育碧CEO：电子游戏为什么比好莱坞大片更吸引人？

    法国电子游戏制造商育碧（Ubisoft）如今已经成为了世界最大的第三方游戏公司之一。玩家们对这家公司的大作如《刺客信条》（Assassin’s Creed）、《孤岛惊魂》（Far Cry）及汤姆•克兰西冠名的系列游戏已经耳熟能详。而这家公司利用《疯兔》（Rabbids）和《舞力全开》（Just Dance）系列作品也成功吸引了广大人群的关注。

    根据韦德布什证券（Wedbush Securities）电子游戏分析师迈克尔•帕切特的说法，育碧的《刺客信条》系列每一部的销量都能超过1000万，而《孤岛惊魂》系列每一部销量则有600万到800万，《疯兔》系列游戏每一部通常也能卖出200万套以上，《舞力全开》系列的全球销量则接近5000万。

    育碧的开放世界式动作游戏《看门狗》（Watch Dogs）一经推出就立刻引起轰动，上市第一周就卖出了400多万套。游戏打造了一个虚拟的芝加哥，而育碧也打开了一个新的发展领域。

    育碧首席执行官兼共同创始人伊夫•吉列莫特说：“通过新一代游戏控制台，我们得以推出一些具有新鲜感的新品牌，这在业内是常有的事。通过《看门狗》，我们有了无缝的线下和线上游戏玩法，还能够让使用移动产品的玩家通过免费的移动端游戏与家用机玩家一起娱乐。我们在旧版的平台上发布游戏时，这些事都是我们几乎不敢想象的。”

    从2013年秋季起跳票多次的《看门狗》大获成功，也给了游戏业一个信号：不论何时，市场对于大作都具有强烈的渴望。目前，游戏业仍然把大部分鸿篇巨制挤在第四季度发布，试图利用热闹的假日购物季增加销量。

    吉列莫特说：“《看门狗》的成功证明，玩家在一年中的任何时候都是想玩游戏的，在不同的时间段给玩家们提供一些具有吸引力的玩法，这点十分重要。这种情况曾经发生过，如果大家还记得我们1999年6月发布的《车神》（Driver）的话。通过在每年的不同时间段发布游戏对游戏业有好处。”

    育碧今年6月9日至12日于洛杉矶举办的电子娱乐展览（E3游戏展）上展示了一系列新游戏。今年的第四季度假期中，这家公司将会发布新作。不过在2015年的每个季度，它也都会推出新产品。今年秋天最吸引人的作品是《刺客信条：大革命》（Assassin’s Creed Unity），玩家们将会深入法国大革命的事件中心。

    吉列莫特说：“《刺客信条》有意思的地方在于吗，这个系列会定期发布新作，拥有广大的全球玩家群体，这让我们有了许多创新的可能性。我们可以让许多不同的团队来协作开发新的创新元素，他们知道自己有资本冒险，因为他们固有的粉丝群体已经到了这个规模。”

    育碧还将在不久的将来继续推出汤姆•克兰西系列的游戏，比如《全境封锁》（The Division）。育碧最早与这位已故的作家合作，发布了《恐惧杀机》（The Sum of All Fears）和《幽灵行动》（Ghost Recon）等游戏，取得了初步的成功后，随后又拓展到原创游戏如《鹰击长空》（H.A.W.X.）和《止战之殇》（EndWar）。在E3上展出的汤姆•克兰西系列新作是《全境封锁》以及《彩虹六号：围攻》（Rainbow Six Siege）。

    吉列莫特说：“汤姆•克兰西真的是一个能够创造未来的人，因为他会花很多时间研究当下的局面，预测这些局面会对接下来发生的事情产生什么样的影响。大家在这些游戏中可以发现，能用一些新工具探寻不远的未来。这些工具在当今尚不存在，但通常是基于一些现有的雏形设计的，让人可以想象一下未来的世界将会是什么样子。”

    像《看门狗》一样，《全境封锁》和《刺客信条：大革命》都提供了开放式世界，让玩家们可以自行探索。

    吉列莫特称：“我们的目标是尽可能地利用新款游戏控制器和PC机的能力，营造开放式世界的体验。我们很擅于开发强大的游戏引擎来创造人们从未见过的高品质逼真世界。我们将技术的进步以及顾客接触互联网的程度前所未有这一现实结合了起来。”

    玩家们也变得更成熟了。根据游戏研究机构Entertainment Software Agency的调查，美国玩家的平均年龄是31岁，而最频繁地购买游戏的美国玩家平均年龄是35岁。这让育碧开始在《看门狗》中尝试政府窃听和高深的黑客技术这类主题，育碧还在《全境封锁》中引入了生物恐怖主义，在《刺客信条：大革命》讲述了法国大革命。

    吉列莫特说：“将电子游戏与好莱坞电影或其他媒体比较时，有一点十分重要。我们让玩家们能够散发出个人的光辉。对顾客而言，极具吸引力的一点在于，这些游戏并不单是讲述一个故事。你能感受到自己的经历，而不是那些好莱坞导演的经历。这个特质将会使电子游戏业吸引到越来越多的人。”

    在即将于今年11月发布的游戏《疯兔入侵：互动电视剧》（Rabbids Invasion: The Interactive TV Show）中，育碧将好莱坞元素与游戏结合在了一起。吉列莫特表示，去年秋天发布的《疯兔入侵》电脑动画片已经被全球超过3亿观众通过Nickelodeon等频道观看。育碧挑选了剧中20段情节，通过Xbox Kinect和PlayStation Camera在其中加入了多人互动玩法。

    吉列莫特说：“比起电影，电视剧甚至更接近于电子游戏，因为电视剧可以有好几季，从而提供更长时间的娱乐体验。当某款电子游戏不再流行，电视剧还在继续播出。《疯兔入侵》已经取得了很大的成功，成为了美国最好的5部少儿电视剧之一，在许多国家风靡一时。我们已经着手制作第二季，这个系列的作品会延续很长一段时间。这将继续帮助我们建立跨媒体的品牌。”（财富中文网）

    译者：严匡正

    French video game publisher Ubisoft has emerged as one of the largest third-party game companies in the world today. Best known by gamers for hit franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and the Tom Clancy-branded games, the developer has also captured mainstream attention with its Rabbids and Just Dance titles.

    According to Wedbush Securities video game analyst Michael Pachter, Ubisoft consistently sells 10 million copies of each Assassin’s Creed game, while its Far Crytitles sell between 6 and 8 million copies and Rabbidsgames routinely sell over 2 million copies. Ubisoft’sJust Dance franchise is nearing global sales of 50 million copies.

    Ubisoft has an instant hit with its open world action game, Watch Dogs, which has already sold over 4 million copies in just its first week at retail. The game introduces a virtual world of Chicago and a new IP for Ubisoft to build from moving forward.

    “It’s been the case many times in the industry that new consoles have allowed us to launch new brands that bring something new,” said Yves Guillemot, CEO and co-founder of Ubisoft. “With Watch Dogs we have seamless offline and online gameplay and the ability to have mobile gamers play alongside console gamers with a free mobile game. These are things that we couldn’t even conceive when we launched games on the old platforms.”

    The success of Watch Dogs, which was delayed from a Fall 2013 release, also shows the industry that there’s an appetite for big games year-round. The game industry still weighs most of its big releases in the crowded Q4 release window as publishers try to capitalize on the busy holiday shopping season.

    “Watch Dogs’ success shows that gamers want to play all year long and it’s very important to give them something attractive to play at different time frames,” said Guillemot. “It’s something that happened in the past, if you remember Driver was launched in June 1999. The game industry can benefit from taking advantage of releasing games at different times in the year.”

    Ubisoft is using the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles June 9-12 to showcase its new lineup of games. The company will be releasing games this holiday, but also has games launching in each quarter through 2015. One of its big releases for this fall is Assassin’s Creed Unity, which puts gamers into the heart of the French Revolution.

    “What’s interesting with Assassin’s Creed is the fact that because it’s released on a regular basis and it has a global community, it’s a franchise that offers a lot of possibilities to innovate,” said Guillemot. “We can put lots of different teams working on new innovative elements, but they know they can take risks because they have that built-in fan base.”

    Ubisoft continues the Tom Clancy legacy with new games set in the near-future like Tom Clancy’s The Division. The company has had success first working directly with the late author on games like The Sum of All Fears, Ghost Recon and later expanding into original games like H.A.W.X. and EndWar. New Clancy games at E3 are The Division and Rainbow Six Siege.

    “Tom Clancy is really a man that was able to create the future because he spent a lot of time exploring current day situations and anticipating how those situations will impact what will happen next,” said Guillemot. “What you find in these games is the ability to explore the near future with new tools that are not yet available today but very often are based on prototypes that can give you an idea of what the world of tomorrow will be.”

    Like Watch Dogs, both The Division and Assassin’s Creed Unity offer gamers open worlds to explore on their own.

    “The goal is to use as much possible capacity from the new consoles and the PC to deliver open-world experiences,” said Guillemot. “We’re very good at creating game engines that are extremely powerful and that are helping to create worlds that are at a level of fidelity and quality that has never been seen before. We’re combining the improvement of technology with the fact that our customers are more connected now than ever before.”

    Gamers are also more sophisticated. According to the Entertainment Software Agency, the average American gamer is 31 and the average age of the most frequent U.S. game purchaser is 35. This has allowed Ubisoft to explore topics like government spying and the intricacies of hacking in Watch Dogs, as well as bio terrorism in The Division and the French Revolution in Assassin’s Creed Unity.

    “This is something that is very important when you compare video games to Hollywood or other media. We offer players the ability to shine as individuals,” said Guillemot. “What’s extremely attractive for consumers is that these games aren’t about one story. It’s really about living your experience, not the experience of one Hollywood director. That’s what is going to attract more people to the video game industry.”

    Ubisoft is blending Hollywood and gaming with its November release, Rabbids Invasion: The Interactive TV Show. Launched last Fall, Guillemot said the computer-animated TV show has been watched by over 300 million people worldwide through networks like Nickelodeon. Ubisoft is taking 20 episodes of the show and adding multiplayer interactivity through the Xbox Kinect and PlayStation Camera.

    “Television is even closer to video games than movies because it offers longer entertainment experiences through seasons, so it’s something that can live on at the same time the video game is out,” said Guillemot. “Rabbids has been a major success with the show being in the Top 5 in the U.S. for best TV series for kids and its popular in many countries. We’ve already signed on for Season two, and this series is going to continue for quite a while now. It will continue to help build the brand across media.”

    fine, again, under veteran COO Tim Cook. But the day will inevitably come when the board will have to a find a permanent replacement for their iconic leader.