《割绳子》欲复制小鸟的疯狂

    证券公司Wedbush的游戏分析师迈克尔•帕切尔指出，《愤怒的小鸟》并不是游戏角色市场化的先行者。“过去，这种情况通常发生在由游戏改编而成的电影身上，例如《生化危机》（Resident Evil）。”不过帕切尔所说的是传统电子游戏，所以史无前例的iPhone热门游戏《愤怒的小鸟》风靡整个应用程序世界、成为妇孺皆知的游戏形象后，我们将其当作这一市场的拓荒者也就不足为奇了。（电影公司与角色市场化的关系历史悠久，通过授权，他们能从中攫取大量利润。）

    大型游戏开发者网站Gamasutra的编辑利•亚历山大一语中的，称《愤怒的小鸟》是新潮流的引领者。“我认为他们（ZeptoLab）一定是注意到了《愤怒的小鸟》的表现，然后开始思索：‘我们如何扩大这一品牌在众多媒体的影响力？’我预计今后大部分游戏在设计的时候可能都会抱有这样一种想法：制作一个形象鲜明的角色，将其打造成大众名人。《割绳子》的游戏角色设计得非常细致，经过了深思熟虑，因为ZeptoLab的目的就是要打造一个长盛不衰的角色。”

    将Om Nom用到服装、玩具、商品以及其他许多游戏之外的东西上，ZeptoLab可能使Om Nom存在曝光过度的风险。帕切特认为，《割绳子》现在尚不存在该风险，但他称：“愤怒的小鸟的确存在该风险。他们出现在滑稽广告中，他们在一部名为里约的电影里亮相——他们无处不在。而Om Nom并非如此。”与此同时，亚历山大表示，那些可想而知会被Om Nom泛滥成灾惹恼的人可能不会在乎。“真正玩游戏的人不会被主流商品影响，”她说。“而痴迷于这类应用的人则会买账。主流观众喜欢垃圾。想想吧，那么多人在万圣节扮作了愤怒的小鸟。

    当被问及他们已经开始的进程是否借鉴了《愤怒的小鸟》，利亚林十分谨慎。 “不完全是，”他说。“这种东西，并非所有手机游戏都是一个套路。每款游戏都不尽相同。人们一直在跟我们讲：“嘿，为什么你们不干脆学学愤怒的小鸟？但我们为什么要做跟他们完全相同的产品？我们的品牌不同。”没错，他们品牌不同，游戏也不同。但看起来他们建立的很多合作关系都是相似的。事实可能会证明，此举相当明智。

    译者：项航

    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.