Zapak.com extends offline presence through CDs and DVDs

Zapak.com has started selling its games on CDs and DVDs because gamers are facing issues in downloading games from the site

Zapak.com, an online gaming site owned by Reliance Entertainment, has extended its offline presence. It has now started selling games on CDs and DVDs.

To begin with, Zapak.com is offering only those games on CDs and DVDs which are heavy in size and require a user to download it on his personal computer in order to play. Other games, which are lighter in size and free to play, are not available on CDs and DVDs.

A gamer is required to pay between Rs 50-150 for downloading a game from the site. Game CDs and DVDs are available for Rs 49 and Rs 199, respectively. Around 50 game titles are available across 3,500 retail outlets such as book stores, toy stores and gift shops in 77 cities across India.

Speaking to afaqs!, Rohit Sharma, chief operating officer, Zapak.com, says, “We opted for physical distribution of games as people in India face bandwidth issues and have difficulty in downloading games.” He adds, “Games offered on CDs and DVDs are targeted at kids in the age range of 6-12 years.”

Zapak.com's offline presence is not restricted to CDs and DVDs. In 2007, Zapak.com created a physical distribution network and tied up with more than 3,000 retail outlets to sell prepaid cards which enabled gamers to download games from the site.

Apart from the retail distribution network, Zapak.com also runs 21 game cafes called Gameplexes across 15 cities. Zapak has set up the Gameplexes for massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), which allow multiple gamers spread across various locations to play a game together at the same time. MMOGs are targeted at gamers in the age range of 15-30 years.

Explaining why they launched the Gameplexes, Sharma says, “MMOGs require very high bandwidth Internet connectivity and a high-end computer to play, which is not available in most Indian homes. So, we tried to create an infrastructure for such high bandwidth games in India. Zapak is planning to expand its network of Gameplexes to 100 cities in India.”

Sharma says, “Although Zapak.com is extending its offline presence, our core focus is still online, which is our flagship business. We have set up our offline business in order to drive revenue to our online business.” Revenue earned through the Gameplexes and retail distribution goes to Zapak.com.

Zapak.com is using both below-the-line and TV advertising to create awareness about the CDs and DVDs. A three week long TV campaign started on August 6. It will run some 20 second spots in the first week and some 10 second spots in the other two weeks across various channels such as Cartoon Network, Pogo, Jetix, Disney, Channel V and Zee Cinema. Around 1,300 TV spots will run on Zee Cinema over three weeks.

On the retail front, posters, danglers and dispensers of various sizes will be used to promote the game CDs.