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MetroGames高管谈南美社交游戏市场及公司新项目

发布时间:2011-04-12 15:12:35 Tags:,,

社交游戏并非独居北美,其足迹遍布世界各地,其中包括北美近邻南美洲。MetroGames(游戏邦注:其实Facebook众多热门游戏的开发商,如《时尚世界》)的总部位于阿根廷首都布宜诺斯艾利斯,该公司直接见证了南美社交游戏市场的兴起。公司首席执行官和创始人Damian Harburger日前在采访中谈到自身对于行业形势及MetroGames未来发展情况的看法。游戏邦根据采访内容做出如下编译。

Metrogames

Metrogames

南美社交游戏市场目前发展情况如何?

该地区如今机会无限,我们从中受益匪浅。过去几年以来,该地区的用户群稳步增加,这得归功于南美地区互联网覆盖率及用户规模的显著扩大,同时这也是因为当地开始放松对互联网交易的戒备心。如果说当地经济在过去几年的强劲增长势头对此也功不可没,那么未来一个更为成熟和有利可图的广阔市场将呈现在我们面前。

所有这些因素都促使当地许多游戏开发商转战在线游戏平台(游戏邦注:特别是像Facebook、Orkut之类的大型社交网络平台),他们之中的很多公司战绩显赫,这引起了某些大型国际社交游戏公司的注意,他们已经将该地区纳入其未来发展战略之中。

该地区目前呈现哪些发展趋势?

我们经历了该地区手机销量迅猛增长的时期。举个例子,在2010年期间,阿根廷平均每18秒就售出一部手机,据估计,到2011年,增长速度将会增至每10秒一部。该势头十分强劲,照此趋势看,未来5年里,阿根廷的所有普通手机都将会为智能手机所替代。南美的其他国家也呈现相同的发展趋势,这为手机游戏开发商提供无限的发展空间。

facebook

facebook

当地的游戏玩家对于社交游戏和手机游戏的兴起是如何看待的?举例来说,南美的Facebook游戏市场会变得和北美一样强大吗?

当地的玩家越来越喜欢社交游戏和手机游戏。虽然这里的渗透指数并不如北美市场,但其规模日渐扩大,不久也将赶上北美。当然并非所有的国家都对此怀有同样的热情,但社交游戏和手机游戏在巴西和阿根廷等国家声势浩大,相信不久也会为南美其他国家所关注。

Facebook游戏的渗透指数主要取决于所处国家。阿根廷、智利和哥伦比亚等国家的Facebook游戏渗透指数相当高(游戏邦发现,其程度堪比美国),但在巴西等国家,Orkut等社交网络却独占鳌头,但形势有所改变,发展趋势表明,Facebook早晚会在该地区占据主导位置。

orkut

orkut

如今许多公司发展迅速,游戏领域未来会呈何种态势?你是如何看待形势的发展或者变化的?

我认为变化和发展是迟早的事。显然新兴市场另游戏领域的主要参与者(游戏邦注:用户、游戏公司和投资者)都颇为兴奋。社交游戏发展很成功,其带来了将非电子游戏玩家转移至社交游戏领域的可能性,我们对此指日可待。事实表明体验游戏并不意味着玩家得持续多个小时对着电脑。相反,社交游戏每天耗费的时间不超过25分钟,并且用户可以从中收获相当多的乐趣和满足感。如果我们在游戏中加入社交互动,那么游戏行业将会稳扎根基,并且持续发展。

但是我认为行业未来也会发生很多变化,其中最重要的是社交游戏将会和手机游戏交织在一起,这一转变是由用户需求和技术进步所带动的。

MetroGames公司未来会有什么新动向?有没有什么最新的游戏相关消息?

我们如今涉猎两个截然不同的领域,即社交游戏和手机游戏。在社交游戏领域,我们今年将会推出4款新游戏。今年上半年最为庞大的Facebook游戏瞄准的是女性玩家,玩家可以在游戏中沉浸数小时,亲自设计、试穿甚至是买卖其梦寐以求的华丽服饰。该款游戏不同于市场上现有的其他游戏,因为游戏的发展并非基于玩家的点击数量,而是着眼于她们的品位和时尚敏锐度。我敢说这款游戏将会是社交游戏的一大变革。

而在手机游戏领域方面,公司今年将会推出8款令我们相当期待新作品。这些游戏大多都已完成了市场测试,结果很理想。

最后还有没有什么想传达给粉丝?

有的,首先我们十分感谢粉丝长期给予游戏的支持和热情。他们是我们灵感和动力的来源。粉丝每天的反馈信息都是我们发展的动力。同时我们也想告诉粉丝,今年公司会有更多新作品问世。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,转载请注明来源:游戏邦)

Interview: MetroGames talks social gaming in South America, upcoming games

Social games aren’t just blowing up in North America, they’re taking over the world. And that includes our neighbors to the south. With headquarters in Buenos Aires, MetroGames—the studio behind Facebook hits like Fashion World—is able to see first hand just how social gaming is growing in South America. Gamezebo recently had the chance to chat with CEO & founder Damian Harburger about the state of the industry, as well what we can expect next from Metro.

What is the current state of the social game development scene in South America?

We are experiencing amazing opportunities in the region right now. The user base has been growing steadily over the past couple of years, partially due to the fact that internet access and usage in most of South American countries have expanded considerably and also because people in the region have finally lost its fear of doing internet transactions. If we add that to the fact that the economy in the region has been explosively growing for the past decade we get as a result a massive and much more mature and profitable market to serve.

All this has led to many local game developer to switch towards the development of game content for online platforms (specially big social networks like Facebook or Orkut), many of them with relatively big success, and also calling the attention of the biggest international social gaming companies that are now including the region as part of their growth strategy for the upcoming years.

What sorts of trends are currently happening in the region?

We are clearly experiencing an explosive growth in smartphones sales in the region. Just to give you an example, one smartphone every 18 seconds has been sold in Argentina in 2010. For 2011 it is expected that the rhythm will grow to reach one smartphone every 10 seconds. The trend is so strong that most of regular cell phones in Argentina are expected to be replaced by smartphones within the next few years. Similar trends are being watched in different countries of the region, representing an amazing opportunity for mobile content developers.

How are players in the region reacting to the boom in social and mobile games? For example, is Facebook gaming as big there as it is in North America?

Players in the region are increasingly embracing social and mobile gaming. Event though the penetration figures are not as high as in the United States yet, the market is growing and we´ll certainly get there in the near future. Of course, not all the countries in the region show the same level of enthusiasm, but the noise social and mobile gaming is making in the leading ones like Brazil and Argentina is definitely being heard in the rest of the region as well.

Regarding Facebook penetration, it pretty much depends on the country. In some of them like Argentina, Chile, or Colombia Facebook penetration is really high (almost comparable to Facebook’s penetration in the US), in some others like Brazil, for instance, other social networks like Orkut lead the way, but this is changing and the trend shows it is only a matter of time until Facebook completely dominates the scene.

With so many companies growing at such a quick rate, what does the future look like? How do you see the scene changing or growing?

In my opinion both change and growth will take place. Clearly a new market has been discovered and all the key players (people, companies and investors) are thrilled about it. Social gaming has proven successfully that bringing typically non-video game players into the gaming world is not only possible but a growing reality. It has also proven that gaming does not necessarily imply lots of hours in front of a computer. Instead, social gamers spend not more than 25 minutes per day and still receive comparable amounts of entertainment and satisfaction by doing so. If we add the social interaction that social gaming generates, we are in the presence of an industry that is here to stay and of course keep on growing.

But I see lots of changes that eventually will take place in the industry as well. Probably the most important of them will be the convergence of social gaming and mobile, an industry shift that is being motivated both as a result of player’s demand and technology improvements.

Specifically with regards to MetroGames, what can we expect to see from the company in the future? Any upcoming game announcements?

We are working on two different gaming areas right now, social games and mobile games. With regards to social gaming, we are releasing four new titles this year. Our biggest launch on Facebook for the first half of the year will be a women targeted game, in which they will spend hours creating, wearing, and even selling the best outfits they could ever dream of. This game is different than any other game available right now in the market because it bases progress not on the amount of clicks, but on good taste and sense of fashion. I would even dare to say it is meant to generate a revolution in social gaming as we know it.

Regarding Mobile gaming, we will be releasing eight new titles this year that we are really excited about. Most of them are being market tested right now and the results are really promising.

Any final words for your fans?

Yes, we would like to thanks our fans’ support and enthusiasm in our games so far. They are our main source of inspiration and motivation and the daily feedback we receive from them makes us be a better company every day. We also want to let them know there is much more to come this year.(Source:Gamezebo


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