An out-of-this-world experience in gaming

The days of gamers going to small, crowded gaming cafes in bylanes near their houses are over. Alienware, a company famous for its premium gaming PCs and laptops, has started a top-notch gaming cafe in the city that promises to be the new hot-spot in town.

The gaming cafe, named the ‘Alienware Spaceship’, will have around 16 systems and will also have a store within. The company expects to boost interest in gaming with this new initiative.

“We’ll be offering mostly new games, we won’t be having Counter Strike 1.6, but the newer version of it, Counter Strike: Source. Also we are expecting a lot of gamers to come here to play games that require high-end systems such as Call of Duty. Also, three of the systems will let gamers play in 3D,” Suhas J, Brand Manager of Alienware, says

Alienware, a brand owned by Dell, aims to create an immersive experience for gaming. According to Michael Tatelman, VP, global consumer channel, Dell, “Typically, Alienware customers are hardcore gamers, technology enthusiasts or serious multimedia users — customers who demand or require the highest standards of performance. Alienware is still a very elite computing brand in India but this will be among our initiatives to expand this segment in India and bring gaming closer to Indian audiences,” Tatelman says.

Mahesh Bhalla, executive director and GM, Consumer, Dell India, says, “Gaming is still a niche market in India and 3D gaming is an even more exciting concept. Alienware, with its cutting-edge hardware, supports that. With the Alienware Gaming Zone, gaming connoisseurs will be able to indulge in and experience Alienware’s performance, design and user experience. The gaming zone will also provide potential customers a great and interesting way to experience these machines.”

The company feels Bangalore, home to many of India’s top IT companies and with a young and tech-savvy population that includes avid gamers, is the ideal choice to launch a campaign to expand the gaming community in India.

The company plans to launch similar cafes across the country depending upon its success here. Gamers in the city, though interested in the cafe, are a bit sceptical about the pricing.

“Alienware is a high-end brand and I’ve always wanted to buy their PCs though they cost more than a lakh. So until I can buy one, I think I’ll drop by the cafe and see what gaming on such a system feels like,” says Ravi K, a Bangalore-based gamer.