‘Alienware laptops are more affordable than what they used to be’: Dell India product marketing head

Dell is underlining how it’s easier to own an Alienware laptop these days, though the high-end gaming devices were for long considered premium. “Alienware is more affordable compared to what it used to be… the range starts at Rs 130,000 onwards,” Dell India’s Anand Subramanya, Director, Product Marketing, Consumer and Small Business reiterated to on the sidelines of the launch of the new Alienware X14 and m15 R7 in India.
On some level it’s understandable that Alienware gaming PCs command higher pricing; most of the new range is unquestionably superior to what they offer. Because Alienware’s laptops sport technically impressive features, the pricing might seem reasonable for what you pay. “The product positioning is different… you are catering to different needs,” he said, adding that an enthusiast-level customer is looking for customisation.
The Alienware X14 starts at Rs 169,990, which is no means affordable, but you are getting impressive specifications in a 14-inch laptop form factor. It is powered Intel’s latest 12th Gen processors (up to the Core i7-12900H), up to the Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics, an 80Wh battery, and DDR5 RAM clocked at 5,200MHz. The Alienware x14 is the world’s thinnest gaming laptop, according to Dell. The M15 R7, meanwhile, is a 15-inch laptop that supports the latest Intel’s 12-gen Core H-series CPUs and GeForce RTX 30-series GPUs. It starts at Rs 164,990.

While the enthusiast-level gaming PC market represents just 3 to 4% of the overall market, Subramanya says the segment has grown almost 50 per cent during the pandemic. It’s still a niche segment, but that’s where a brand like Alienware fits well. Not every consumer needs the latest and greatest, after all. You can probably get a gaming laptop in the range of Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000 and still be able to play more games on lower-end hardware, and for those consumers, Dell offers the G-series. On average, Indian consumers spend anywhere between Rs 70,000 to Rs 75,000 on a gaming laptop.
Despite the rise of smartphones and tablets, mobile gaming is not killing PC gaming. In fact, according to Subramanya, mobile gaming and PC gaming can ex in harmony. “We see mobile gaming impacting us in a positive way,” he said. “Mobile gaming is introducing customers to gaming and as they get more used to and when they want to do multiplayer gaming and when they look for a larger screen… more immersive experience, they move to PC.”