Why Google I/O 2014 was a joke for gamers in India

Google I/O 2014 had a lot on display, including protesters raging against the megacorp Brin and Page built. Some of them were actually gaming related. Razer announced a new micro-console, Google decided to get its act together by making Google Play Games similar to other services such as Playstation Network and Xbox Live, and the new Unreal Engine was showcased as well.

Yay for Google. The champions of bring gaming to the masses. Well done. A pat on the back and all that.

It was only moments later that I realized that most of this won’t make a difference to India, a market where Sunder Pichai (Google’s SVP for Android, Chrome and Apps) and his merry men are training their guns at the next five billion mobile users. Sure, it’s a land of around 24 million Android devices (depending who you ask) and would grow up to 225 million if this is to be believed (a we can go by a more conservative estimate that’s a little less than half of that).

However, until a few factors rectify themselves, there’s very little chance that Mountain View can breach Indian mindset. Here’s why:

1. Charging one dollar for an app is wrong

“In the States, someone would say, ‘Do I buy this app or a coffee?’ In India, it’s ‘Do I buy this app or food for a couple days?’” Swiftkey’s Joe Braidwood’s described India’s mobile market that way to Fastcompany, and he’s not entirely wrong.

By nature, Indians are pragmatic spenders. Even those who can afford to don’t have the mentality to pay for content. But, get the price right and people will pay.

It’s worked with the caller tunes business in the country. The top three telecom operators made around $1.35 billion in three years selling cheesy 90s pop and Bollywood tracks for you to hear while calling someone. How did that happen? Well, for one, the price was right at INR 30 ($0.50) per month. Second, the phone company charged your account accordingly, so there was no credit card involved. Third, telcos took advantage of lax regulations. Though the caller tunes business will decline thanks to better verifications to ensure you aren’t fraudulently charged for a song you didn’t ask for, it’s still making a sizeable chunk of money.

Now, imagine how quick the uptake on games and in-app purchases could be if the price was lower? Combine that with a payment method that isn’t a credit card such as being charged via your phone bill, and then the mobile games space would pick up as it should.

Google paid out $5 billion since the last I/O. How much did India contribute? Not much at all.

2. Google being Google

I have some not-so-fond memories of procuring my first Nexus device, a Galaxy Nexus. In spite of being made by Samsung, the most popular smartphone brand in the country, the Nexus never made it officially. There were rumours galore of an impending launch, but that never happened. The reason was simple: it was easier for Samsung to sell something with a Galaxy logo than it was with a Nexus logo (and of course, it makes better margins on the Galaxy range). That shouldn’t have stopped Google from bringing the Nexus in, but it did. After all, why try cannibalising the country’s number one choice with a better product made by the very same company?

Official Nexus products only made it into India a year later with the Nexus 4, when the OEM who manufactured it was LG. Why am I bothering you with this slice of history? Because Google announced something called Android One, which dictates that OEMs will have a set update path and standardised hardware. This gives game developers a lot more to work with, allowing for better looking games that run smoothly. But what’s the point if Google decides to favor one OEM over another or itself as was the case with the Galaxy Nexus?