作者：Dant Rambo

曾经有一段时间玩具商店里总是摆满了各种荒谬的商品，如劣质的马里奥闹钟以及索尼克洗澡戏水玩具等。也许这些商品不是多么讨喜，但是不得不承认的是这的确是销售游戏商品的黄金时代。像Rovio和PopCap等公司也开始投身这股热潮中，如推出他们游戏角色的毛绒玩具。但是也有许多游戏错失了我们所说的最佳营销机会，而我们将在此纠正这些问题。

其实并不只有这5种道具能够去抓住营销机会，进一步扩展的话我们还可以列举出10种，20种甚至是100种游戏道具。但是为了保持内容的简要，我只列出了其中的5种。

cut the rope(from gamezebo)

《割绳子》——糖果

我们可以在各大商店中看到有关《割绳子》的毛绒玩偶和玩具，但是开发者却未进一步开拓糖果制造业。到底是出于何种原因呢？也许他们并不想为消费者的蛀牙负责，或者他们只是单纯地不喜欢甜食。而不管出于何种原因，他们都拒绝在这一领域继续捞钱。更糟糕的是，他们放弃了向公众进一步推销游戏中的糖果的机会。

不知道Omnom（该款游戏的主角）对此有何感想。

Super Hexagon(from gamezebo)

《超级六边形》——减压球

《超级六边形》是一款极具冲击性的游戏，但同时它也会带给玩家无尽的压力。就像当你不顾一切地拿出之前累积的分数做最后一搏时，你会发现其实本不应该这么做。这也是为何这一游戏品牌的减压球具有营销价值。如果有了减压球，玩家便不会再因为生气而砸坏自己的iPhone，因为减压球便是一个很好的发泄工具。

我发现六边形的减压球也许更加有帮助，但是这也需要创造者投入更多时间进行设计。

Temple Run(from gamezebo)

《神庙逃亡》——胶底运动鞋

你是否在现实生活中尝试过无休止地进行奔跑？这么做将会引起种种问题，包括体力衰竭，肌肉抽筋，脚踝扭伤等等。当然了，《神庙逃亡》胶底运动鞋并不能解决这些问题，但是它却能在你即将放弃时带给你更多动力。这是继邪恶的猴子（游戏邦注：在游戏中玩家将被神庙中的一群猴子墨阳的恶魔守卫所追赶）后又一大有效的推动力，并且也更加安全！

Tiny Winds(from gamezebo)

《翼飞冲天》——鸡翅

也许这一想法会对某些人造成冒犯，但是这却不是我们的本意。我们喜欢《翼飞冲天》就像喜欢美食一样，那么为什么不将这两者结合在一起呢？这一授权方法的确存在着巨大的潜力，Wing Stop其实可以同该游戏开发者共同推出相关主题菜单，如当玩家打开时将奏响美妙音乐的鸡盒。甚至还可以推出五颜六色的鸡翅膀。

FarmVille(from gamezebo)

《FarmVille》——种子

早在过去《FarmVille》便已经进入了商品领域，但却未取得较好的成绩。就像谁会想到冰淇淋与农场有什么关系！而如果开发者出售的是种子（种植庄稼），便有可能起到一箭双雕的效果，即既能够从中谋得巨大利益，同时还能教授孩子们如何为自己种植食物。让更多孩子们学会自给自足是一种非常棒的想法。除此之外教孩子们如何种植也能够为自家的餐桌添得更多新鲜的蔬菜和水果。

（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）

Top 5 missed merchandising opportunities in gaming

By Dant Rambo

There was a time when toy stores were filled with ridiculous items like shoddy Mario alarm clocks and Sonic bath toys. It may not have been pretty, but it was the golden age of games merchandise. Companies like Rovio and PopCap have tried to carry the torch, providing us with items like plushies based on game characters. But a whole slew of games have missed out on what we consider obvious merchandising opportunities, and we’re here to fix that.

In all honesty, this list practically wrote itself. And we could have easily expanded it to 10, 20, or even 100 items. But in the interest of being brief, we kept it to just 5. If there are any items you’d love to see — like a Fruit Ninja sword, for example — let us know in the comments!

Cut the Rope Candy

This idea makes an absurd amount of sense. Possibly even too much sense. Cut the Rope plushies and toys are available in stores all over, but the creators have yet to dive into the ostensibly wild world of candy manufacturing. Surely there’s a reason, right? Perhaps they don’t want to be accountable for the influx of cavities, or maybe they just don’t have a sweet tooth. Whatever the reason may be, they’re denying themselves bags upon bags of money. And perhaps an even worse crime: they’re denying us bags upon bags of candy.

I can’t help but wonder how Omnom would feel about all this.

Super Hexagon Stress Ball

Super Hexagon is an absolute blast to play, but it can get incredibly stressful. Like when you manage a score that trumps all your previous ones by a long shot, only to realize you can’t make it that far again. The worst, right? That’s why a branded stress ball has the potential to sell like hotcakes. It could also save a lot of iPhones from being thrown against a wall in anger, which is always a good thing.

I realize a stress hexagon would make a good deal more sense, but that sounds like a design nightmare waiting to happen.

Temple Run Sneakers

Have you tried running endlessly in real life? It’s a task that presents a whole lot of problems – exhaustion, cramps, ankle injuries, to name but a few. Temple Run sneakers certainly wouldn’t fix this problem, but they’d give you an extra dose of motivation when you’re on the cusp of giving up. It’s the next best thing to evil monkeys pursuing you, and a lot less dangerous!

Tiny “Chicken” Wings

It’s possible this idea is offensive to some, although that certainly wasn’t our intention. We just love Tiny Wings almost as much as we love good food, so why not marry the two? There’s a lot of potential for a franchise like Wing Stop to partner up with the game’s creator to conceive some sort of themed menu item, like a box of chicken that plays soothing music when you open it. Or maybe multi-colored chicken wings!

Clearly, this is the future of chicken.

FarmVille Seeds

FarmVille has entered the merchandise territory in the past, but never in a way that actually made sense. What, for example, does ice cream have to do with farming? Precious little, I’d wager. Seeds for planting crops, on the other hand, would pack a one-two punch of possibly selling like crazy and teaching kids about growing their own food in the process. A big part of me wants to make a joke here, but I’ll refrain. More kids learning methods of self-sustenance would be a pretty great thing. And as an added bonus, teaching your kids how to garden could lead to your pantries and fridge being filled to the brim with delicious fruits and vegetables.(source:gamezebo)