成也Facebook，败也Facebook，这几乎就是当前许多社交游戏的发展现状，不少开发商已经开始撤离过度拥挤的Facebook平台，纷纷将目光转向智能手机，希望从中获得新的营收来源。

这就是美国应用发行商W3i公司的观点，据游戏邦了解，为引导社交游戏开发商进军iOS市场领域，该公司近日投资100万美元成立了一个新的手机游戏发行公司Recharge Studios。

W3i公司的市场营销沟通专家瑞安·路德（Ryan Ruud）日前在采访中表示，Recharge不光将为社交游戏公司提供资金支持，还能在第一时间实现游戏作品与用户之间的有效互动。下文是瑞安关于Recharge运营模式的相关访谈内容：

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请问你对Facebook平台上的社交游戏发展现状有何看法？

这个平台的社交游戏发展很有活力，也很紧张。Facebook社交游戏现在的每日活跃用户人数已经超过了电视节目高峰期的观众，开发商之间的用户之争很激烈。

有些人认为，免费模式游戏的独立开发商在Facebook上已经没有什么立锥之地了，因为这个平台已经是Zynga和迪士尼旗下的Playdom这类社交游戏巨头的地盘。

但通过和一些独立社交游戏开发商的交流，我们发现他们其实还有其他筹码，那就是争取新用户——这也是W3i提供的一个解决方案。

是否认为iPhone也可以像早期的Facebook一样，为社交游戏开发商提供同样的发展机遇？

Facebook给社交游戏带来了巨大的用户人群，降低了人们玩游戏的准入门槛，大家不需要花那么多钱买专门的游戏机，就能直接获得同样的娱乐体验。不过iOS却可以为开发商带来人手一个游戏平台的大量用户，这些用户几乎是随时随地都能参与游戏体验。

免费模式今年才刚崛起，就已经有大量iOS综合应用已经采用这种免费下载，通过用户购买虚拟商品获得收益的模式，据称这个市场的营收将达70亿美元。

这种运营模式和Facebook早期的游戏发展一样，都是在一夜间从颗粒无收暴涨成价值数十亿的市场，也因此受到大批游戏开发商的追捧，大家都希望从这一领域中成功掘金。

目前你们仍然专注于iOS平台，将来会考虑面向其他平台开拓业务吗？

我们确实有向其他手机平台进军的打算，但现在来看，iOS所提供的发展环境最有利于优化我们的发行工作。

一些调查结果已经表明，iOS用户的应用消费量很惊人，我们自己的市场调查也印证了同样的结果。另外，iOS用户对游戏的参与热情也更高，这一点对社交游戏能否成功极为关键。

有些评论认为，Facebook社交游戏的移植很缺乏前瞻性，没有充分根据智能手机平台的特点对游戏进行调整，对此你有什么看法？

首先，这些游戏并非全部是从Facebook直接生搬硬套到智能手机平台。其次，现在有不少游戏都在抢地盘，它们的跨平台战略都很仓促。

大家都想捷足先登，首先虏获获个平台的用户，也不能就说这种想法有错。这个市场总会逐渐成熟，更大的游戏项目也会开始适应iOS平台的运行功能。不过那些功能设置更高级的游戏开发成本也很高，销售价格自然也就居高不下，这正是Recharge Studios和W3i Mobile Solutions打算解决的问题。

你们的市场营销解决方案可以为开发商提供哪些增值服务？

我们提供全套的市场营销解决方案。独立游戏开发商偶乐会缺乏市场调研资源，无法按用户需求来指导项目开发工作，这时候我们就可以为他们提供这些资源，避免应用开发与市场需求出现脱节，提高应用产品的成功率。这还只是Recharge Studios有别于其他发行公司的优势之一。

另外，我们会拔款赞助广告，在一定程度上为游戏设置提供服务支持。

我们也不只是赞助广告，过去几年中我们已经向媒体投入了几千万美元，用于推广应用产品。现在有了Recharge Studios，我们会确保开发商的广告费用会以最佳时间、最优价格，流向高成本效益的渠道。

今后的发行公司不是也能提供和Recharge同样多的服务吗？

市场竞争在所难免，但这是一个好现象，因为竞争可以让产品和服务更加完善。

Recharge Studios所提供的服务可不仅是十年的应用推广经验。我们已经成功发行了500多款应用，而且还能提供应用分销和创收的解决方案，自从W3i成立以来总共帮助创造了4亿次的应用下载量。

除此之外，我们的核心技术是与用户沟通的技巧，可以说服用户购买产品，而不是将产品强塞给用户。

我们还创建了一个联合网站，为合作伙伴提供极具优势、可靠的分销渠道。

是否认为iOS平台的社交游戏最终也会和现在的Facebook一样多不可胜数？

是的，这是商业发展的自然循环。

许多人在Facebook上成功淘金，大家一得到这个风声，也会一窝蜂地拥向这个领域，然后社交游戏市场就会开始出现交通拥堵，这种局面对后来者形成了挑战。如果小型独立开发商想与大块头竞争对手同台竞技，W3i可以提供相关解决方案。

对你们发行的第一款iOS游戏《Dolphin Play》有何期望？

我们认为这款游戏会很有市场，有可能进入应用100强的行列。我们的移动部门有大量的物力和人力资源，我们希望《Dolphin Play》成为一款叫好叫座的游戏。

除了《Dolphin Play》，我们明年还会发行更多具有高级体验的游戏。

《Dolphin Play》这款游戏让我们对App Store的游戏发行过程有了更深入的认识，也是我们最初工作设想的一个有效验证。

在今后几个月中，你们打算发行多少款iOS游戏？

仅在上一周，就有15家公司自动上门，找到我们的联合创始人罗伯特·韦伯（Robert Weber），希望可以通过Recharge Studios发行他们的22款游戏。

我们明年第一季度准备发行10款应用，然后会根据第一季度的市场反应，加大我们的投入力度。

对社交游戏未来几年的发展动向有何看法？

和其他行业一样，社交游戏的发展会日趋成熟，同时还会面向本土和全球的开发商创造大量机遇，也会催生新一代游戏玩家。我自己的家庭就是一个现成案例。在感恩节期间，叔叔阿姨们都随身携带自己的电脑，只是为了看护农场游戏中的庄稼，但是我从来没看到他们用什么移动平台玩游戏。

有评论认为社交游戏还不是“真正的游戏”，但是我相信今后几年大家就会看到更多功能设置更复杂、有趣的社交游戏。

社交游戏最终会架起一座沟通非社交游戏玩家的桥梁，它发展到成熟阶段，也会对更高级的游戏玩家产生吸引力。总之，这个市场还会迅速扩大。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

W3i’s Ryan Ruud on how its $1 million Recharge Studios publishing fund will fire up iOS social gaming

Social gaming on Facebook has become a victim of its own success, with many developers crowded out and looking to branch out to smartphones to tap into new lines of revenue.

That’s the view of US app distribution company W3i, with the company having recently launched a $1 million strong publishing wing Recharge Studios designed to give start ups with designs on the social scene a route to iOS.

In W3i marketing communications specialist Ryan Ruud’s view, however, Recharge goes way beyond merely funding such ventures. Being able to pitch each release at the right audience to ensure users are aware the game exists in the first place is just as important.

We caught up with Ryan to ask why W3i believes it has the right model to ensure social gaming soars on iPhone.

Pocket Gamer: How would you describe the social gaming scene on Facebook now?

Ryan Ruud: Vibrant and intense. Social games on Facebook are now surpassing primetime television with the number of daily active users (DAU). The scene is also the Wild West in many aspects.

There are some who say that independent freemium game developers can no longer thrive in social gaming with Facebook a land dominated by billion dollar giants like Zynga and Disney/Playdom.

In conversations with independent Facebook developers, however, we learned that they can compete, but they struggle with acquiring new users – a solution provided by W3i.

Do you think iPhone can offer the same opportunities to social gaming studios as the early days of Facebook?

What Facebook allowed for gaming was access to millions of people. People became gamers without entry barriers or having to invest in expensive gaming devices. What iOS does is up the ante by putting a gaming device in the pocket of millions of consumers, taking the games and engagement opportunities with them on-the-go.

2010 saw the rise of free-to-play gaming on iOS with a majority of top grossing apps being available for free and generating revenue from virtual goods – a market some predict will hit $7 billion.

Just like the early days of Facebook gaming, which went from $0 to a multi-billion dollar market in an instant, drawing a lot of attention provides the means for a lot of game developers to strike gold.

So far you’re restricting your input to iOS. Will you consider branching out to other platforms in the future?

The other operating systems are definitely on the radar, but right now the predictability that iOS offers provides a good environment to optimise our technique.

Research proves that users of iOS devices have a large appetite for apps, which we’ve confirmed through our own research. In addition, engagement is higher among iOS users – a critical key to successful social gaming.

What do you say to critics who allege ports of social games from Facebook fail to take advantage of the various nuances smartphones offer?

First, they’re not all straight ports. Aside from that, the race to ‘get there’ is on.

Can you really blame the games for wanting to get to the device first? As the market matures, it enables larger projects to capitalise on the native capabilities that iOS devices provide. The development of those more advance game mechanics come with a high price tag for production, which is something Recharge Studios and W3i Mobile Solutions aims to address.

How much of a boost will your marketing support offer studios that sign up?

What we offer is full-circle marketing support. At times indie game developers don’t have the resources to gain access to primary research and insight to help in the planning and strategy phase of development.

Being able to identify gaps in the market increase the likelihood of success for an app – that is the kind of research and insight we’re offering. It’s one of many benefits that set Recharge Studios apart.

In addition, we fund the advertising and, to some degree, offer support on game mechanics.

It’s not just funding advertising, either – we invested tens of millions of dollars in media to promote the distribution of consumer applications for several years. By working with Recharge Studios, we can make sure developer’s advertising dollars are going to the most cost effective channels, at the right time, with the best possible rates.

Isn’t there a chance someone else will come along and offer much the same set up as Recharge?

Someone else can always come along – competition is good, it makes the products and services that much stronger.

What Recharge Studios offers is more than a decade of experience with consumer applications. We’ve successfully managed a portfolio of 500 apps. We also offer a profound understanding of how to distribute and monetise free apps, having distributed over 400 million consumer applications since inception.

Plus, our technology is stellar; to be able to intelligently connect people with apps, rather than just ad-hoc, and bombard them with offers is key.

Additionally, we’re building a cooperative network providing our partners guaranteed distribution sources that are advantageous in a rapidly crowding marketplace.

Will the social gaming scene on iOS get just as packed as it currently is on Facebook?

As people discover the magic juice of iOS, yes. That’s the natural cycle of business. Fish where the fish are.

A lot of people made a lot of money on Facebook and once word got out that there was money to be made there, the marketplace got crowded fast and getting those new users became a challenge. For the little guy trying to compete with the big guy it becomes problematic. W3i fixes that problem.

What expectations do you have for your first iOS release, Dolphin Play?

It’ll be big. You’ll see it as a top 100 app. We have a tremendous amount of resources to commit to mobile, both fiscal and human. We fully expect Dolphin Play to be a profitable endeavour.

That said, Dolphin Play is our first in a long series of games and as we move through 2011 look for more robust, advanced gaming experiences to emerge from Recharge Studios.

Dolphin Play in many ways offered us very valuable insight into understanding the process of taking a game through the App Store and validating our initial assumptions.

How many games are you expecting to release on iOS over the course of the next few months?

In just the last week our co-founder Robert Weber has been approached by 15 companies offering 22 games seeking a partnership with Recharge Studios.

We have north of a million dollars up for investment opportunities to push publication of up to ten apps in the Q1 2011. Based on performance in Q1, we will consider doubling down our financial commitment.

Where do you see social gaming going over the course of the next few years?

Social gaming will continue to mature and adapt like any other industry.

As it does, it will continue to evolve and offer opportunities to marketers locally and globally as well as create a new generation of gamers. My own family is testament. Over Thanksgiving aunts and uncles brought along their laptops just to keep their crops from dying, however I’ve never seen them with a game controller in their hand, ever.

Social gaming critics charged that it isn’t ‘real gaming’. What you’ll see in the coming years is a rapid expansion of the complexity and fun social games offer.

It provides a bridge to the world of gaming for those who, up until now, were not all that interested. As it matures, it will appeal to more sophisticated gamers. As a result the market will continue to expand rapidly.（source:pocketgamer）