作者：Keith Andrew

PopCap手机业务产品和商业策划资深总监Giordano Contestabile称内置付费（IAP）模式的兴起属于意料之中。

Giordano Contestabile from img1.178.com

他表示，Distimo报告公布的72% App Store营收由支持IAP功能的应用创造消息引起广泛关注，但这不过说明多数iOS发行商和开发商清楚：用户愿意在自己喜欢的游戏中掏钱。

但就像Chillingo Joe Wee，Contestabile并不觉得在所有游戏中绑定IAP功能就能凭空获得丰厚收益。

相反，成功立足iOS意味着懂得如何通过既有内容创收。

日前，Contestabile接受媒体采访，谈论PopCap未来计划如何运用IAP。

Distimo最新数显示植入内置付费功能的应用创造72%的iOS营收。这是否符合你们在App Store的运作情况？

显然如今内置付费和免费增值模式是App Store营收的主要渠道。

《宝石迷阵闪电战》就是个例子，虚拟交易营收（游戏邦注：主要是购买游戏促进道具）目前已超过游戏销售所创造的收益。此外，所有数据都说明这个趋势将继续强化。

报告信息给公司运作带来什么帮助？

这种报告能够让我们把握市场总体情况，但若你是游戏开发商，这不过是再次证实你已把握的信息，因为最重要的信息在于你每天从玩家身上获得的反馈。

在PopCap，我们通常不会基于报告信息做决定，但我们听取用户意见，希望向尽可能多的用户提供优质游戏内容。

若你会单单根据报告信息改变策略，说明你没有同市场保持联系。

报告还表示这些植入IAP的游戏多数都采用免费模式。你觉得免费增值模式未来是否会主导iOS市场？

这是个合理猜想。我觉得1年后，95%或更多的iOS游戏下载量将来自免费增值游戏，80%或更多的营收将由它们创造。

免费增值模式非常强大，它令开发者得以覆盖尽可能多的用户，它令玩家试后有权选择是否购买，而且还提供付费渠道选择。

从这个角度看，免费增值模式同传统的“先试后买”模式存在共同之处，但其提供更大灵活性，让用户享有更多选择。

也就是说，我觉得免费增值模式还有发展空间（游戏邦注：尤其是那些同用户忠诚度极高的知名品牌存在联系的游戏）。

付费模式是否会逐渐消失？

许多游戏可能会出现这种情况，但不是所有游戏都会这样。若你是试图推出新作的新手开发者，免费增值模式能够让你获得更多用户，通过用户反馈信息逐步完成游戏内容。

同样，免费增值模式非常适合某些游戏类型，如社交游戏。

此外，付费高质量品牌游戏也将拥有自己的市场，但要取得这般地位非常困难：至少《植物大战僵尸》、《宝石迷阵》或《愤怒的小鸟》这样的轰动巨作属于罕见情况。

能否谈谈你们的IAP计划？

我们很少公开自己的未来计划，但可以说我们未来几个月将带给大家许多惊喜，虚拟交易和免费增值模式将发挥重要作用。

此外，我们最近刚在《植物大战僵尸》中植入内置付费功能，但同时允许用户通过体验获得相同内容，这获得很大反响。

最后，我们更专注于创造优质作品，以适当方式呈现游戏内容，让用户能够进行明智选择，而非仅瞄准某个商业模式。

另外，仅4%的应用创造App Store 72%的营收说明什么？

这说明游戏行业过去几年虽然经历巨大变化，但依然主要由流行作品主导，其中成功作品占据大片用户市场。

虽然现在我们能够轻松获得更多用户，通过早期用户创造发展势头，但用户依然主要集中在热门品牌和他们所信任的游戏内容中。

此外，应用商店的榜单推动特性是游戏成功长久保持的部分原因所在。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Freemium games could make up 95% of iOS downloads in one year’s time, reckons PopCap’s Giordano Contestabile

by Keith Andrew

For Giordano Contestabile, senior director of product and business strategy for mobile at PopCap, the current furore surrounding the rise of in-app purchases (IAPs) is no surprise.

Distimo’s report claiming 72 percent of all App Store revenue is generated by apps sporting IAPs was significant, he claims, but simply mirrored what most publishers and developers operating on iOS already know: consumers invest in games they love.

Like Chillingo’s Joe Wee, however, Contestabile doesn’t believe strapping IAPs on to each and every game will mysteriously generate cash out of thin air.

Instead, operating a successful business on iOS means being able to deduce how to best monetise your library, game by game.

We caught up with Contestabile to ask how PopCap plans to employ IAPs moving forward.

Pocket Gamer: Distimo’s latest figures suggest apps with in-app purchases make up 72% of all iOS revenue. Does this tie in with your own experiences on the App Store?

Giordano Contestabile: It’s indisputable that in-app purchases, and the freemium model in general, now constitute the majority of revenues on the App Store.

We are seeing it with Bejeweled 2 + Blitz, where revenue for in-app transactions – to purchase boosts which can be used in the Blitz game mode – have recently surpassed revenues for purchases of the game. Furthermore, all data points to the fact that the trend looks set to continue and increase.

What kind of bearing, in any, do reports like this have on your output?

This kind of reports are useful to get a general overview of the market but, if you are a game developer, they generally either confirm or reinforce what you already know, as the most important feedback is the one that you get every day from your players.

At PopCap, we don’t make decisions based on what a report might tell us, but we listen to our customers and try to provide as many of them as possible with the best possible game experience.

I’d say that if you find yourself in the position of changing your strategy based solely on a report, it might be a sign that you aren’t in touch with your market.

The report also suggests the majority of these IAP equipped games are free releases. Do you think freemium is likely to dominate iOS in the future?

That’s a fair assumption. I think that, one year from now, 95 percent or more of iOS game downloads might come from freemium games, and 80 percent or more of the revenue could be associated with them.

The freemium model is extremely powerful because it allows developers to reach the biggest possible audience, and it allows players to choose if and how to pay for content, after having tried it out.

In that sense, it’s not wholly different from our traditional ‘try and buy’ model, but it allows for greater flexibility and presents customers with more choice.

That said, I also believe that there is still space for premium experiences, especially for games associated with very strong brands that command intense customers’ loyalty.

Is the relevance of the paid model falling away?

It is for most games, but not for all. If you are an upstart developer trying to launch a new IP, then freemium allows you reach a much wider audience and to improve your product over time by leveraging your reach.

In the same way, freemium is surely the most appropriate model for specific game categories, such as social games.

On the other hand, there’s always going to be a market for high-quality branded game experiences that can command a premium price, but it’s going to be an increasingly difficult to attain such status: mega-hits like Plants vs. Zombies, Bejeweled or Angry Birds are one in a million, to say the least.

What are your own IAP plans?

While we typically don’t disclose much about our future plans, I can say that you’re in for a lot of surprises for us in the coming months, and that in-app transactions and the freemium model are going to feature prominently.

Additionally, we recently launched in-app transaction for Plants vs. Zombies, while at the same time allowing players to earn the same content by playing the game, and the response has been incredibly positive.

At the end, for us is more about creating a great game and delivering in a way that feels right and that provides players with the opportunity to make informed choices, rather than focusing on a specific business model.

Additionally, what does it say about the App Store as a whole that just 4 percent of apps are generating 72 percent of the revenue?

It says that the game business, while having undergone a dramatic shift in the last couple of years, is still a hit-driven model, where really successful games are able to command a much larger share of the audience.

While it’s now easier to get your game in front of more people and to generate momentum through early adopters, users are still clustering around popular brands and games experiences they know and trust.

Additionally, the charts-driven nature of app stores is partly responsible for the self-perpetuating nature of a game’s success.

Thanks to Giordano for his time.（Source：pocketgamer）