作者：Dean Takahashi

今年，GungHo Online Entertainment从默默无闻一跃成为手机游戏领域的重量级选手，主要是因为它的免费游戏《Puzzle & Dragons》大获成功了。这款游戏高居全球各大应用商店的收益排行榜长达数月；日均收益达到250万美元，下载量超过1100万。这款游戏的主要特色是将休闲游戏《宝石迷阵》的玩法与硬核RPG的玩法相结合。

5个月以前，GungHo的股票市值为2.8亿美元，现在这个数字涨到45亿美元了，超过Zynga的28亿美元。这家公司将成为日本电信行业巨头SoftBank控股的子公司（游戏邦注：由孙正义领导，而他的兄弟泰三则是GungHo董事长）。对玩家而言，GungHo的成功并不令人意外。有位女玩家告诉我，她已经在《Puzzle & Dragons》上花了300美元。

这款游戏的开发者只有6个人。

《Puzzle & Dragons》于去年春天发布，短短几天内就拿下日本的苹果应用商店排行榜的宝座，并且称霸至今。同时它也占领了Android应用排行榜，尽管实际下载量并不大。适时的电视广告更是助它成为日本最热门的游戏。GungHo的成功不是一夜神话，因为它已经在这个行业奋战不下十年了，也曾推出其他成功的游戏如《仙境传说OL》。这家公司旗下有多个工作室，现在有40名员工在负责《Puzzle & Dragons》的更新。

然而在美国，《Puzzle & Dragons》并没有那么热门。这款游戏的美国版发布于同年11月。根据App Annie的统计，它在美国苹果应用商店的收益排行榜名列第53名，而下载量排名是第874名。孙正义表示，这家公司在美国的市场营销上还没有投入，等到游戏的平均排行更靠前的时候再做打算。

同时，GungHo已收购《Lollipop Chainsaw》的制作公司Grasshopper Manufacture。这家公司是由传奇游戏设计师须田刚一创立的。他的名作包括《No More Heroes》和《Killer7》。这桩收购交易意味着GungHo有可能再次书写成功的神话。

上周，GamesBeat在旧金山游戏开发者大会上见到了GungHo首席执行官森下和树（Kazuki Morishita）。以下是具体采访内容：

其实在看到收益排行榜的结果以前，我还从来没有听说过您呢。你们是怎么成功的？你们的游戏怎么会变得这么热门？

GungHo成立于2002年，已经10多年了。我们主要从事PC、主机游戏开发，之后才做起手机游戏。也就是两年前我们才开始涉足手机游戏。

在《Puzzle & Dragons》以前，你们做了多少款手机游戏？

到目前为止，我们一共发布了10款手机游戏。其中5款是去年发布的。

为什么《Puzzle & Dragons》能变得这么热门？

运气好吧（笑）。我创立这家公司的时候才20多岁，那时候我真是事必躬亲。当时公司规模还小，所以可以自己监管创意、生产和开发。那时我们有一款非常大牌的游戏《仙境传说OL》，这是一款MMORPG。在那款游戏以后，我开始把注意力更多地放在商业方面。

几年以后，我们的游戏品质开始下滑，变得不太受欢迎了。3年以前，我决定改革，重新管理创意工作。我是GungHo总裁兼CEO，但同时我也是所有游戏的执行制作人。所有发行工作我都亲自动手。如果某款游戏达不到标准，我就有权把它退回去。在控制《Puzzle & Dragons》的品质方面，这是很有帮助的。

项目从开始到完成的过程是怎么样的？动用了多少人力？你什么时候发现它成功了？

《Puzzle & Dragons》的概念阶段开始于2011年8月或9月吧。在那时，卡片战斗游戏在日本已经很流行了，所以我觉得我们可以在那种类型中开发出一款新游戏。我个人认为大多数那类游戏都很糟糕。我不理解为什么还有那么多人在玩。我认为我们可以推陈出新，做出更有创意的东西。概念阶段开始一个月后，我们有了一些独特的成果。非常有趣的过程。

游戏开发没超过一年。发布后的第一个月，团队只有6、7人，不算插画师的话。现在团队成员差不多是40。

我们原本打算设计成让玩家水平持机玩的益智游戏。过了两三周后，我又觉得我们可以将益智游戏与其他元素相结合，于是我们开始更加专注于地下城RPG元素。就是这样，我们就把不同类型的游戏玩法融合在一起了。这是一个转折点，我们意识到这个创意大有前途。这基本上是偶然产生的想法，所以我说是我们成功是因为“运气好吧”。

老实说，我没有料到销售情况这么好。即使我知道这款游戏很好玩，也不能肯定它就能赚钱。但我现在有信心了，因为《Puzzle & Dragons》已经是世界上最吸引人最有趣的游戏了。

这款游戏在日本发布是什么时候？从发布到热门用了多长时间？

iOS版发布于2012年2月20日，只用了两三天便拿下收益排行榜的第一名。7个月后，我们发布了Android版。我们原本打算在所有平台同步发行，但那时人手不足，而且我们的开发经验主要是iOS。我们首先开发本土平台，等到人手足了，能熟练使用Unity了，我们才开始开发Android版。Android版大约用了1周半的时间冲到榜首。

当我们发布Android版时，也就是游戏两个平台都可以玩的时候，我们开始做营销工作。我们在日本的电视台上做广告，这对手机游戏来说可不常见，但我们对我们的游戏很有信心。直到广告播出，我们的游戏才被人们口口相传。

你们的团队现在还坚持更新游戏？

是的，现在有一半的人，也就是20人左右在负责游戏的运营和更新。

大多数游戏冲到排行榜第一名后都只能坚持几个星期，而这款游戏却坚持了这么久？它还破了其他记录吧？

两天前到现在，它仍是iOS排行榜上的第一名。一直没有下滑，Android版也一样。

你们什么时候开始受到像SoftBank这样的大公司的关注？经营上有没有什么大变动？

SoftBank其实也是GungHo的第一批投资者之一。他们在2002年时持有公司33%的股票，收购后增加了7%。至于GungHo的经营，一直没什么大变动。有些人卖了股票，Softbank就买了。

你们居然这么成功了，你是不是感到惊讶？

我没有觉得震惊也没有感到惊讶，有些人还觉得有些奇怪（笑）。我们只是埋头制作和开发新颖、有趣的游戏罢了。对于媒体的关注，我表示淡定。我们制作游戏的理念不会被改变。

《Puzzle & Dragons》在美国的表现不如在日本的好。你认为是什么原因导致的？你觉得怎么做才能让它在美国市场也更成功？

在日本，这款游戏发布于2月，而在美国，它直到11月才推出。日本版的成功占了天时地利。因为我们几天内就冲到排行榜榜首，所以很快也很容易开展营销工作。如果我们做大的营销活动的话，用户评价和排名一定会很高。另外，人们不会一看到产品就感兴趣。我们的想法是，为了得到比较高的用户评分，我们就要等——无论要等多久。这款游戏在苹果应用商店的平均评分是4.5，在Google Play的是4.1或4.2，所以我们不久后就会开始做营销活动了。

国家地理状况不同，这是影响游戏推广的另一个因素。国家大小有差，有些东西通过媒体在一个较小的国家如日本，可以很快传播开来；而在大一些的国家肯定会有时间上的延迟。

在我们开始投入市场营销以前，我们关注的另一件重要的事是，确保运营顺利。当玩家评价游戏时，我希望他们谈论的不只是游戏有趣的地方，还有在线支持和客服。对于需要不断更新的手机游戏，我们必须保证良好的运营工作。这可不同于一次性购买的游戏机游戏。

在GungHo，我们做PC网络游戏的在线客服和运营工作已经10年了。我们非常了解消费者想要什么，我认为那是《Puzzle & Dragons》能成功的部分原因。

游戏的赢利机制是什么？

至于赢利机制，有四个基本元素：一是玩家在“游戏结束”后还能继续玩。二是精力条，也就是玩家探索新的地下城时必须有足够的精力，因为玩家进入地下城会消耗精力，一段时间后才能重新补满。没有精力后，玩家就只能等待了。如果你想消除等待时间，你可以购买道具来补充精力。三是怪物宝盒，玩家可以用它收集更多怪物。因为宝盒空间有限，所以玩家要花钱扩充它。最后一个是摇蛋机制，你可以用它摇出在地下城中难以收集到的稀有怪物。

我们注意到，新玩家在死亡后会花更多钱买活。当玩家玩得更久后，他们就会想要更多稀有怪物，所以他们开始把钱主要花在摇蛋机制上。这种转变很有意思。

我们确保运气和个人水平提高之间的平衡。你玩得越久，你就越擅长地下城玩法，但那也要实现平衡。例如，在益智玩法上，当玩家匹配消除三个同色的魔法球后，会出现新魔法球。但你不知道新魔法球是什么颜色，所以运气仍然在起作用。消除的魔法球越多，惊喜就越多。

就游戏行业的现状方面，你觉得你们的成功说明了什么？

手机游戏方面，我认为在接下来的几年还将产生更多新玩家。手机游戏对非玩家来说是一个好的游戏切入口。对于长时间不玩游戏或从没玩游戏的人来说，手机游戏更容易上手。

我个人对主机游戏的喜爱超过手机游戏。二者相比，我觉得主机游戏是开胃菜，是主盘，而手机游戏更像零食或甜品。吃零食或甜品时，我可能会这里吃一口那里舔一下，而吃主菜时，我一定要坐下来慢慢品尝。当然，两类游戏各具优势，这不是哪种更有趣的问题。

在GungHo的发展方面，你们有何机遇？你计划扩充开发人员或收购更多工作室吗？是否想过进一步扩张？是否打算继续开发主机游戏？

主机游戏和手机游戏绝对是要两手一起抓。至于我们的业务范围，已经覆盖亚洲了，如台湾和香港地区，并且延伸到了欧洲和美国。在PC游戏方面，我们在67个国家都有发行游戏。我们还没有计算收购新工作室。

像《愤怒的小鸟》这类成功的游戏，它们的大问题总是成功能维持多久。你认为《Puzzle & Dragons》的热门能维持多久？Zynga因为一款《Draw Something》而在错误的时机收购了OMGPOP——刚买下工作室，《Draw Something》就人气下滑了。

对于Zynga，它很不幸在错误的时间收购了那家公司。运气不好。至于我们如何避免这个问题，首先，我对只为赚钱而收购工作室的做法不感兴趣。GungHo和Zynga的一个很大区别是，他们的CEO不做游戏。他们的心态跟我们是不一样的。我倒不认为他们有什么错，但我有自己的行事原则。

《Puzzle & Dragons》什么时候会推出自己的服装等周边产品？

其实我们已经开始运作了。（笑）我们有专门的商品项目，大约有100种吧。

手机短信平台是不是有很大影响，比如LINE？

我不认为他们在病毒性推广方面对我们有那么大的影响力。主要还是靠Facebook或Twitter。另外，在日本的列车上，你总是可以看到坐在你旁边的人正在玩游戏。你可能会好奇地问他们在玩什么。在学校，学生会在课间玩游戏和讨论游戏。这也是游戏推广的一大渠道吧。

那些手机短信网络如LINE确实做得非常好。你有没打算在其他游戏中开发那种功能？你认为那会不会成为一个庞大的渠道？

我们不打算使用或开发手机短信平台。我不喜欢跟风。（笑）

那看起来像轻游戏，不太硬核啊。

我认为轻应用或游戏也不一定不好，但必须有一些深度。我们在RPG和动作游戏方面经验丰富——毕竟我们过去10年都在做这类游戏，所以我们能够利用那些元素和我们的专业技术制作一些中等硬核的游戏。

你对游戏开发者有什么建议吗？

想靠游戏出人头地，你必须考虑你的时间、精力和资金等资源。任何行业都需要具备这些条件。但我想强调的一点是，首先牢记你为什么想开发游戏。对自己诚实。你应该喜欢自己的工作。如果你有任何怀疑或不确定的感觉，那么你就无法做出好游戏。（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）

How GungHo Online Entertainment created Puzzle & Dragons, the surprise billion-dollar mobile game

by Dean Takahashi

GungHo Online Entertainment has moved from obscurity to becoming one of the major players in mobile games this year thanks to the enormous success of its free-to-play Puzzle & Dragons game, which has dominated the top-grossing app store charts on a worldwide basis for months. It’s generating $2.5 million in revenue a day, with downloads above 11 million. It combines casual Bejeweled-like gameplay with a hardcore role-playing game.

Five months ago, GungHo’s stock was worth $280 million. Now its value is $4.5 billion, or more than Zynga ($2.8 billion). The company is about to become a majority-owned subsidiary of Japan’s telecommunications giant SoftBank, headed by Masayoshi Son, whose brother, Taizo, is chairman of GungHo. To players, that success isn’t a surprise. One woman, who shall remain nameless, told me she had spent more than $300 on the game.

A game built by just six people.

Puzzle & Dragons launched in the spring of last year, and it hit No. 1 on the Apple iTunes App Store in Japan on the top-grossing chart within a few days. It has been there ever since. It has also dominated the charts on Android, though the number of actual downloads has been small. A well-timed television commercial helped push it into the stratosphere in Japan. It’s not an overnight success story, as the company has been in business for more than a decade and it has created hits such as the Ragnarok Online game. The company operates multiple studios, and it now has more than 40 working on updates for Puzzle & Dragons.

In the U.S., however, Puzzle & Dragons isn’t as popular. Launched in November, the U.S. version is ranked at No. 53 on the Apple iTunes App Store in terms of top-grossing apps, and it is No. 874 in terms of downloads, according to App Annie. Morishita said the company hasn’t spent any money on marketing in the U.S., and it will wait to do so until it has higher average ratings for the game.

Meanwhile, GungHo acquired Grasshopper Manufacture, the maker of Lollipop Chainsaw. That company was founded by legendary game designer Goichi Suda, also known as Suda51. He made acclaimed games such as No More Heroes and Killer7. Such investments could improve the odds that GungHo will be more than a one-hit wonder.

We looked up Kazuki Morishita, the chief executive of GungHo, at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last week. Here’s our edited transcript of our interview with Morishita, who spoke through a translator.

GamesBeat: I had never heard of you guys until I started looking at some of the worldwide results of the top-grossing games. How did your success happen? How did your games become so popular?

Kazuki Morishita: GungHo was established back in 2002. It’s been more than 10 years. We specialized in PC and console games, so mobile was a later step. We only started there two years ago, and we’ve gone from there to lead the mobile space.

GamesBeat: How many mobile games had you done before Puzzle & Dragons?

Morishita: We’ve published a total of 10 mobile games so far. Five of those were in the past year.

GamesBeat: Why did this one become so popular?

Morishita: Good luck. [Laughs] I established the company when I was in my mid-20s, and back then I had a very hands-on approach. The company was smaller, so I could oversee all of the creative direction and production and development. We had a very big title in Ragnarok Online, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, and as the company grew from there, I focused more on the business aspect.

A couple of years into that, the quality of our games started slowly declining. They weren’t as well received by the public. Three years ago, I decided to change our business style and go back to taking charge of the creative direction. I’m president and CEO of GungHo, but at the same time I’m also executive producer of all games. I’m very hands-on with all these releases. If I have to push back certain games because they’re not up to standards, I can do that. That helped with Puzzle & Dragons when it came to controlling the level of quality.

GamesBeat: What was it like to begin that project and see it through to completion? How much time and how many people did it take? Was there a time when you knew you had a hit?

Morishita: The concept stage for Puzzle & Dragons started in August 2011 or September 2011. At the time, card battle games were really popular in Japan, so I thought we could come up with a new type of game in that genre. I personally thought most of the games there were crap. I couldn’t understand why they were such a big deal. I thought we could turn the genre upside-down and come up with something very innovative. A month after the concept stage got going, I knew we had something pretty special. It was a lot of fun.

Altogether it took a little less than half a year to make. The first month after release, the team was only six or seven people, not counting the illustrators. Right now we’re up to about 40.

Originally, the game was designed so that you could play the puzzle sideways. You held the screen horizontally. Then, two or three weeks later, I had the idea of moving it this way and making this part the puzzle, so we could focus more on the dungeon-RPG elements. By doing that, we were able to merge more genres together. That was a turning point, where we realized this was going somewhere. It was almost by chance, but that’s what I mean about good luck.

To be honest, I wasn’t anticipating the sales to be so high. Even though I knew we had something fun to play, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a moneymaker. But I’m confident now that Puzzle & Dragons is the most addictive and fun game in the world right now.

GamesBeat: What day did it launch in Japan? How quickly did it take off from there?

Morishita: The iOS version launched on February 20, 2012, and it was only two or three days before it became a top-grossing game in Japan. Seven months later we released the Android version. Originally, we wanted to do a simultaneous launch for all platforms, but at the time we were a little short-staffed and our people were more used to developing for iOS. We developed on the native platform first, and when we had more people who were comfortable working in Unity, that’s when we started on the Android version. Android took about a week and a half to reach No. 1.

When we launched the Android version, since the game was now available on both platforms, we did a new marketing push. We aired a TV spot in Japan, which isn’t very common for mobile games, but we were confident that we had something very strong. Up until that point, it was all word of mouth spreading the game.

GamesBeat: Is your team all working on continuous updates for the game now?

Morishita: Right now, about half of those people – around 20 – are working on updates and ongoing operations.

GamesBeat: Most games that hit No. 1 only stay there for a few weeks. This one has been there for how long? What are some of the other records you’ve set?

Morishita: From day two until now, we’ve stayed at number one on iOS. We’ve never dropped out. It’s the same with Android.

GamesBeat: When did the bigger companies start paying attention, like SoftBank? When did bigger things start to happen?

Morishita: SoftBank was actually one of the first investors in GungHo. They had 33 percent of stock in the company in 2002. When they bought an added 7 percent that just brought their share up. As far as the operation of GungHo, nothing has really changed. Some people just sold their shares and Softbank picked them up.

GamesBeat: Are you surprised at how successful you’ve become?

Morishita: I’m not shocked or surprised, and some people find that kind of strange. [Laughs] We’re just so focused on creating and developing the next new fun game. I’m very calm about all this media interest. It’s not going to change our philosophy about making games.

GamesBeat: Puzzle & Dragons hasn’t done quite as well here in the United States. Are there any reasons you think might explain that difference? Do you think there’s something you can do to make it more successful here?

Morishita: In Japan, the game came out in February. In the U.S., it didn’t come out until November. There’s that lead time that Japan had. Since we reached the top of the charts there in a matter of days, it was very easy to get started on marketing quickly. If we’re going to do any major marketing push, first the user reviews and ratings have to be high.

Otherwise people aren’t going to be interested when they go to see the product. Our thinking is that we’ll wait a while – however long it may take – for the reviews to be very positive. The game is already up to a 4.5 average on the App Store, and we’re at 4.1 or 4.2 on Google Play, so we’ll be ready to start soon.

Geography is another factor in play. The size of the country is so different. Something spreads through the media much quicker in a country like Japan. There’s a lot more lag from the time difference and the size difference over here.

Another important thing that we focus on before we spend a lot of money on marketing is to make sure that the operation is very smooth. When users review the game, I want the fun aspects of the game to be part of what they talk about, but also the online support and customer service. For mobile games that are constantly updating and doing events, we have to make sure the operations are perfect. It’s not like a console game that’s a one-time purchase.

At GungHo, we had 10 years of providing that kind of online customer service and operations on the PC side in our online games. We’re very familiar with what customers appreciate, and I think that’s part of why we were able to do so well in that regard with Puzzle & Dragons.

GamesBeat: What is it about the game that makes people spend more?

Morishita: As far as monetization, there are four basic things. One is the ability to continue after a “game over.” Another is the stamina bar, which is necessary to continue playing in newer dungeons. That depletes as you enter, and it recharges after a couple of minutes. Without that stamina, you have to wait. If you want to completely recharge, though, you can pay for it. Third, there’s something called the monster box, where people can collect more and more monsters. There’s a limit to that, so you can spend money to make it bigger. The last thing is the rare egg machine. You can spin that to get rare monsters that are more difficult to collect in the dungeons.

We notice that newer users to spend more money to continue playing after they die. Eventually, after they get more into the game, they start wanting more rare monsters, so they start spending on the rare egg machine instead. It’s interesting to see that shift.

We made sure that there’s a balance between luck and your own personal growth. You get better at the dungeons as you play, but that’s balanced well. In the puzzles, for example, when you match three orbs of the same color, it drops down and you get new orbs. But you don’t know what color those are going to be, so luck is still a factor. There’s always a chance of a surprise when you get some more combinations right away.

GamesBeat: What do you think your success tells us about the state of the game industry?

Morishita: When it comes to the mobile gaming market, I feel like it’s still going to grow and reach new users in the coming years. It’s a good entryway for nongamers. People who haven’t played games in a long time, or who never played games, it’s more accessible to them.

Personally, I still enjoy console games more than mobile games, but when I compare the two, I think console games are kind of like the entrée, the main dish. Mobile games are more like a snack or a dessert. I can just pop a bite in my mouth very quickly – one bite here, one bite there. For the main course you might have to sit down and take your time for an hour. But they’re both good. It’s not like one is more fun than the other.

GamesBeat: What kind of opportunities do you have for expansion at GungHo? Do you plan to add more developers or more studios? Are you thinking about expanding into new territories? Are you planning to stay with console games?

Morishita: GungHo will definitely keep on releasing console games as well as mobile. As far as territories that we’re working in, that already includes Asia – with countries like Taiwan and Hong Kong – as well as Europe and the U.S. As far as PC games, we’ve already released those in 67 countries. We don’t have any plans to acquire any new studios.

GamesBeat: Games like Angry Birds have been successful, but the big question has always been how long they’ll last. What do you think about how long Puzzle & Dragons will last? Zynga bought OMGPOP for Draw Something right at the wrong time – it bought the studio, and Draw Something fell off very quickly afterward.

Morishita: For Zynga, it’s unfortunate that they bought that company at the wrong time. It was bad luck. As far as how I think we can avoid that, first of all, I’m not interested in buying up companies that are doing well just for our benefit. The big difference when you compare GungHo and Zynga, their CEO isn’t a game creator. Their mindset is different. I don’t think their way is wrong, necessarily, but I have my own way of doing things.

GamesBeat: How long is it until we start to see Puzzle & Dragons get its own clothing line?

Morishita: We’ve actually already started. [Laughs] We have a dedicated merchandise business, with about 100 items.
GamesBeat: Have the mobile messaging platforms made a big difference, like LINE and the others?

Morishita: I don’t think they’ve had such a big influence on our viral growth. It was more based on Facebook or Twitter. Also, on the trains in Japan, you always see people playing games sitting next to you. You might be curious and ask them what they’re playing. At school students are playing between classes and they talk about it. That’s a big part of it.

GamesBeat: Those mobile messaging networks like LINE are doing really well. Is there a way for you to exploit that at all in other games? Do you expect that’s going to become a gigantic channel?

Morishita: We don’t plan on using or exploiting the popularity of mobile messaging platforms. I don’t like following other people’s trends. [Chuckles]

GamesBeat: Those seem like very lightweight games, too. They’re not core games.

Morishita: I don’t think lightweight apps or games are necessarily a bad thing. But they need to have some depth behind the casual ease of getting into them. We have an extensive knowledge of RPG and action games – we’ve been working on those for the last 10 years – so we’ve been able to add those elements and use that part of our background to create these sorts of mid-core games.

GamesBeat: Do you have any advice for aspiring game developers?

Morishita: It’s natural that if you want to make a living out of this, you have to think about your time, energy, money, and other resources. That’s all part of any business. But one thing I can say is remember why you wanted to be a creator in the first place. Don’t lie to yourself. You should enjoy what you’re doing. If you have any doubts or unclear feelings, you’re not going to make a good game.(source:venturebeat)