[Economist] 跳跃开始（二）

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跳跃开始

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The advent of“SuperMario Run” represents a huge change for the company. Five years ago Satoru Iwata, Nintendo’s late boss, warned that “Nintendo would cease to be Nintendo” if it went mobile. Until now it has clung to its “walled garden” model whereby its Mario games could be played only on Nintendo hardware, enticing players to buy its new consoles as well as the latest hit game.

“SuperMario Run”游戏的到来体现了任天堂公司的巨大变化。五年前，任天堂的上一位领导人岩田聪曾警告说如果任天堂进军手游业，那么“任天堂就不再是任天堂了”。直到现在任天堂仍然紧守它的“围墙花园”使得马里奥之类的的游戏只能在自家的硬件上才能玩到，以刺激玩家同时购买新主机和新的大作。

The problem is that these days, not even Mario, Zelda or Donkey Kong can shift enough of Nintendo’s underwhelming consoles. Sales of hardware, which have accounted for 50-60% of its revenue each year since 2005, are slumping. Nintendo’s first Wii, aimed at casual gamers, was the best-selling console of its generation. But its successor, the Wii U—pricey and poorly marketed when it was launched in 2012—was a flop. A big reason is that families and youngsters, its target market, were playing games on their parents’ tablets and smartphones instead. In contrast, Sony and Microsoft, which make the PS4 and the Xbox, respectively, target hard-core gamers. Nintendo reported annual losses in 2011-2013.

问题是在现今，即使是马里奥、塞尔达或者大金刚这些游戏也无法刺激任天堂低迷的主机销量。自从 2005 年以来硬件销售的收入占比可以达到 50% 到 60% ，但这种收入正在下跌。任天堂的第一代 Wii 主机，瞄准了休闲玩家，成为那一代主机中销量最高的。但是在 2012 年它的继任者 Wii U 发布时，高价和糟糕的市场营销使得其遭遇滑铁卢。一个重要的原因在于任天堂的目标群体，也就是家庭玩家和年轻人开始在父母的平板或者智能手机上玩游戏。相对的，索尼和微软发布的 PS4 和 Xbox 则分别瞄准了核心玩家。在 2011-2013 年间任天堂都在亏损。

Free-to-play smartphone games always seemed to Nintendo like junk food, says Mr Toto, next to the gourmet fare—its $200 consoles and $60 games. The standard “freemium” revenue model for mobile games relies on in-app purchases of virtual goods that enhance the game. This is unpalatable to Nintendo as a games firm selling to families because it could be seen as taking direct advantage of the addictive qualities of its products. It also worried that allowing third-party games developers to use its characters willy-nilly in simple mobile games early on would cheapen them. When some repeatedly suggested going mobile, Mr Miyamoto declined. He was the only one at the company that Mr Iwata could not overrule, says a Nintendo watcher at a bankin Tokyo.

免费的智能手机游戏在任天堂看来就是垃圾食物，Toto 先生说道，在他身边的是一份珍馐，价值 200 美元的主机和 60 美元的游戏。对于智能手机游戏而言，标准的免费游戏收入模式在于提升游戏体验的内购商品。这对任天堂这样一家以家庭为市场目标的游戏公司而言是不可接受的，因为这看起来就像是利用了他们游戏的易上瘾特点。同时，任天堂也担心允许第三方游戏开发商随意使用他们的游戏角色会使得游戏角色的价值受损。当不断有人提出开发手机游戏时，宫本先生拒绝了。东京的一个任天堂观察员表示：他是公司唯一一个岩田聪先生不能反对的人。