作者：Steve Peterson

游戏产业中的领头人物都是一些坦率之人，并喜欢使用各种戏剧化的语句。有时候他们所说的语句总是让人难以忘怀——因为后来回想时会发觉某些内容其实是错误的；有时候他们的观点总是具有先见之明；甚至有时候他们的言语总是能够最有效地把握住内容的本质。

GamesIndustry International从2012年发表于网站上的上千篇文章中选取了最让人难忘的20条语录。有些很有趣，有些较为消极，也有些是完全错误的。

通过这系列语录，我们能够通过一种有趣的方式去回顾2012年所发生的各种重大事件以及思维变化过程。

“天哪，现在该怎么办？”

Kaz Hirai（from gamesindustry）

这是索尼首席执行官Kaz Hirai（前Sony Computer Entertainment America负责人）在《华尔街日报》中谈论自己在接管索尼后所遭遇的巨大损失时所说到的。完整的句子是：“一开始我认为拯救PlayStation业务将是我的职业生涯中所面临的最大挑战，但是事实却不是如此。因为在此之后又出现了一个又一个复杂问题。所以我才有‘天哪，现在该怎么办’的想法。”尽管在那之后索尼的财政状况得到了缓解，但是该公司仍希望发展成为有利可图的综合企业。

“我们必须终止超暴力内容，不应该继续迷恋它们。”

Warren Spector（from gamesindustry）

这是传奇游戏设计师Warren Spector在谈论今年的E3大会，以及他在会上所看到的大量暴力游戏及其图像质量时所说到的。直到今日，像《使命召唤：黑色行动II》和《光晕4》等硬核游戏的销量仍然主导着主机游戏排行榜。尽管在过去几年里，在线游戏和手机游戏已经将更多人带进了游戏领域（主要是一些非暴力休闲游戏），但是许多以制作非暴力游戏为主的公司，如Zynga也开始转向开发“中核”游戏，甚至是一些硬核游戏（也就是开始呈现更加暴力的内容）。所以这一问题很难得到解决。

“任天堂将成为主要的软件公司。”

Bing Gordon（from gamesindustry）

这是风险投资公司Kleiner Perkins的合作人，同时也是艺电和Zynga的董事会成员Bing Gordon在谈及自己对于游戏市场及其未来发展的看法时所提到的。他认为《马里奥》游戏所依托的硬件设备发展并不乐观，并且专有游戏硬件市场的发展也变得更加坎坷。任天堂拒绝将自己的标志性品牌转移到像智能手机等硬件上，再加上Gordon所估计的Wii U糟糕的销售前景，任天堂必然需要面对像世嘉那样的衰败与改革。我们将在2013年验证Wii U的销量是否如Gordon所预测的那样。

“如果销售硬核游戏已成为必然，我们便会这么做。”

Gabe Newell（from gamesindustry）

这是Valve的首席执行官Gabe Newell在年初接受Penny Arcade（游戏邦注：一个在线游戏漫画资讯网站，主要关注视频游戏和视频游戏文化）访问时所提到的。Newell继续说道：“很明显这并不是我们所擅长的内容，但是如果启动这些项目的唯一方法便是开发并销售硬核游戏，我们也将会这么做。”随后还出现关于Valve将尝试主机类硬件等传言，而Newell也在最近的访问中暗示道，他们计划进军起居室PC。如果Valve将在2013年发展主机业务的话，那么当前的主机制造商们将会大受打击吧！

“我们将把uDraw作为通向未来数字化媒体的桥梁，它也是推动着我们取得更大飞跃的跳板。”

Brian Farrell（from gamesindustry）

THQ的首席执行官Brian Farrell于2012年的首次盈利电话会议中，在回答一位分析师的问题时便说到了这句话。在揭露了THQ于2011年最后一季度可怕的财政结果后，整个会议变得更加透明。2012年，THQ所面临的情形变得更加糟糕；在10月份召开的最后一季度盈利电话会议上，Farrell承认该公司正在解决财政问题，并表示THQ的未来已经变成了未知数。

“免费游戏不可能具有高质量。”

这是Namco Bandai Europe高级副总裁Oliver Comte在Cloud Gaming Europe大会上谈及为何廉价或免费游戏不利于游戏产业的发展时所谈到的。2012年年末，Namco也开始发行他们自己的免费游戏，如面向PS3的《机动战士高达》以及面向iOS的《骑士竞技场》。如此看来Comte该食言了。

“从长远角度看来，免费游戏市场仍将持续下去。”

这是Electronic Arts数字部执行副总裁Kristian Segerstrale在接受Oliver Comte的访问，并谈及游戏设计和盈利时所提到的。这是对于那些仍致力于在商店中销售游戏的公司的大胆陈述。尽管我们并不能明确这种情况是否真的会发生，或者何时会发生，但是可以肯定的是，艺电通过免费游戏所赚取的收益正在逐渐提高，该公司也宣称将把免费游戏服务Play4Free推广到其在线商店Origin中。

“我们通过盈利而雪耻。”

这是Kixeye首席执行官Will Harbin在阐述Kixeye是如何通过免费策略游戏盈利时的简要回答。比起休闲游戏，Kixeye的硬核社交游戏的日活跃用户每天能够为该公司生成更多利益。Kixeye已经创建了一个忠实的玩家基础，他们愿意，也时刻准备着为那些能够吸引自己的游戏而花钱。

“一款优秀的社交游戏便是莎士比亚般的存在。”

Mark Pincus（from gamesindustry）

这是Zynga的首席执行官马克·平克斯在接受GamesIndustry International访问时所提到的，紧接着该公司便公布了一些出人意料的结果，并且其股价开始急剧下跌，而公司高管也相继离开。平克斯想要传达的是，一款优秀的社交游戏应该提供给玩家更多不同类型的体验，但是考虑到Zynga在2012年所经历的各种变化，这句话也许变成“一家优秀的社交游戏公司才是莎士比亚般的存在”会更加合适。

“开发商与发行商之间的关系发生了彻底的改变。”

这是手机游戏开发商Appy Entertainment首席执行官Chris Ulm在与其它开发商讨论发行商在手机游戏市场中是否还能发挥功效时所提到的。许多手机游戏开发商都在逃离传统的游戏业务领域，并追求免费发行途径，即让他们可以无需与任何人协商游戏的市场营销方案而制作出优秀的游戏。但是似乎这只是一种短暂的幻想，很快便会出现新的发行商去应对这些手机开发商们。如今，越来越多手机游戏开发商们开始考虑放弃与发行商进行合作。到目前所出现的一些实例也证明了Ulm的看法是对的，并且发行商与开发商之间的关系将继续发生改变，我们将能在2013年看到更多变化。

“我们所获得的利润并不像制造法拉利跑车那样。我们的利润只能停留在游戏领域。”

Lorne Lanning（from gamesindustry）

这是Oddworld Inhabitants的首席执行官Lorne Lanning在抱怨主机游戏发行商的做法（导致自己离开了游戏业务）时所说到的。Lanning同时也提及了Electronic Arts尝试着收购其工作室的想法，并且明确地表示拒绝了对方。这便引出了下一句话的诞生。

“我们希望Lorne在游戏领域能够好自为之。”

这是Electronic Arts的公司发言人Jeff Brown对于Lorne Lanning诽谤艺电意图收购其公司的评价，并表示这种情况绝对不会发生。真相到底是什么我们并不清楚，但是我们希望看到Lanning和Brown能够在按次计费领域争论这一问题，而到了那时候，Xbox Live便迎来了发展机会。

“发生了什么？难道经典的主机游戏模式被彻底摧毁了？”

这是手机/社交游戏开发商Making Fun的首席执行官John Welch在谈论手机游戏和社交游戏对于游戏产业的影响时所提到的。Welch认为主机还能影响一代人，而在那之后这种模式便有可能逐渐被淘汰了。许多手机和社交游戏开发商都拥有这种想法，而他们中的许多人也都是主机游戏开发的过来人。他们看到了手机，社交和在线游戏的快速发展，以及主机逐渐没落的市场所存在的巨大商机（游戏邦注：如中国）。当然了，也并非所有人都做好抛弃主机业务的准备。

“主机并未死亡。”

这是DFC Intelligence的分析师David Cole在与游戏高管谈论全球游戏市场时所说到的。Cole指出，主机将有可能在2017年为游戏产业带来250亿美元的收益。尽管这一数值可能不到那一年全球游戏总收益的四分之一，但是游戏开发商们仍然不可低估这一数值。

“我很怕马上开始进行游戏营销。”

Seamus Blackley（from gamesindustry）

这是Xbox的联合创始人Seamus Blackley在与一屋子的游戏营销者谈论游戏产业的巨大变化时所说到的。Blackley解释道，因为过去的游戏营销都很俗套，即在杂志上刊登广告，执行零售推广，派送赠阅本等等；但是现在的游戏营销却拥有无数种选择，并且不存在永远合适的方法；每一种市场营销计划都能成为一个创意项目——如果你想这么做的话。

“老实说，游戏总是非常糟糕，难以达到开发者的预期设想。”

Randy Pitchford（from gamesindustry）

Gearbox Software的联合创始人兼首席执行官Randy Pitchford以此指出自己是受何种元素的激励而更加努力地制作游戏。Pitchford预见未来的游戏开发预算将达到数亿美元，并且他也渴望能够开发这种大规模的游戏。如果你的梦想是住在“骇客帝国”或“Holodeck”中，并在那里编写软件，那么现今的游戏肯定会让你失望。

“游戏是受热门度驱动的业务。如果有人否定了这一点，那必然是谎话。”

这是King.com的首席执行官Riccardo Zacconi在解释他们公司创造持久业务的策略时所说到的。因为热门度是必要元素，所以Zacconi认为他们必须创造出更多游戏，并从中找到一款最受欢迎的游戏。King.com所创造的都是一些低预算的游戏，即由小团队花费1，2个月的时间开发而成的游戏。如果游戏能够吸引一名用户，那么该公司就会以此逐渐发展起来。结果证明这种策略是有效的——自从在Facebook上发行了第一款游戏以来（18个月），King.com便已经成为了排名第二的社交游戏公司。

“任天堂必须将《马里奥》游戏拓展到非任天堂设备上。”

东京证券分析师Nanako Imazu在任天堂公布其去年的巨大损失后发表了这一言论。其他分析师也呼吁任天堂将其标志性品牌转移到智能手机和平板电脑上，但是该公司似乎一直在抗拒这些建议。尽管在经历了惨淡的开始后，3DS游戏机取得了不错的销量，Wii U也迎来了一个不错的起点，但是现在去盘算今后一年里主机的发展还为时尚早。

“我认为没有什么比这么做更奇怪的了。”

这是Giant Bomb的主编Jeff Gerstmann在谈及重回GameSpot（他于2007年被该公司所解雇）时所发表的感想。这一问题中包含了游戏评论，编辑控制以及广告商的影响；而潜在的伦理问题也并未彻底从游戏产业中消失。

“游戏媒体中缺少最根本的职业道德。”

GamesIndustry.biz的前任编辑Rob Fahey在关于游戏公司对于游戏新闻记者的普遍影响的专栏中提到了这点。游戏的评论质量问题已经屡见不鲜，评论者间所存在的偏见也总是会被游戏公司及其PR摆平。随着游戏产业的改变，游戏媒体也必须发生改变，而我们也仍需要定期审视这些基本的道德问题。

（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）

Word of Mouth: The Top Quotes of 2012

By Steve Peterson

The industry had no shortage of interesting comments this year; here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the bizarre

It’s not at all a coincidence that many of the game industry’s leading figures are also outspoken, and given to dramatic turns of phrase. Sometimes a phrase is memorable because it’s so wrong in retrospect; sometimes a quotation is prescient, and sometimes the words just seem to perfectly capture the essence of the subject.

GamesIndustry International’s staff has selected the top twenty quotes of 2012 from among the thousands that appeared in the articles we published this year. Some are funny; some are sad; some may appear stunningly wrong. In all cases we’ve provided some context and a link to the original article containing the quote. Additionally, where appropriate we’ve added some information about where the quote (and the quote-maker) stand now.

This series of quotations provides an interesting way to review the major events, memes, and thought processes that occurred in this tumultuous 2012.

“Holy shit, now what?”

Kaz Hirai, the CEO of Sony (and formerly, head of Sony Computer Entertainment America) said this to The Wall Street Journal about the challenges facing him in dealing with Sony’s enormous losses after he took over as CEO. The full quote: “I thought turning around the PlayStation business was going to be the toughest challenge of my career, but I guess not. It’s one issue after another. I feel like ‘Holy shit, now what?’” Sony’s financial position has improved since then, but the company is still trying to reshape itself into a profitable collection of businesses.

“The ultraviolence has to stop. We have to stop loving it.”

Warren Spector, legendary game designer, talking about his impressions of this year’s E3 and the quantity and graphic quality of violent games he saw there. So far, sales of hardcore fragfests like Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Halo 4 are still dominating the charts in the console business. Online and mobile games have introduced everyone to games in the last few years, mostly with non-violent casual titles. However, many companies that made the fortunes on such nonviolent games, like Zynga, have been busy announcing development of “midcore” and even hardcore games, which quite probably means more violent content. This issue is far from settled.

“Nintendo’s on track to become primarily a software company.”

Bing Gordon, partner in venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, veteran of EA and Zynga board member, talked frankly about his view of the game market and its future. His view of the house that Mario built is not a rosy one, and he sees the market for dedicated game hardware getting tougher. Nintendo’s refusal to consider allowing any form of their iconic brands on hardware such as smartphones, and the poor sales prospects in Gordon’s view for the Wii U, will inevitably lead to a Sega-like decline and transformation of Nintendo. The sales of the Wii U in 2013 will go a long way towards showing if Gordon’s prediction is right or wrong.

“If we have to sell hardware we will.”

Gabe Newell, CEO of Valve, said this in an interview with Penny Arcade early in the year. Newell went on to say, “We have no reason to believe we’re any good at it, it’s more we think that we need to continue to have innovation and if the only way to get these kind of projects started is by us going and developing and selling the hardware directly then that’s what we’ll do.” Rumors continue to swirl about Valve’s entry into console-like hardware, fueled by interviews like this recent one where Newell hinted about their plans for a living room PC. Valve in the console business in 2013? That would certainly cause some wailing and gnashing of teeth at current console manufacturers.

“We were looking at uDraw as a bridge to the digital future, and it turned out to be a plank that we walked off of.”

Brian Farrell, CEO of THQ, said this during their first earnings call of 2012 in a response to an analyst question. It was a candid moment during a tense earnings call where THQ’s dreadful financial results for the last quarter of 2011 were revealed. The news has gotten progressively worse for THQ this year; at the last earnings call in October, Farrell revealed that the company was looking for financing (and/or a sale) and that there would be no more guidance for future quarters, since THQ’s future has become so uncertain.

“Free-to-play games can’t be high quality.” – Oliver Comte, Senior Vice President for Namco Bandai Europe, said this while speaking at the Cloud Gaming Europe conference. His talk was an explanation of why cheap or free games are bad for the game industry. Later in the year, Namco began releasing its own free-to-play games, like Mobile Suit Gundam on the PS3 and Knights Arena on iOS. Perhaps Comte would like to buy those words back for a few game credits.

“In the long term the market is entirely free-to-play.” – Kristian Segerstrale, EVP of digital at Electronic Arts, took the precisely opposite point of view to Oliver Comte when talking about where games are headed with design and monetization. This is a bold statement for a company that still derives the majority of its revenue from games that you buy in a store. Will this actually happen, and when would it occur? There’s no way to know for sure, but EA’s revenue from free-to-play games is growing strongly, and the company just announced it’s folding its Play4Free gaming hub into its Origin digital distribution service.

“We monetize revenge.” – Will Harbin, the CEO of Kixeye, putting into a pithy statement exactly how Kixeye monetizes its free-to-play strategy games. Kixeye’s hard-core social games generate much more money per daily active user than casual games. Kixeye has built a devoted fan base ready, willing, and able to spend money to hit back after someone hits them.

“A great social game is Shakespearean.”

Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga, said this in an interview with GamesIndustry International right before the company reported unexpectedly poor results, following which its stock dropped sharply and company execs started leaving in packs. Pincus was talking about how he thinks great social games should offer more than one type of experience for players, but the quote takes on new meaning given the dramatic events Zynga has undergone this year. Perhaps he meant, “A great social game company is Shakespearean?”

“The relationship between developer and publisher has changed forever.” – Chris Ulm, the CEO of mobile developer Appy Entertainment said this while discussing with other developers whether publishers serve a purpose in the mobile market. Many mobile developers are refugees from the more traditional side of the game business, seeking a publisher-free paradise where developers can make great games without ever having to argue with someone in marketing. Alas, it seems to be that this was a short-lived dream at best, and a new breed of publishers have arisen to work with mobile developers. More and more mobile developers are finding it worthwhile to consider giving up some of their revenue to a publisher. Events so far have been proving Ulm correct, though, in that the relationship between publishers and developers continues to evolve, and 2013 will likely see more changes.

“You won’t be seeing our profit being spent on Ferraris and shit like that. Our profits are going back into games.”

Lorne Lanning, CEO of Oddworld Inhabitants, gave a lengthy interview in which he complained about the terrible practices of console game publishers that lead him to leave the game business. Lanning also talked about an attempt by Electronic Arts to acquire his studio and how he profanely said no. This led directly to the next quote from Electronic Arts…

“We wish Lorne luck on the game and recommend Lithium for the paranoia and Tourette’s Syndrome.” – Jeff Brown, Electronic Arts corporate spokesman, commented on Lorne Lanning’s profanity-laced diatribe about how EA tried to buy his company, which EA says never happened. Where does the truth lie between these two very different stories? We don’t know, but we look forward to the chance to watch Lanning and Brown debate the issue on stage on pay-per-view. Xbox Live, here’s your traffic booster opportunity for the new year.

“What’s already happening… is the destruction of the classic game console model.” – John Welch, CEO of mobile/social developer Making Fun, said this while talking about the impact of mobile and social gaming on the game industry. Welch feels that the consoles have one more generation in them, and then the model will be more or less obsolete. This is not an uncommon view among mobile and social game developers, many of whom are veterans of the console business. They point to the rapid rise of other mobile, social and online games, and the amazing growth in game revenues from countries where consoles will most likely never appear (such as China). Of course, not everyone is ready to throw in the towel on the console business…

“Console is not dead.” – David Cole, analyst at DFC Intelligence, made this remark while talking with gaming execs about the global gaming market. Cole pointed out that consoles are projected to bring in $25 billion in revenue in 2017. That may be less than a quarter of the total global gaming revenue that year, but it’s still an amount of money worthy of significant investment in game development.

“I’d be terrified to be marketing games right now.”

Seamus Blackley, co-creator of the Xbox, said this while talking to a room full of game marketers about the huge changes in the game industry. Blackley said this because marketing games used to be so cut-and-dried: Put an ad in a few magazines, do a retail promotion, make sure the review copies are sent out, and you’re done. Now game marketing has countless options, and no clear playbook that always works; each marketing plan becomes a creative project in itself, if you want to do it right.

“Games suck, frankly. Compared to where they could be, all games suck.”

Randy Pitchford, co-founder and CEO of Gearbox Software, said this to point out what motivates him to work harder on games. Pitchford sees a future with game budgets that could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and he’s eager to be a part of game development on that scale. “Think about how crazy these simulations are going to get. And then someday we’ll be living in the Matrix, or the Holodeck, and I’m gonna be writing the software.” When that’s your dream, it’s easy to see how current games might be disappointing.

“Games are a hit-driven business. If someone else tells you something different, it’s a lie.” – Riccardo Zacconi, the CEO of King.com, said this while explaining his company’s strategy for creating a sustainable business. Since hits are necessary, Zacconi believes you must create many games to be sure of finding a game. King.com creates games for low budgets, using small teams that take a month or two for development. If the game attracts an audience, the company scales it up from there. The strategy appears to be working; King.com has become the #2 social game company 18 months since releasing its first game on Facebook.

“Nintendo has to let Mario games on non-Nintendo devices.” – Nanako Imazu, Tokyo stock analyst, said this after Nintendo announced its massive losses for last year. Other analysts have also called on Nintendo to put its iconic brands on smartphones and tablets, but the company has resisted all such advice. So far, the 3DS handheld has been selling well after a rough start; the Wii U is off to a good start, but it’s too early to tell how the console will fare in the years ahead.

“I don’t think it gets any weirder and cooler than this.” – Jeff Gerstmann, Editor-in-Chief of Giant Bomb, said this about his move back to GameSpot after having been fired by the company in 2007. The issue involved game reviews, editorial control and advertiser’s influence. The thorny ethical issues underlying this have not yet vanished from the industry, as Rob Fahey makes clear…

“There is a deep and fundamental lack of professional ethics in the games media.” – Rob Fahey, the former editor of GamesIndustry.biz, said this in his op-ed piece about the the pervasive influence of game companies on game journalists. The issue of review quality and potential bias among reviewers who are wined and dined by game companies and their PR reps has been around for decades, and it’s still not resolved. Game media is necessarily changing as the game industry changes, but these basic ethical issues will always need regular review.(source:gamesindustry)