作者：Chris Schilling

如果将的“手机游戏未来走向”换成“未来是手机游戏的天下”这种说法，你就能更清楚地看到游戏产业未来的发展状况。手机游戏是整个游戏产业中增长最快的一环，大大小小的游戏发行商将现有的品牌推向各种便携设备，在这个快速发展的市场里创造全新的游戏产品。

如果当前手机游戏发展情况乐观的话，那么未来的发展大势也便指日可待了，也有可能因此改变我们当前的发展方向。下文将列出可能影响只能手机未来几年发展的关键因素。

HTML5

HTML5(from recombu)

如今在很多网站上可以轻松找到关于现代手机的各种观点，尽管当前的手机网络还是不甚完美。但是随着HTML5的出现，这种情形发生了变化。HTML5使得玩家不用带任何插件便可以有效地处理多媒体网络内容。之所以会出现HTML5，是因为苹果的设备并不支持Flash功能，苹果前掌门人乔布斯在去年的公开信中称，与Adobe公司不稳定且陈旧的平台相比，HTML5语言已经成为了一种新型衡量标准，如果将其加以利用，那么它将“称霸手机设备”（电脑也不例外）。

我们不难看出手机设备上那些可被理解的语言是如何使游戏受益，特别是在那些跨平台游戏中，尽管PopCap亚太地区业务发展高级总监Giordano Bruno Contestabile为在HTML5被广泛采纳并形成一个切实可行的市场之前，那些原生应用程序将仍然扮演着手机游戏中的标准化配送模式角色。Contestabile解释道：“移植一款游戏到一个拥有不同输入界面和屏幕大小平台并不容易，你需要设计并实施新的控制方法，并创造出新的美术风格等。”

跨平台游戏

因为某些优势及吸引力，HTML5应该有助于跨平台游戏的发展， Aurora Feint已经发行了一款针对于OpenFeint Connect的新测试版本手机社交游戏平台，支持那些iOS，Android，Windows Phone 7和Palm Pre用户都能够一起玩游戏。理论上来讲，开发者无需为此用HTML5语言编写游戏，因为他们原本在不同平台上的游戏能够通过OpenFeint Connect进行交流。这种新语言刚诞生不久，所以比起那些以应用程序为基础而创造的游戏，目前的HTML5游戏还不够成熟。但是就像Zynga的《Mafia Wars Atlantic City》，这款基于HTML5游戏已经取得了一定的成功了，所以对于发行商是否能够脱离平台而找到一些更好的方法与手机用户进行互动，这也只是一个时间早晚的问题了。

iOS 5.0

iOS 5(from recombu)

我并不是偏爱于哪一个平台，但是说实在的，如果忽略了苹果第五代手机设备，那么我们便不可能真正审视手机游戏的未来。鉴于苹果App Store拥有60%的市场份额，所以不可否认它是当前手机游戏领域领军力量，而且随着越来越多应用程序的出现，iOS用户看来暂时不会考虑转战其它平台了。

即便如此，我们也可以期待苹果的下一个设备将以便携式模式出现，如果采用了传说中的双核心处理器，那么它将更接近于功能最丰富的Android手机。作为多数大型发行商最钟爱的平台，苹果万众瞩目，将创建手机游戏发展的里程碑——但虽然苹果已经售出7500万部iPhone，但我们还得再过一阵子才能看到一款完全针对iOS 5.0功能而设计的游戏。

Tegra 3

Tegra 3(from recombu)

苹果也许是当前最受应用开发者欢迎的移动平台，但是市场上最高端的设备支持的却是Android平台。苹果总是优先考虑电池寿命的问题，下一代移动设备之间的差异或许将更为明显。

Tegra 3（代号Kal-El）芯片的引进使Android智能手机能够为玩家提供如同家庭掌机般高清质量的图像。充满视觉冲击效果的第三人称射击游戏《Shadowgun》便是第一款支持Kal-El的游戏，但是看到它在Android的成功，我们也希望更多移动设备也能跟上这一步伐。Tegra 3平板电脑很快便会问世，而Tegra 3手机也将在明年第一季度面世，在短短的六个月时间里，掌机游戏与手机游戏间的鸿沟将会逐渐遁于无形。

免费模式

Tiny Tower(from recombu)

App Store最显著的发展趋势便是所谓的“免费模式”。这一模式让开发者能够以一定内容为基础免费发行游戏，并提供更多服务让玩家进行IAP（应用内置付费功能）消费。在某些情况下，采取定制化模式能够让玩家更家贴近游戏。例如，比起通过玩游戏而获取虚拟货币，玩家还可以使用现实中的钱去购买游戏虚拟货币，以此兑换更多的武器或者增强威力。在休闲游戏《Tiny Tower》中，玩家需要购买Tower Bux以增加自己的资产，这个机制推动该游戏在发行数周后便攀上了应用营收榜单前列。免费应用创造了App Store 65%的收益（游戏邦注：6个月前的比例为39%），相信在不久之后甚至是最大的游戏发行商也会采用这一价格模式。

NFC

Angry Birds Magic(from recombu)

NFC（近距离无线通讯技术）为人们在未来摆脱信用卡业务铺平了道路，使手机用户能够轻松摇晃设备与附近可兼容的读取器相联系而进行消费。《愤怒的小鸟》开发商Rovio公司正在尝试通过发行NFC版本的《Angry Birds Magic》将数字领域与物质世界联系在一起，新版本的《愤怒的小鸟》让玩家能够在贴有NFC标签的基础上通过摇晃设备而打开新的游戏关卡。《愤怒的小鸟》中的所有商品都将贴上NFC的标签，如新型小鸟和一些新添加的关卡等。

当然了，NFC并不适用于所有手机。《Angry Birds Magic》最初仅限诺基亚手机，但Rovio计划尽快将这个版本的游戏推向所有支持NFC功能的设备。同时为了不离间那些已经下载了这款游戏，但是却未拥有适用NFC设备的玩家，你还可以通过GPS系统而不只是带有NFC标签的产品，解琐一些游戏内容。贴着NFC标签的地点也拥有自己的积分排行榜，让玩家能够与其他人比拼分数。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

The future of mobile gaming

By Chris Schilling

Replace the ‘of’ in the title above with ‘is’ and you’ve got an accurate picture of the views of the games industry’s movers and shakers. Mobile gaming is easily the fastest-growing sector in the industry, with publishers big and small bring existing brands to portable devices and creating brand new intellectual property to this blossoming market.

And if things look rosy at present, they’re set to get even more exciting in future, with several developments capable of transforming the way we play on the move. So here are six key factors set to influence the next few years of smartphone gaming.

HTML5

It’s now rare to find a website that isn’t optimised for viewing on a modern mobile, though mobile internet is still not all it could be. That should change with the advent of HTML5, which is partly geared towards more effective handling of multimedia web content without the need for plug-ins. Indeed, HTML5 is the reason Apple devices don’t support Flash, with Steve Jobs’ open letter last year claiming that the language was set to become the new standard compared with Adobe’s unstable and archaic platform, adding that it “will win on mobile devices (and PCs too).”

It isn’t hard to see how a more accessible language designed to run on all mobile devices could benefit gaming, particularly with consideration to cross-platform play, though PopCap’s Giordano Bruno Contestabile believes that until HTML5 is widely adopted and becomes a genuinely viable market, native apps will still be the standard delivery method for mobile games. “Adapting a game to a platform with a different input interface and screen size isn’t pain-free, as a new control method must be devised and implemented, and new art assets need to be created,” Contestabile explained.

Cross-platform play

As it gains traction, HTML5 should help enable cross-platform play, and indeed Aurora Feint has released a new beta for OpenFeint Connect, a new version of its mobile social gaming network that allows users of iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7 and Palm Pre devices to play together. Theoretically, developers wouldn’t need to program their games in HTML5 for this to work, with native titles for each platform able to communicate via OpenFeint Connect. It’s still very early days in the life of the new language, and any HTML5 games created so far compare poorly to their app-based counterparts. Yet cross-platform play is already possible with the likes of Zynga’s Mafia Wars Atlantic City, and it’s only a matter of time before developers and publishers find better ways to keep all their mobile customers connected, regardless of platform.

iOS 5.0

Without wishing to show favouritism towards any platform, it’s impossible to examine the future of mobile gaming without considering the impact of the fifth generation of Apple’s mobile devices. With the App Store holding close to a 60% market share, it’s undeniably the most potent force in mobile gaming at present – and as more and more apps are downloaded, it’s increasingly unlikely that iOS users will be prepared to switch platforms.

Even so, we can expect Apple’s next device to be something of a portable powerhouse, with talk of dual-core processors in the next model likely to bring it closer to the most capable Android handsets. As the favoured platform for the majority of the industry’s biggest publishers, all eyes will be on Apple to set the mobile gaming agenda – even if, with over 75 million iPhones already sold, it may be a while before we see exclusive titles that really take advantage of iOS 5.0’s capabilities.

Tegra 3

Apple may be the current portable platform of choice for app-makers, but the most technically-advanced devices on the market support the Android platform. And with Apple always keen to prioritise battery life, it could be that the disparity on the next generation of mobile devices is even more pronounced.

The introduction of the Tegra 3 (codenamed Kal-El) chipset will allow Android smartphones to run games with graphics of home console quality. The visually-dazzling third-person shooter Shadowgun is the first game announced to be supporting Kal-El, but should that be a success on Android, expect more of its ilk to follow. With Tegra 3 tablets likely to be available very soon, and phones to follow in the first quarter of next year, the gap between gaming at home and on the move could be almost invisible in six months’ time.

Freemium

One of the most significant App Store trends is the rise of the so-called ‘freemium’ model. This allows developers to release their games for free with a basic level of content, providing more by way of in-app purchases. In some cases, this takes the form of customisation, allowing users to personalise their game. In others, you’ll be able to use real-world money to increase your in-game currency, allowing you to buy extra weapons or abilities earlier than you would earn them through normal play, for example. Casual phenomenon Tiny Tower allows players to spend money on Tower Bux to expand their property, an idea that propelled it into the chart of top-grossing apps just weeks after its release. Freemium apps now total around 65% of revenue generated on the App Store, up from 39% just six months prior – suggesting it won’t be long until even the biggest publishers adopt a similar pricing model.

NFC

Near field communication is already paving the way to a credit card-free future, allowing mobile users to pay for purchases by waving their devices near (or tapping them against) compatible readers. And Angry Birds creator Rovio is now connecting the digital realm with the physical world with its NFC service Angry Birds Magic, which allows players to wave their devices over special stickers to unlock new secrets within the game. All Angry Birds merchandise will carry NFC incentives, like new bird types and additional levels.

Of course, not all phones are currently NFC-enabled. So while Angry Birds Magic will initially be only on Nokia’s phones, Rovio plans to have these new NFC capabilities available for all NFC-enabled devices soon. And so as not to alienate the millions of fans who’ve downloaded the game onto devices that don’t have NFC, you’ll also be able to unlock some of the Magic through GPS, not just via NFC-tagged products. Areas with NFC stickers will also carry their own individual leaderboards, allowing players to compare their best scores with others.(source:recombu）