任天堂爲何要進軍手遊市場

Since Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, Nintendo stock has dropped nearly 80 percent.

自蘋果2007年發佈iPhone以來，任天堂的股價下跌了近80%。

The Japanese game maker still dominates the portable video game market, thanks to its 3DS family of handheld devices. But it’s an admittedly huge piece of an otherwise shrinking pie that market researchers estimate will generate $4.1 billion in software revenue and $3.1 billion in hardware revenue this year.

憑藉3DS系列手持遊戲機，這家日本遊戲廠商仍然在便攜式遊戲機市場佔據統治地位。但無可否認，這一巨大利好正在逐漸縮水。市場研究人員預計，任天堂今年將從該市場獲得41億美元的軟件收入和31億美元的硬件收入。

The money is moving to those other handheld devices, of course—smartphones and tablets. By the end of 2015, eMarketer estimates there will be 1.91 billion smartphone users and 1 billion tablet users.

顯然，利潤正在流向其他手持設備——智能手機和平板電腦。網絡調研公司eMarketer預計，到2015年底，智能手機用戶將達到19.1億，平板電腦用戶也將達到10億。

Nintendo wants to tap into this growing market with its original game characters such as Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, Star Fox, and Kirby. Through a new partnership with Japanese mobile game publisher DeNA, it will design original games featuring Nintendo characters exclusively for smart devices.

任天堂希望憑藉公司獨創的遊戲人物，比如馬里奧（Mario）、林克（Link）、大金剛（Donkey Kong）、星際火狐（Star Fox）和星之卡比（Kirby），進入這個蓬勃發展的市場。通過與日本移動遊戲廠商DeNA合作，該公司將爲智能設備專門開發擁有任天堂遊戲人物的原創作品。

The move allows Nintendo to continue to deliver exclusive games featuring these characters for its own devices, while offering separate adventures designed for smart devices. Lewis Ward, video game analyst at IDC, predicts Nintendo mobile games could grow into Top 10 hits on the global games charts because the appeal of these characters is so strong.

憑藉這一舉動，任天堂不僅能夠開發面向智能設備的遊戲產品，還可以繼續爲該公司自身的遊戲機提供擁有這些人物的獨家遊戲。IDC公司的遊戲分析師劉易斯o沃德預計，由於這些遊戲人物的吸引力很強，任天堂的移動遊戲有望躋身全球遊戲前十強。

A Nintendo spokesman told Fortune: “We have the opportunity to reach hundreds of millions of people. As these consumers enjoy the unique kind of gameplay found only with Nintendo, they will have the opportunity to explore even more premium experiences on Nintendo’s dedicated video game platforms.”

任天堂發言人對《財富》表示：“我們有機會接觸到數億用戶。當這些顧客喜愛上任天堂獨一無二的遊戲玩法時，他們就會發現，只有在任天堂專有的電子遊戲平臺上纔有機會享受更優質的遊戲體驗。”

The Nintendo spokesman also said that even when the company uses the same intellectual property, the gaming experience will be different on Nintendo hardware and on smart devices. He added that if Nintendo and DeNA can provide Nintendo-like content on smart devices, Nintendo believes that it will be able to expand its business while keeping the value of its intellectual property intact.

這位發言人還表示，即便公司開發的是同一款遊戲，在任天堂遊戲機和智能設備上的遊戲體驗也有所不同。他補充道，任天堂相信，他們和DeNA如果在智能設備上提供類似任天堂遊戲的內容，就能拓寬業務範圍，也不會損害公司知識產權的價值。

“It took them a long time, but Nintendo finally realized that the $30 billion mobile gaming market in 2015 is too big to ignore,” said Peter Warman, analyst at video game research firm Newzoo. “Nintendo might even realize that the future is device-agnostic, and franchises will eventually be delivered to every screen through the cloud.”

電子遊戲研究公司Newzoo的分析師彼得o沃爾曼表示：“任天堂花了很長時間，終於意識到2015年規模300億美元的移動遊戲市場太大了，不容忽視。他們甚至還意識到，未來的遊戲不會受到設備的限制，其專有遊戲將會通過雲，傳遞到每一塊電子屏幕上。”

Warman said top mobile game franchises can generate over $1 billion. Nintendo’s strong franchises could be worth more than $2 billion in the mobile games market. With revenue growth rates for console games in single digits, the 22 percent compound annual growth rate seen in the mobile segment is an opportunity and a threat that Nintendo needed to address, added Tim Merel, managing director at Digi-Capital.

沃爾曼表示，頂級的移動遊戲專營權可以獲得10億美元以上的收入。任天堂的系列遊戲影響力強大，在移動遊戲市場價值會超過20億美元。市場研究公司Digi-Capital的董事總經理蒂姆o麥洛表示，任天堂在主機遊戲上的年增長率僅有個位數，對他們來說，移動遊戲領域整體22%的年增長率，既是需要把握的機遇，也是將要應對的挑戰。

The failure of the Wii U to compete with Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One may have played a significant role in Nintendo’s shift in thinking. At the same time, DeNA has focused recently on partnerships with companies such as Marvel for Marvel Mighty Heroes and Square Enix for Final Fantasy: Record Keeper.

在與索尼PlayStation 4和微軟Xbox One的競爭中，任天堂的Wii U遊戲機敗下陣來，這也許是促使該公司轉變思路的重要因素。與此同時，DeNA最近還與《漫威奇蹟英雄》系列遊戲的開發商漫威公司，以及《最終幻想：記憶水晶》的開發商的Square Enix展開合作。

“This is a partnership between two weakened parties, and this could prove to be beneficial for both,” Ward said. “DeNA’s home-grown games haven’t performed well so they’re now working with established brands through partnerships, and that poor performance over the last two years like gave Nintendo favorable terms for this relationship.”

沃德表示：“這是兩大弱勢方的一次合作，應該會獲得雙贏。DeNA的本土遊戲表現不佳，所以他們開始與那些知名廠商合作，而過去兩年的糟糕業績讓任天堂也有理由接受對方伸出的橄欖枝。”

As part of the new collaboration, Nintendo and DeNA invested $181 million in each other through a capital alliance. The companies will also develop and launch a new online membership service this fall that will be accessible from smart devices, PC and Nintendo systems like the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U.

作爲新合作的一部分，任天堂和DeNA通過資本聯盟，各爲對方投資了1.81億美元。雙方還將在今年秋天開發和推出一項新的網絡會員制服務，該服務橫跨智能設備、個人電腦和任天堂3DS、Wii U等任天堂產品。

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata also announced that the company is working on a new console, codenamed NX. He revealed no further details, but said that Nintendo is committed to continuing its hardware business.

任天堂公司總裁巖田聰還宣佈，公司將開發一款代號爲NX的新主機。他並未進一步公佈詳細情況，但表示任天堂將一如既往地開展硬件業務。

Ward noted that Wii U will have its strongest year yet in 2015 because of the strong lineup of exclusive franchise games like Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Mario Party 10 and The Legend of Zelda. It’s those characters and franchises that could connect with the more mainstream audiences that are spending more time playing games on tablets and smartphones than ever before.

沃德指出，憑藉《星之卡比：彩虹詛咒》、《馬里奧派對10》和《塞爾達傳說》等獨家遊戲，Wii U在2015年的表現將空前強勁。這些人物和遊戲將與那些花費更多時間在平板電腦和智能手機上娛樂的主流玩家，進行前所未有的親密接觸。