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每日观察:关注Don Mattrick任Zynga首席执行官(7.2)

发布时间:2013-07-02 10:27:44 Tags:,,,

1)据gamasutra报道,社交游戏公司Zynga日前宣布由微软及EA元老Don Mattrick担任首席执行官,而原首席执行官Mark Pincus则转变职能,担任公司董事会主席及首席产品官。

Mattrick在加入微软之前,曾任EA总裁,监管《极品飞车》、《FIFA》以及《模拟人生》等游戏。

据Polygon报道,Pincus曾在一封内部邮件中表示,他常向Bing和Zynga董事会表示,如果他可以找到能够胜任公司CEO职位的人才,他一定会不遗余力聘请对方,他相信Don Mattrick就是合适的人选。

Mark Pincus & Don Mattrick(from pocketgamer)

Mark Pincus & Don Mattrick(from pocketgamer)

2)据pocketgamer报道,黑莓首席执行官Thorsten Heins最近透露,在今年第二季度公司智能手机出货量为680万台,而BB10设备仅占比40%(约270万台)。

270万发货量虽然不算太糟糕的成绩,但的确远逊于苹果iPhone的3700万,三星的7070万智能手机出货量(IDC数据)。

bb10 vs wp8(from pocketgamer)

bb10 vs wp8(from pocketgamer)

诺基亚在最近一个季度的Lumia设备出货量为560万台。值得注意的是,诺基亚在Windows Phone设备中占比80%,因此可以估计Windows Phone设备该季度出货量为700万台。

这意味着微软智能手机已经以3:1的局面超过BlackBerry 10设备。

3)Kantar Worldpanel最近数据显示,所有已在欧洲出售智能手机中,约有半数是三星设备。

samsung-android(from unwiredview)

samsung-android(from unwiredview)

Android在欧洲五大市场(英国、德国、法国、意大利和西班牙)占比70.4%(去年为61.3%),iOS则占比17.8%,Windows占比6.8%。

Android在美国市场仍占比52%,仅比去年增长0.1%,而iOS则比去年增长3.5%,Windows增长0.9%。

4)Juniper Research最近报告预测,2013年所有消费者应用下载量将达800亿次,2017年更是高达1600亿次,其中F2P(免费增值)游戏所占比例约40%。2017年付费应用下载量将从原来的6.1%降至5%。

apps-word(from digitaltrends)

apps-word(from digitaltrends)

这一现象要归结于发展中国家有大量用户从功能性手机升级至智能手机,其主要挑战在于,免费应用竞争激烈,开发者难以从中盈利。

5)据CNET报道,苹果浏览器Safari使用率已从5月份的60%降至6月份的58%,但仍是移动领域使用最普遍的网络浏览器应用。

browser-share-mobile(from insidemobileapps)

browser-share-mobile(from insidemobileapps)

而网页浏览器应用Opera Mini、Google Chrome和IE使用率却有所增长,Opera Mini使用率甚至增长10.5%,达到11.2%,Chrom也增长3.2%,达到3.8%。

AppData数据显示,Chrome是App Store中排名第五的免费实用型应用,这表明不少用户确实下载了Chrome,但对其使用率却不如Safari浏览器。(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

1)Zynga names Xbox exec Don Mattrick as CEO, Pincus shifts role

By Christian Nutt

As it searches for direction, major social game developer Zynga is bringing on Microsoft and Electronic Arts veteran Don Mattrick as CEO, in a surprise move announced today.

The San Francisco-based social game firm (Words With Friends, FarmVille) has tapped Mattrick to lead it in its search for the right path, while its founder, Mark Pincus, will continue to serve the company as both the chairman of its board of directors and chief product officer.

While the company was the original big winner of the Facebook game boom, Zynga has run into multiple roadblocks in recent times, as its main audience of casual players shifts to other companies’ titles and mobile platforms.

Long by far the top player in the space, it has recently been eclipsed by King, whose Candy Crush Saga is Facebook’s current top game by monthly active users. In addition, its inability to gain a firm foothold in the mobile game space has meant it’s been eclipsed by a number of other upstarts, including Supercell (Clash Of Clans).

Zynga recently laid off 18 percent of its workforce and shuttered several studios, as well as shutting down many of its once-popular games.

For his part, Pincus’ statement suggests that he’s thrilled with the Mattrick hire:

“Don is unique in the game business,” Pincus said. “He can execute in multiple domains — hardware, software and network, and he’s been the person responsible for game franchises like Need for Speed, FIFA and The Sims.” Prior to his stint at Microsoft, Mattrick served as president of worldwide studios at Electronic Arts.

In an internal email obtained by Polygon, Pincus is quoted as saying “I’ve always said to Bing and our Board that if I could find someone who could do a better job as our CEO I’d do all I could to recruit and bring that person in. I’m confident that Don is that leader.”

“I joined Zynga because I believe that Mark’s pioneering vision and mission to connect the world through games is just getting started. Zynga is a great business that has yet to realize its full potential,” Mattrick said in a statement.

For the last six years, Mattrick has been at Microsoft; for the last three, he’s been president of its Interactive Entertainment Business unit, which includes the Xbox. He was the frontman for the company’s rocky PR push for its new Xbox One console and notably recently walked back its unpopular DRM policy. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s internal email about Mattrick’s move is available on its official blog.

In the announcement, Zynga strongly emphasized how overjoyed its board of directors is with the Mattrick hire — calling attention to its unanimous decision to appoint him and offering quotes such as “Don Mattrick joining Zynga as its CEO is a spectacular coup for the company” from board member and DreamWorks Animation SKG CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.(source:gamasutra

2)Windows Phone outshipping BlackBerry 10 by almost 3 to 1

by Keith Andrew

Microsoft’s claim that it’s winning the battle against BlackBerry for third place in the smartphone race has been backed up by the release of BB10 shipment figures.

Speaking in a conference call after the Canadian giant published its quarterly financials, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins revealed that, of the 6.8 million smartphones the firm shipped in its June quarter, just 40 percent where BB10 devices.

That’s equal to around 2.7 million units in total, with Heins noting that “there is a lot of work to do” if the platform is to secure a solid footing in the smartphone market.

Devil in the detail

Indeed, it doesn’t take a mathematician to note that 2.7 million units shipped in one quarter is – while not a disaster -  not especially impressive either.

To put BB10′s shipment rate in some context, its somewhat down on the 37 million iPhones Apple sold during its latest recorded quarter, and the estimated 70.7 million smartphones IDC believes Samsung shipped during the same period.

The fairer comparison, however, is with Nokia, which shipped 5.6 million Lumia devices during its last recorded quarter – a figure that, though a rise over the previous quarter, was nonetheless jeered by some analysts for being too little too late.

Nevertheless, given that (according to Adduplex) Nokia makes up 80 percent of the Windows Phone ecosystem, it’s possible to estimate that quarterly Windows Phone shipments are at around the 7 million mark.

That means Microsoft’s smartphone platform is currently outshipping BlackBerry 10 by almost three to one.

Shipments, of course, don’t necessarily equate to sales, and neither platform’s shipment figures are anything to shout about, but early assessments suggest it’s Windows Phone that currently looks the most likely of the two operating systems to secure that much heralded third spot.(source:pocketgamer

3)Android takes the lead in European smartphone sales

by Phil Tottman

Samsung devices account for half of all smartphones sold.

Data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech shows that almost half of all smartphones sold in Europe have been a Samsung.

This has boosted Android to own a 70.4 per cent market share across the five major European markets being Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.  This is an increase from 61.3 per cent a year ago and leaps and bounds beyond the 17.8 per cent for iOS and 6.8 per cent for Windows.

Android is still first place in the US market with a 52 per cent share – although the speed of growth is pretty slow in America with a tiny 0.1 per cent increase in the last year compared to a 3.5 per cent increase for iOS and 0.9 per cent for Microsoft.

Paul Moore, global director at Worldpanel ComTech, commented: “Across Europe, Android growth remains strong. However, in the US Apple’s expanded distribution agreement with T-Mobile is helping the iPhone keep Android growth at bay.

“T-Mobile is the smallest of the big four US carriers but it does have the capacity to give iOS a boost, particularly as 28 per cent of its customers plan to buy an iPhone when they next upgrade.”

Samsung faces some competition from Sony in GB, which has proved itself to be the country’s fourth largest handset manufacturer, and in Mexico Windows is becoming a bigger player with the Nokia Lumia 505 being the fifth best-selling smartphone in the past three months.

Moore, added: “Samsung now finds itself in a position where, after two years of relentless growth, it must focus on keeping its existing base of customers loyal if it is to maintain its success. As it stands, Samsung has the second highest loyalty rate in Britain with 59 per cent, but this falls well short of Apple’s 79 per cent. Samsung will have to work hard to convince its 8.8 million customers to stick with the brand.”(source:mobile-ent

4)More than 160bn consumer-facing apps to be downloaded in 2017

by Zen Terrelonge

And just five per cent of apps will be paid for at download.

Juniper Research reports that the F2P games market is so powerful it will account for around 40 per cent of the overall 160 billion consumer app downloads expected in 2017, a sharp spike on the total 80 billion app downloads this year.

Premium gaming was once the norm, but developers are now increasingly focused on the free-to-play (or freemium) model, which generates revenues from in-app purchases and adverts.  Just five per cent of apps will be paid for at download in 2017, download from 6.1 per cent.

The rapid growth is also attributed to the vast number of consumers in developing markets upgrading from feature phones to smartphones. Additionally, app stores are looking to enhance social elements of gameplay, which Google recently demonstrated with the Google Play games service that enables leader boards and competitions.

The main challenge, however, is for developers to profit from their apps, given the pressure of competing with rivals for free. Meanwhile, the rise of app stores has largely cut operators out of the download chain.

Siân Rowlands, report author, Juniper Research, said: “Carrier billing has become an increasingly viable option for MNOs (mobile network operators) who want to see a share of app store revenues, and also for app stores who want to distribute their content to unbanked consumers. However, MNOs must realise they won’t see as great a revenue share as they did during the pre-app store era.”(source:mobile-ent

5)Safari declines in mobile browser usage, others gain traction

Jonathan Espinosa

With over 60 percent of usage, Safari is the most widely used mobile web browser application by a longshot. However, a report from CNET shows that Apple browser may be losing a bit of steam. The browser dipped from 60 percent usage to 58 percent from May to June.

While Safari has seen a decline month to month, web browser apps Opera Mini, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer have seen increases. Surprisingly, Opera Mini leads with an increase of 10.5 percent to 11.2 percent and Chrome increased 3.2 to 3.8.

For iOS devices, Safari is the default mobile browser, deeply integrated within the operating system. For example, when an iOS user opens a link in their mail app, it will load up in Safari by default. Apple has yet to introduce the ability to select a third-party browser application as default.

With the popularity of iOS devices, it is unlikely to see a third party application to surpass Safari in widespread usage, despite other applications offering more robust features. This could be due to lack of knowledge for other applications or simply because of how the applications are integrated with the operating system. For example, Android’s standard browser is unbranded where it could easily be Chrome. It is also important to note that Chrome is available for multiple platforms including both iOS and Android devices.

According to AppData, Chrome is the #5 top free utility app available in the App Store. This means that people are downloading it, but are not necessarily using it as much as the Safari browser.

Mobile browsing trends tend to be slower as a new space where many are unfamiliar. This data is highly dependent on the popularity of the operating system. In this case, it is likely that many people are using iOS devices to web browse, hence why Safari has such a commanding lead. It is also possible that iOS users are simply spending more time on their devices than users of other platforms. The a large discrepancy is unlikely to change significantly very quickly, but could change potentially as new features come about. It is also possible for Safari to turn its decline around with the new features available in iOS 7.(source:insidemobileapps


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