化為六月息

-----【譯文初稿】-----

遊戲產業界年度盛會E3展 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) 今年在洛杉磯 (Los Angeles) 盛大舉辦，面對銷售額減少以及經濟衰退的衝擊，勢必將影響該產業未來的發展。

由任天堂公司 (Nintendo) 所推出的遊戲機Wii，在一系列以體適能作為訴求的遊戲軟體，以及遊戲主機降價的推波助瀾下，展位上擠滿了排隊人潮，成為這次E3展眾所注目的焦點。

儘管美國當地經濟萎縮、失業率高升，分析師指出，在今年三月底完結的財政年度，遊戲產業的銷售總額高達二百八十七億美元，提高了百分之十三，領先電影業的二百七十億美元。

美國互動藝術科學學會 (the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences) 的主席喬瑟夫‧歐林 (Joseph Olin) 表示，遊戲產業將隨著市場變化而進行調整。面對玩家在消費前會精打細算，有別於以往的隨性揮霍，特別是針對價格高達五百美元的遊戲主機，以及定價六十美元的遊戲軟體，如何持續讓銷售額成長，將會是一大挑戰。

根據市場調查組織NPD的研究指出，美國電動遊戲的銷售額，繼三月份下滑二十三個百分點後，四月份仍持續下跌達十七個百分點。不過要說是衰退，其實有點扭曲事實，因為在去年的同期，有兩個重量級的遊戲大作同時推出。別急著為遊戲產業哀嚎，把眼光放在全球，連同硬體在內，預估今年全世界遊戲產業的銷售額會達到九百八十億美元，而到2010年時更會高達一千一百億美元。

除了美商藝電 (Electronic Arts Inc)、艾提視 (Activision Blizzard Inc) 與 Take-Two (Take-Two Interactive Software Inc) 端出許多遊戲新作來吸引電玩迷的目光之外，由索尼公司 (Sony) 推出的最新攜帶型掌上電玩〝PSP GO〞，以及由微軟公司 (Microsoft Corp) 推出搭配Xbox 360 的遙感操控配件，更讓電玩迷興奮不已。

索尼公司的公共關係經理表示，PSP GO將會吸引熱中於科技新玩樣的消費者，他說：「很多消費者，尤其是遊戲玩家，特別喜愛高科技產品，並且習慣花大把鈔票在數位媒體上，無論是電影、音樂或是照片，那麼遊戲也是一樣。我們相信PSP Go將會達成這個目標，因為它完全是個未內建光碟機的數位產品。」(show 9)

憑藉著已經熱賣超過五千萬台的Wii遊戲主機，任天堂最近幾年來稱霸遊戲市場，據說旗下頗受好評的遊戲，例如薩爾達傳說 (Zelda)、Wii Fit，以及由其它遊戲開發商所製作的遊戲軟體，都將會推出續作。

透過任天堂的經驗，電玩是可以超脫性別與年齡限制的，大家一起同樂。現在有更多的公司將顧客層鎖定在兒童，致力於開發容易上手的遊戲。像是迪斯尼旗下廣受歡迎的孟漢娜 (Hannah Montana) 與強那斯兄弟 (The Jonas Brothers)，都搖身一變，化身為任天堂攜帶型遊戲機DS的遊戲。

MTV音樂電視與哈莫尼克斯 (Harmonix) 攜手合作，打造出一款適合各年齡層玩家的遊戲。在這款遊戲中，玩家將可以扮演自己喜愛的披頭四樂團 (The Beatles) 成員，並且從彈奏披頭四經典樂曲中獲得樂趣。微軟公司為這款XBox 360的遊戲努力進行宣傳，而在遊戲記者招待會上，披頭四成員的保羅‧麥卡尼 (Paul McCartney) 與林哥史達 (Ringo Starr) 則是意外的現身。

別以為名流界只有披頭四出席了E3展，大導演史蒂芬‧史匹柏 (Steven Speilberg) 也在微軟Xbox 的展位上現身，並且與該公司的執行長對談，同時在台上順道宣傳他的最新遊戲作品《滑板傳奇 ─ 托尼‧霍克 (skateboarding legend Tony Hawk)》 與對應遊戲的操控器。

曾經吸引超過八萬人次入場參觀的E3展，在過去兩年來縮減規模，只允許五千人左右入場而已，希望藉此不僅能讓展場裡頭看起來比較沒有壓力，同時將焦點更聚焦於遊戲產業本身。不過這樣的想法被揚棄了，今年的E3展再次開放電玩迷入場參觀，預估參觀人數將高達四萬人。

 ※ 正式定稿與影像：「 新唐人電視台 ─ 娛樂新幹線 」

※ The original article was taken from Reuters Website.  ( 原文取自路透社網站 )




-----【原文對照】-----

INTRO:  E3, the video game convention, seen returning to glitz. The interactive videogame industry's biggest convention has convened in Los Angeles returning to its glitzy past with big presentations from industry giants like Microsoft and Sony.

STORY: The interactive videogame industry's biggest convention has convened in Los Angeles returning to its glitzy past, but on the heels of weak sales and the slumping economy, the future of this fun and games business is no laughing matter.

A wave of fitness games, an expanded lineup for Nintendo's popular Wii console and, possibly, hardware price cuts, are all expected to be major themes at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3.

To be sure, the industry is doing well, even as the economy shrinks and unemployment in the United States swells. Analysts have pegged videogame sales for the fiscal year ending in March at $28.7 billion, up 13 percent, and bigger than the $27 billion movie business.

The president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Joseph Olin says that the gaming industry will adapt to the changing market. The challenge is to keep growing as consumers think twice about discretionary spending, particularly on game consoles that cost up to $500 and top games priced at about $60.

April U.S. sales of videogames fell 17 percent, after sliding 23 percent in March, according to research group NPD. The decline is somewhat skewed by a tough comparison, since two of the biggest games of 2008 were launched at the same time one year ago. But don't cry for the industry, whose global sales – including hardware -- could top $98 billion this year and $110 billion in 2010.

In addition to a host of new videogames from the likes of Electronic Arts Inc, Activision Blizzard Inc, and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc, the crowd of 40,000 game enthusiasts were treated to an updated portable game player -- call "PSP GO" -- from Sony, and an accessory for Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 that senses motion similar to remotes made for Nintendo's Wii remotes, allowing people to play controller-free.

Al de Leon, a public relations manager at Sony, said that the PSP Go will appeal to the people who love getting their hands on the latest gadget. "A lot of the consumers, particularly gamers, are on the cutting edge of technology and they're used to consuming digital media whether it's movies or music or photos," said de Leon. "So games is really the next frontier for that. We believe PSP Go will get us there because it's a fully, 100 percent, digital product. No disc drive for the content." (show 9)

Nintendo, whose Wii console has sold more than 50 million units and dominated the market in recent years, is likely to unveil new versions of its own bankable franchises, including Zelda, and Wii Fit, as well as more games from third-party developers, and a new peripheral.

As Nintendo has shown, video games can appeal to all types of people. Many of the companies are cashing in on the youth market by creating easy-to-play games for kids. Disney's blockbuster franchises of Hannah Montana and The Jonas Brothers each have their own game made for Nintendo's portable player the DS.

MTV Games and Harmonix have teamed up to make a game that will likely appeal to all ages of gamers. The Beatles Rockband allows players to be their favorite Beatle and play dozens of classics Beatles songs. Microsoft pulled out all the stops to promote the new game for Xbox. The two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr made an appearance at the opening press conference.

The Beatles are not the only celebrities to attend E3. Steven Speilberg was touring the Microsoft XBox exhibit and speaking with the Microsoft Xbox CEO. Also on hand to promote his latest game and controller, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. He took the stage to demo his latest game.

The show, which once drew crowds estimated as big as 80,000, downsized to about 5,000 in the last two years, seeking a less stressful, more personal focus with industry insiders. The idea was a bust. This year the show was opened up to gaming fans once again. Crowds are expected to reach about 40,000.