游戏邦在:
杂志专栏:
gamerboom.com订阅到鲜果订阅到抓虾google reader订阅到有道订阅到QQ邮箱订阅到帮看

pocketgamer消息:挤兑竞争对手 EA打响圣诞促销战

发布时间:2010-12-17 14:47:06 Tags:,,,,

那些试图赶在圣诞节前推出新作的小型开发商可能要遭殃了,因为他们面临的是《实况赛车》(Real Racing)、《NOVA 2》、《Mortal Kombat 3》和《Tomb Raider》等大量AAA级竞争对手的挑战,现在美国游戏发行巨头EA公司又宣布将54款iPhone游戏、14款iPad游戏价格降至99美分,此举无疑更令这些势单力薄的开发商雪上加霜。

Battlefield:Bad Company 2

Battlefield:Bad Company 2

游戏邦认为,EA这次的大手笔降价活动,多少有点拯救市场的意味。要知道EA本周除了一款已延期发行的《Battlefield: Bad Company 2》(售价99美分)之外,没有任何拿得出手的作品问世。

反观竞争对手Gameloft公司,在最近两周却是稳产优产,它发行的《实况赛车2》也对EA旗下的《极品飞车》(Need for Speed)系列构成了威胁。

另外,EA今年业务表现也很不济,据游戏邦了解,该公司今年第二季度的销售额同比去年下降了4%,而Gameloft同期的销售额却猛增了15%。

当然,多数公司在遇到像EA这种极为不利的竞争局面时,都会通过一些促销手段来捍卫市场份额。其他大型发行商最近一段时间也确实都在采用同样的手段,比如说南梦宫(Namco)在11月份,也对旗下的53款iOS游戏进行削价,只是降价幅度没有EA这么大。

比较蹊跷的现象是,EA这次促销的多数游戏原先售价是4.99或6.99美元,这次居然降到了99美分,实在很出乎人们的意料。我们猜测,EA很有可能是想抢在12月23日苹果App Store停止更新应用排行榜前(游戏邦注:苹果员工圣诞期间休假,12月29日才开始恢复更新应用排行榜),以价格优势拉动下载量,推高游戏排名。

除了排挤App Store应用榜单上的竞争对手,EA可能还有另一层用意,就是让这些促销游戏在圣诞节假期间一直稳居排行榜前列,然后在圣诞节后第一个工作日开始时马上恢复原价。

这种手段并非长久之计,毕竟游戏本身的创新才是市场竞争的常胜武器。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,转载请注明来源:游戏邦)

Opinion: EA rains on rivals’ App Store parade with 54 iPhones and 14 iPad games dropped to 99c

Pity those poor developers who have spent months working on an iPhone game.

Long nights crunched to get it complete for the last weekend before Christmas, they’ve already had to deal with a huge number of triple-A titles such as Real Racing, NOVA 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Tomb Raider being released in the same week.

And now EA has dumped the majority of its iOS catalog down to 99c for good measure.

I have the power

A clear demonstration of publisher power, it also feels somewhat vindictive.

Notably EA didn’t have any big releases this week. Its only game was the delayed Battlefield: Bad Company 2, which was priced at 99c.

Rival Gameloft has released key titles over the past two weeks however, while Real Racing 2 is a clear competitor for EA’s Need for Speed franchise.

The wider context is the company has been underperforming financially. Its Q2 figures were down 4 percent year on year, while sales at Gameloft were up 15 percent over the same period

Where do we go from here?

Of course, there’s no sympathy in business, and to that extent EA’s move is exactly what companies should be doing in terms of promoting their business while disrupting the competition.

Indeed, other big publishers have pulled off similar moves. For example, Namco dropped the prices of 53 iOS, Android and BlackBerry games in November, although not all to 99c.

Yet, it’s the sheer number of games, particularly as many were previously priced at $4.99 or $6.99, that’s the surprise, as well as suggesting it’s not been done for pure financial reasons.

Presumably EA hopes to swamp the App Store charts, which Apple will freeze on December 23.

As well as blocking off the rise of rival games in the download charts, EA could also change its price beforehand, leaving its game placed high but at their pre-sale prices, right in time for the Boxing day unwrap.

Still, it’s not a strategy for longterm growth. That will require innovation where it really matter – the games themselves.


上一篇:

下一篇: