behind Hanchu want to change it.

Hanchu is a Bangalore-based startup that’s building a mobile gamer marketplace. Its Android app, which is already available in India, allows users to buy and sell used games, even taking care of the logistics for them (including game pickup for sellers). Now, the company is running a Kickstarter in the hopes of making the platform more global. Here’s their pitch:

The idea for Hanchu actually came from books rather than games, Hanchu co-founder Puneet Badrinath told me. Both he and co-founder G. Scott are avid readers, and initially they built Hanchu to help them sell used books. But after looking at adjacent markets, they decided to pivot to games. “I’m a gamer,” Puneet said, “and I’ve faced a lot of challenges purchasing games since they are expensive or they are not available in India.” The solution, he thought, would be a C2C used game sales platform that gave people easier access to cheaper games. So he built one.

Startup struggles

It wasn’t quite that easy, of course. When asked about Hanchu’s biggest difficulty, Puneet said his team has discovered that building a good app is one thing, and marketing it quite another. “There are so many well-oiled marketing machines flashing content to gamers,” Puneet said, “that our tiny, poorly-oiled marketing unicycle gets drowned out in the noise.” And of course, having a limited web presence and no iOS version of the app hasn’t helped, either.

Still, Puneet is confident that he’s based in the right place. “It is exciting to operate out of here,” he said of Bangalore. “I find so many entrepreneurs with the creative energy and zeal to achieve something. It’s mind-boggling. This energy has created a mature support infrastructure that is developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem here.” It’s not all gravy, of course – India is not immune to the global slowdown and the slower pace of funding that comes with it, but Puneet sees that as a good sign. “[It indicates] that India in general and Bangalore in particular is well integrated into the global startup community,” he said.

Hanchu co-founder Puneet Badrinath

Into the future

Hanchu’s gamer-focused used game sales platform is not an entirely unique idea. There are plenty of broader C2C platforms on which users can sell games, and there are even a few game-specific platforms, like Gameflip and Glyde. But Puneet said that Hanchu will differentiate itself from these platforms. “We want to build a community of gamers to discuss about games […] In addition, we want to make personalised recommendations by understand gamer choices to make their experience relevant on Hanchu. These aspects are critical for us to achieve our long term roadmap.”

Also critical to that is the Kickstarter. With 22 days to go, it’s just over 10 percent funded. But even if it fails, the Hanchu folks have no intent of giving up. “But if Kickstarter doesn’t hit its goal, we will continue to operate Android app in India and release the app globally after making a few minor changes.” From there, he said, they could choose to attempt Kickstarter again, look for outside investors, or simply build the product’s revenue to the point that it could support expanding the team.

Hanchu’s still in its infancy, but it has been well received in India so far. It has a 4/5 star rating on the Google Play store after more than 100 reviews, and Puneet says that it already has more than 5,000 users and about 500 game listings. It’s not doing a ton of business yet – 55 transactions with a GMV of US$1,000, Puneet said – but it clearly is making some headway in India’s crowded Android market.