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分析各游戏开发商对iPad Mini的态度

发布时间:2012-10-25 18:14:43 Tags:,,,,

作者:Eric Caoili

当7.9英寸的iPad Mini问世时,我们发现这款新型iPad并未拥有其它苹果平板电脑所具有的高清Retina以及先进的A6处理器,但是对于某些用户和开发者来说却没有多大问题。

来自Tiger Style(创造了《火星漫步》这款游戏)的David Kalina在与Gamasutra谈及他们对这一新设备的期望时说道:“对于我来说,iPad Mini便是最理想的iPad。”对于那些希望拥有一台方便阅读,玩游戏以及浏览网页的便携式平板电脑的用户来说,iPad Mini便是他们的最佳选择——尽管它的功能可能不如其他平板电脑强大。

而对于那些好奇自己到底能够面向这一新型硬件设备制作哪种类型的游戏的开发者而言,Telltale Games(创造了《行尸走肉》这款游戏)的发行部高级副总裁Steve Allison将这款iPad Mini与1年半前发行的iPad 2进行了比较,他说道:“从涉及游戏的计算机性能来看,这是一款深受iPad 2影响的新设备。”

“基于iPad 2式规格,以及顺着3D游戏的发展潮流,iPad Mini能够很容易地突显于市场上众多平板电脑中。这一点对我们来说非常重要,因为市场上其它7英寸范围的平板电脑都不具有iPad Mini这般强大的3D游戏功率。”

Allison预测,凭借着较小的规格,人们会更频繁地携带着这台设备;他甚至猜测到,iPad Mini有可能超越智能手机而侵占专用游戏掌机更多销量。King.com(创造了《Bubble Witch Saga》)的Tommy Palm也表示,迷你平板电脑也许还会对家庭主机的发展造成影响,因为比起在电视上游戏,小型设备似乎更加实用(作为控制器来说)。

Big Fish Games(创造了《高尔夫纸牌》)的工作室副总裁Patrick Wylie也说到,较小的屏幕能够更方便人们以横向的方式玩游戏,即“两手的大拇指能够同时碰触到屏幕的中间位置,而无需玩家一手握住设备,并使用另一手去控制游戏。”

但是,让玩家能够更轻松地操控游戏以及方便玩家携带等优势都不是iPad Mini最吸引开发者的元素。

那么最让开发者兴奋的元素到底是什么

几乎我们所交流过的所有开发者都希望iPad Mini的出现能够进一步扩展iPad的市场份额,并将更多愿意购买并玩游戏的玩家带到这一平台上。

iPad的出现不仅吸引了那些不愿为平板电脑花钱,或者一直在寻找着小型设备的用户的注意,并且,每当苹果推出一款新型iOS硬件时,总是能够取得非常出色的销售成绩。自从2年半以前推出第一款iPad以来,苹果已经取得了超过1亿的销量。

《SpellTower》的开发者Zach Gage相信,iPad还存在着很大的发展空间,而iPad Mini的出现也为这一平台在与iPhone的追逐赛中创造了更大的优势。他说道:“在iOS生态圈中,我们总是能够听到一种有有关iPad市场的描述,即这一市场比iPhone市场小得多了。而对于苹果能够采取适当措施去推动iPad市场份额的发展我表示非常欣慰。”

Kalina补充道:“当iPad拥有更大的市场渗透率时,它便能够与iPhone游戏平台有效地区分开来。单独瞄准iPad游戏市场进行游戏创造仍然是开发者的软肋,但是如果出现了更加便宜的iPad,也就意味着有更多玩家能够拥有iPad,这对于所有人来说都会是个好消息。”

Supercell(作为一家针对于平板电脑市场制作中核游戏的工作室,他们旗下的作品包括《部落战争》)的总监Greg Harper认为iPad玩家们都期待这款iPad Mini较之前的iPad能够有更大的完善。他的团队都期望着这一平台能够获得更大的发展,他说道:“我们认为这是唯一一个能够同时把握住休闲玩家和硬核玩家的平台。”

开发者发现当iPad Mini开始为App Store吸纳更多新用户的同时,他们现有游戏的销量也出现了提升。Amanita Design(创造了《机械迷城》)的创始人Jakub Dvorsky表示他非常期待这款迷你平板电脑真能推动游戏销量的提高,并且他也希望在iPad平台上不断发展着的指向点击冒险游戏能够吸引更多新玩家的注意。

Real Racing 3(from gamasutra)

Real Racing 3(from gamasutra)

定价问题

最初定价为330美元(16GB,只支持WiFi)的iPad Mini是苹果所销售的最便宜的平板电脑,但是与迷你平板电脑领域的其它竞争对手相比,其价格还是略高了——这让对手在一开始能够握一定的优势。

就像在9英尺平板电脑市场中取得最大成功的亚马逊便提供了售价159美元的7英寸Kindle Fire,以及售价199美元的Kindle Fire HD。三个月前刚问世的谷歌7英寸Nexus 7的售价也仅为199美元。

Kalina对此评价道:“我确实是希望苹果推出更有竞争力的定价策略,比起Kindle Fire和Nexus 7这些平板电脑,330美元确实昂贵了一点。”

来自Phosphor Games(创造了《Horn》)的Chip Sineni也表示他“并不确信足够低的售价是否能够说服用户去购买像Nuxus 7等平板电脑”而非iPad Mini,但是他相信,苹果并不需要费力去说服粉丝们购买他们的产品。

White Whale(创造了《剑王之王》)的创意总监Jason Rosenstock说道:“如果苹果真的带着他们的制胜武器(游戏邦注:A5处理器和Retina)进入这一市场,这便足以吸引Android和Kindle平板电脑拥有者的注意,但是单凭价格和功能还不足以让我放弃我的Kindle Fire。iPad Mini看起来只是一台阅读器,而如果你只是想要在平板电脑上进行阅读,你便拥有更多便宜的选择,例如最早的iPad。”

Pastagames(创造了《雷曼:丛林探险》)的总监Fabien Delpiano认为市面上的竞争者都缺少苹果的设备所具有的华丽且直观的界面,所以用户一般不会介意为此多掏些钱。他说道:“其它公司便是为了补偿这一点而在定价上下足了功夫,但是我却不敢保证这么做真的具有功效。”

Wylie还指出,iPad Mini的定价也会对苹果的其它产品的效率带来影响:“现在的问题变成是用户会选择iPod Touch还是迷你iPad作为他们的随身移动游戏设备。”售价最低的苹果掌上设备iPod Touch(300美元)似乎也已经被iPad Mini给比下去了。

适应新分辨率

关于调整现有的游戏去适应新的硬件设备,一些开发者都表示他们很高兴看到苹果此次所做出的决定,即为迷你iPad设置1024×768的分辨率以及4:3的屏幕纵横比——这一设定完全匹配iPad 2的设置(其分辨率可能刚好是第三代iPad和第四代iPad的一半)。

Kalina说道:“我真的很高兴他们所公布的不是其它纵横比例——这让我们在游戏调整时轻松多了。”与之相比的是最近iOS硬件设备的升级,如iPhone 5的屏幕(变得更长)以及新iPad的视网膜屏幕都要求开发者必须为此对现有游戏做出更大的调整。

King.com的Palm也很高兴他们无需从新项目中挪出更多资源去调整现有游戏(面对新的屏幕分辨率),他说道:“这让我们拥有更多时间能够专注于新项目的核心任务中,从而能够创造出更棒的游戏。”

Gage(认为开发者需要面对这一较小的屏幕规格而适当调整游戏)补充道:“我唯一关心的是新的像素对于游戏会带来何种影响。我想那些使用奇怪手势玩游戏的玩家便会希望我们能够调整应用吧。”

另一款新iPad

很少人真正期待着苹果去升级那款标准的9.7英寸的iPad(据上一个模式的推出才过去7个多月),但是该公司却在昨天这么做了。

除了更加快速的A6X处理器,第四代iPad的功能并未出现较大的改变,但是对于那些想要挑战iOS硬件的开发商而言(如Phosphor和Amanita Design),这一新模式所具有的潜能足以让他们兴奋不已。

Phosphor的Sineni说道:“可以说iPad Mini的出现是在我们的预料之中,但是关于iPad的A6X的升级却带给我们巨大的惊喜。我们很高兴苹果能够把握住最佳时机去升级他们的硬件,而不是拖到一年之后。这么做能够有效地推动该平台更加快速地向前发展。”

他继续说道:“如今的市面上共有三款来自苹果的平板电脑,而这也意味着我们可以面对着这些出色的设备去优化游戏,并提高所有游戏功能。”

其它工作室,如White Whale也期待着能够将现有的游戏带向第四代iPad平台上。Rosenstock说道:“我们可以适当扩大《剑王之剑》的规格,并添加一些全新功能——而这对于早前的iOS设备来说却会是一笔不小的开支。”

Delpiano也指出:“取代第三代iPad便是一次巨大的飞跃,因为与其GPU相比,第三代iPad拥有过多像素点了。”

iPad mini(from gamasutra)

iPad mini(from gamasutra)

如何迎接激烈的竞争?

我们所接触过的大多数开发者都坚信,尽管设定了较高的价格并缺少较尖端的功能,苹果仍有能力主导迷你平板电脑市场——正像他们在传统平板电脑以及智能手机领域所做到的那样。

White Whale的Rosenstock则是少数对此持怀疑态度的人,他说道:“我认为iPad Mini带给iOS开发者的帮助仅停留在最后阶段,绝非整体。如果苹果决定基于这一规格而创造一款带有各种修饰的游戏平板电脑,他们便能够开始扩展游戏用户,而对于这一iPad Mini,我认为它最多只能吸引电子书读者的注意。”

我们所交谈的其他人都希望iPad Mini能够彻底击败市场上的其它7英寸平板电脑。Pastagames的Delpiano认为Android不管是OS还是工具都远远落后于苹果,所以他坚信iPad Mini才是开发者应该把握住的最大优势。

Amanita也提及了Android所具有的另外一大劣势:“iPad Mini能够获得如此高的用户是因为它是唯一一款拥有合理屏幕比例的迷你平板电脑。虽然比起iOS,我更喜欢Android,但是我却非常讨厌所有Android平板电脑的宽屏设置。这种设置可能适用于手机,但却绝不适合平板电脑。”

Supercell的Harper补充道:“iPad Mini的出现将震撼整个迷你平板电脑市场。根据苹果昨天所阐述的对比,我们很清楚iPad Mini能够呈献给玩家更加完善的游戏体验。而对于市场上那些欲与iPad Mini展开竞争的对手来说,它们必将经历一场苦战。”

Telltale的Allison认为,对于广大发行商来说,如今的迷你平板电脑市场已经不如早前那般具有竞争性了,早前基于Android的硬件设备已经失去了其竞争优势。

Allison说道:“iPad Mini一出现便打着最易亲近的游戏迷你平板电脑的旗号。所以我们可以推断,如果iPad Mini能够取得很好的销量,那么其它迷你平板电脑便会为了提高竞争力而开始想办法完善其游戏性能,特别是3D硬件规格。而这一点对于游戏业务中的任何人来说都不会是件坏事。”

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

iPad Mini: Developers react

By Eric Caoili

When the new 7.9-inch iPad Mini releases in a couple of weeks, it will lack the high-resolution Retina display and advanced A6 processor of Apple’s other tablets, but that’s just fine for some consumers and developers.

“The iPad Mini, to me, looks like the ideal iPad,” says David Kalina of Waking Mars developer Tiger Style, one of ten tablet game makers who talked to Gamasutra about their expectations for the new device. For someone wanting a portable tablet that can handle reading, gaming, and web surfing, he thinks the iPad Mini is pefect, even if it does seem relatively underpowered.

And for developers wondering what kind of games they will be able to make for the hardware, Telltale Games’ Publishing SVP Steve Allison (The Walking Dead) compares the iPad Mini’s guts to the 1.5-year-old second-gen iPad: “It’s effectively an iPad 2 under the hood as it relates to computing power for games.”

“The iPad 2-esque specs should keep the iPad Mini ahead of most other tablets on the market as far as 3D gaming goes. This is important to us given the other 7-inch range of tablets available that the iPad Mini will compete with are not packing very strong 3D gaming horsepower.”

Allison predicts that the smaller form factor will encourage people to carry their iPads with them more often, and wonders if the iPad Mini will eat into the sales of dedicated gaming handhelds even more than smartphones already have. And King.com’s Tommy Palm (Bubble Witch Saga) suggests the mini tablet could even impact home consoles, as the smaller device now seems more practical to use as a controller when mirroring games on a TV.

And Big Fish Games’ Studios VP Patrick Wylie (Fairway Solitaire) says the smaller screen will make it easier for people to play games in landscape mode “with both thumbs reaching toward the midline instead of requiring a player to use one hand to hold the device and the other to interact with the game.”

But having an Apple tablet that makes certain games easier to play and that can fit in people’s purses or jacket pockets aren’t what developers are most excited about with the iPad Mini…

What developers are most excited about

Almost all of the developers we talked to have high hopes for the mini tablet expanding the iPad line’s market share, and bringing more people who will purchase and play games to the platform.

It’s not just that the iPad can now reach consumers who want to spend less on a tablet or are looking for a small device; whenever Apple releases new iOS hardware, it tends to sell like gangbusters and set new sales records. And the iPad is already selling great — Apple has managed move over 100 million iPads since introducing them two and a half years ago.

Zach Gage, developer of SpellTower, believes there’s still plenty of room for the iPad to grow, and sees the Mini as an opportunity for the platform to catch up to the iPhone. “One of the things you constantly hear about the iPad market in iOS circles is how much smaller it is than the iPhone market. … I’m just happy to see Apple taking steps to keep and expand their market share,” he says.

“Greater market penetration for the iPad helps legitimize it as a serious gaming platform separate from the iPhone,” adds Kalina. “The gaming market on iPad alone is still a little soft to target explicitly, but more affordable iPads means more iPads, which is pretty much good news for everybody.”

Supercell’s Greg Harper, who serves as a GM for a studio that does target the tablet market explicitly with mid-core titles like Clash of Clans, expects the audience of iPad gamers to see a big boost with the mini tablet. His team is eager to see the platform it’s invested so much in take off: “In our view it is the only game platform to deliver a true mass market audience that captures both casual and core game players.”

There’s also the prospect of iPad developers seeing a pick-up in sales for their existing titles when the iPad Mini begins to send new consumers to the App Store. Amanita Design head Jakub Dvorsky (Machinarium) anticipates that will be the case with the mini tablet, and hopes point-and-click adventure game, which have thrived on the iPad, will capture a lot of those news players.

Pricing concerns

With a starting price of $330 (16GB, WiFi only) the iPad Mini is the cheapest tablet Apple’s ever sold, but it’s still considerably more expensive than its rivals, who have had a head start in the mini tablet space.

Amazon, which has had probably the most success in the sub-9-inch tablet market up to this point, offers a 7-inch Kindle Fire for as cheap as $159, and a Kindle Fire HD for $199. Google’s 7-inch Nexus 7, which was introduced three months ago, sells for as low as $199.

“I do wish the pricing was a bit more aggressive,” comments Kalina. “$330 is kind of a strange price point and a tougher sell when put in contrast with the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7.”

Chip Sineni from Horn developer Phosphor Games also says he’s “not sure if the price is low enough to persuade anyone on the fence of buying something like the Nexus 7″ instead of the Mini, though he believes fans of the Apple platform won’t need much convincing.

“I think if Apple had really gone into this market with its guns blazing (A5 processor, Retina display), they might convince Android and Kindle tablet owners to switch, but the price and features don’t make me want to stop using my Kindle Fire,” remarks White Whale creative director Jason Rosenstock (God of Blades). “This thing seems to be a reader, and there are plenty of more affordable options if you want to read on a tablet, including a trusty old iPad 1.”

Some like Fabien Delpiano, director at Pastagames (Rayman Jungle Run), though, argue that competing tablets lack the polish and intuitive interfaces often found in Apple devices, and that consumers won’t mind paying extra for that. “[Other companies] try to compensate by being really aggressive on the pricing. I’m not sure this will make the trick,” he says.

On a related note, Wylie points out that another Apple product could see its sales impacted by the mini tablet’s pricing: “The question may now be whether you buy an iPod Touch or an iPad Mini as a carry-anywhere mobile gaming device.” With the cheapest iPod Touch at $300, Apple’s handheld now looks like less of a deal compared to the iPad Mini.

Resolution relief

As for adjusting existing games for the new hardware, several developers say they’re relieved with Apple’s decision to maintain a 1024×768 resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio with the iPad Mini, matching the iPad 2′s setup perfectly (and coming out to exactly half of the third- and fourth-generation iPad’s resolution).

“I’m really glad they’re not pushing another aspect ratio onto us — that makes our lives quite a bit easier,” says Kalina. Recent iOS hardware updates like the iPhone 5′s taller screen and the third-gen iPad’s Retina display required developers to update their assets for optimal display on the new devices.

King.com’s Palm was also happy the studio wouldn’t have to devote resources away from working on new projects to adapting games for the new screen size resolution: “That leaves us with more time to focus on our core mission – making great games.”

“My only concern is how its new pixel dimensions will affect games,” adds Gage, who believes some developers might need to adjust their titles due to the smaller screen size. “I imagine anyone using abstract gestures will find they need to tweak their apps a bit.”

That other new iPad

Few expected Apple to announce an update to its standard 9.7-inch iPads just seven months after rolling out the last model, but the company did just that yesterday.

Though the fourth-gen iPad features hardly any dramatic hardware changes other than its faster A6X processor, a number of developers who like to push the limits of iOS hardware, like Phosphor and Amanita Design, are excited by the new model’s potential.

“The Mini is pretty much what was anticipated, but the A6X update to the iPad itself was pretty unexpected,” says Phosphor’s Sineni. “It is nice to see Apple pushing hardware updates when it makes sense, instead of waiting for a year or something — it keeps the platform moving forward, very quickly.”

He continues, “With Apple having three tablet devices on the market more powerful [than the iPad 2, that] means we can finally optimize for these better devices, and increase all the gameplay features.”

Other studios like White Whale also see new opportunites for bringing existing titles to the fourth-gen iPad. “We can scale up God of Blades and add some features that were simply too expensive for the older iOS devices,” says Rosenstock.

Delpiano joins the chorus, pointing out: “Replacing the [third-gen] iPad was a nice move as it had too many pixels compared to its GPU.”

How will it fare against the competition?

Few of the developers we consulted doubt that Apple will dominate the mini tablet market — just as it has in the traditional tablet and smartphone spaces — despite its higher pricing and lack of cutting-edge specs.

White Whale’s Rosenstock was one of those doubters: “I think [the iPad Mini] can only help iOS developers in the end, but not in a huge way. If Apple decides it wants to make a killer gaming tablet with all the bells and whistles at this size, they could start expanding their gamer audience, but I think this one is for the paperback readers.”

Everyone else we talked to expects the iPad Mini to blow all the other 7-inch tablets out of the water. Pastagames’ Delpiano argues that the Android OS is years behind iOS’s, and its tools light years behind Apple’s, so he believes the iPad Mini is already coming in with some strong advantages for developers.

Amanita’s Dvorsky mentions another Android annoyance: “iPad Mini makes sense as it’s maybe the only mini tablet with a reasonable screen ratio. I love Android (more than iOS), but I hate that stupid widescreen on almost all Android tablets. It’s great on phones, not so on tablets.”

“The iPad Mini will really shake things up in the mini tablet market,” adds Supercell’s Harper. “The comparisons in [Apple's presentation yesterday] made it pretty clear that the Mini delivers a superior overall experience. It feels like it’s going to be tough for those other guys to compete with the Mini in this segment of the market.”

Telltale’s Allison argues that the mini tablet market wasn’t really competitive for publishers in the first place, as he believes the early Android-based hardware that’s released in this space has been underpowered.

“iPad Mini will arrive on the market as the most gaming friendly mini tablet on day one. What we can theorize is that if the iPad Mini sells incredibly well, the other mini tablets will likely look to improve their gaming capabilities, specifically 3D hardware specs, to compete. If this happens that will be good for everyone in the games business,” says Allison. (source:GAMASUTRA)


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