There are lessons to be learnt on the Xbox - ET 4 September 2007

Compiled by: Dr. Saurabh Srivastava

Source: Economic Times of India

An Industry First: Microsoft To Take Game Console To Schools, Integrate Content With CBSE & ICSE Curriculum

THIS one’s for concerned parents worried over the time their kids are increasingly spending on gaming. In a first such initiative for Microsoft anywhere in the world, and the first for the gaming industry in India, Microsoft India is taking its Xbox 360 gaming consoles to schools, integrating content with CBSE and ICSE curriculums.

Close to 90% of the total 1.6 million gamers in India happen to be in the 6-20 years age group, spending an average of two hours a day on gaming. Further, according to available industry data, about 220 million students in the country attend school every day. “Add to that, India has the highest focus on education anywhere in the world, so the country was the natural choice and most important market for us to introduce this edutainment project,” Microsoft’s country manager (entertainment & devices division) Mohit Anand told ET. “The thought process is that we could add a new dimension to Xbox – that of an educational device. This way, we could address growing concerns of parents that gaming cuts into kids’ studying time,” he said.

The project, which Microsoft is working on through an exclusive three-way deal with digital educational content provider Educomp Solutions and game developing company Lakshya Digital, will involve rolling out three products in phases spanning curriculum ranging from Class 3 to Class 12. Phase I of the project will cover Maths, Science and Social Studies, with three disks allocated to each subject. The first product off the block will be for Maths curriculum, and is expected to be ready by December. “We decided on Maths first, because according to CBSE statistics, the maximum number of failures among school-going children happen in Maths,” said Shantanu Prakash, Educomp MD.

While the CBSE and ICSE content is being provided by Educomp, Lakshya will develop and transform the content for the Xbox platform. According to Mr Prakash, the study methods are being made as simplistic as possible to comply with the CBSE and ICSE curriculum.

Microsoft says the pricing will affordable enough. “It could be in the range of Rs 1,000 to 1,500 per disk. Parents would end up paying the same or even less, than, say, what they would on private tuitions every month,” says Mr Anand. The Xbox console, launched in India a year back, is available at a base price of Rs 19,990.

The investment in the project is being made by Microsoft India. The company says the Xbox edutainment product could find an international market, riding on Educomp’s presence across the APAC region. The company intends to launch a fresh title every six months. Depending on consumer demand and market dynamics, it could extend the product beyond the three subjects and to languages beyond English.

Besides retail stores, the product will be promoted through seminars, contact programmes in private and Government schools and parent-teacher interactions. Microsoft will leverage Educomp’s existing affiliation with 6,000 schools across the country to promote the product.

ARE PARENTS GAME?

Close to 90% of 1.6 million gamers in India are in the 6-20 age group, who spend an average of two hours a day on gaming
The project will involve rolling out 3 products in phases spanning curriculum ranging from Class 3 to Class 12
Phase I will cover Maths, Science and Social Studies, with three disks allocated to each subject
The first product off the block will be for Maths curriculum, and is expected to be ready by December

1. Discuss the strategy being followed by X-box. Can you correlate the example with any generic strategy?