作者：Greg Steen

抢旗子、捉迷藏等此类基于地理位置的游戏曾给我们的童年带来无穷乐趣。电子游戏出现后，起居室就成了不少人的唯一游戏场所。现在，基于地理位置（游戏邦注：以下简称LBS）的创新型手机游戏、图像识别及真实感技术的结合，却可以将真实与虚拟世界融为一体。

LBS游戏正在兴起

例如，最近将登陆美国的芬兰热门iPhone游戏《Shadow Cities》，将每名玩家所在城市作为一个游戏棋盘，让他们在附近转悠并掌控城市街区。玩家可与附近的其他用户组队合作，或者相互夺取地盘。

《愤怒的小鸟》也将植入地理定位功能，并支持玩家获取新角色和内容。玩家将可通过与各地区绑定的积分排行榜，与他人进行挑战。这些功能将把咖啡馆、酒吧和公寓住所等地转变成下一个《愤怒的小鸟》冠军的试验战场，并为在同时同地玩游戏的用户增加更多挑战性。

Paparazzi(from techsplurge.com)

《Paparazzi》（狗仔队）是一款根据现实世界制作的真实感Android游戏，要求玩家为桌面上的3D人物拍照，该人物发现被偷拍后就会愤怒不已，而且还会将杯中的水泼向玩家。假如有可能的话，它甚至想跳出手机与玩家一决生死。

品牌营销合作潜力

人们的智能手机持有量以及对移动游戏兴趣的增长，催生了一个利润颇丰的产业。据eMarketer统计，约31%手机用户已拥有一部智能手机，预计2015年这一比例将达到43%（约为1.01亿人）。而简·麦格尼格尔的《破碎的世界：游戏何以改变世界》（Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World）一书也指出，1.83亿美国人自称每天都要玩一个小时的游戏。游戏玩家数量已经超过了一半的美国人口。

地理定位游戏如果大获成功，将为这个市场带来无数新玩家和更有创意的游戏。因为从头开始构建玩家基础实非易事，所以市场营销人员的最佳对策就是找到成功的游戏，并与之合作进行品牌推广。但需要注意的是，品牌植入需与游戏体验无缝兼容，因为已有不少开发者因忌惮这些品牌植入损害游戏价值，从而拒绝收益相当可观的合作项目。

Dreyers-Farmville(from zenzimarketing.com)

品牌植入的成功案例之一就是Dreyer公司在《FarmVille》中开展的Fruit Bars推广活动，它支持玩家在游戏中种植Dreyer庄稼，这种农作物不但产值更高，而且还创造机会让玩家赢得顶级种植能手的头衔。Dreyer甚至还将这种品牌营销活动带入现实世界，选择一些玩家去弗吉尼亚的FarmVille社区旅行，并为该社区的果园种植真正的水果。

结语

《FarmVille》标志着社交游戏的崛起，《愤怒的小鸟》成了手机游戏领域的代言人，我们相信智能手机用户也将拥护这种将虚拟与现实相结合的游戏体验。市场营销人员若想建立目标用户与品牌的情感联系，不妨睁大眼睛关注这一领域的动静，把握与下一个手机游戏奇迹合作的机会。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Why Location-Based Gaming Is The Next Killer App

by Greg Steen

inShare.Share on TumblremailshareinShare.363Share on TumblremailshareThis post reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of Mashable as a publication.

Greg Steen currently serves as a trendspotter for Moxie, discovering and assessing marketing implications for global trends. He has over five years experience in analyzing trends and creating strategic campaigns for brands such as Verizon Wireless, Marriott and the Alzheimer’s Association.

Capture the flag. Hide and seek. Marco Polo. These location-based games brought hours of fun to many of us as children. Then video games came along and suddenly the only location you played in was the living room. Now this shift is coming full circle as innovative mobile games are using geo-location, image recognition and augmented reality technologies to combine the real and virtual worlds.

Location-Based Games Are Already Starting to Emerge

For example, the popular Finnish iPhone game Shadow Cities, which recently made its debut in the U.S., uses the city of each player as a game board, allowing them to roam their neighborhood casting spells and taking over city blocks. Players can engage with others nearby by either teaming up or fighting over territory.

Angry Birds will soon include location-based features that give players access to new characters and content. Players will also be able to compete with one another on a unique leader board tied to each location. This feature will turn coffee shops, bars and apartment buildings into proving grounds for the next Angry Birds champion and could serve as a great ice breaker for players that compete in the same spot at the same time.

Paparazzi is an Android game that layers digital animation on top of the real world, a technology known as augmented reality. The game challenges players to take photos of a 3D character standing on a table. The character becomes agitated and will throw tea cups at the player. He’ll even jump onto the phone itself if given the chance.

Games such as these can be a great fit for marketers looking to connect with customers. Logos, buildings and products can all be incorporated into the gaming environment through barcode scanning, image recognition or GPS. Such games add more depth to social check-ins, a field where developers are still trying to figure out how to create worthwhile experiences. MyTown is an early example of how this can work. Players buy and sell the locations they check in at, much like Monopoly, and products are integrated through barcode scanning, which can unlock virtual goods and manufacturer promotions.

The Location-Based Gaming Market Is Poised for Growth

A confluence of smartphone adoption and interest in gaming has laid the foundation for mobile games to become a cultural touchstone and an extremely profitable industry. eMarketer estimates that 31% of mobile users have a smartphone and projects that 43% of mobile users will have one by 2015. That’s 101 million people. Interest in gaming has grown rapidly as well. According to Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal, 183 million Americans report playing a game for an hour a day. That’s more than half of the population.

All it will take is one breakout success and the market will explode with new players and more innovative games. Marketers should look for successful games to partner with rather than creating their own, since building a player base from scratch is difficult. But marketers would do well to think about how these integrations can enhance the gaming experience. Developers have been known to turn down partnership dollars if they fear the in-game additions won’t add something meaningful to the game.

A good example of a brand integration that improves the gaming experience is the Dreyer’s Fruit Bars campaign that is running in FarmVille. Players have the opportunity to plant Dreyer’s branded crops, which are more profitable than comparable plants and create the possibility of receiving recognition as a top grower. Dreyer’s is even bringing the promotion into the real world by selecting a few players to travel to Farmville, Virginia, and plant an actual fruit orchard for the community.

Conclusion

The market is primed for the right game to galvanize interest in experiences that combine the real and virtual worlds. Just as FarmVille put social gaming on the map and Angry Birds brought attention to mobile gaming in general, we could see a wave of smartphone owners flood the application markets looking for similar experiences. This will present a valuable opportunity to marketers that want to foster emotional connections with their audiences, so keep a close eye on new releases and brace yourself for the next big thing in mobile gaming.（source:mashable）