????視頻游戲界正在醞釀一場戰(zhàn)爭。在上周一年一度的電子游戲盛會電子娛樂展（E3）上，微軟（Microsoft）和索尼（Sony）分別確認(rèn)年內(nèi)將推出新的游戲機(jī)產(chǎn)品，兩大廠商爭奪消費(fèi)者客廳的戰(zhàn)線已經(jīng)基本形成。

????微軟本周的參展以軟件為主。上個(gè)月微軟公司正式發(fā)布了Xbox One，這是微軟的第三款游戲機(jī)，也是八年來的第一款全新的游戲機(jī)。在一場簡單利落的媒體發(fā)布會上，微軟向我們展示了今年將發(fā)布的13款游戲，同時(shí)宣布，Xbox One將于11月21日以499美元的價(jià)格正式發(fā)售。

????隨著微軟上周一在洛杉磯召開的發(fā)布會順利閉幕，似乎微軟已經(jīng)先下一城。但是索尼隨后迅速發(fā)力，發(fā)布了一系列可以說是“必玩”的游戲。更重要的是，索尼公司宣布它的PlayStation4游戲機(jī)也將在今年圣誕假期期間發(fā)布，而售價(jià)將比微軟的新游戲機(jī)便宜100美元。因此索尼也很可能在雙方的對戰(zhàn)中拿下第一城。國際數(shù)據(jù)公司（IDC）的研究經(jīng)理路易斯?沃德說：“對于目前騎墻觀望的消費(fèi)者來說，100美元差價(jià)的影響力是非常大的。過去的經(jīng)驗(yàn)表明，一般的游戲機(jī)玩家并不想花太多的錢買游戲機(jī)，哪怕他們認(rèn)為一款游戲機(jī)真的很好。這兩臺游戲機(jī)的差價(jià)基本上可以買兩款游戲了?！?/p>

????雖然從現(xiàn)在到11月還很遠(yuǎn)，中間還可能發(fā)生很多事，但是這場硬件仗的獨(dú)特之處就在于，雖然這是索尼發(fā)布的第四款游戲，微軟發(fā)布的第三款，但是這兩家公司還從來沒有在同一個(gè)假日季里為爭奪新消費(fèi)者展開過正面交鋒。

????索尼在2000年發(fā)布了它的Play Station 2游戲機(jī)，整整一年后，微軟才發(fā)布了第一款Xbox，索尼在那一輪的競爭中獲勝。微軟對Xbox進(jìn)行了一番大修大改，于2005年推出了Xbox 360，索尼直到一年后才推出定價(jià)更高的Play Station 3。但是這一回，雙方在同一年里推出了新產(chǎn)品，只是微軟Xbox One的價(jià)格要更高，但是這對微軟可能是個(gè)不小的負(fù)擔(dān)。韋德布什證券公司（Wedbush Securities）私募集團(tuán)研究主任邁克爾?帕切指出：“100美元不是個(gè)小數(shù)目，微軟必須讓消費(fèi)者明白，他們的游戲機(jī)為什么比索尼的多值100美元。這個(gè)價(jià)格帶來的優(yōu)勢短期內(nèi)不會馬上顯現(xiàn)出來，因?yàn)橄M(fèi)者可能不會認(rèn)為，為了一個(gè)Skype功能就該多付100多美元?！?/p>

????按照雙方宣布的這個(gè)價(jià)格，我們幾乎可以肯定，兩家公司每賣出一臺游戲機(jī)差不多都是在賠錢。因?yàn)檫@兩家公司都采用的是“賠錢賣剃須刀，賺錢賣刀片”的模式，也就是說，游戲機(jī)稍微賠點(diǎn)錢賣出去，而利潤主要來自賣軟件的錢。這也是為什么兩家公司都分別推出了槍型附件和許多獨(dú)特的第一人稱視角游戲，而且還各自從主要的游戲合作伙伴那里引入了獨(dú)家的第三方游戲。BP研究公司游戲行業(yè)分析師比爾?皮吉昂說：“獨(dú)家游戲絕對是非常重要的。這些獨(dú)家游戲，包括第三方公司提供的獨(dú)家游戲，可以在競爭中起舉足輕重的作用?！?/p>

????盡管這兩家公司都想盡可能多地推出獨(dú)特的硬件配件，但是最重要的還是要看各自的安裝基數(shù)和軟件銷量。帕切說：“兩家公司都展示了優(yōu)秀的軟件，不過游戲機(jī)的銷量最終還是取決于軟件。對于兩家公司來說，重要的是要構(gòu)建一個(gè)巨大的用戶群來促進(jìn)他們的品牌，所以早期的銷量至關(guān)重要。這就是為什么定價(jià)很重要，除非微軟可以讓用戶相信，Xbox One的定價(jià)更高是有道理的，否則他們可能會失去一些市場份額?！?/p>

????上周的電子娛樂展上，索尼在媒體發(fā)布會上宣布了新游戲機(jī)的售價(jià)后，雙方的第一輪較量已見高下——至少是在口頭上。同時(shí)索尼北美電子娛樂公司總裁兼CEO杰克?特雷頓也宣布，將繼續(xù)支持舊游戲的銷售。這與微軟的營銷方式形成了鮮明的對比，因?yàn)槲④浶枰螒驒C(jī)一直聯(lián)網(wǎng)，而這可能會限制游戲的購買方式，使索尼在早期占據(jù)一定的優(yōu)勢。國際數(shù)據(jù)公司的沃德說：“微軟的舊游戲政策和需要聯(lián)網(wǎng)的限制可能導(dǎo)致索尼的最初銷量十分搶眼。但是這只是一場十年鏖戰(zhàn)的第一輪交鋒，所以即便索尼今年第四季度的銷量真的十分強(qiáng)勢，而且它真的采取了有利于玩家的舊游戲政策，未來依然存在很大變數(shù)。”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：樸成奎

????A big battle is brewing in the world of video games. The battlelines for the living room were drawn this week at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the annual trade show for all things video games, as Microsoft and Sony solidified their plans to introduce new consoles this year.

????Microsoft's (MSFT) presentation this week was all about software. Last month the company officially unveiled the Xbox One, its third console and the first all-new one in eight years. In a rapid-fire press conference, Microsoft offered a glimpse of 13 upcoming titles for the season and announced that the Xbox One will arrive on November 21 for $499.

????Following its Monday morning press conference in Los Angeles, it looked like it was score one for Microsoft, but then Sony (SNE) made quite the power play and introduced its own lineup of what could be "must play" games, and more importantly announced that the PlayStation 4 would also arrive this holiday season and for $100 less. That could be enough that Sony actually wins the first round. "For those sitting on the fence, $100 goes really far," says Lewis Ward, research manager for gaming at IDC. "Historical precedence suggests that the average console fan isn't willing to shell out a lot more money for a product, even one they think is great. That amount of money is essentially two games for free."

????While there is still a lot that can happen between now and November, what makes this particular hardware cycle unique is that, while this is the fourth system from Sony and third from Microsoft, the two companies have never tussled over new consumers during the same holiday season.

????Sony introduced its PlayStation 2 in 2000, a full year before the original Xbox came out, and in the end Sony won that round. Microsoft went for a "do-over" with the Xbox 360, which it introduced in 2005, in that case a full year before Sony released its pricier PlayStation 3. This time the two battle it out in the same year, and Microsoft has the more expensive system. That could be a serious cross to bear for the company this time. "$100 is a big deal, and Microsoft has to educate consumers about why their console is worth it," says Michael Pachter, head of research for the Private Shares Group at Wedbush Securities. "That value proposition isn't immediately apparent, as gamers don't appear convinced that having Skype is important enough to justify forking over $100 for the privilege."

????Even with the announced prices, it is all but a foregone conclusion that at launch both companies will actually lose money on every video game machine sold. With new systems, both companies will take the "razor and blade" model, where the system is sold at a slight loss and the profits come from selling the software. This could be why both companies also took out the big guns to show a slew of unique first-party titles (published respectively by Microsoft or Sony) and exclusive third-party games from key publishing parties. "The exclusive titles are absolutely important," says video game industry analyst Billy Pidgeon of BP Research. "Getting those exclusive titles, including third-part exclusives, can make the difference."

????While each company wants to move as many units of hardware as it can, the real key is getting an installed base and seeing software sales. In turn it is the software that also helps sell the system. "Both companies showed great software, (and) console sales ultimately depend on software," Pachter adds. "It is important for each to build a large community to promote their brands, so early sales are crucial. This is where pricing comes in, and unless Microsoft can sell the value proposition of the higher priced Xbox One, they may lose some share."

????At this week's E3, the gaming press declared a winner -- at least vocally -- at Sony's press conference when the price was announced, but also when Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, announced that Sony would continue to support the sale of used games. This is in stark contrast to Microsoft's announced approach, which could require an always-on connection to the Internet and which would limit how games could be traded in. That could also give Sony an early edge. "The used games and requiring the web connection could lead to Sony having a strong initial sales cycle," says IDC's Ward. "However, this is the first salvo in a 10-year war, so even if Sony has strong sales in the fourth quarter and a gamer friendly approach to used games, there is so much more that is going to happen."