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开发者看儿童游戏市场的变化及挑战

发布时间:2012-03-14 17:17:38 Tags:,,,,

作者:Paul Hyman

如今的儿童游戏发生了巨大的变化,从最近那些已经在该领域取得巨大成功的发行商的转型就可以看出这一点。

例如,曾因知名电视节目《海绵宝宝》以及电影《穿靴子的猫》和《汽车总动员》授权游戏而大获成功的THQ,在1月份宣布放弃儿童游戏业务,以便全力推动数字游戏项目发展。

海绵宝宝(from thq.com)

海绵宝宝(from thq.com)

去年育碧还大势宣传旗下的儿童PC MMO游戏《Petz World》,但是今年却不见该游戏踪影。

育碧数字发行部副主管Chris Early说道:“尽管很痛苦,但是我们终究意识到这个现实。现在的儿童已经不再热衷于掌机游戏了。”

No Crusts Interactive(儿童游戏设计公司)总裁及创始人Carla Engelbrecht Fisher也表示,过去的PC游戏儿童玩家现在已经不在这个平台玩游戏了。

她解释道:“如今掀起了一股‘应用热潮’,不论是儿童还是家长都开始选择更易上手的触屏移动设备,特别是智能手机和平板电脑。”

“很多以前只是想利用这些掌上设备让孩子们有事做的家长开始意识到它们的易用性,并且那些以前难以掌控制电脑鼠标,或者掌机按钮的儿童也发现了触屏设备的优点。最主要的是它们还都非常便宜!想想看有谁还会花50美元的高价冒险购买一款孩子可能会不喜欢,或者会迅速厌倦的掌机游戏?”

Fisher补充道,较年长的孩子们(从小学到中学之间)也发现了《愤怒的小鸟》以及《俄罗斯方块》等应用“更能够吸引他们的注意,并且比起大型在线虚拟世界(游戏邦注:如《企鹅俱乐部》以及《哈宝》),这些游戏能够提供较为简单的体验。”

因此,她继续说道,某些大型掌机游戏也开始发生转变(甚至是一些儿童友好型硬件设备,如LeapPad,Leapster以及Fisher Price也不例外),逐渐转向了小型应用(挖掘智能手机和平板电脑的可携带性和易用性优势)。

她解释道:“我将其称之为‘回传’效应。就像我在杂货店里为了让自己的小孩有事做,我就会将自己的手机递给他说‘看这里,玩游戏吧!’我的意思是,只要花2美元就可以让我的小孩在手机上玩游戏了。”

她列举了一些“把握”当前趋势并“获得成功”的开发商,如5th Cell在去年10月份将2009年发行的DS益智游戏《涂鸦冒险家》推向了iOS平台。该版本既包含了原作的部分关卡,也添加了一些适合iOS系统的新关卡。

Fisher解释道:“这不只是一个移植版本。这是经过深思熟虑而组合在一起的结果。”

where is my water(from toucharcade.com)

where is my water(from toucharcade.com)

另外一个例子便是Creature Freep开发且由Disney Mobile于去年9月份发布的手机游戏《Where’s My Water?》。

她说道:“迪士尼一直在尝试开发各种不同的市场。就像Nickelodeon(游戏邦注:美国知名的有线电视频道,主营儿童节目)的播客《Nick Jr.》同时涉及了多个不同领域一样。”

而掌机游戏的发展又是如何?它们是否已被儿童玩家彻底抛弃?

Fisher否定了这一说法,她表示,尽管越来越多儿童倾向于玩手机应用,但是随着他们的成长以及游戏技能的提高,这些玩家也会重拾掌机游戏。她补充道,当我们迎来下一代掌机硬件之时,掌机游戏开发者便会更加清楚这

种变化,并且深刻理解玩家真正需要的是哪种游戏。

她说道:“掌机将提供移动设备所没有的功能,例如‘合作游戏’理念。并且掌机最让人惊喜的一点便是支持家长和儿童一起游戏,如Xbox游戏《芝麻街怪兽传说》。让一个四口之家坐在一起共同享受游戏乐趣这一点是iPad或其它智能手机难以做到的。而这也是我们需要予以重视的体验。”

但是如果要从中选择一个最适合儿童游戏的平台,Fisher表示她更愿意花钱买移动设备的应用,因为“它们更具易用性并且更加便宜。”

iWin创意副总裁及《Free Realms》创意总监Laralyn McWilliams也说道,易用性和低价格将促使更多玩家选择社交,休闲,免费且容易上手的游戏(这不只是儿童游戏的趋势)。“儿童游戏市场也出现了与硬核游戏市场类似的趋势。现在讨论儿童游戏市场的人已经不多了。”

她说道,THQ退出授权儿童游戏市场的举措表明,创造一款拥有经济效益的掌机游戏极为困难。

“授权掌机游戏尤其侞此,它们都需要耗费高额的成本。过高的准入门槛大幅抬升了零售掌机游戏的开发成本。你必须拥有足够庞大的团队,还需要考虑种种授权问题,包括预付授权费,以及之后的维护等,而这些都需要你花费一大笔开销。不管是儿童游戏还是针对成人玩家的游戏均是如此。”

除此之外,越来越多玩家在社交游戏,易下载游戏以及免费游戏中投入更多时间,她说道:“我们很容易从中看出为何当今掌机游戏的发展变得如此艰难了。”

McWilliams也意识到社交游戏和免费游戏的质量正在日益提升,主要是因为玩家对于游戏内容的要求在不断提高。

她说道:“当你花钱购买掌机游戏时,你肯定愿意花点时间去磨练自己的技巧而让自己越来越上手。而免费游戏则需要尽量在第一时间吸引玩家的注意,否则玩家会觉得反正自己也没花钱,无所谓是否继续玩游戏。所以这类游戏都变得越来越有趣,并且能够吸引所有玩家而不再只是儿童玩家。”

今天许多能够吸引儿童玩家的游戏同时也吸引着其他类型的玩家,这些游戏包括《愤怒的小鸟》,《宝石迷阵》等。McWilliams还注意到越来越多家庭不仅会共享游戏,而且会传递他们玩游戏的移动设备。她还说道,自己曾看过一个7岁的小孩坐在饭店的桌子前玩DS游戏,而今天,同样的小孩手中应该是在把玩手机上的iOS游戏。

McWilliams表示:“当爸爸妈妈购买iPhone 4之后,他们的小孩就可以使用‘退役’的iPhone 3玩游戏。这意味着儿童市场所面临的一大挑战是很多平台提供的并非儿童友好型内容,就像Facebook。很多家长不让小孩上Facebook并不是因为游戏,而是因为该平台的其它内容。”

儿童游戏市场的另外一大挑战便是家长掌握着对IAP(应用内置付费功能)的控制权,儿童们很难脱离父母的监控自由消费。

“我认为,那些不玩Facebook或iOS游戏的儿童会去Miniclip以及Addicting Games等免费Flash网站中玩游戏。所以除了广告,这些游戏一般都很难获得盈利。”

有些人认为儿童玩手机游戏只是因为父母让他们玩游戏,但是McWilliams并不同意这一观点。她认为,是他们自己喜欢并热衷于玩游戏。

“手机上有各种类型的游戏,并且应用商店中也总是会不断更新新的游戏以及免费游戏,让儿童玩家可以根据自己的需求选择游戏。他们不用再局限于父母在商店里所购买的昂贵掌机游戏,他们可以随心所欲地玩自己喜欢的游戏了。售价50美元的一款掌机游戏足让你购买多款iOS游戏了。”

她继续补充道,手机游戏让玩家能够快速进入并快速离开,而这点最适合儿童玩家,因为很有可能在他们刚开始游戏的两三分钟后家长就会要回手机去打电话了。

随着这些小型手机游戏的兴起,早前(在智能手机和平板电脑普及之前)那些大获成功的游戏,如在线虚拟社区《哈宝》(也就是人们所熟知的《哈宝饭店》)现在又面临何种情况呢?是否已经彻底失去市场?

事实并非如此,Sulake Corp(游戏邦注:总部设在芬兰赫尔辛基,于2000年发布了《哈宝》,现在该游戏社区月独立访客高达1000多万)首席执行官Paul LaFontaine回答道,“PC仍然是儿童重要的娱乐设备之一,并且《哈宝》的主要访问量还是来自PC平台。”

LaFontaine说道:“但是随着过去两年里智能手机的发展,用户更加频繁地往返于这两大平台之间。”

考虑到这点,Sulake于1月份向智能手机平台发布了动作类游戏《Niko》,LaFontain希望利用玩家的跨平台行为不断扩大玩家基础。

他说道:“我们的目标非常明确,那就是不断地吸引目标玩家,让他们能够从在线平台转移到手机平台,并再次返回。《哈宝》的玩家能够去《Niko》收集奖励提高信誉并返回哈宝旅馆。也就是玩家可以挑战《Niko》的关卡并将经验值和分数用于《哈宝》。”

LaFontaine虽然没有透露过多细节信息,但是他表示“对于《Niko》的成绩感到非常满意,因为有超过40%的玩家在这两个平台之间来回穿梭。”

kids_niko(from gamasutra)

kids_niko(from gamasutra)

该公司还向其它开发者开放了《哈宝》服务,以便提供更多易用性游戏选择而进一步吸引核心玩家。Sulake发言人说道:“Sulake希望能够与其它开发商和工作室合作,创造出各种新游戏让玩家在不同平台获得乐趣,从而留住更多玩家。”

但iWin的MacWilliams表示,并非所有开发者或发行商都认识到了儿童玩家对于手机游戏的热情,并且他们也还没做好转型的准备。

她建议开发者和发行商不要轻易离开任何市场,相反,他们应该更加灵活地制作游戏。

她说道:“我不认为‘我们应该放弃掌机游戏’。并且我也不认为我们需要明确游戏的目标市场,判断哪个市场能够带来更多收益。问题在于,我们需要明确自己需要为某个市场投入多少成本。”

“同时你需要清楚自己通过游戏能够赚到多少,并据此创建合适的开发团队,明智地展开项目开发。我们应该更加灵活地应对整个开发过程。我们并不需要退出任何一个市场。只要适当地进行规划便可。”(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

What’s Happening to Kids’ Games?

by Paul Hyman

There’s a sea change when it comes to kids’ gaming, as evidenced by recent turnabouts by publishers that had been successful in that space.

Take, for example, THQ — which had a good thing going making kids’ games from popular TV licenses like SpongeBob and movies like Puss in Boots and Cars. In January, the company announced it was departing that strategy in favor of growing its digital business.

And, last year, Ubisoft talked up kids’ PC MMO Petz World, but this year it is nowhere to be found.

“While painful,” said VP of digital publishing Chris Early, “we realized we need to take that back. Kids aren’t playing on that platform that much right now.”

Indeed, there’s a lot kids that used to be playing that are no longer playing, says Carla Engelbrecht Fisher, president and founder of No Crusts Interactive, a children’s game design firm, and a consultant on kids’ games.

“There’s this ‘app mania’ going on – a growing interest by both kids and their parents in the very accessible touch screen handheld market, specifically smartphones and tablets,” she explains.

“There’s a realization on the part of parents who previously just wanted to keep their toddlers and preschoolers occupied that these devices are super easy to use, that their kids who had been struggling with the usability of a computer mouse or with a console’s buttons are finding the touch screens nice and cognitively accessible. And they’re cheap! Who wants to spend $50 on a console game that your child may or may not like or could get tired of very quickly?”

And older kids – meaning between the elementary school and tweens range – are also finding that apps like Angry Birds and Tetris “may be more focused on what appeals to them and may be a simpler game experience than the huge online virtual worlds like Club Penguin and Habbo which offer amazing amounts of content, maybe too much content, much of it not the good solid gameplay that the child may be seeking,” Fisher adds.

As a result, she says, there’s been a shift away from some of the larger console games – and even some of the kid-friendly hardware like the LeapPad, the Leapster, and the Fisher Price machines – to smaller apps that take advantage of the portability and accessibility of smartphones and tablets.

“I call it the ‘pass back’ effect,” she explains. “I may be standing in line at the grocery store and need to keep my child amused, so I pass them my phone and say ‘Here, play!’ I mean, what’s two bucks to have an app on the phone that my child can play with?”

She cites a few examples of developers who “get” the current trends and are “doing things just right,” including 5th Cell which took its 2009 DS puzzle game Scribblenauts and released an iOS version, Scribblenauts Remix, in October, featuring selected levels from the previous game plus new levels for the iOS version.

“It’s not just a port,” Fisher explains. “It’s thoughtfully put together.”

Then, she says, there’s Where’s My Water? developed by Creature Freep and published in September by Disney Mobile in both iOS and Android versions.

“Disney is trying different markets,” she says, “as is Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr., which is doing a nice job of exploring the different spaces as well.”

But what about console games? Have young children rejected them altogether?

Not completely, says Fisher, but she sees a progression where youngsters are playing the mobile apps and then embracing the console titles as they get older and develop the appropriate skills. When the next generation of console hardware emerges, she adds, console game developers had better understand the transformation that has taken place and what sort of games are in demand.

“Consoles will intrinsically offer something that handhelds can’t,” she says, “like, for instance, the idea of ‘co-play.’ The one thing consoles do amazingly well is to allow parents and children to play together, like in the Xbox title Once Upon A Monster. Having a four-person family sit around and have fun together isn’t something that can be done as easily on an iPad or on networked phones. There’s a real need for fostering that kind of experience.”

But if one platform is going to take the lead in younger kids’ games, Fisher says she’d put her money on the handheld apps, which “are just more accessible and more financially appealing,” she says.

Indeed, accessibility and low price are what’s fueling the shift to social, casual, free, and pick-up-and-play games throughout the gaming space, not just in kids’ games, says Laralyn McWilliams.

“The trends that have everybody up in flames in the core game markets are happening, too, in kids’ games. It’s just that not a lot of people talk about the kids’ games market.”

McWilliams is iWin’s VP of creative and was the creative director for Free Realms, Sony Online Entertainment’s massive multiplayer virtual world for teens and tweens.

THQ’s exit from the licensed kids’ products space is just a reflection of what’s making it more challenging to be financially successful building console games in general, she says.

“Especially licensed console games, because they’re so much more expensive,” she adds. “Retail console games are already expensive to produce because the bar is so high. The team has to be large and, when you add a license – considering both upfront licensing fees and then what you lose on the back end – it becomes super expensive. And that’s true whether it’s a kids’ game or one for older gamers.”

Couple that expense with the fact that more and more players are spending their gaming time on social, easily downloadable, and free-to-play games, she says, and “it’s easy to see why the console space is such a tough place to be.”

McWilliams also recognizes that the quality of social and free-to-play games is on the rise, mainly because their audience demands great content from the get-go.

“When you spend money on a console game, you’re willing to give it a little time to become increasingly better and grow on you,” she observes. “But an F2P game has to hit you from the first second.

Because, if it doesn’t, since you haven’t invested any money in it, you’re likely to drop it and move on. That’s why these games are getting better and better, making them more attractive not just to kids but to all gamers.”

Indeed, many of today’s games that appeal to kids are the same games that appeal to the entire gaming audience – Angry Birds, for example, and Bejeweled, says McWilliams, who observes that families are not only sharing games but also the phones on which they’re played. While she used to see 7-year-olds in restaurants sitting at the table playing a DS game, she says, today you almost always see that same child with a phone playing an iOS game.

“When Mom or Dad gets an iPhone 4, the kid gets handed down the iPhone 3 to use as a play device,” she says. “Which means the challenge for the kids’ market is that some of the places where audiences are going aren’t always kid-friendly, like Facebook. A lot of parents wouldn’t let their kids onto Facebook — not because of the games, but because of the rest of Facebook.”

Another challenge is to come up with parental controls on in-app purchases that make it more difficult for kids to make purchases without supervision.

“In my opinion, kids who are not playing Facebook games, who aren’t playing iOS games, are probably playing F2P games on Miniclip and Addicting Games and some of the other F2P Flash Web sites. So, other than advertising, those games are going unmonetized.”

While one might say that the child is only playing the mobile games because that’s what the parents are handing them, McWilliams disagrees. They like the games and they enjoy the variety, she says.

“There is such an assortment of games on a phone… and the app stores are always offering up new, free games to try… that the child can play whatever they feel like playing that moment. They’re not stuck playing the one expensive cartridge their parents bought in the store and are now insisting they play. I mean, you can get an awful lot of iOS games for the $50 you might have paid for a console game.”

The mobile games – which enable players to get in and out of them quickly — are also perfect for kids with short attention spans or who might have just two or three minutes to play before their parents grab their phone back to make a call, she adds.

Given the appeal of these small, mobile games, where does that leave the games that had been wildly successful prior to the availability of smartphones and tablets – like, say, online virtual world Habbo (previously known as Habbo Hotel). Have they lost their appeal?

Not at all, says Paul LaFontaine, CEO of Helsinki, Finland-based Sulake Corp. which launched Habbo in 2000 and which currently has an average 10 million unique visitors monthly. “Kids still use the PC as one of their entertainment devices and the core usage of Habbo still comes from the PC.”

And, yet, over the past two years “with the rise of smartphones,” says LaFontaine, “we have seen users move across platforms more often and quicker than ever before.”

Which is why, in January, Sulake launched Niko, a platform and action game app for smartphones that LaFontaine hopes to use to grow its player base through cross-platform initiatives.

“Our goals were very specifically to appeal to our demographic… and to move audiences from online to mobile and then back again,” he says. “The Habbo player will be able to go to Niko and collect prizes and get reputation and status as a result of making the journey out of the hotel and back. You can play Niko levels and then bring your experience and points back to Habbo.”

While LaFontaine wouldn’t provide specifics, he says he’s “pleased with the performance of Niko and has seen over 40 percent movement back and forth from Habbo to Niko and back.”

Niko

The company is also opening up Habbo to developers, in a new initiative designed to make the product more appealing to a core audience that now has more accessible game choices. “Sulake is hoping to partner with game devs and studios to create new games as part of their strategy to retain users by moving across platforms,” a Sulake spokesperson tells Gamasutra.

But not all developers nor publishers have been so savvy about cashing in on the enthusiasm kids are showing for mobile games, nor were they prepared for the transformation, says iWin’s MacWilliams.

“I’m not surprised,” she says. “Who could have been prepared for such a profound change as that?”

Her best suggestion to developers and publishers is not to walk away from any of the markets but to just be smarter about how they make their games.

“I don’t think we have to say ‘Let’s abandon console games.’ And I don’t think you need to decide which market you should be making games for… which market will make the most money. The answer is deciding what is the right amount of money to spend for the market you want to hit,” she says.

“It’s understanding how much you’re likely to make with a game and then build a team that’s the appropriate size… and then develop it more intelligently. We just have to get smarter about how we make games. But I don’t think we have to walk away from any of the markets, honestly. We just need to scope things correctly.”(source:GAMASUTRA)


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