下載《憤怒的小鳥》的25種方法
????在《憤怒的小鳥》(Angry Birds)的自然棲息地,也就是網絡世界,你不難找到他們,因為他們就像曼哈頓的鴿子一樣無處不在。 ????2009年12月,《憤怒的小鳥》作為iPhone應用面世。 至今,其下載量已達2億次(比三個月前報道的數字翻了一番)。所有新的智能手機中,30%都安裝了這款游戲。去年12月以來,已經有5,000多萬玩家購買了其惟一一款虛擬商品——“無敵神鷹”(即Mighty Eagle,它能清除整屏的敵人)。此外,該公司還售出了300萬只毛絨玩具。在中國,正迅速成長的“憤怒的小鳥”被視為比肩迪士尼(Disney)和Hello Kitty三大品牌之一。至于Rovio公司最得意的成就,當然得算傳聞中正在籌備的《憤怒的小鳥》電影版。 ????對于絕大部分應用開發商,乃至任何內容生產商而言,這樣的市場飽和度都是可望而不可及的。但是,Rovio公司真正的顧客對此卻不大了解。這倒不是因為他們忙著用彈弓發射小鳥,沒空關心這個。Rovio公司的天才之處在于,他們在各種平臺、以各種價位吸引各個年齡段、興趣或大或小的游戲玩家。Rovio通過引人入勝的游戲,使各類玩家都能輕松獲得令人愉快的用戶體驗,并借此證明了傳統媒體公司所畏懼的 “受眾分層”(audience fragmentation)不一定是個負擔,甚至可能變成一個優勢。 ????Rovio 公司特許經營部副總裁維勒?海杰瑞表示:“我們的業務完全是薄利多銷。舉例來說,我們在Android上發布免費版《憤怒的小鳥》,通過廣告獲利。” ????目前至少可通過25種不同辦法來獲得《憤怒的小鳥》。Rovio公司廣泛撒網,將產品發布到了各類平臺,其中包括:蘋果(Apple)的iPhone和iPad;谷歌(Google)的Android;各種各樣的“接口層”——不同運營商可以借此定制自己的“小鳥”;惠普的WebOS;諾基亞(Nokia)的塞班(Symbian),甚至在巴諾(Barnes & Noble)的Nook、索尼(Sony)的PSP(PlayStation Portable)和PlayStation 3上都能找到小鳥們的身影。 ????Rovio公司最近還發布了《憤怒的小鳥》的續作——《憤怒的小鳥之里約大冒險》,玩家們這次面對的敵人從洋洋得意的豬頭變成了小狨猴。Rovio提供了付費版、免費版、內置廣告版以及時令版和非時令版更新。事實上,《憤怒的小鳥》版本眾多和盈利渠道多樣,很難一一追蹤。以下我們列出了到目前為止有關《憤怒的小鳥》的所有版本及其衍生產品: 《憤怒的小鳥》 ????iPhone:0.99美元付費版和免費“精簡”版,后者可升級; ????Android:免費版,內置廣告; ????iPad:2.99美元付費版和免費“精簡”版,后者可升級; ????Mac:僅提供4.99美元付費版; ????Windows:“精簡版”,用戶支付4.95美元即可升級; ????Chrome:免費版; ????塞班:1.99美元付費版和免費“精簡”版,后者可升級; ????PSP:0.99美元付費版; ????PlayStation 3:0.99美元付費版; ????Nook Color:4.99美元付費版; ????WebOs:1.99美元付費版; ????虛擬商品:“無敵神鷹”,售價0.99美元; ????《憤怒的小鳥時令版》:包括萬圣節、圣誕節、情人節和復活節等更新; ????iPhone:0.99美元付費版和免費“精簡”版,后者可升級; ????Android:免費版,內置廣告; ????iPad:1.99美元付費版; ????塞班:1.99美元付費版和免費“精簡”版,后者可升級; 《憤怒的小鳥之里約大冒險》 ????iPhone:0.99美元付費版和免費“精簡”版,后者可升級; ????Android:通過亞馬遜(Amazon)發布的0.99美元付費版; ????iPad:2.99美元付費版和免費“精簡”版,后者可升級; ????Mac:僅提供4.99美元付費版; ????Windows:“精簡版”,用戶支付4.95美元即可升級; ????塞班:1.99美元付費版和免費“精簡”版,后者可升級; ????大事記:售出300萬只毛絨玩具,從4.99美元的小鳥填充玩具到35美元的iPhone保護套,應有盡有; ????壞小子存錢罐(Bad Piggy Bank):Rovio公司正在測試的一項基于短信服務的支付系統,用戶可以使用它支付游戲而無需注冊或使用信用卡。(游戲費用將計入用戶的月度賬單。) ????以上數據構成了一張錯綜復雜的營收方案,從表面上看,這些價格很是荒謬:例如,既然iPad版只要1.99美元,那么用戶為何要花4.99美元購買桌面版和Nook Color版?既然iPhone版的售價為0.99美元,那么為何Android版是免費的? ????Rovio公司首席營銷官,人稱“無敵神鷹”的皮特?韋斯特貝卡表示,產品定價很大程度上取決于應用程序商店里競爭的激烈程度,應用程序商店里的應用程序數量越多,價格就可能越便宜。這就是iPhone版售價為0.99美元,而即將在本月末上市的Windows Phone 7版售價大約定在2.99美元的原因。[截止到3月,蘋果宣稱其已擁有50萬款iOS應用程序,而微軟(Microsoft)僅僅擁有大約9,000款。] ????對于Android平臺而言,《憤怒的小鳥》自然有免費的理由。Rovio的業務部門花費了大量時間尋找在不同平臺發布游戲的最佳方法,該部門發現雖然付費內容在iPhone上運作良好,但在Android平臺上的表現卻差強人意,這就是他們最后選擇谷歌AdMob模式的原因。將溫和的廣告模式與Rovio公司利用智能手機的能力結合起來,這就是《憤怒的小鳥》大獲成功的原因,而Rovio公司利用智能手機的能力這一說法正是谷歌移動關系部主管克里斯?拉薩拉提出的。所以雖然Android版是免費的,但在很短時間里,Rovio公司就從中獲得了僅次于iPhone平臺的收入——每月進賬超過100萬美元。 ????Rovio公司的策略現已初見成效。雖然一些報道聲稱該公司從成立至今已取得超過7,000萬美元銷售收入,但實際情況并非如此。Rovio公司在2010年取得的收益要低于1,000萬美元,而2011年第一季度,公司收入攀升至2,000萬美元,但這些收入仍然要遠低于報道的數字。(韋斯特貝卡表示:“我們當時的重心并不是賺錢,而是切實提高品牌形象。”) ????從長遠來看,Rovio公司的收入還會顯著增加。該公司預計今年將取得7,200萬至1.43億美元收入,這一數字非常保守,根據最新公布的多款產品方案來看,此預期收入將會被輕松超過。Rovio公司剛剛公布與Roku達成價值數百萬美元的合作協議:《憤怒的小鳥》、《憤怒的小鳥時令版》和《憤怒的小鳥之里約大冒險》將會被預裝進機頂盒;還將開播一個專門頻道以用來播放相關動畫,Rovio剛剛收購的一家20人的動畫工作室將負責該工作。(雖然韋斯特貝卡不愿明確表態,但他表示如果熱議的《憤怒的小鳥》電影最終在內部完成制作,他不會對此感到意外。)此外,下列項目也正在進行之中:針對Facebook平臺開發的多人版《憤怒的小鳥》;支持近場通信功能(near-field communications)的塞班獨占版本,用戶只需將各自手機靠在一起就能解鎖新的關卡;兩款為中國市場量身打造的版本。 ????我們再來關注一下小鳥們的下一代全新版本:到2011年底,將有兩款新的《憤怒的小鳥》上市,其游戲方式將完全不同于現有版本,可能將包含地理定位等新功能,以便將玩家吸引到商店和餐廳等場所。韋斯特貝卡已承認公司正在進行這方面工作,以便為Rovio開拓新的生財之道。 ????風險投資公司Accel的合伙人里奇?王(Rich Wong)曾在今春主持該公司對Rovio的投資。他表示:“我們正在觀察,看看Rovio模式能夠發展到哪一步?這種模式又意味著什么?雖然現在為時尚早,但我認為,真正被消費者認可的品牌有能力以多種方式創收,而且將擁有漫長的生命周期。” ????因此,雖然Rovio的路還很長,但該公司自創建伊始,似乎就已經計劃好要將《憤怒的小鳥》“彈入”高收益、高增長的軌道,而要做到這一點,它只需確保游戲玩家在幾乎所有屏幕上都能玩這款游戲,用彈弓發射小鳥,擊倒小豬。 ????譯者:項航 |
????You don't have to try very hard to spot Angry Birds in their natural habitat -- online -- because they are as ubiquitous as a Manhattan pigeon. ????Since launching as an iPhone app in December 2009, the franchise has been downloaded 200 million times -- double the number reported just three months ago -- and is available on 30% of all new smart phones. Its sole virtual good, the "Mighty Eagle," which clears the entire screen of enemies, has been purchased by more than 50 million users since December; three million plush toys have been sold, and in China, the growing franchise is considered one of the top three brands alongside the likes of Disney and Hello Kitty. The feather in Rovio's cap? Talks of an Angry Birds movie, of course. ????It's the kind of market saturation most app makers -- content makers of any kind, really -- only dream of. But it's one largely invisible to Rovio's actual customers. That's not because they're too busy slinging birds across their screens to care. Rather, Rovio's genius has been to appeal to game players across a wide variety of platforms, demographics, price points and interest levels. By putting a fun user experience with arresting game play at easy reach to all manner of players, Rovio has shown how the audience fragmentation traditional media companies are fearful of can be turned from a liability to an asset. ????"Our business is very much based on volume, which makes for example distributing the Android version of the game free with advertising profitable," says Ville Heijari, Vice President of Franchise Development for the game maker. ????There are actually at least 25 different ways to get Angry Birds. Rovio has cast a net so wide it spans multiple platforms: Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and iPad, Google's (GOOG) Android and the multitude of "interface layers" each carrier uses to differentiate itself, Hewlett Packard's WebOS (HPQ), Nokia's (NOK) Symbian, even Barnes & Noble's (BKS) Nook and Sony's PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3. ????Then there's Angry Birds proper and the more recently-released Angry Birds Rio, which swaps out smug neon enemy swine for marmosets. There are paid, free, and ad-supported versions, seasonal and non-seasonal updates. In fact there are so many variations and revenue pipelines, it's hard to keep track. So here's a table of everything Angry Birds right now: Angry Birds ????iPhone -- a $ .99 paid version and a free "Lite" version you can upgrade ????Android -- free, ad-supported ????iPad -- a $2.99 paid version and a free "Lite" version you can upgrade ????Mac -- $4.99 paid version only ????Windows -- a "Lite" version you can upgrade for $4.95 ????Chrome -- free ????Symbian -- a $1.99 paid version and free "Lite" edition you can upgrade ????PlayStation Portable -- $.99 ????PlayStation 3 -- $ .99 ????Nook Color -- $4.99 ????WebOS -- a $1.99 paid version ????Virtual good: the "Mighty Eagle," for $ .99 ????Angry Birds: Seasons, with updates for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day and Easter ????iPhone -- a $ .99 paid version and a free "Lite" version you can upgrade ????Android -- free, ad-supported ????iPad -- a $1.99 paid version ????Symbian -- a $1.99 paid version and free "Lite" edition you can upgrade Angry Birds: Rio ????iPhone -- a $ .99 paid version and a free "Lite" version you can upgrade ????Android -- $. 99 via Amazon ????iPad -- a $2.99 paid version and a free "Lite" version you can upgrade ????Mac -- $4.99 paid version only ????Windows -- a "Lite" version you can upgrade for $4.95 ????Symbian -- a $1.99 paid version and free "Lite" edition you can upgrade ????Memorabilia -- The 3 million plush toys sold, from $4.99 stuffed birds to a $35 iPhone case. ????Bad Piggy Bank -- an SMS-based payment system the company is still testing that will make it possible for users to pay for games without the need to register or use a credit card. (The amount is just added to a mobile user's monthly bill.) ????The result is a Byzantine monetization scheme with price rungs that are nonsensical on the face: Why for instance pay $4.99 for the desktop and Nook Color editions when the the iPad version is $1.99? Why shell out $ .99 for the iPhone app when the Android one is free? ????According to Peter Vesterbacka, the company's Chief Marketing Officer or "Mighty Eagle," pricing is based largely on how competitive each app store is -- the more apps there are in a particular app store, the lower the price will probably be. Which is why the iPhone version goes for $ .99 while the Windows Phone 7 app will sell somewhere in the ballpark of $2.99 when it hits later this month. (As of March, Apple laid claim to 500,000 iOS apps, while Microsoft (MSFT) had some 9,000.) ????As for the Android app, there's a reason it's on the house. The company's business side, which spends a lot of time figuring out the best distribution models across platforms, figured out that while paid content worked for say, the iPhone, it hasn't taken off on Android, which is why they went the Google AdMob route. The coupling of unobtrusive ads with what Chris LaSala, Google Director of Mobile Partnership, describes as Rovio's ability to leverage the smartphone, is why Angry Birds is such a smash. That's why, despite the free download, the Android app rakes in more than $1 million in sales each month, second only to the iPhone version. ????That scheme is really just starting to pay off. Contrary to some reports that the company has already made over $70 million in sales since launch, that isn't the case. In 2010 the company made less than $10 million, and during the first quarter of 2011, the franchise brought in only $20 million -- well short of the reported amount. ("Our concern wasn't making money then, but focusing on really improving the brand," says Vesterbacka.) ????But moving forward, those numbers should climb significantly. Rovio expects to make between $72 million and $143 million this year, a very conservative estimate the company implies could easily be surpassed based on the number of products in their pipeline, including a just-announced multi-million dollar partnership with Roku where Angry Birds, Seasons, and Rio will come pre-installed on set-top boxes and a dedicated channel that will air animated shorts from the company's just-acquired 20-person animation studio. (Though he won't confirm it, Vesterbacka says he wouldn't be surprised if the much-talked about Angry Birds movie is developed in-house, as a result.) Also in the works: a Facebook-friendly multiplayer-focused version of the game for Facebook, a Symbian-exclusive version with near-field communications (NFC) -- which will give players the ability to unlock new stages by simply tapping devices together -- and two heavily-customized versions of the games for the Chinese market. ????And look out for an entirely new breed of annoyed avian: By the end of 2011, there will be two new Angry Birds entries sporting gameplay entirely unlike the current crop, possibly including features like geolocation, which Vesterbacka admits the company is tinkering with, to draw foot traffic to stores and restaurants -- opening up yet another revenue stream for Rovio. ????"I think we're learning how far this can go, and what all the contours can mean," says Rich Wong, a partner with Accel who led the venture capital firm's investment in Rovio this past spring. "It's still very early days, but I would simply say that brands that become authentic consumer franchises can be monetized in a very broad range of ways and have very long lives." ????So while it's still early going for Rovio, the company from day one seems to have created a gameplan to slingshot Angry Birds into profitability and growth, all by making sure gamers can slingshot birds into pigs (or marmosets) on nearly any screen they can find. |