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每日观察:关注亚马逊Fire智能手机等消息(6.19)

发布时间:2014-06-19 11:10:09 Tags:,,,

1)Juniper Research最新报告预测,2014年手机游戏总收益预计达209亿美元,到2016年则将增长38%,突破289亿美元,但手机和平板电脑游戏收益仍然不足以全面超越专用游戏设备上的游戏收益。

今年初的一份报告显示,手机和网络游戏收益在2017年将达600亿美元,而整个游戏行业收益则将超越1000亿美元。

tablet-gaming(from intomobile)

tablet-gaming(from intomobile)

2)据gamasutra报道,亚马逊日前宣布推出自产智能手机Fire,该设备采用亚马逊基于Android的Fire操作系统,并直接与亚马逊应用商店绑定。

亚马逊创始人及首席执行官Jeff Bezos透露,该设备将于6月25日在AT&T独家发售,采用了4.7英寸的LCD屏幕,运行2.2Ghz的CPU,2GB的RAM,如果用户购买2年合约机,32GB型号的设备售价就是199美元,64GB型号设备售价则是299美元。

值得注意的是,该设备的前置摄像头还支持开发者创造能够以有趣方式呈现3D视角的手机游戏,允许用户通过倾斜手机或在摄像头前移动脑袋等方式调整游戏内部的视角。

fire phone(from gamasutra)

fire phone(from gamasutra)

3)据venturebeat报道,亚马逊日前宣布其应用商店目前应用和游戏数量超过24万款,亚马逊声称针对Kindle Fire设备开发游戏和应用的开发者在该平台收益与其他移动平台相当,但并未透露其应用商店总下载量。

4)据pocketgamer报道,移动支付及计费平台Fortumo代表Andrea Boetti最近指出,Windows Phone设备在包括墨西哥、沙特阿拉伯以及芬兰、波兰等全球24个国家/地区的销售情况优于iOS设备,并指出,如果开发者推出了跨平台应用但却不将游戏移植到Windows平台,就可能流失10%的潜在用户。

lumia range(from pocketgamer)

lumia range(from pocketgamer)

Boetti称Windows Phone前途不容小觑,它自2010年底以来的发展情况再现了Android当年的情形,在2009年媒体还在质疑Android究竟是否会失败,但在2014年情况Android的市场竞争力已经不可同日而语。Windows Phone在过去18-24个月的发展情况亦是如此,在2012至2013年期间,Windows Phone增长超过100%,而Android与iOS增幅则保持原来的水平。

5)据pocektgamer报道,移动支付平台Oink德国及法国总监Youb Loukil最近指出,开发者难以在儿童用户身上盈利的一大原因就是,这些未满18周岁的用户无法使用信用卡,或者PayPal等支付系统,虽然他们能够使用短信计费服务,但这一方案对开发者来说却并不理想,因为运营商会从中抽取相当一部分佣金。

kids playing mobile games(from whatmobile.net)

kids playing mobile games(from whatmobile.net)

简而言之,大量儿童用户没有足够的零花钱投入应用和游戏,而要找到其中的合法合理盈利模式却并非易事。

他称在英国7-14周岁的少儿市场规模则是28亿欧元。Loukil称75%的孩子到16岁就有自己的智能手机了,他们是技术达人,并且极具社交性,鉴于当前的种种花钱限制,他们就会通过一些欺骗性手段,未经许可就使用父母的信用卡来消费。

6)据gamasutra报道,瑞典著名导演Josef Fares(代表电影包括《男人三十拉警报 》,曾帮助游戏工作室Starbreeze Studios制作了《Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons》)在日前采访中表示,他搁置了自己的下一部电影,以便寻找一家工作室和发行商合作开发自己的下一款游戏。

Josef Fares(from 91danji.com)

Josef Fares(from 91danji.com)

他表示自己仍会继续制作动画短片,但会暂停制作电影,计划在今年夏天专注于游戏制作,他称制作电影更赚钱,但游戏开发者才是真正满怀激情从事自己的工作,他宁愿选择后者的生活。

他认同《Papa & Yo》开发者Vandar Cabellero对于游戏能够通过交互玩法激发玩家情感的观点,但并不认为游戏就是未来的叙事方式,他认为交互性才是未来趋势。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

1)$29 billion in mobile game revenues by 2016 – report

By Mike Rose

Newsbrief: A new research report suggests that total revenues from mobile games will top $28.9 billion by 2016, although mobile and tablet games will not completely overshadow dedicated game devices.

Juniper Research says that this $28.9 billion figure will mark a 38 percent increase over total mobile game revenues of $20.9 billion in 2014. Dedicated game hardware will continue to serve a niche audience despite this rapid growth, says the report.

This follows a report earlier this year suggesting that mobile and online game revenues will account for $60 billion in video game revenue in 2017, while total industry revenues will surpass $100 billion.(source:gamasutra

2)Amazon breaks into the smartphone market with the Fire phone

By Alex Wawro

Amazon made its move into the smartphone market today by announcing the Fire, which runs on Amazon’s Android-based Fire OS and ties directly into the popular Amazon App Store.

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled the phone during a press event in Seattle. The device, which will be available July 25th exclusively from AT&T, has a 4.7-inch LCD screen, four front-facing cameras and a 13-megapixel camera on its back.

Inside, it’s running on a 2.2 Ghz CPU, 2 GB of RAM and an Adreno 330 mobile GPU. Assuming you buy into a two-year contract, the 32 GB model will run you $199, while the 64 GB Fire clocks in at $299.

Of course, what makes the Fire phone so interesting is the fact that, like the Kindle Fire tablet, it’s built to support Amazon’s existing services — including the remarkably game-friendly Amazon App Store.

Owners will also be able to ask for help with their phone via Amazon’s extant Mayday online tech support service, for example, and store an unlimited number of photos for free on Amazon’s servers. Naturally, the Fire will also ship with support for Amazon’s various content delivery services — Prime Instant Streaming, Amazon Kindle, and Amazon Music — and, at least for a limited time, a free year of Amazon Prime membership.

The company is also building a product recognition service called Firefly into the Fire phone that’s designed to identify both physical and digital products — shoes, TV shows, songs and the like — based on a photograph or a snippet of music, presumably in an effort to drive more money to Amazon’s core retail business. The phone even has a dedicated Firefly, alongside the four aforementioned low-power cameras.

Those four front-facing cameras are used to track the phone’s position in relation to your face, which allows it to do cosmetic tricks like causing images to shift perspective or automatically scrolling up and down as you tilt the phone. Amazon calls it the “Dynamic Perspective” system, and it’s making both the Dynamic Perspective SDK and the Firefly SDK available to developers.

From a developer perspective, the launch of the Fire is worth noting because it’s likely to shepherd a remarkable number of new users to the Amazon Appstore — and those people will be looking to load up their new phones with Fire-friendly games and apps.

Watching Jeff Bezos play Angry Tofu and rescue Fortune Kitty made my day. #AmazonEvent pic.twitter.com/5nU0jpIFU2

— BraveNewBookshelves (@BraveNewBks) June 18, 2014

The front-facing cameras also offer some intriguing possibilities for developing mobile games that play with 3D perspective in interesting ways — during the presentation Bezos demonstrated Angry Tofu, a version of HotGen’s iOS game To-Fu: The Trials of Chi that had been redesigned to permit players to adjust their in-game perspective by tilting the phone or moving their head in front of it.(source:gamasutra

3)Amazon’s app store passes 240K apps as smartphone rumors boil over

Harrison Weber

How can you leverage mobile to increase profitability for your company? Find out at MobileBeat, VentureBeat’s 7th annual event on the future of mobile, on July 8-9 in San Francisco. Register now and save $200!
Amazon today announced that its app store has tripled in size over the last year — it now touts over 240,000 apps and games. This announcement precedes Amazon’s mystery event on June 18, where it is expected to unveil a 3D smartphone.

In a direct shot at Apple, Amazon claims that “developers building apps and games for Kindle Fire are making at least as much money (often more) on the Kindle Fire platform as on any other mobile platform.” This claim, however, rests on an internal study, and should be taken with a grain.

Amazon’s supply of apps could easily make or break its soon-to-debut smartphone. As we detailed today, even the lack of a simple maps app could destroy the smartphone’s chances of gaining meaningful traction.

Amazon did not disclose the total number of app downloads across its store.

On Wednesday Amazon is expected to announce a 3D smartphone, which may feature 3D Web browsing, augmented reality, and indoor GPS. Read more about it here.(source:venturebeat

4)Skipping Windows Phone? You’re missing out on an extra 10% of users

By Keith Andrew

As emerging markets increasingly become a target for developers looking to reach new users, so the platforms those consumers are tapped into are becoming more prominent.

Platforms like Windows Phone, according to Andrea Boetti of mobile payments and direct billing network Fortumo.

Speaking on the second day of Pocket Gamer Connects in Helsinki, Boetti said developers need to “think a little bit forward at what’s coming next” rather than merely focusing on ther here and now.

“It may surprise you, but there are many countries – to be precise, 24 countries worldwide – where Windows Phone is selling better than iOS,” opened Boetti, citing emerging markets such as Mexico and Saudi Arabia as well as Nokia strongholds like Finland and Poland.

“If you have a cross-platform application, 10 percent of your users might be lost if you’re not porting your game to the Windows platform as well,” he continued.

History repeating

For Boetti, much of the negative talk that has surrounded Windows Phone since its launch in later 2010 mirrors the chatter that dragged Android down during its early years.

“In 2009, we were kind of crazy when we launched our first product on Android at a time when the press was asking if Android had already failed,” said Boetti.

“In 2014, I believe we have a different view regarding Android. We’re seeing the same thing during the last 18 to 24 months with Windows Phone. Between 2012 and 2013, Windows Phone grew by more than 100 percent when Android and iOS did not grow to the same level.”

Nokia’s Lumia range is performing well in developing markets

Windows Phone provides stability for developers according to Boetti. Google is increasingly “losing control” of Android with non-official devices and stores growing at an alarming rate.

Google, too, is “dictating the rules of its market” more and more compared to a Microsoft Boetti pitches as being keen to “help developers get spotted and featured in emerging markets”.

“Microsoft is very friendly,” he concluded, “and if you have an application that’s already on iOS and Android, it’s very easy to port it to the Windows platform now.”(source:pocketgamer

5)Child’s play: How to tap into the $200 billion strong kids market

By Keith Andrew

“Why is it so difficult to monetise kids today?” opened Youb Loukil, director of Germany and France for digital wallet platform Oink on the first day of Pocket Gamer Connects in Helsinki.

The challenges are as logical as they are numerous. Children don’t have access to credit cards, for instance, and nor can they access payment systems such as PayPal, which are restricted to over 18s only.

SMS billing, while popular with children, is not ideal for developers, with operators taking a hefty commission for each transaction.

Mighty market

In short, large numbers of kids have a more than adequate allowance to spend on apps and games, but finding legal and ethical ways to extract cash from them is not easy.

The rewards, however, are plentiful. In the US, the childrens’ market is worth $200 billion, whereas in the UK, 7-14 years olds represent a €2.8 billion market

“By the age of 16,” continued Loukil, “75 percent of kids already have a smartphone. This generation did not experience the world without the internet. They all have a smartphone and they have time to play. They’re tech savvy and socially connected.”

Even with restrictions in place, kids still find a way of spenind goney, Loukil continued, with ‘friendly fraud’ – children using their parents’ credit card details without permission – a major factor.

Oink, of course, offers a solution, allowing kids to legally dip into their parents’ bank accounts, albeit via a weekly allowance limit. 1.2 million users have signed up, Loukil concluded, with the likes of Habbo, Crytek and Wargaming already on board.(source:pocketgamer

6) The director of Brothers forgoes film to focus on making games

By Alex Wawro

“I make more money making movies…[game developers] are people who actually have passion for what they’re doing. I’d choose that over money.”

- Swedish filmmaker and Brothers director Josef Fares explains why he prefers to make games.

Josef Fares is the award-winning film director who helped make Starbreeze Studios’ Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, and last week he told GamesBeat that he was putting his next big movie on hold to work on finding a studio and a publisher to collaborate with on his next game.

The director told GamesBeat that he would continue to work on short animated features, but was halting production on his next feature film — which he was planning to start shooting this summer — because, in Fares’ words, “I want to look at this [game] and focus on that.”

Fares seems to have nothing more than an idea for a game at this point — though he’s intent on working with Starbreeze again (“If I do something, it’s gonna be with the core team from Brothers”) on a game that will “explore a feeling.”

He’s not alone, either — Papa & Yo creator Vandar Cabellero explored games’ potential to evoke emotions beyond satisfaction, fear and excitement in a recent GDC talk about the future of empathetic games. During that talk Caballero challenged developers to evoke emotions from their players via interactive gameplay, rather than static cutscenes or canned dialogue choices; Fares seems to agree.

“I enjoy it, but I don’t think it’s the future of storytelling,” said the director, referencing the narrative in Telltale’s The Walking Dead. “I think the interactivity is the future.”(source:gamasutra


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