现在单单在苹果的iTunes应用商店中就有超过35万个应用程序。对于开发者来说想要推出更优秀的应用已经是十分困难的一件事了，更不用说建立一个专门为iOS、Android、黑莓和其他平台提供应用的公司，还要让这个公司具有发展前景。而手机游戏开放商Ngmoco的联合创始人以及首席执行官Neil Young对于这些再清楚不过。

本周早些时候，Om Malik在email时事通讯Om Says里，分享了关于Neil Young如何将他的公司转型的故事。Neil Young做出的这个决定不仅拯救了他的公司，据游戏邦了解，该公司最终也成功被日本社交游戏公司DeNA以4亿美元收购。在话题广泛的视频采访中，Neil Young和我分享了一些他关于游戏产业和移动设备应用平台的一些看法，我相信这些看法对那些想要利用移动设备应用来创业的人来说，能起到很大的帮助。首先Om Malik介绍一些关于Neil Young的故事，好让大家了解，为什么他们需要听取Neil的建议。

Neil Young

Om Malik第一次见到Neil是在7年前，后来他成为了EA（美国艺电）的高级主管。Neil做过一个名为“游戏能让你哭吗？”的演讲，在当时他就试图说服大家，我们已经进入了一个要像做电影一样做游戏的时代。那是一个很让人印象深刻的演讲，Malik也因此一直在Neil的职业生涯中和他保持联系。

然后大概3年前他决定离开EA并创立ngmoco这个手机游戏公司。这个公司从投资机构Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers那里获得了许多资金，并且在iPhone带动的手机游戏潮流过后，将公司以4亿美元的价格卖给了日本的DeNA。

Young的公司一开始制作了一些冒险小游戏，他从风险投资家手里募集了好几百万美元的资金，而苹果后来也开始在自己的应用商店推广他的应用。在他创业的路上，他学到了一些非常重要的教训以及许多很完善的观点，Malik相信许多靠开发应用赚钱的企业家们用起这些经验会十分顺手。

Young说：“媒体、社交以及移动设备领域的各种竞争造就了这个建立新型娱乐公司的机遇，iOS和Android将是承载未来的媒体和娱乐的主要平台。”但同时他也觉得有一些惋惜，因为现在有许多的应用并没有充分利用到iPhone和iPad平台的技术和性能。

Neil Young并不认为可以开创一个基于iPhone的应用公司，但他认为现在还是可以开创一个瞄准平板电脑用户的公司，前提是你能够做出给力的平板电脑应用程序。他指出在平板电脑这个平台上，这些公司想取得成功必须能够和用户保持密切的联系，而且这种联系必须能够维系比较长的时间。

第一课：下载量是没办法确定的事

·你没办法建立一个在应用商店里不可或缺的公司，因为这是一个依靠下载量生存的行业，而一个游戏的半衰期是非常短的。

·你建立的这个公司想要确保每年有1000万美元的收入进账的话，就必须确保在一年的365天里你的公司要有至少2个游戏保持在付费游戏排行榜的前5名里面。

·在应用商店和市场当中有数以千计的应用程序，你的应用如果做不到出类拔萃，那么想要成功的可能性就非常低。

第二课：只有给力的产品才能吸引顾客并创造利润

·不要制作那些不会长久的产品，把注意力放在开发那些能够帮助你建立和顾客之间联系的产品。你跟顾客保持联系的时间越长，你用这种关系赚钱的时间也会越长。

·史努比曾经告诉他儿子，每个人都有自己擅长的一些东西，要做就做到最好。这一点在应用商店市场中尤其正确。好的应用已经有很多了，做一些最好的。

第三课：好的体验比那些哗众取宠的科技来的更重要

·你必须以顾客的眼光来审视自己的游戏和应用，想想这些应用要怎么取悦顾客。

·好游戏要具备好的游戏结构，这种好的结构可以让你的游戏胜过那些利用尖端科技制作的游戏产品。

以上这些经验只是Om Malik在采访Neil Young过程中得到的有用知识的小部分精华而已。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

Apps Need Great Experiences, Not Tech

There are over 350,000 apps in the Apple’s iTunes App store alone. No wonder it’s tough for developers to standout. What’s even tougher? Trying to build a scalable business based on the apps – be it for iOS, Android, Blackberry or all of those platforms. Neil Young, co-founder and CEO of ngmoco, a mobile gaming company, knows it all too well.

Earlier this week, in my email newsletter Om Says, I shared Young’s story about how he changed his company’s business model: a decision that not only saved his company, but also ended up getting it acquired by Japan’s DeNA for $403 million.

In a wide-ranging video interview, he shared some of his thoughts about the gaming industry and mobile app platforms (and business) with me, which I believe are incredibly useful for anyone building apps and app-based businesses. First, though, let me give you context as to why you should listen to him (and why I have a lot of respect for what he has to say).

The first time I came across Neil was about seven years ago.  Then a senior executive at Electronics Arts, he gave a talk about the future of games titled, “Can a game make you cry?” He argued we were entering the phase where games would be nearly movie-like. It was a powerful presentation, impressive enough for me to stay in touch and follow Young’s career.

About three years ago, he decided he was going to leave EA and start ngmoco, a mobile game company. The company raised tons of money from the likes of Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. It rode the iPhone wave, and last year, it sold out to Japan’s DeNA for $403 million.

Young started the company building premium games. He raised millions of dollars from top venture capitalists. Apple promoted his apps inside the app store. Along the way, he learned some vital lessons and formed opinions I think would (and should) come in handy for a lot of entrepreneurs, especially those in the business of developing apps.

“Opportunity is here to build a new kind of entertainment company, thanks to the disruption in media, social and mobile,” says Young. “iOS and Android are the platform for the future of media and entertainment. “ Still, he bemoans the fact that not a lot of apps are not taking full advantage of the technological capabilities of the iPhone and the iPad platforms.

He doesn’t believe you can start an app company based on the iPhone, though does think it’s time to start a tablet-oriented company built on the premise of creating awesome tablet experiences.  He pointed out that on the mobile platform, the “opportunities are for companies that connect customers together and maintain relationships with those customers for a long time.”

Lesson #1: Hits Aren’t a Sure Thing

You can’t build a company of consequence inside the app store, because it’s a hits-driven business, and the half-life of a game is pretty short.

The company would have to have two games appear in the top five paid games on the iPhone store every day for 365 days for the company to build a $10-million-a-year business.

There are thousands of apps in the app marketplace/store. The likelihood that your app is going to break out from the pack without significant support is pretty low.

Lessons #2: Awesome Products Engage Customers & Bring Profits

Don’t build products for fleeting moments. Instead, focus on building products that build on a relationship with the customer. The longer the relationship, longer you have a chance to monetize that relationship.

Snoop Dog tells his son that everyone is good at something. Be great. That’s particularly true in the app market. There are a lot of good apps; build something great.

Lesson #3: Great Experiences, not Whiz Bang Technology Are What Matters

You have to look at games (and apps) through the eyes of the users and look at how you are delighting the customers.

Great games are those with fun game mechanics, and they always win over games with the greatest/most-cutting-edge technology.

These lessons are only a distillation of what I believe is a knowledge-laced interview with Neil. (Source: Gigaom)