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

每日观察:关注Newzoo美国游戏市场报告(6.30)

发布时间:2011-06-30 12:54:46 Tags:,,,

1)继不久前宣布关门闭户之后,多次运营不济的Friendster最近又以重新以社交游戏门户网站的面目复出,绑定了Facebook Connect功能,现已提供一系列社交游戏供用户体验。

friendster-screen(from techcrunch.com)

friendster-screen(from techcrunch.com)

用户可通过常规的注册或者Facebook平台登录该网站,创建一个用户名、虚拟头像等个人资料,就可以免费体验多种游戏。但该网站的Facebook Connect的作用仅限于邀请好友玩游戏,并不能像Faccebook一样提供向News Feed发贴、分享和赠送礼物的功能(游戏邦注:如果用户体验一款新游戏,Facebook的News Feed就会发布一条消息)。

有人称在Facebook打造Facebook Credits平台,谷歌进军社交游戏领域的意图已十分明显之际,再加上DeNA旗下的Mobage、Hi5、TeePee Games等多个平台的夹击,Friendster进军这一市场的前景并不乐观。

2)Facebook硬核社交游戏开发商Kabam最近在欧洲开设卢森堡工作室,主要针对国际用户提供本土化服务及客户支持。Boris Pfeiffer将任新工作室主管,该团队目前有25名成员,将于年底前再度扩充成员。Kabam不久前融资8500万美元,迄今共筹得1.25亿美元资金。

3)据gamasutra报道,社交网站Myspace终于以3500万美元的价格被广告网站Specific Media收购。

Myspace accquired(from techcrunch.com)

Myspace accquired(from techcrunch.com)

新闻集团于2005年以5.8亿美元购得Myspace,后者的估值曾一度高达10亿美元。该网站曾是极为强大的网页游戏平台,但Facebook的出现瞬间令其黯然失色。去年9月份,Myspace有3000万左右的活跃游戏玩家,而Zynga旗下一款游戏《FarmVille》的用户数量就是它的两倍。

Myspace将在过渡时期精简一半的成员(目前约400名员工),现任首席执行官Mike Jones将在今后两个月内继续监管Myspace。

4)在7月1日Facebook统一平台虚拟货币系统之前,华盛顿非盈利性公共组织Consumer Watchdog最近指出,Facebook的这一政策违反了反垄断法,是一种不正当竞争手段。

watchdog barks at facebook credits(from games.com)

watchdog barks at facebook credits(from games.com)

该组织代表John M.Simpson认为,Facebook的这一策略并不是开玩笑的事情,假如Facebook可以采取不正当竞争手段制定在线游戏市场规则,那就只会损害用户利益,扼制整个行业的创新。该组织还要求美国联邦贸易委员会介入调查Facebook与Zynga的五年合作协议,理由是这两者的合作条款并未公开,而双方在去年5月签署协议之前的关系几乎决裂,不免让人怀疑Facebook是否为Zynga提供额外优惠而扭转了局势。

Watchdog还指出,Facebook不允许开发商在其他网站销售更低价的同类商品,其征收的30%抽成也极大限制了新兴开发商的运营能力。

5)日本社交游戏平台GREE日前称将力争吸收5亿至10亿用户,与Facebook展开角逐(游戏邦注:GREE今年3月时的日本用户超过2500万)。GREE在今年斥资1.04亿美元收购美国社交游戏平台OpenFeint,后者至今已有9000万用户,平均每秒新增2.8名用户。

Gree-OpenFeint(from nexus404.com)

Gree-OpenFeint(from nexus404.com)

6)在本周DAU增长最快的Facebook游戏榜单上,Playdom的寻物解谜游戏《Gardens of Time》重新坐上第二把交椅(当前DAU达306万),而Zynga新作《Empires & Allies》的DAU及MAU增长率已连续数周称雄榜首(最近DAU为683万),Kabam旗下的《Global Warfare》和Digital Chocolate游戏《Army Attack》也持续保持增长势头,不过后者的DAU增势已趋于平缓,无缘本榜单前20名。

Top Gainers This Week-Games(from AppData)

Top Gainers This Week-Games(from AppData)

7)市场调研公司Newzoo最新报告表明,2011年美国用户在电子游戏上的消费将低于2010年,共达216亿美元。2011年共有1.45亿美国人(约占该国人口的一半)会为游戏花钱,并且其中多数开销会流向掌机游戏领域。

今年用户在掌机游戏领域的投入预计将达80亿美元,而在PC和Mac平台的零售和数字下载渠道总支出将达43亿美元,在社交及休闲游戏的开销为46亿美元,手机游戏则是21亿美元,MMO游戏是26亿美元。

Newzoo预测社交及手机游戏的营收同比上年将增长37%,数字销售渠道的游戏将增长11%,而掌机游戏却将下滑20%,PC和Mac平台的游戏的增长率也将下跌7%。

美国游戏玩家每天玩电子游戏的时间累计达2.15亿小时,休闲游戏占据其中的23%。在调查中提到的7种不同的游戏平台中,玩家平均使用3.8种平台玩游戏,其中以休闲游戏网站人气最旺,吸引了80%的用户(约1.15亿);掌机游戏玩家共8200万(约占玩家总数的57%),手机游戏玩家达7500万(约占总数的52%)。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Newzoo Report--US game market(from Newzoo)

Newzoo Report--US game market(from Newzoo)

1)Yet another Social Games Portal Emerges: Friendster is back

by Joe Osborne

Friendster, like the phoenix has thousands of times before, has risen again renewed, refreshed and predictably re-branded. TechCrunch reports that the failed social network, after it shut its doors less than a month ago, has reopened for business as a social games portal. (Another one, seriously?)

And here’s the clincher, the website features Facebook Connect, just like owner MOL Global promised. We’ll let that one sink in for a minute. The new-and-improved Friendster already offers a litany of social games, some of which are already being enjoyed by thousands of players as of this writing.

To sign up either traditionally or with Facebook, users must create a name and persona for their Avatar. Then, they’re free to play any games they wish, like Battlestations (pictured below).

However, Facebook Connect with Friendster doesn’t go far beyond simply inviting friends to play games. These games aren’t using the features that Facebook provides like posting to News Feeds, sharing and gifting. (However, whenever you start playing a new game, a Facebook News Feed post is created.)

With Facebook on the verge of establishing its Facebook Credits platform, and Google revealing that its games effort is real, it’s unsure whether Friendster can fit in the social gaming pool without some overflow. And that’s especially considering the myriad of other social games services on the horizon from DeNA’s Mobage mobile network to Hi5 and TeePee Games. Let’s just say Friendster, even with help for developers, is surrounded by even more sharks in this pool.(source:games

2)Core-Focused Social Game Developer Kabam Expands To Europe

by Frank Cifaldi

Global Warfare and Kingdoms of Camelot developer Kabam has opened a new European office, which will focus on localization and customer support for its international market.

The new Luxembourg ofice will be led by managing director Boris Pfeiffer, formerly of Monster Worldwide. It currently houses around 25 employees, but that number is expected to double by year’s end.

“Kabam is committed to serving its international customers and enhancing their game experience,” said Pfeiffer. “Translating games so players can experience them in their native languages while receiving localized support makes for a much more engaging and immersive gaming experience.”

According to Kabam COO Chris Carvalho, the expansion may be the first step to establishing a development studio in Europe.

Kabam was recently granted $85 million in funding, bringing the company’s total funding up to $125 million. (source:gamasutra

3)Report: News Corp Offloads MySpace For $35M

by Frank Cifaldi

Online social network MySpace has finally found a new home, as advertising network Specific Media has acquired the company for an alleged $35 million, according to reports.

Wall Street Journal blog All Things Digital broke the news Wednesday morning, with MySpace CEO Mike Jones later confirming the report in an email sent to the company’s staff of over 400.

Former owner News Corp had been attempting to sell the company for $100 million for some time. News Corp acquired the company in 2005 for $580 million, and its valuation shot as high as an estimated $1 billion at one point.

The sale comes just one day before the close of News Corp’s fiscal year.

MySpace was once a formidable portal for browser-based games, but has fallen significantly in the shadow of Facebook.

In September MySpace claimed to still have around 30 million active gaming users. By comparison, Zynga’s FarmVille alone claimed over double that figure at the time.

Other parties who expressed interest in the acquisition included MySpace co-founders Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson (who placed their own, separate bids), a group of investors that included Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, and private equity firm Golden Gate Capital.

MySpace is expected to halve its 400-person workforce during the transition, with current CEO Mike Jones continuing to oversee the company for the next two months.(source:gamasutra

4)Consumer Watchdog barks at Facebook Credits, Zynga-Facebook deal

by Joe Osborne

You know that whole shift to Facebook Credits that is supposed to happen this Friday? Well, that’s not gonna’ happen–not if Consumer Watchdog has anything to do about it. As of July 1, all Facebook apps and games will essentially be forced to take on the Facebook Credits payment model, from which the company takes a 30 percent cut. The Washington-based nonprofit public interest organization has openly called Facebook out on potentially violating anti-trust law and participating in anti-competitive behavior.

“This isn’t just about fun and games,” Consumer Advocate John M. Simpson said in a release. “These activities in the virtual world are a big business, worth billions of dollars. If Facebook is allowed to dictate terms in the online gaming market though anti-competitive tactics, consumers will pay more and innovation will be stifled.”

More importantly, however, Watchdog has also requested that the Federal Trade Commission investigate the five-year deal Facebook made with Zynga last year to keep the $15 to $20 billion developer on board with the changes. That’s funny, because the terms of the deal were never officially disclosed (not that we’d expect that). In fact, the two companies were reported to be nearly at each others’ throats before the pen met paper in May of last year. So, you have to think Facebook offered quite an attractive package to keep Zynga around. And Watchdog wants to know.

It’s not as if this sort of thing hasn’t happened before. Apple takes the same cut from any app that is sold through its App Store, but it’s the details of the imposition that are setting Consumer Watchdog off. Specifically, Watchdog said that Facebook has prohibited developers from selling their goods on different websites at lower prices, effectively locking them in. Not to mention that the 30 percent cut might be too steep for new developers to meet. This could keep the big players in business, while potentially shutting out new companies and, most importantly, new ideas for games. We’ve contacted Facebook for comment.(source:games

5)Japanese Mobile Gaming Giant Gree Targets 1 Billion Users

By Sebastian Sujka

Japanese mobile social gaming firm Gree will aim for 500 million to a billion users worldwide, rivaling Facebook, the company’s founder and chief executive said on Wednesday. Gree this year paid $104 million to buy fast-growing U.S.-based mobile social gaming platform OpenFeint, which has 90 million users worldwide and is adding 2.8 more per second. “We are aiming for 500 million to a billion users, though we don’t have a timeframe, or particular countries,” Yoshikazu Tanaka said. Facebook is said to have 700 million, and we are also aiming for that level,” he added. Gree competes with DeNA in the mobile social gaming market, which grew rapidly with the spread of sophisticated feature phones in Japan, and the two are jostling to export their highly profitable business model, based on in-game microtransactions.(source:socialgamesobserver

6)Gardens of Time Growing Again on This Week’s List of Fastest-Growing Facebook Games by DAU

By AJ Glasser

Playdom’s hidden object game, Gardens of Time, climbs back into the top two on this week’s list of fastest-growing Facebook games by daily active users as tracked by AppData. Looks like strategy games haven’t squeezed out the casual genre just yet.

Meanwhile, Empires & Allies continues to dominate the top 20 lists by growth across DAU and monthly active users as the game turns a month old today. Its nearest competitors by genre, Kabam’s Global Warfare and Digital Chocolate’s Army Attack, also continue to grow, though the latter’s DAU leveled off in such a way as to exclude it from appearing on this week’s list.(source:insidesocialgames

7)Study: Video Game Spending Will Reach $21.6B In 2011

by Mike Rose

New data from market research firm Newzoo has found that U.S. consumer spending on video games in 2011 will reach a total of $21.6 billion, just lower than that in 2010.

The 2011 Games Market Revenue Report, due to be released on July 5, notes that 145 million people in the U.S. — just under half of the entire population — will spend money on games in 2011, with most of this money will be spent on console gaming.

In total, the company estimates that $8 billion will be spent on console gaming in 2011, while PC and Mac gaming will see $4.3 billion spent across retail and digital downloads.

Elsewhere, social network and casual gaming are set to see $4.6 billion spent in total, while mobile gaming will bring in $2.1 billion. MMO games were separated out from these groups in the report and estimated to bring in $2.6 billion for the year.

The report predicts that social and mobile gaming will both see a 37 percent increase in revenue year-over-year, while digital distribution will see a 11 percent increase. Console gaming, on the other hand, will be subjected to a 20 percent decline, while PC and Mac games will see a 7 percent drop.

Other interesting facts in the report include total time spent playing games per day, and a breakdown of the different gaming platforms used by U.S. gamers. In total, gamers in the U.S. play over 215 million hours of video games a day, with casual gaming making up 23 percent of that time.

Gamers average use of 3.8 of the seven different gaming “platforms” mentioned in the report, with casual gaming websites as the most popular, played by 80 percent of gamers (115 million).

In comparison, there are 82 million console gamers (57 percent of total gamers) and 75 million mobile gamers (52 percent of total gamers).

Peter Warman, co-founder at Newzoo, explained, “Everyone in the games industry understands that the new online and mobile free-to-play business models have the power to accelerate growth, especially in emerging markets — not only in number of players but also in money spent.”

“It is exciting to see concrete numbers on these markets and benchmark these with Western countries as well as zoom in on who is actually spending and what they are buying.”(source:gamasutra


上一篇:

下一篇: