《泰坦陨落》有望助微软游戏机打赢翻身仗

    《泰坦陨落》(Titanfall)是2014年最值得期待的游戏之一。截至2013年年底，这款游戏已经获得了200,000套前期订货量。无论对于出版商美国艺电(Electronic Arts)和初创开发商重生娱乐工作室(Respawn Entertainment)，还是对于微软公司(Microsoft)来说，这都是一个好消息。微软拥有这款第一人称科幻射击游戏的独家发行权，即将推出这款游戏的PC、Xbox One和Xbox 360版本。

    大多数前期订单（约150,000套）预定的都是Xbox One版本，进而使得《泰坦陨落》成为一个杀手级应用。微软在下一代游戏硬件的战斗中一直在追赶索尼公司(Sony)的PlayStation 4。

    “《泰坦陨落》的开发团队在业界享有盛誉，拥有这样一款重量级游戏的独家发行权对微软意义重大，”Newzoo研究公司总裁彼得•沃曼说。“游戏玩家期待《泰坦陨落》能够在Xbox One上充分展现它在图形和游戏体验方面的潜力。”沃曼补充说，《泰坦陨落》也将与微软的硬件结合在一起，其中包括它的限量版品牌控制器及多种游戏和硬件包。

    韦德布什证券公司(Wedbush Securities)视频游戏业分析师迈克尔•帕切特说，与微软的交易其实让美国艺电放弃了一些潜在收益。他预测，这款游戏的PC、Xbox One和Xbox 360版本有望在全球卖出800万到1,000万套。但如果借助索尼游戏机发行的话，它的跨平台销量可能会超过1,200万到1,500万套。

    “选在春季推出这款游戏的确够精明，因为这个时候大型游戏发布市场恰好处在一个间歇期，《侠盗猎车手5》(Grand Theft Auto V )已经推出了足够长一段时间了，而此时距离美国动视(Activision)发布下一部《使命召唤》( Call of Duty)还早着呢，”帕切特说。“它将有助于销售。游戏业媒体，在一定程度上还包括游戏界，都对重生娱乐工作室偏爱有加，因为他们非常认可这帮打造出《使命召唤：现代战争》(Call of Duty Modern Warfare)的家伙。”

    虽然从技术角度来看，重生娱乐是一家初创开发商，但这支由文斯•赞佩拉和杰森•韦斯特组建的团队包括了他们以前的工作室Infinity Ward的主要成员。曾经开发出《使命召唤：现代战争》系列游戏的Infinity Ward于2002年被美国动视收购。《使命召唤：现代战争3》是韦斯特和赞佩拉在Infinity Ward指导开发的最后一款游戏，同时也是《使命召唤》系列游戏最成功的一部，游戏玩家给了它最高评级，它的全球销量也突破了3,000万套大关。

    “真正的游戏爱好者都知道重生娱乐是谁，而在更多的休闲玩家看来，在与美国动视进行的战争中，Infinity Ward是好人，”沃曼说。他所说的战争，指的是美国动视与韦斯特和赞佩拉之间多起最终在庭外和解的诉讼案。（美国动视向Infinity Ward的前员工和现员工总共支付了4,200万美元。）“这些人知道如何打造一款世界领先的游戏产品，如何维系玩家的忠诚度，把这些人招至麾下不啻为一个巨大的资产。重生娱乐是游戏业潮流的引领者，而不是跟随者。”

    Titanfall is one of the most anticipated games of 2014. By the end of 2013, the game already had 200,000 pre-orders. That's good news for publisher Electronic Arts (EA) and startup developer Respawn Entertainment. It's also great news for Microsoft (MSFT), which has the exclusive for this sci-fi first-person shooter that will ship across PC, Xbox One, and Xbox 360.

    The majority of those pre-orders (approximately 150,000) were for the Xbox One version of the game, which makes Titanfall a killer app as Microsoft tries to keep up with Sony's (SNE) PlayStation 4 in the next-gen hardware battle.

    "To have a huge new franchise like Titanfall developed by a team of the most-respected game developers as an exclusive is huge for Microsoft," said Peter Warman, president of research firm Newzoo. "Gamers are expecting Titanfall to showcase the potential of the Xbox One in terms of graphics and the gameplay experience." Warman adds that Titanfall is integrating with Microsoft hardware as well, with limited-edition branded controllers and a variety of game and hardware bundles.

    Michael Pachter, video game analyst at Wedbush Securities, says Electronic Arts is leaving some money on the table with the Microsoft exclusive. He forecasts the game will sell 8 to 10 million units worldwide across Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC. But if the game was released cross-platform on Sony consoles, sales would exceed 12 to 15 million units.

    "The spring launch is smart, since it comes right when there is a lull in big game releases, and it's long enough after GTA V [Grand Theft Auto] and long enough before Activision's (ATVI) Destinyand next Call of Duty," said Pachter. "That should help sales. The gaming press, and to some extent, the gaming community, loves Respawn as they recognize these guys made Call of Duty Modern Warfare."

    Although Respawn is technically a startup developer, the team that Vince Zampella and Jason West formed includes key members from their previous studio, Infinity Ward. That studio, which was acquired by Activision in 2002, created the Call of Duty Modern Warfare franchise. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the last game developed under the creative direction of West and Zampella, was the most successful Call of Duty ever, with the highest rating by gamers and sales of over 30 million copies worldwide for Activision.

    "True game enthusiasts know who Respawn is, and for more casual gamers Infinity Ward were the good guys in the fight with Activision," said Warman, referring to the multiple lawsuits that were filed between Activision and West and Zampella that were settled out of court. (Activision paid current and former Infinity Ward employees a total of $42 million.) "Having people on board that know how to build a world-leading franchise and maintain gamer loyalty is an enormous asset. Respawn sets trends rather than following them."