Significant shift in attitude towards gaming in India: Asus India’s Arnold Su

Asus has been on a roll in India. Earlier this year, the Taiwanese tech giant clocked 200 exclusive stores in India, and they are targeting 100 more such stores by the time 2023 draws to a close. The company is also steadily corner a larger share of India’s PC market. In the last quarter, Asus had clocked 6.8% market share, with a 15.5%increase in unit change compared with the year 2021 – in the same period, HP’s metrics declined 3.8% and Dell saw an 18.5% drop.

Asus is heading into the summer of 2023 with a steady launch momentum providing the impetus.

The Strix and Zephyrus laptop line-ups were strengthened, with the launch of the new ROG Strix Scar 16 and ROG Strix Scar 18, alongside the upgraded ROG Strix Scar 17, Zephyrus M16 and Zephyrus Duo 16 machines.

We spoke with Arnold Su, who is Business Head for Consumer and Gaming PC, System Business Group at ASUS India, to understand the company’s plans for India, PC shipment trajectory, consumer preferences in our country and the roadmap for the next few months.

Edited excerpts:

How would you describe Asus’s journey in India, and particularly the ROG portfolio evolution over the last 12 months?

Arnold: ASUS entered the Indian market in 2011 and over the years, we have had steady growth and have built a strong reputation in the Indian market while focusing on meeting the needs of the consumers with innovative products. We have a strong product portfolio across consumer PCs, gaming laptops, creator laptops, and laptops that are available at various points from affordable PCs to high-end performance-delivering laptops. Additionally, we also invested in building a strong distribution and service network in India. The company has a wide network of authorized service centers across the country, ensuring that customers have easy access to after-sales service and support.

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In terms of gaming laptops, the market is growing much faster than the general consumer laptop division. People who are looking for an affordable gaming machine can opt for our TUF Gaming series. For Performance centric gameplay, we have the ROG STRIX SCAR series. For those looking for a synergy between gaming and work, we have the Zephyrus Series, and lastly, we also have the ROG Flow X & Z series that offers top-of-the-line of industry innovations.

Beyond devices, is Asus working to develop the larger gaming space in India? Any specific initiatives?

Arnold: India’s eSports industry has been growing exponentially in recent years. Gaming has picked up a lot of steam over the past couple of years and this growing population of gamers has created a dedicated gaming community in India.

ASUS is taking a holistic approach to developing the gaming space in the country, beyond just devices, by supporting gaming culture, organizing tournaments, and promoting gaming education in the country. The company has launched several initiatives aimed at promoting gaming culture and supporting the growth of the gaming industry in India. One such initiative is the ASUS ROG Academy, which is a dedicated program aimed at supporting esports athletes in India. The program provides training, mentorship support, and resources to help aspiring esports players develop their skills and compete at a professional level. And, so far, we have successfully completed 7 seasons of ROG Academy and received over 5600 participation entries in 2022.

Another initiative is ROG Showdown introduced in 2020. It’s a series of online as well as offline tournaments encouraging gamers to test their skills against opponents of similar or greater skills. The winning team receives a cash prize, and the tournament promotes meaningful experiences and collaborative gaming environments. The first edition was well received, and ASUS aims to continue innovating and creating new opportunities for the gaming community in India. ROG Showdown has received international recognition and garnered approximately 1 million+ audience base digitally.

Do you feel the current generation of Indians are ready to consider gaming as a serious profession, and not just a casual activity?

Arnold: There has been a significant shift in the attitude towards gaming in India over the past few years, with younger population now considering it a serious profession rather than just a casual activity. They find it more lucrative as a profession due to several factors, including the rise of Esports, changing mindsets, increased accessibility, and support from the gaming industry.

The emergence of competitive gaming or eSports has provided a platform for gamers to showcase their skills and compete at the highest level. With increasing prize pools, sponsorships, and opportunities to represent India at international events, eSports has become a lucrative career option for many. Moreover, the inclusion of eSports as part of multi-sports events under the Ministry of Youth Affairs is a significant milestone for the industry. It is a welcome step that will provide thrust to the burgeoning esports ecosystem in the country.

Additionally, the younger generation in India is more open towards pursuing creative and non-traditional career options and is willing to chase their passions, which also includes online gaming. Besides, online gaming has become more accessible in the country due to the widespread availability of high-speed internet and affordable gaming devices.

There has been some decline in the global PC shipments, compared with the highs clocked during the pandemic. Do you see that extend to gaming laptops too?

Arnold: The market for gaming PCs has surpassed that of the consumer segment, as observed by the surge in demand for gaming units in India, which rose from 40,000 units per year in 2016 to 900,000 units per year in 2022. It is predicted that this trend will persist, given that in the months of January and February of this year, while the consumer market experienced a decline of 20-30%, the gaming market continued to observe a growth rate of more than 10% every month. This phenomenon suggests that although the total number of purchases has dwindled, the count of consumers seeking to procure high-performance computing systems will persistently increase.

How challenging will it be to keep the shipment and consumer interest trajectory in a favorable direction, in the next year?

Arnold: Over the past two and a half years, the PC market in the country has experienced growth, expanding from approximately 4 million units of annual sales before the pandemic to around 6 million units by the end of 2022. However, the industry did witness some challenges in the second half of 2022, and the overall PC market is anticipated to contract by 5-10% in 2023, after witnessing the high-growth phase seen during the pandemic. Despite this, we ended 2022 with an overall market share of about 16.3%. In Q3 alone, which is a key season in India, we touched a market share of 20.6%. We have aggressive growth plans and are aiming to reach a market share of 25-30% in 2023.

What is different about the latest ROG gaming laptops? Is it a focus on generational upgrades or the enhancements go deeper?

Arnold: This year, our ROG laptops not only received complete internal upgrades, but most of our line-up also features new exterior chassis designs. The Strix Scar, which is one of the most powerful gaming laptops available today, received a major design update with a new tri-fan cooling system and a full-width rear heatsink. Additionally, the 15-inch and 17-inch models have been replaced with 16-inch and 18-inch models respectively. The displays themselves are now faster, more responsive, and more color accurate.

We have fine-tuned the CPUs and GPUs on our laptops for even higher performance than before and have improved cooling with liquid metal technology. We have a new tri-fan cooling technology with a full width heat sink which allows us to take combined power load to beyond 200W. So, while the CPU and GPU upgrades are important, correctly tuning them and the cooling system is essential to provide a complete customer experience. We are also setting a new gaming display standard called the Nebula and Nebula HDR d to deliver best-in-class gaming experience.

Do Indians buy gaming laptops differently compared to global markets?

Arnold: There are some differences in the way that Indian consumers buy gaming laptops compared to global markets. While affordability is a key consideration, we recognize that our high-end products may appeal to hardcore gamers who are willing to pay a premium for enhanced performance.

The availability of gaming laptops in physical stores is a factor that can impact buying behaviour in India. Many consumers prefer to buy products in physical stores where they can see and touch the product before making a purchase. Resultantly, brick-and-mortar stores are still important in the Indian market, even as online sales continue to grow. Therefore, we have established offline stores with ROG Zones, that provide customers with a hands-on experience.

Moreover, consumers here prefer longer battery life in laptops that can meet their productivity without the hassle of charging it from time to time. Lastly, durability is also an important aspect as people in India consider it as a significant investment, and therefore they want to ensure that their investment lasts as long as possible. Long battery life and durability are some of the features that are emerging within global consumer markets.