[路透社新聞]《潛龍諜影4》會否為最後的獨占鉅作？

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"Metal Gear Solid 4" last of the great exclusives?
《潛龍諜影4》會否為最後的獨占鉅作？
By Kemp Powers
LOS ANGELES (Reuters)

"Metal Gear Solid 4" is not only one of the most eagerly awaited games for Sony's PlayStation 3, it is also among the last of a dying breed -- games designed exclusively for one gaming console.
《潛龍諜影4》不僅是PS3上最受期待的遊戲之一，也可能是一項逐漸消逝遊戲種類的最後血裔──專為特定主機而生獨佔作品。

Developed by Japan's Konami and due out next year, the game is the latest installment in the action series that produced smash hits for Sony's earlier PlayStation 2.
由日本Konami製作、即將在明年推出，本系列的前作在Sony上一代的PS2主機上，創下了巨大的銷售佳績。

It's a prime example of a game known in the industry as a "third party exclusive", as opposed to "first party" ones made by game-console makers Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.
這是遊戲產業中，「第三方獨佔作品」的最佳範例。相對的名詞，則是由主機製造商如Sony、微軟和任天堂自家推出的「第一方」作品。

For years, the console makers have sought to secure such exclusives as a way to drive adoption of their machines.
多年來，主機製造商都尋求這類獨佔作品，以拉抬主機銷量。

"We're telling our fans that if you want to play 'Metal Gear Solid 4', you have to buy a PS3," said Ryan Payton, the assistant producer of the game.
「我們告訴支持者，假如你要玩《潛龍諜影4》，你必須買PS3。」《潛龍諜影4》的助理製作人Ryan Payton說。

"The PlayStation brand has always been good to us, and we're pretty bullish on the PS3."
「PlayStation這品牌對我們而言一直是很優秀的，並且我們相當看好PS3。」

But soaring production costs mean it's tougher for third-party games to turn a profit if they are limited to just one console. That's especially true for the PS3, sales of which have lagged those of the Xbox 360 and Wii.
但高昂的開發費用，表示假如第三方遊戲只發行在一台主機上，將難以獲得利潤。這在主機銷量落後Xbox 360和Wii的PS3上，顯得特別真實。

Sony said it has been preparing for the demise of third-party exclusives for a long time.
Sony表示，他們已為第三方獨佔遊戲的消亡做了很久的準備。

"We understand publishers are needing to recoup their investment," said Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing for Sony. "From our perspective, as long as the games aren't going exclusive to other platforms, PS3 gamers are not actually losing anything."
「我們了解，發行商需要回收開發費用，」前任Sony市場部副總裁Peter Dille道，「以我們的觀點來看，只要遊戲不是變成其他主機獨占，PS3的玩家實際上並沒任何損失。」

Sony has compensated by ramping up its own game production and has 15 internal studios working on PlayStation titles, more than Microsoft and Nintendo combined, Dille said.
Dille表示，Sony的因應之道，就是增加本家遊戲的製作預算，並有多達15個自家工作室正製作PS3的遊戲，這比微軟和任天堂加起來還多。

He added that there will be 15 PS3 exclusives released between September 2007 and April 2008.
他補充道，在2007年九月到2008年四月，將會推出15個PS3獨佔作品。

Payton said the new "Metal Gear Solid" needs to sell over a million copies on the first day it goes on sale due to its costly production, but that may be a tough mark to hit given sluggish PS3 sales.
Payton表示，《潛龍諜影》的新作首日銷量必須超過百萬，才能應付龐大的開銷費用，但在PS3銷售不振的情況下，這將是艱難的目標。

As of October, only 2 million PS3s had been sold in the United States, compared to 5.2 million Wii consoles from rival Nintendo and 7.2 million Xbox 360s from Microsoft, according to market research firm NPD.
根據NPD的市場調查，到十月為止，PS3在美國只銷售了200萬台，而其競爭對手任天堂的WII則銷售了520萬台，微軟的XBOX 360則為720萬台。

A year after its release, only two PS3 games have sold more than 1 million copies, a benchmark of financial success for a big-budget game. The 7-year-old PlayStation 2 had nearly 100 games sell more than a million copies.
在主機推出一年後，只有兩款PS3遊戲，突破大製作遊戲市場成敗基準的百萬銷量。銷售七年的PS2上，有將近百款百萬銷售作品。

Top next-generation video games cost between $10 million and $50 million, according to IDC videogame analyst Billy Pidgeon. That means publishers must hedge their bets by going onto as many platforms as possible.
根據IDC遊戲分析師Billy Pidgeon的說法，次世代的頂級遊戲鉅作，開發費用在1000萬到5000萬美金之間。這表示發行商將盡可能推出跨平台作品，以減少風險。

"You might be able to weather one title coming in at 500,000 in sales," said Pidgeon. "But two or three failures like that and even big publishers are going to be hurting."
「若只有一個作品賣不到50萬，倒還能挺過去，」Pidgeon說，「但要是這樣的失敗來個兩三次，即使大規模的發行商都會受到重傷。」

Several former PlayStation exclusives, including "Grand Theft Auto," "Virtua Fighter" and "Devil May Cry," are now appearing on rival consoles, making the benefits of purchasing a PS3 questionable to some hard-core game buyers.
一些原為PS3獨占的遊戲，包括《橫行霸道》、《VR快打》以及《惡魔獵人》，如今皆已橫跨PS3的競爭平台，使部分核心玩家質疑購買PS3的好處何在。

Some people think even "MGS4" might not be compelling enough to turn the sales tide.
有些人士認為，即使《潛龍諜影4》，恐怕也無力引發銷售熱潮。

"No, 'Metal Gear Solid 4' isn't the killer app," said Adam Sessler, a video game critic on the G4 network. "People who already own a PS3 will likely get it. But it doesn't have that kind of broad-based appeal."
「不，《潛龍諜影4》並非殺手級軟體，」G4遊戲評論員Adam Sessler說道，「已有PS3的人很可能會買它，但它不具促進主機銷量的吸引力。」

Still, the iconic nature of the game combined with a cheap new PS3 model could boost sales when the game hits the market in the second quarter of 2008.
然而，身為標幟性作品，結合新推出的降價版PS3主機；當《潛龍諜影4》在2008年第二季推出時，仍可望增進主機銷售。

"There are definitely a lot of people still sitting on the fence about buying a PS3, and this game could be the one that gets them to buy it," Pidgeon said.
「絕對有很多人仍在觀望是否要買PS3，而本作能吸引他們前往購買。」Pidgeon如是說。