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分析赫尔辛基成为手机游戏之城的原因

发布时间:2013-03-12 10:59:05 Tags:,,,,

作者:Joseph Barron

芬兰不仅是Rovio及其大受欢迎的游戏《愤怒的小鸟》的家乡,同时在这个国家的首都(赫尔辛基)更是涌现出了许多有关手机领域的传奇(不只源自一家工作室)。

毫不夸张地说,如今世界上最受欢迎的手机游戏中便有多款是诞生于赫尔辛基。

毋庸置疑的是,Rovio的巨大成功激励了斯堪的纳维亚半岛上许许多多人开始追求自己的成功,除此之外还有什么原因是推动着芬兰这个国家孕育出如此多产业巨头和成功者?

历史上的赫尔辛基

总部位于赫尔辛基的公司Grand Cru(游戏邦注:具有许多产业的资深人士,致力于改变手机社交领域)正在面向手机平台开发《The Supernauts》。

该公司的首席执行官Markus Pasula(之前是RealNetworks旗下Mr Goodliving的开发部主管)相信赫尔辛基的游戏开发历史(结合像诺基亚等手机技术的开发)给当前的许多开发者带来了创造性灵感。

helsinkimap(from pocketgamer)

helsinkimap(from pocketgamer)

Pasula告诉我们:“赫尔辛基拥有许多包含创造性和技术能力的人才,并拥有许多具有很长开发历史的游戏公司。”

“多亏了一直以来游戏开发者所取得的巨大成功以及强大的手机(硬件)背景,在这里游戏被当成是一种合法的职业选择。虽然这里的开发社区可能小于其它地区,但这却能用友好,开放且具有支持性的环境进行弥补。”

“所有的芬兰人都能说得一口流利的英语,所以他们能够轻松地与国外合作者或专家进行交流。”

supernauts(from pocketgamer)

supernauts(from pocketgamer)

Pasula也指出,与芬兰人民的创造性同样重要的便是芬兰政府对于游戏产业的大力支持——而在英国有些开发者都是被白白埋没掉。

他补充道:“我们得到了许多支持——不管是来自芬兰政府还是TEKES机构(游戏邦注:芬兰技术和创造性基金资助机构)的投资。”

“从财政上来看,TEKES的自持对我们非常重要。它所提供的贷款金额甚至高于我们从个人投资者身上所获得的资金。TEKES意识到了芬兰游戏公司的成功,并希望能够看到更多成功者的出现。”

寒冷的气候

对于像Grand Cru这样的初创公司来说,赫尔辛基也会带来一些问题。

尽管这里也有许多小型工作室,但是赫尔辛基主要还是由两大手机工作室所主导着。

Pasula说道:“随着Rovio和Supercell的成功,以及一些同样获得成功的小型工作室和许多资金充裕的新人的到来,我们已经越来越难在这里找到最优秀的人才。”

“尽管许多国际专业人士是受到芬兰所提供的社交基础设置的诱惑,即拥有世界上最优秀的公立学校,5周的假期以及最完善的医疗保健制度,但是该地区漫长的寒冬也吓走了许多人。”

而Grey Area Labs的市场营销总监Eric Seufert便是一个无惧严寒的人。

来自美国德克萨斯州的Eric游遍了世界,希望能够成为游戏产业中最优秀的人才。

Seufert告诉我们:“赫尔辛基的人才脉扎得非常深,这也是吸引我选择这个拥有惩罚性税收系统和恶劣天气的城市的主要原因。”

“尽管我才20多岁,但是我喜欢能被光环笼罩,挑战自己的智力并创造出最尖端的游戏。而赫尔辛基便能够帮助我实现这些目标。想到赫尔辛基是诺基亚的老家,我便知道这个城市集中了世界上最优秀的手机应用开发者,更别提免费游戏专家了。”

“如果2013年最畅销的手机游戏中将会有20%至30%是来自这一城市,我也不会感到吃惊。”

如此高的手机专家集中率为该区域的所有公司创造了一个特有的网络支持,Grey Area Labs的首席执行官Ville Vesterinen相信这便是推动赫尔辛基游戏成功的关键。

Vesterinen说道:“在这里人们可以很轻松地与别人分享自己获得的内容。”

“这也是那些致力于游戏而非其它技术的专家们所强调的。因为游戏是这个城市的第一产业,所以这种精神自然会被放大化。当一家公司获得了成功时,他们便会与别人分享最佳实践,并帮助其它公司去获得比自己更大的成功。”

“人们并不相信这里存在零和竞赛,而赫尔辛基便将其展现出来。一个人的成功推动着下个人的成功便是最佳证据。”

Vseterinen相信,集合芬兰政府的支持,这种合作关系便是赫尔辛基游戏未来的保障。

他还补充道:“政府不仅会听取游戏开发者的看法,同时还会邀请我们一起计划下一步的发展。”

“他们也非常擅于使用自由市场信号去判断帮助方向,从而确保整体的经济能够获益。”

“这也是那些来自芬兰的公司们所不知道的强大优势。”

《愤怒的小鸟》所带来的影响

不可否认的是,Rovio是赫尔辛基最大的游戏公司,他们也依靠着《愤怒的小鸟》的经营权而拓展着更大的利益。

单在2012年的圣诞假期,这款游戏便获得了3千万次的下载量。

随后该公司还面向全球市场展开了更大规模的销售。Rovio是其它开发商的奋斗目标,而它便是诞生于赫尔辛基这座城市。

abspace(from pocketgamer)

abspace(from pocketgamer)

Sara Antila是Rovio的公关部主管。她告诉了我们该公司在获取成功后还继续坚守在芬兰的主要原因。

Antila说道:“Rovio的创始人之一Niklas Hed及其几个好友在2003年诺基亚和惠普所举办的手机游戏开发竞赛中获胜,并因此创建了Rovio的前身。”

“所以我们公司是建立在创始人的家乡,而对于高技术产业来说这也是一片资源丰富的土地。”

Antila认为,Rovio的成功进一步吸引了芬兰最高政府官员对于游戏公司的关注。

“芬兰政府和公众开始意识到游戏和娱乐产业在芬兰的崛起,随后政府和基金资助机构便开始支持各大初创企业的发展。”

“在芬兰,人人都知道Rovio的成功,包括政府。2011年Rovio的首席营销官Peter Vesterbacka受邀参加了每年总统所举办的‘独立日’接待,而最近我们也获得了总统所颁予的国际化奖。”

abspeakers(from pocketgamer)

abspeakers(from pocketgamer)

不像赫尔辛基其它成功的企业(游戏邦注:即满足于在当地获取利益),Rovio已经面向世界市场去拓展自己的业务。

“Rovio Entertainment最近分别在芬兰的其它城市,即Espoo和Tampere,以及瑞典的斯德哥尔摩等地方建立工作室。同样地我们在美国的圣塔莫妮卡以及中国上海都拥有自己的工作室。随着我们的游戏以及娱乐组合的不断发展,我们自然会扩大视野去寻求全球机遇。”

而现在的Rovio可能需要花些心思去应对赫尔辛基新出现的挑战者们,特别是那些学习了《愤怒的小鸟》机制的开发者们。

新的挑战

Boomlagoon是前Rovio员工联合创建的一家新工作室。

Tuomas Erikoinen是该工作室(游戏邦注:刚刚发行了第一款游戏《Noble Nutlings》)的创始人之一,他告诉我们,赫尔辛基能够带给初创公司一些特别的好处,包括即使未创造出成功游戏也不会遭遇失业风险。

Erikoinen说道:“创建一家公司便是我们的梦想。”

“尽管Rovio提供了许多职业前景,但是这与做自己的老板仍有区别。即使我们最终遭遇了失败,我们也只是会受点小伤,因为赫尔辛基的游戏产业仍提供了许多其它机遇。”

noblenutlings(from pocketgamer)

noblenutlings(from pocketgamer)

当地所云集的人才和投资者也让赫尔辛基成为了初创企业的最佳起点。

他补充道:“芬兰的游戏产业中挤满了那些想要创建自己企业的人——即使他们已经待在一间热门公司,所以你能够很轻松地在此找到愿意与你合作共创事业的人。”

“赫尔辛基吸引了越来越多国外的投资者的注意,而芬兰也成为了更多高质量且高盈利率游戏的主要产地。获得投资并不简单,但是如果是在一个备受瞩目的区域,情况也就不同了。”

其它特征

关于赫尔辛基特征的第二部分,我们将提及一家芬兰公司,即精通盈利“魔法”的Supercell。

该工作室的免费策略游戏《Clash of Clans》在最近几个月里完全主导着iOS畅销游戏排行榜单。

正是因为受到应用内部购买的推动,《Clash of Clans》才能取得如此出色的成绩。

clash of clans(from pocketgamer)

clash of clans(from pocketgamer)

最后,我们将着眼于赫尔辛基的另一家热门公司RedLynx。

这家公司是在其《Trials》系列于Xbox 360上大火时才开始尝试到成功的喜悦。从那时以来,RedLynx尝试着面向手机平台而创造了像《Draw Race》(将《Trials》与物理学联系起来,并使用它去创造定制的智能手机游戏体验)等游戏。

而当主机发行商在不断挣扎并面临着越来越多工作室倒闭的情况时,Red Lynx发现自己成为了法国巨头公司育碧的收购对象。而他们也开始思考,此次收购是能够保障自己的未来,还是创造出全新的挑战?

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

Global Game: How Helsinki became the mobile industry’s hit factory

by Joseph Barron

Finland: The home of Rovio and its all conquering Angry Birds, but also, within the country’s capital, a hive of mobile mastery that extends far beyond just one studio.

Indeed, it’s no exaggeration to say that some of the most prominent titles sitting on smartphones around the globe right now were born in Helsinki.

Undoubtedly, Rovio’s irritable avians have helped inspire scores of Scandinavian success stories, but what is it about this fine Finnish city that breeds some of the industry’s biggest and best?

In the latest of our series looking at mobile development hotspots around the globe, we take a closer look at the city that spawned arguably the biggest gaming brand in the world right now and, in all likelihood, might just create several more.

Historic Helsinki

Grand Cru – a Helsinki-based outfit mainly staffed by veterans intent on changing the mobile social scene – is currently developing The Supernauts for mobile.

CEO Markus Pasula, who was previously head of development at RealNetworks’ Mr Goodliving, believes that the history of game development in Helsinki – combined with the development of mobile technology from the likes of Nokia – has inspired much of the creativity which is seen in the Finnish capital today.

“Helsinki offers a unique mix of creative and tech talent and has a long history of producing great gaming companies,” Pasula told us.

“Here ‘gaming’ is seen as a very legitimate career choice thanks to our long history of successful game developers and strong mobile [hardware] background. The development community is of course smaller than in some other places but it compensates by being very friendly, open and supportive.

“All Finns speak very good English so it is easy for ex-pats and international professionals to join in on the fun.”

As well as the creative benefits of locating in Helsinki, Pasula also points out that the Finnish government has been highly supportive of the games industry – something many developers believe has long been missing in the UK.

“We have got plenty of support – both from the Finnish government and its investment agency TEKES – the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation,” he added.

“Financially the support from TEKES has been very significant for us. The amount of approved grants and loans is slightly higher than our funding from private investors. TEKES is well aware of the success of Finnish game companies and is looking forward to seeing more.”

Staying out of the cold

For a relatively new start-up like Grand Cru, Helsinki can also create some problems.

While there are lots of small studios in the area, the city is dominated by two massive mobile studios…a that’s all before you even consider the harsh Finnish climate.

Pasula elaborates, “With the great success of Rovio and Supercell – as well as a slew of smaller yet very successful studios and many exciting and well-funded up-and-comers, it is getting increasingly competitive to find the very best talent,” he said.

“While many international professionals are attracted to the social infrastructure Finland offers with the world’s best public schools, five weeks holiday and great healthcare, but the long winters scare some people away.”

One man not scared off by the cold – or the tax, for that matter – is Eric Seufert, head of marketing at Grey Area Labs.

Originally from Texas, Eric has traveled the world to be around the best talent in the industry.

“The talent vein in Helsinki runs deep, which is what attracted to me to live in a city with a punitive tax system and unfortunate weather,” Seufert told us.

“While I’m still in my 20s, I want to surround myself with the brightest, challenge myself intellectually, and build cutting-edge games. Helsinki is the best place to do those things at the moment. Given its connection to Nokia, Helsinki probably has the greatest concentration of mobile-centric developers in the world, not to mention free-to-play experts.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if 20 to 30 percent of 2013′s top grossing mobile games are being developed in Helsinki right now.”

This high concentration of mobile experts also creates a unique support network shared by all of the companies in the region, one which Grey Area Labs’ CEO, Ville Vesterinen, believes is key to Helsinki’s gaming success.

“The scene is super tight and people share what they learn with others,” said Vesterinen.

“This is emphasised by the density of people who work in games versus other tech. The spirit gets amplified because games is the #1 industry in town. When a company makes it, they share the best practices and help others get ahead with them.

“People don’t believe it’s a zero sum game and it shows. Success begets success to the whole scene.”

Combined with support from the Finnish Government, this collaboration is securing Helsinki’s gaming future, Vesterinen believes.

“Not only does the government listen to game developers, but they invite us to plan the next steps with them,” he added.

“They are also very smart in using the private market signals to understand where they should direct the help to get the best bang for their buck so that the whole economy benefits.

“This is a massive, yet very little known advantage for the companies who operate from Finland.”

The Angry Birds machine

Helsinki’s largest hit factory is, of course, Rovio, which continue to reap the massive rewards of the Angry Birds franchise.

During Christmas week alone in 2012, the game was downloaded 30 million times.

Then there is the extensive merchandising which reaches around the globe. Rovio is the target every other developer is chasing, and it all started in Helsinki.

Sara Antila is the communications lead at Rovio. She gave us some insight into why they chose to stick with Finland at a time when the studio’s success could have taken them anywhere in the world.

“Niklas Hed, one of the founders of Rovio, and a few of his friends won a mobile game development competition hosted by Nokia and HP in 2003, founded the precursor company of Rovio,” revealed Antila.

“Essentially the company was founded in the home turf of the people behind it, which also happens to be a rich ground for high technology industry. ”

Rovio’s success has brought even more attention to the games companies from Finland’s top government officials, said Sara.

“The Finnish Government and the public are aware of the rising game and entertainment industry in Finland, and there are certain governmental and foundation based funds used in giving a leg up for start-ups.

“The success story of Rovio is known to everybody in Finland, including the government. In 2011 the CMO of Rovio, Peter Vesterbacka, was invited to the yearly president’s Independence Day reception and recently we got an internationalisation award from the president.”

Unlike some of the other successful businesses in Helsinki who have chosen to keep their interests local, Rovio has been open to expanding to new premises around the world.

“Rovio Entertainment currently has studios in the Finnish cities of Espoo and Tampere, and also in Stockholm, Sweden. We also have offices in Santa Monica and Shanghai. As our games and entertainment portfolio keeps growing and gaining ground, we are of course keeping an eye open for opportunities across the globe.”

Perhaps though, Rovio may need to keep one eye on the new challengers springing up in Helsinki, especially those who learned their trade inside the Angry Birds machine.

A new challenger comes

Boomlagoon is a new studio, co-founded by three former Rovio employees.

Tuomas Erikoinen is one of the masterminds behind the studio which has just launched its first game, Noble Nutlings. He told us Helsinki has some unique benefits for games start-ups, including reduced a greatly reduced risk of ending up unemployed if things don’t work out.

“Starting a company has been our dream for a good while now,” said Erikoinen.

“Even though Rovio had lots of career possibilities, it still just isn’t the same as being your own boss and getting to do all the decisions by yourself. Even if we crash and burn, we only get minor scalds as Helsinki has lots of other opportunities to offer in the game industry.”

The local talent and investment also makes it a perfect place to start a new business.

“The Finnish game industry swarms with people wanting to come up with their own start-up, even if they already worked at a hit-factory, so it can be easier to get the right people to join,” he added.

“Helsinki attracts more and more attention from investors outside Finland as more high quality and well-monetised games come from here. It’s not always easy to get funding but a highly-buzzed-about location helps.”

Bonus features

In the second part of our Helsinki feature, we’ll speak to one of the Finnish companies which has mastered the black art of monetisation: Supercell.

The studio’s free-to-play strategy game, Clash of Clans, has completely dominated the iOS grossing charts in recent months.

Fueled by in-app purchases, said feat is made all the more impressive when you consider Clash of Clans has never reached the top spot in the iOS download charts in any major country. We’ll find out just how the studio pulled this off by tailoring their game to tablets.

Finally, in the last part of the series, we’ll look at another of Helsinki’s hottest properties, RedLynx.

The firm stormed to success when its Trials series found success on the Xbox 360. Since then, RedLynx has experimented with mobile, creating innovative titles like Draw Race – bringing Trials’ take on physics over and using it to create bespoke smartphone experiences.

However, at a time where console publishers are struggling and shutting down studios aplenty, Red Lynx found itself the target of French giant Ubisoft. Has its acquisition secured its future, or opened it up to a new kind of risk?(source:pocketgamer)


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