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Digital Chocolate首席执行官不看好手机社交游戏

发布时间:2010-12-08 11:20:44 Tags:,,,,,

近日,Digital Chocolate公司首席执行官Trip Hawkins在一周内接连发布了两篇博客,宣称Facebook与智能手机正走向两个截然不同的游戏发展方向。

如果Trip Hawkins的话确实可信的话,那么手机游戏开发商就要留神了,因为Trip Hawkins认为,Facebook的社交游戏模式必将战胜智能手机平台。

游戏邦认为,从Digital Chocolate这六个月来的举动就已经可以看出,该公司的运营业务正不断从手机平台转向Facebook。

Trip Hawkins

Trip Hawkins

一句话,Hawkins认为Facebook有别于iPhone等手机平台的地方在于,Facebook用户往往会因好友推荐玩某款游戏,而多数手机用户所玩的游戏经常是自己搜索而得的结果。

他对这种现象的一个关键定义词就是“共鸣”。

Hawkins对手机用户的看法是,他们习惯去手机应用商店搜索游戏,并希望借此找到有趣的内容,却不会注意社交平台好友的动向,“所以说,像Digital Chocolate推出的Café、 Ngmoco旗下的Plus+,以及OpenFeint这种第一代手机社交游戏平台不会成为真正的社交终点站。手机游戏玩家没有登陆这类社交平台的习惯,他们更愿意直接奔向那些自己有印象、想独自体验的游戏……手机用户之间缺乏共鸣,因为我们还没有培养出大量习惯使用社交网站服务的手机用户,所以也就无法说服他们去尝试新游戏,邀请他们重新参与原来玩过的游戏。”

虽然Hawkins曾经否认Facebook是一个游戏平台,但同时也表示,智能手机的游戏运营模式已经时日无多,许多开发商迫于苹果政策的压力,不得不大打价格战;虽然作为一个游戏平台,苹果产品一直享誉盛名,但手机游戏在苹果平台上的生命周期也很短暂,营收也非常有限。“再看Facebook,虽然大量用户并不认为它是一个游戏平台,但它就是可以为社交游戏提供良好的服务,创造大量营收。”

Facebook能有这种成就完全归功于用户之间的共鸣——通过在该平台的推广和传播,游戏已然成为用户相互沟通的社交活动起源。Hawkins认为这种模式必将取代手机游戏市场目前仍然在尝试的独立产品销售模式,不过他也表示,随着时间的发展,这些平台用户之间也会有更多共鸣,毕竟市场上还有成亿的手机用户,所以手机社交游戏的繁荣发展不会这么快就结束。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,转载请注明来源:游戏邦)

Trip Hawkins on why the social echo of Facebook games will overcome mobile’s solo experiences

Two blog posts in the space of a week have illustrated just why Digital Chocolate’s Trip Hawkins believes that, when it comes to games, Facebook and smartphones are following two different paths.

The worrying thing for mobile developers is that, if he is to be believed, it’s the Facebook model that will eventually come out on top.

Indeed, over the past six months, Digital Chocolate has moved its business focus from mobile to Facebook.

Echo calls

It’s all down to what Trip describes as the ‘echo’.

In short, Hawkins believes what separates Facebook from iPhone and the like is that users on Facebook play games based on their friend’s recommendations, whereas on mobile platforms, game discovery is largely a solo process.

“They are trained and in the habit of going to an app store but when they do so they are looking to be entertained and not bringing their intention or attention to a social graph,” Hawkins says of mobile consumers.

“As a result, first-generation mobile social game networks like Digital Chocolate’s Café Series, OpenFeint and Ngmoco’s Plus+ have not become genuine social destinations.  Mobile gamers are not in the habit of going to such a mobile social Café, they are instead going to a game that they remember and want to enjoy playing alone.

“Thus there is very little echo in mobile because we don’t have a massive audience checking in to a social service that is reminding them to try new games and return to existing games they have.”

Model dilemma

While such an assessment initially caused Hawkins to label Facebook as ‘not a game platform’, he also suggests the smartphone model’s days are numbered, purely because as things stand, mobile games currently follow the traditional model of shifting serious units at launch, before falling away again.

“Combined with pricing pressure that results from Apple policies, the Apple platforms offer very short game lifecycles and limited revenue, despite Apple products enjoying a great reputation as game devices,” Hawkins summarises.

“By contrast, Facebook can support games as a service and incredible game revenue while not even being perceived by its customers as a game platform.”

The upshot of all of this is that Facebook’s echo – the idea of games existing as a social stream, both in their promotion and delivery – will replace the packaged goods model that Hawkins believes is still practised by mobile marketplaces.

“Over time, we will indeed hear the echo on all these platforms and devices. This makes mobile social games an even more exciting longer term bet because, after all, there are billions of these devices.”(source:pocketgamer)


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