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动视移动副总裁谈平板电脑游戏未来趋势

发布时间:2012-10-09 16:06:30 Tags:,,,

作者:Steve Peterson

作为动视移动业务副总裁,Greg Canessa就目前面临的一大挑战承认:“为全世界最大的游戏发行商开创移动部门并非轻而易举之事。同时,这是个令人兴奋又有些艰巨的任务,但我却从中获取了不少乐趣。”

Greg Canessa(from de.ign.com)

Greg Canessa(from de.ign.com)

然而,移动硬件的最新动态使这项任务更趋复杂。比如,亚马逊Kindle Fire的发布为平板电脑市场引入全新的价格/性能门槛,并且有传闻称iPad Mini定价可能在300美元以下。不过Canessa以更宽广的视角看待这一问题:“我们在审视移动领域时发现,没有人可以忽略该领域发生的变化。对整个行业,比如游戏行业和更大的技术行业而言,这是个颠覆性、令人激动的时刻。从设备覆盖率的角度上看,你会发现,截止2015年,将有15亿部智能手机和平板设备投入使用。”

当然,该市场的庞大规模并不一定意味着开发商可以针对这些设备制作优秀的游戏,但Canessa感受了技术的不断改进:“从CPU和GPU的角度上看,下一代平板设备将会达到目前主机设备的水平。你会发现这些设备具有强大的性能、高分辨率显示器、强大的处理能力以及同网络密切结合。同时你会发现,我们的用户实际在家消磨时间时,可能是看电视、上网或者在主机上玩电子游戏;我们会发现他们的膝盖上都放置着一台iPod或平板设备。他们在家从事的娱乐活动实际上从PC和TV平台转移到了平板电脑。”

动视无法忽视这一趋势,即主机游戏玩家开始转向平板电脑游戏市场。Canessa声称:“对动视这类专注于构造娱乐体验的公司来说,我们必须投身移动领域,这是一个显而易见的选择。我们看到,过去几年,动视移动部门专注于将娱乐体验和项目扩展到平板电脑和智能手机平台,从而利用新兴市场所创造的商机。这是我们感兴趣的方面,同时也是我们认为应该继续发展的领域。我们认为主机平台不会逐渐消失……它仍然具备巨大的发展前景,尤其是它拥有硬核玩家基础,然而,我们认为平板电脑和智能手机仍将是一个重要市场,对动视这类公司而言,无论是现在还是将来,它都是个重要的发展机遇。”

目前,苹果显然主导着平板电脑市场,但是新型的Kindle Fires以159美元起价,可能会对苹果的市场占有率带来严峻的挑战。Canessa对苹果大加赞赏:“从设备覆盖率和创新角度上看,苹果在这些方面卓有成效,无论是iPhone还是iPad,苹果的用户群不再局限于科技达人,而是逐渐扩展并成为真正的大众市场设备。我认为它们在创新方面一直起表率作用。他们将硬件、软件与服务项目整合成统一的用户体验,并建立针对应用和内容的充满活力的生态体系……他们已经成为并将继续主导该领域的玩家,我们同苹果建立起充满生机、活力的合作关系,我们会继续支持iOS平台。今年我们发行的每款产品都最先登陆iOS平台。”

动视可能对苹果印象深刻,但这并不代表他们打算忽略亚马逊的市场地位。Canessa指出:“我们同亚马逊的合作关系非常有趣,我们在Kindle Fire上看到巨大的商机。而苹果获胜的关键之一在于无处不在的登陆选择,即用户可随时随地购买一款应用。我想Kindle Fire必然会遵循这种市场战略。亚马逊较低的成本会占据优势。我认为这是一个出色的策略,且有益于我们行业的发展。同样,竞争也存在优势,专门针对该领域先驱的市场竞争常常有助于催生创新元素。我认为这就是平板电脑和智能手机的意义所在。”

Canessa相信,亚马逊在出售大量平板电脑上做出正确的举措,动视打算充分利用这一发展机遇。“亚马逊竭尽全力围绕应用建立了一个更加精细的生态系统,制作出了一款硬件、软件与服务紧密结合的更加完整的设备,然后在价格上领先,将这些神奇的设备推荐给无法支付高昂设备的新用户。他们将这些高清设备定价为199美元或299美元,我想,这有利于我们游戏行业及健康的运营模式。我们动视欣赏这种做法。”

毫无疑问,动视已同亚马逊建立起紧密的联系。Canessa解释道:“从《Skylanders》的发行可以看出,我们在亚马逊平台上所做出的巨大努力,我们首次支持IAP机制。并将这种创新手法引入该平台,而这还只是一个开端,我们希望同亚马逊建立长期且卓有成效的合作关系”。

Kindle Fire的售价使该设备更易获得儿童用户。Canessa表示:“我完全同意这一说法。我认为亚马逊在此做法正确,随着第一代Kindle Fire获胜,他们对其重新改造。从价格来看,许多家庭也能够担负得起为孩子购买一台Kindle Fire。那样,我们就有机会让更多的家庭成员接触到《Skylanders》。”

Canessa不仅被全新Kindle Fire系列的价格所吸引,他表示:“亚马逊改变了父母监控孩子的方式,该设备可以自定义孩子读书及玩游戏的时间比例。这是个了不起的功能。同时表明这是一款供全家娱乐的设备,突显亚马逊的确是出色的合作伙伴。”

Kindle Fire的售价和性能也许意味着父母亲将会决定是否在圣诞节以平板电脑而非主机作为孩子们的礼物。Canessa承认:“我想,由于有些家庭能够为孩子支付娱乐设备的资金有限。不少父母会有这类想法。当然,平板电脑多少有别于3DS这种掌上游戏机或者主机。但是我们认为平板电脑的价值与众不同,因为它是一款多功能、多用途的设备。它的家庭用途多种多样,我们并不打算将其同专门的主机直接进行比较;而主机仍主要提供固有、沉浸式的娱乐体验。用户理解它们之间的不同之处。”

Kindle Fire(from amazon.com)

Kindle Fire(from amazon.com)

尽管如此,Canessa坦言平板电脑仍是一种新兴的竞争威胁。他指出:“从家庭的固定收入来看,用户能够花费的金钱十分有限,所以父母们必须做出权衡。我想,他们必须权衡有限的娱乐预算,以及昂贵的游戏设备所提供的游戏内容的价值,以及孩子能够获得这些新兴设备的机会。只要他们能够规范这些娱乐体验,无论是进行交易,或是玩游戏所耗费的时间,我想这都是父母所考虑的内容。在此确实存在一些竞争压力。”

到目前为止,平板和智能手机游戏普遍趋向休闲模式,比起主机游戏中某一回合需耗费的数小时的情况,这些设备上的游戏时间更加简短。Canessa认为,开发者会针对平板电脑设计出具有长时性且沉浸性回合的游戏。“在我们看来,平板电脑和智能手机是完全不同的平台。智能手机游戏更多是5-10分钟的体验,且多为休闲游戏,因此,用户可以随时体验游戏,消磨时间,如果可能的话,手机游戏体验占据了大半天的时间。而平板电脑并非如此。”

“从平板电脑用户群的使用模式和行为可知,更多用户在家里使用该设备,平板游戏每回合所需的平均时间为45分钟,而不是5分钟。从技术方面上看,你会发现它们处理能力的更新速度快于智能手机。所以,我们看到该设备存在的商机,坚信这一平台会出现更多沉浸式娱乐机会。在我们看来,平板领域将涌现出较高质量的产品、更大的活动、更长的游戏体验价值以及更大的游戏品牌等等。从而会带来更多高价产品。”

Canessa负责的项目主要针对移动平台,即平板电脑和智能手机领域。然而,我们已开始看到这些操作系统与智能电视之间的交集,更加新型的平板电脑和智能手机可能设置有线或无线的HDMI输出方式,同时像Ouya主机系统和其它连接电视的Android机顶盒同样存在这项功能。这些将会成为Canessa部门的商机吗?或者它们是否会冲击主机开发商?

Canessa对此答复道:“这是个富有远见的问题。而我最简短的答案为‘不知道。’目前,大多数游戏公司内部均成立了移动团队,并且拥有制作智能手机和平板电脑游戏的专门人才,比如我们的团队。现在,虽然你处在一个新兴的市场,但你需要在内部形成特定技能。而这与主机游戏开发的方法截然不同,例如将游戏视为服务,或者是实时运营支持的模式。开发者都需要通过数据分析决定游戏设计方案。移动部门是较小型的开发团队,却拥有更快的开发速度,所以,开发移动游戏的大量特点同主机游戏存在巨大差异。”

“当你期待,思考智能电视这类设备引发的商机时,你会看到主机和移动平台发生的变革,它们最终会融合吗?当我们以控制器在平板电脑上体验游戏时,这种设备会同电视连接,成为所谓的主机吗?我们无法预知未来,我们希望了解游戏领域的发展趋势。无论这些平台进行整合,或是保持各个市场的独立和互补方式,我均表示支持。实际上,我们并不清楚发展趋势。我认为,依据游戏行业发生的变化,像动视这类公司会利用机遇,如果此做法的结果是我们可以制作出类似主机体验的更大型、更具沉浸式的游戏时,那么目前我们移动团队所掌握的知识和专门技能也适用于主机工作室。”

Canessa强调动视已经做好顺应市场潮流的准备。“我们动视移动部门的核心宗旨是‘灵活与机敏。’这也是我们对自己内外特点的看法。我们必须保持灵活与机敏,因为市场具有流动性。你在发行一款游戏后必须学习,这同发行主机游戏大相径庭,游戏中必须包含所有性能,创造出顶级的AAA体验,然后发行,在获取某些收益后转投下一款游戏开发。它们是完全不同的产品。”

除了平台之外,业务模式的改变也导致移动游戏成为一个更困难的开发命题。免费体验模式会影响到整个游戏设计,Canessa意识到这一点:“一方面,这是非常复杂的设计,而另一方面,它又给予我们自由的设计空间。在此之前,我们业务面临的一大挑战是无法达成用户的所需所想以及体验游戏的方式的共识。没有指标和数据分析,我们只能不断猜测用户的喜好。我想,你会发现目前移动平台在这一点上处于游戏行业领先地位,而且该平台的某些方法也为主机游戏开发所采用。通过网络及数据分析功能的结合,我们现在具备更强的感知能力。我们可以追踪用户的行为。同样,我们还提供了让用户表达自己想法的机制。”

Canessa看到开发过程的变化。“无论你是否从中投入大笔资金,或只是一小笔经费,听取理解用户的想法,依其需求调整游戏……总之,对于游戏开发者而言,这都是一种解放,你可以满足用户的需要和愿望,并将其与自己的创意相结合。这并不只是听凭用户摆布而更改游戏。通常,用户并不清楚自己的喜好;他们无法清楚表达自己对游戏的期望。”

Canessa对平板游戏的未来发展充满信心,尽管它仍是个未知领域。“我们还有一个漫长的转型期,这是许多公司所面临的过渡阶段的挑战,它将会持续存在数个月甚至数年,只要我们能顺转型,我想我们的整个公司将更加健康。”(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

Activision Mobile VP: Tablet games will see “more premium price points”

By Steve Peterson

Greg Canessa talks about how tablets are changing the market, Kindle Fires, and the challenges of mobile development

Greg Canessa is the Vice President for Mobile at Activision, and he’s been handed an enormous challenge. “It’s definitely been no small task, starting the mobile division for the world’s largest game publisher,” acknowledged Canessa. “It’s an exciting task and a bit of daunting one as well, but one I’m having a lot of fun with it.”

Current events in mobile hardware are making that task more complicated. Amazon’s Kindle Fire announcements, for example, have brought a new price/performance to the tablet market, and rumors persist of a new iPad Mini that may be under $300. Canessa takes a broader view of the issue, though. “When we look at the mobile space, no one can ignore what’s going on in the space. It’s a disruptive time, and an exciting time, for the industry as a whole, the games industry as well as the larger tech industry. From a device penetration standpoint, you’re looking at 1.5 billion smartphone and tablet devices by the year 2015.”

Of course, the sheer size of the market doesn’t necessarily mean that great games can be created for it, but Canessa feels the technology is improving. “With the tablet devices what you’re seeing is computing power from a CPU and GPU standpoint reaching that of a current generation console device within the next generation of tablets. You’re seeing these devices, incredibly powerful, high resolution displays, very powerful processing capability, seamlessly connected to the Internet. And what you’re seeing from a user behavior standpoint is that our customers are actually spending time when they’re at home, maybe watching TV, surfing the net, playing a videogame on their consoles; we see them have an iPod or a tablet device on their lap. We’re seeing users spend minutes of their entertainment time at home actually called away from the PC and the TV in some cases in favor of the tablet.”

Activision can’t afford to ignore a market when it’s starting to take time away from core console gamers. “For a company like Activision whose focus is on building those entertainment franchises, it is absolutely a no-brainer that we need to invest in the mobile opportunities,” Canessa stated. “What you’re seeing with Activision Mobile, the creation of this group over the last year, is a really specific and dedicated effort on the part of Activision to extend our entertainment experiences and franchises to tablets and smartphones to address that emerging market opportunity. It’s one we’re excited about, it’s one we think is here to stay. It’s an ‘and’ not an ‘or’; we don’t think console is going to go away… we think console is still a huge and growing opportunity, particularly for that hardcore gamer base. But we think tablets and smartphones will continue to be a significant market and a significant opportunity for companies like Activision and for Activision itself in the future.”

Apple is clearly dominant now in the tablet marketplace, but the new Kindle Fires start at $159 and could provide a serious challenge to Apple’s market share. Canessa has nothing but praise for Apple. “Apple has done a tremendous job from a device penetration and an innovation standpoint with the iPhone and again with the iPad, extending the reach and scope of these devices beyond the tech enthusiasts and making them truly mass-market devices. I think they’ve done a phenomenal job of that, leading the charge from an innovation standpoint. I just have such tremendous respect for Apple. What they’ve done in terms of seamlessly integrating hardware, software, and services into a unified experience that customers can enjoy, and then creating a vibrant ecosystem of apps and content around that… they have been and will continue to be dominant industry players in this space, and our partnership with them is alive and healthy and great and we continue to support the iOS platform with every product we release. Every product we’ve released this year has been on iOS first.”

Activision may be impressed with Apple, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to ignore Amazon’s bid for the market. “Our partnership with Amazon is a really interesting one that we believe to be a tremendous opportunity for Activision,” Canessa said. “Around the Kindle Fire, we see a huge opportunity. One of the keys to Apple’s success has been the ubiquity of login, when you think about how easy it is to buy an app. I think Amazon’s strategy with Kindle Fire is definitely going after that market. Amazon is able to lead with a lower cost. I think that’s a great strategy, and one that is healthy for our industry. Competition is a good thing, and competition specifically targeted at the leader in the space can often yield innovation for everyone. I think that’s the case with tablets and smartphones.”

Canessa believes that Amazon is making the right moves to be able to sell a significant number of tablets, and Activision plans to be there in force. “Amazon is making a dedicated effort to create a more curated ecosystem around apps, to make a more integrated device that ties hardware and software and services together in a very seamless fashion, and then leading on price, bringing the magic and wonder of these devices to a new audience that maybe can’t afford some of the higher priced devices. Bringing it down to $199 or $299 for a high-definition device, I think that’s tremendously beneficial to our industry and healthy. From Activision’s perspective, we love it.”

Activision has definitely developed a close relationship with Amazon. “As you can see from our Skylanders announcement we’ve made a dedicated effort on that platform with in-app toy purchase for the first time ever,” Canessa noted. “We brought that innovation to the Amazon platform, and this is just the beginning of what we hope will be a long and fruitful partnership with Amazon in support of Kindle Fire.”

The pricing of the Kindle Fire might make this more accessible to kids. “I absolutely agree,” said Canessa. “We think Amazon’s got it right, taking the success they had with the first-generation Kindle Fire hardware and improving it. At the price point you’re talking about, many households might be able to afford one device for each child. That gives us an opportunity to address a lot more family members with Skylanders products.”

It’s not just the price point of the new Kindle Fire line that appeals to Canessa. “Amazon’s innovations around parental controls, to customize how much time kids can spend reading versus playing games, I think it’s really awesome. It’s an indication that they are making this a family entertainment device, and that underscores our belief that Amazon will be a really great partner.”

The pricing and capabilities of the Kindle Fire tablets may mean that parents could be deciding whether or not to buy a tablet instead of a console this Christmas. “I think as families manage their budgets and they have a limited amount of disposable income to spend on entertainment devices for their kids, I think that thought certainly crosses many people’s minds,” Canessa admitted. “Of course tablets are a little different from a handheld console like a 3DS or a console proper. We think the value proposition around the tablet is different in that it’s a multi-purpose, multi-use device. In the household, it can be used for a lot of different things. We don’t think the direct comparison is going on with dedicated consoles; consoles are still sit-down, immersive entertainment experiences. Consumers understand those are pretty different.”

Still, Canessa concedes that tablets are a new competitive threat. “From an absolute dollar standpoint in the household, of course there are limited dollars to spend and parents have to make trade-offs,” Canessa said. “I think there is a tradeoff that parents are making against a limited entertainment budget and the value proposition around gaming content for a dedicated gaming device at a higher price point, and the emerging opportunity around tablet devices in the hands of their kids. As long as they can regulate that entertainment experience, whether it’s the transactions or the time spent playing games, I think that’s a consideration. There’s some real competitive pressure there.”

Up to this point, tablet and smartphone games have generally been more casual, with a shorter play time than on consoles where people often spend hours in a play session. Canessa thinks we’ll see games being designed for tablets that are intended to be played in long, immersive sessions. “We think that tablets and smartphones are different. Smartphones are more about that 5 to 10 minute experience. Casual games map very well to that customer base, given the fact that they’re easy in, easy out light entertainment experiences – time-wasters, if you will, that are in-between activities throughout the day. We think that tablets are different,” Canessa said.

“The usage patterns and behavior we see from our customers that own tablets is that they are more used at home, and the average play session on a tablet is 45 minutes rather than 5 minutes.

From the technology side, you see the processing power of those devices accelerating even faster than smartphones. So yes, we do see the opportunity and we believe that more immersive entertainment opportunities will be appearing, particularly with the tablet audience. Higher production quality, bigger campaigns, longer play value in terms of hours spent in the game, bigger brands… we think that all of that’s going to emerge on tablets. With that will come more premium price points.”

Canessa’s portfolio is mobile; broadly speaking, tablets and smartphones. Yet we’re starting to see a crossover between those operating systems and smart TVs, and newer tablets and smartphones may have HDMI output, either wired or wireless, as well as devices like the Ouya console and other Android boxes that connect to TVs. Are those opportunities going to be in Canessa’s division, or will they get punted over to the console developers?

“You’re actually asking a very insightful question,” Canessa responded. “The shortest answer I can give you is ‘We don’t know.’ Most companies now have a mobile group, and they have dedicated folks building smartphone and tablet games, as is the case with our group. For now, while you have an emerging market there are specific skills you need to build internally.

There’s a very different approach from console development with these games, whether it’s running games as a service, or live operation support, the use of data analytics to drive decision-making and game design decisions. They’re smaller development teams, they’re quicker development times, so there are a variety of characteristics for mobile game development that are different than console games.”

“As you look forward and you think about emerging opportunities such as smart TVs, and you look at the evolution of console and the evolution of mobile, do these converge? Are we playing games on tablets someday with a controller connected up to a TV, and that’s a console? None of us have a crystal ball, and we’d all like to know where that’s headed. I can make arguments on either side, that they’ll converge or these markets will stay separate and complementary. The truth is we just don’t know. Depending on what happens in the industry I think companies like Activision will organize against the opportunity and if it turns out that we build larger, more immersive experiences that look like console experiences, the knowledge and expertise that we have currently in the mobile group will exist with our console studios.”

Canessa stressed that Activision is ready to adjust to changes that occur in the market. “One of the core components of our mission statement in Activision Mobile is ‘nimble and agile.’

That’s how we like to think of ourselves internally and externally. We must remain nimble and agile because the market is fluid. You launch and then you learn, which is very different from how we launch a console game, which is you pack all the features in, make a world-class AAA experience, launch it, collect some revenue and move onto the next one. They’re different products.”

It’s not just the platforms; it’s the business model changes that make mobile games a more difficult development proposition. Free-to-play has implications that extend through the design, and Canessa acknowledges this. “It”s very complex in one regard, but it’s liberating in another regard. One of the things that’s challenging about where our business was before this came along, it’s that there was a lot of interpretation of what the customer wants and needs, and how the customer is using the game. There was a lack of metrics, a lack of analytics, and a lot of second-guessing the customer going on. I think what’s happening in our industry now is you’re seeing mobile lead the charge, and you’re seeing some of these methodologies flow back into console development. We have a much better sense now, through the connectivity of the Internet married with data analytics capabilities. We have the ability to track what the customer is doing from a behavioral standpoint. Also, we’ve provided mechanisms for the customer to tell us what they’d like to see in the game.”

Canessa sees the development process changing. “Whether you go and spend an incredible amount of money on a bet, or bet a smaller amount of money and understand and listen, and then adapt the game to the customer’s needs and wants… In a way, as a game creator, that’s liberating, that you’re able to address customer needs and wants and marry that with an inspired creative vision. It’s not just color-by-numbers based on what the community wants. Oftentimes the user doesn’t know; they can’t articulate to you what they’re looking for. There is a creative component to it that has always existed in our business and continues to exist.

Canessa is optimistic about the future, even though it’s uncertain. “Over the long term, as we manage through this transition, which is a challenging transition for a lot of companies and will continue to be for a number of months and even years, once we emerge through the other end of this I think we’ll be a healthier business overall.” (source:gamesindustry)


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