作者：Keith Andrew

有人认为更多达到主机品质的游戏将不可避免地出现在智能手机上，基本上是因为随着新手机不断登陆市场，手机硬件会越来越强大。

这个论断未必与“边走边玩”的玩家组成的用户基础相符。然而，没人会把《合金装备》这样的游戏带上公交车玩。

有趣的是，由PopCap公司进行的一项调查表明，人们玩手机游戏的主要场所其实是沙发和床上，这两个地方曾是主机游戏的领地。

PopCap高级总监Giordano Contestabile（负责公司移动产品和运营战略）在最近采访中解读了这项调查结果：

Giordano Contestabile(from geekwire.com)

问调查结果表明人们现在玩手机的地点主要是家里而不是外出或路上，这是不是让你感到惊讶？

我不能说这让我感到惊讶。因为手机已经成为绝大多数休闲玩家的主要游戏平台。而休闲玩家的数量大大超过硬核玩家，达到10倍或以上。这些玩家每天任何时候都可能在自己的手机上玩游戏。又因为大多数人的时间主要是在家中度过的，他们在家玩游戏的时间也不少。

也就是说，调查结果挫败了这个观念：手机游戏只是“边走边玩”。

特别是70%的玩家在沙发上用手机玩游戏的事实，影响了传统的主机游戏和整个电视市场。如果人们把注意力放在自己的手机上，还会有人看电视吗？

我认为手机会成为大部分人消费媒体的的主要平台，而游戏会在其中占据很大份量。

说游戏市场基本上成熟了，你怎么看呢？

手机市场确实成熟了，无论是规模上还是游戏的广度上都有长足的进步。

我认为这个调查表明，手机游戏已经成变大多数人日常生活中的不可或缺一部分，已经成了大多数人的第二天性。当什么东西的普遍性达到如此高的层次，那就标志着这个东西的市场成熟了，可以转入下一个发展阶段。

人们之前曾认为他们必须把游戏分成小片段，才能适应外出或在路上的游戏方式。你们的调查结果对游戏设计有何启发？

虽然玩家在家游戏的时间总量大，但这并不意味着玩家每次玩游戏的时间变长了。

我们对《宝石迷阵：闪电战》的调查数据表明，一天当中，玩家的游戏时间仍然被分成相对较短的数个时间段。

我认为这是因为人们通常用手机游戏填补两个其他活动之间的空隙，或者与其他活动同时进行。我仍然建议开发商把游戏时间设置得短一些，即介于30秒至数分钟。

这是不是意味着我们很可能看到更多游戏机式的AAA游戏进军手机平台？这对更休闲的游戏或益智游戏有影响吗？

毫无疑问，我们会看到更多“硬核”游戏进入手机，我认为采用免费模式的硬核游戏更有这个可能。

数字才是硬道理：休闲玩家超过了10亿，而硬核玩家大约1亿，并且休闲游戏市场比硬核游戏市场的增长更快得多。

我认为两个市场都会继续成长，我们有希望看到二者的相互促进：我们知道有些硬核玩家偶尔也喜欢玩《宝石迷阵》这类游戏！（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

‘Hardcore’ games gaining mobile momentum, but casual will remain king, reckons PopCap

by Keith Andrew

Some regard the idea of more console-quality games making their way to smartphones as inevitable, largely owing to mobile hardware becoming increasingly powerful as new handsets hit the market.

Such intensive titles don’t necessarily sit well with the typical idea of a consumer base that plays games ‘on the go’, however. No-one is going to take on a Metal Gear Solid style opus on the bus trip to work.

Interesting, then, that a survey by PopCap suggests that the main places people play mobile games is actually either sat on the sofa, or laid in bed – domains where consoles previously used to dominate.

We caught up with PopCap’s senior director of mobile product and business strategy Giordano Contestabile to ask whether he thinks such info means mobile game design needs to evolve.

Pocket Gamer: Did the suggestion that mobile games are now played more at home than out and about surprise you?

Giordano Contestabile: I wouldn’t say that it was surprising.

As mobile has emerged as the primary gaming platform for a majority of casual users – who outnumber hardcore gamers by a factor of 10 times or more – and those users are playing games on their mobile at any time of the day, as most people spend a significant amount of time at home, they also play a lot of games there.

That said, this data dealt a blow to the notion of mobile games as being games played just ‘on the go’.

In particular, the fact that 70 percent of gamers play on their mobile device while on the couch has implications for both traditional console gaming, and the overall TV market. If people are paying attention to their phones, are they really watching TV?

I think mobile will become the primary platform of media consumption for a majority of people, and gaming will play a big part in that.

What do you think this says about the mobile market in general? Is it maturing?

The mobile market is indeed maturing, growing both in size and in breadth of games available.

I think what this survey points to is that mobile gaming has become so ingrained in the fabric of most people’s day that it is now second nature to most people, and when something achieves such a high level of pervasiveness, it’s a signal that the market is mature and ready for the next stage of growth.

People have previously assumed they need to break up their mobile games into short bursts of play to accommodate people playing while out and about. How do the results of your survey inform game design?

While a significant amount of play happens at home, that doesn’t mean that play sessions are becoming longer.

Our data with Bejeweled Blitz shows that players are still engaging with the game several times a day, in relatively short bursts.

I think this is driven by the fact that mobile gaming is often used to fill time between other activities, or it’s done concurrently with other activities, and Id still recommend that developers calibrate play for short sessions, between 30 seconds and a few minutes.

Does this mean we’re likely to see more console-like triple-A releases heading to mobile? Does it spell trouble for more casual games, or puzzle titles?

We are undoubtedly going to see more ‘hardcore’ games coming to mobile, and I think that there’s a huge opportunity for freemium mobile hardcore games.

That said, numbers don’t lie: there are more than a billion casual gamers against probably 100 million core gamers, and the casual market is growing at much faster rate.

I think both markets will develop and grow, and hopefully we’re going to see some cross-pollination between the segments: we know already that hardcore gamers enjoy a game of Bejeweled now and then!(source:pocketgamer)