Concept Arbitrage: Electronic Arts

Can you imagine, how much fun a Taxi driver in Mumbai would have playing a cell-phone game that lets him undress Aisharya Rai, bit by bit?

Well, as the cell phone content publishers in the US have already discovered, one of the most popular and profitable categories in Mobile Entertainment is what Mauj calls Naughty.

Mauj and Nazara are new entrants into the Online / Mobile content arena in India. India does content well, Bollywood being a wildly successful industry that has, forever, been in domestic production – domestic AND international consumption mode. This is right in India’s sweet-spot, and I am very bullish about the segment.

There is, of course, the Bollywood derivatives, India’s absolute obsession: Hum Aapke Hain Koun: Devar Deewana – In keeping with the Indian Customs & traditions, it’s the 7th month Godh Bharai (Baby Shower Ceremony) for Nishas (Madhuri Dixit) sister. There has been a lot of playful banter happening. Nisha has teased Prem (Salman Khan)a lot of times and now its Prems turn to get even.

India’s obsession also includes soccer and cricket. If you are following the world cup soccer, both games today were decided based on penalty kicks. Well, here is Mauj’s little PK game: Penalty Challenge : The pressure is on. Victory or Defeat, Glory or Tears, it is all down to you. Hold Your nerve and take on 5 levels of increasingly difficult opponents or challenge a friend to a one off competition. It is that moment that can make you a Hero, So go on and become an instant hero by playing Penalty Challenge.

Not much in cricket?? Big surprize! Big mistake. Nazara leads with Sachin on Mobile, which is spot on!

I see interesting Regional content in Mauj’s portfolio. A game called Against All Odds: Sab Kichur Birudho (Bengali) : Play as Malaika Rusedski and fight against an ancient curse in the pyramid. Out of curiosity to explore, Malaika Rusedski touches the Anubis thereby unleashing the curse of the pyramid- leading to a whole new saga of wrath and fury of the mummies. The only way out is to fight till the last breath and survive. AGAINST ALL ODDS!

Well anyway, I have huge confidence in India’s ability to figure out what the market wants in Mobile content, and DISH it out. Mauj and Nazara are very good investments, and I am sure, the infinitely creative cultural pool of India will come up with many others like them. If you are a VC, pick up an Indian content provider for your portfolio. It’s a must. So far, both of these are in Sequoia’s folder.

This segment is a part in the series : Concept Arbitrage