????證券公司Wedbush的游戲分析師邁克爾?帕切爾指出，《憤怒的小鳥》并不是游戲角色市場化的先行者,?！斑^去，這種情況通常發(fā)生在由游戲改編而成的電影身上,，例如《生化危機》（Resident Evil）,。”不過帕切爾所說的是傳統(tǒng)電子游戲,，所以史無前例的iPhone熱門游戲《憤怒的小鳥》風靡整個應用程序世界,、成為婦孺皆知的游戲形象后，我們將其當作這一市場的拓荒者也就不足為奇了,。（電影公司與角色市場化的關系歷史悠久,，通過授權，他們能從中攫取大量利潤,。）
????大型游戲開發(fā)者網站Gamasutra的編輯利?亞歷山大一語中的,，稱《憤怒的小鳥》是新潮流的引領者?！拔艺J為他們（ZeptoLab）一定是注意到了《憤怒的小鳥》的表現(xiàn),，然后開始思索：‘我們如何擴大這一品牌在眾多媒體的影響力？’我預計今后大部分游戲在設計的時候可能都會抱有這樣一種想法：制作一個形象鮮明的角色,，將其打造成大眾名人,。《割繩子》的游戲角色設計得非常細致,，經過了深思熟慮,，因為ZeptoLab的目的就是要打造一個長盛不衰的角色?！?/p>
????將Om Nom用到服裝,、玩具、商品以及其他許多游戲之外的東西上,，ZeptoLab可能使Om Nom存在曝光過度的風險,。帕切特認為，《割繩子》現(xiàn)在尚不存在該風險,，但他稱：“憤怒的小鳥的確存在該風險,。他們出現(xiàn)在滑稽廣告中，他們在一部名為里約的電影里亮相——他們無處不在,。而Om Nom并非如此,。”與此同時,，亞歷山大表示,，那些可想而知會被Om Nom泛濫成災惹惱的人可能不會在乎,。“真正玩游戲的人不會被主流商品影響,，”她說,。“而癡迷于這類應用的人則會買賬,。主流觀眾喜歡垃圾,。想想吧，那么多人在萬圣節(jié)扮作了憤怒的小鳥,。
????當被問及他們已經開始的進程是否借鑒了《憤怒的小鳥》,，利亞林十分謹慎。 “不完全是,，”他說,。“這種東西,，并非所有手機游戲都是一個套路。每款游戲都不盡相同,。人們一直在跟我們講：“嘿,，為什么你們不干脆學學憤怒的小鳥？但我們?yōu)槭裁匆龈麄兺耆嗤漠a品,？我們的品牌不同,。”沒錯,，他們品牌不同,，游戲也不同。但看起來他們建立的很多合作關系都是相似的,。事實可能會證明,，此舉相當明智。
????譯者：項航 |
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????Michael Pachter, a gaming analyst with Wedbush, points out that Angry Birds didn't invent the idea of marketing a game character: "Traditionally you see it most when they make a movie out of a game, like Resident Evil," he says. But that was a console game, and it's difficult not to think of Angry Birds -- still the most popular iPhone app ever -- as the originator when it comes to app-specific games and recognizable in-game characters. (Movie studios have also had a long, lucrative relationship with characters that could be turned into licensing cash machines.)
????Indeed, Leigh Alexander, Editor-at-large of game-developer web site Gamasutra, points directly to Angry Birds as the leader of a new trend. "I do think they [ZeptoLab] saw what Angry Birds was doing and thought, 'How can we leverage this brand across different media?' And I expect most games will now be designed with a view toward making an iconic character that can be made into a figure. That Cut the Rope character was developed very carefully and in a calculated way, with the intention of marketing it in the long term."
????By splashing Om Nom onto clothing, toys, merchandise, and many other things that are not games, the company may risk overexposure. Pachter doesn't believe Cut the Rope runs that risk yet, but says, "Angry Birds does. They're in pistachio ads, they had a Rio version with a movie—they're every place. These guys aren't." Alexander, meanwhile, says that the people who could conceivably be annoyed by seeing the character everywhere likely just won't care. "The people who play games seriously aren't going to be affected by mainstream merchandise," she says, "while the kind of people who get obsessed with such apps, they'll go for it. Mainstream audiences love garbage. Think of all the people who went as an Angry Bird for Halloween."
????Asked about whether Angry Birds has been a model for the process they've begun, Lyalin is cagey. "Yes and no," he says. "This stuff, it's not just like all mobile games do the same. Each one is different. And people tell us all the time, 'Oh, hey, why don't you just do what Angry Birds did,' but why would we do the exact same products as those guys did? We have a different brand." Indeed, they have a different brand and a different game. But it sure looks like many of the partnerships they're making are similar. And that might prove very wise. |
