作者：Mike Rose

在任何人都可以轻易自主发行游戏的手机游戏生态圈中，与发行商合作似乎是没有必要的。

然而，估然有许多大的手机游戏发行商主宰着应用商店的排行榜——那么，这些公司到底给开发者带来什么，使它们能在iOS和Android平台上获得如此惊人的成功？

Chillingo是EA的子公司，已经发行了大量知名游戏。例如《割绳子》、《Contre Jour》、《DrawRace 2》、《Anomaly Warzone Earth》和《Swords and Soldiers》等，均是以Chillingo的名义发行的。

Edward Rumley(from vimeo.com)

所以我向该公司的CCO Ed Rumley提出这个问题：既然自主发行已经是这么容易的事了，手机游戏开发者为什么还要和发行商合作？

Rumley回答道：“除了销售和营销方面，原因还有很多。我们不是单纯地把游戏从开发者手中拿过来，上传到应用商店……我们还要分配人力作为对开发者现有资源和技术的补充。”

这些人力包括制作人、图像美工、广告人员和营销经理等。“如果有必要，我们还要借助EA的更广大的资源。这确实是一个共享多年经验的问题。”

“在独立开发领域，每个人的想法都是不同的。有些开发者从一开始就很反对发行商的介入。可能是因为过去与发行商有过不愉快的合作。”

Rumley还敏锐地指出，自主发行和自主推广是不同的。

他解释道：“是的，你可以比较轻松地把游戏放到App Store或Google Play上，但光有下载量并不意味着游戏就成功了。我为独立自主发行的成功喝彩，但游戏行业的竞争是非常激烈的，有多少游戏能进入排行榜前100名，你可以自己算算。”

那些打算自主发行手机游戏的工作室必须有非常安全的策略，制作除了获得苹果或谷歌推荐的计划是必须的。这就是为什么Chillingo依赖它的游戏之间的跨平台营销和广告，而不是双手合十祈求App Store的青睐。

“这些事不是独立开发者能决定的。作为发行商，我们得说，我们的存在是为了增加游戏成功的机会。”

有些开发者非常反对与发行商合作，也许是因为介怀于过去与发行商的合作经历，或者因为他们想按自己的节奏做事、坚守自己的美学立场。

“发行商能做的最糟的事就是，签订一份不能带来价值的协议。基本上，我们是为开发者服务的，而他们并不为我们服务。”（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 the point of a mobile game publisher?

By Mike Rose

In a mobile ecosystem where anybody can easily self-publish a game for the world to download, there appears to be little point in asking a publisher to jump onboard with your project.

Yet there are still plenty of massive mobile game publishers who have multiple games in the App Store top rankings — so what exactly are these companies offering developers such that they can have such notable success on iOS, Android et al?

Chillingo, a subsidairy of Electronic Arts, has previously published plenty of notable titles. Cut the Rope, Contre Jour, DrawRace 2, Anomaly Warzone Earth and Swords and Soldiers have all been released under the Chillingo publishing banner, and gone on to receive reams of downloads.

So I put it to the company’s COO Ed Rumley — what’s the point of going with a publisher for your mobile game, when it’s so easy to self-publish on the various platforms?

“There are many reasons and they go beyond sales and marketing,” Rumley answers. “We don’t simply take a game from a developer and upload it to the App Store… we assign a team of people to complement the developer’s existing resource and skill set.”

This may include producers, graphic artists, advertising specialists and monetization managers, notes the Chillingo boss. “We also dip into the resource of the wider EA organization when necessary. It’s really a case of sharing our knowledge based on years of experience.”
“Everyone is different in the indie development scene. Some developers are flat out against the idea from the start. For some it’s based on past working relationships with publishers.”

Rumley is also keen to point out that there’s a big difference between self-publishing and self-distribution.

“Yes, you can get your game on the App Store or Google Play with relative ease, but simply hitting upload has next to no chance of making your game a success,” he notes. “I applaud indie self-publishing success, but it’s a competitive space and with 100 games in the top 100 games, you can do the math.”

Those studios that are planning to self-publish on mobile need a foolproof strategy, he reasons, and having a plan outside of being featured by Apple or Google is essential. This is why Chillingo relies on cross-platform marketing and advertising for its games, rather than crossing fingers and hoping the front page of the App Store beckons.

“These things are simply not an option for many indie developers,” he says. “We like to think we’re here to better the chances of success.”

Some developers are just flat out against the idea of having a publisher, he adds, perhaps based on past experience with publishers, or since they want to work at their own pace and follow their artistic vision more closely.

“The worst thing a publisher can do is enter into an agreement where they can’t bring value to the table,” he says. “Ultimately, we work for the developer: they don’t work for us.”(source:gamasutra)