为什么游戏要卖60美元？为什么电子游戏的价格一直不变？：英语精读讲义

In 1994, it cost around $2.49 to buy a 20 oz box of Oreo cookies.

1994年，买一盒20盎司的奥利奥饼干大约需要2.49美元。

In 2014, it cost around $4.49 to buy a 14 oz box of Oreo cookies.

到了2014年，买一盒14盎司的奥利奥饼干大约需要4.49美元。

Manufacturing one box of Oreo cookies hasn't necessarily gone up,

生产一盒奥利奥饼干的成本未必增加了，

but the rate of inflation has,

但通货膨胀率却上升了，

making a smaller box cost nearly twice as much as a larger box did 20 years prior. 語法

导致20年后，一盒更小的饼干价格几乎是原来大盒子的两倍。

But video games are a different story. 習語

但电子游戏的情况却截然不同。

Though the cost of developing them has risen considerably over that same period, 語法

尽管在同一时期，游戏的开发成本大幅上升，

the retail price has not.

但零售价格却并没有上涨。

And in some cases,

在某些情况下，

it's even dropped.

它的价格甚至下降了。

Why is that?

这是为什么呢？

That's the mystery we intend to solve in this episode of The Infographics Show.

这就是本期《The Infographics Show》我们要解开的谜团。

Why hasn't the price of video games changed?

为什么电子游戏的价格没有改变？

The first example of a game machine was unveiled by Dr. Edward U. Condon at the New York's World's Fair in 1940.

第一台游戏机的雏形是爱德华·U·康登博士在1940年纽约世博会上展示的。

The mathematical game was played by roughly 50,000 people

大约有5万人玩过这款数学游戏，

with the computer reportedly winning more than 90% of the games. 講解

据报道，计算机赢得了超过90%的对局。

The first game system designed for commercial home use was in the late 1960s 語法

第一台专为商业家用设计的游戏系统出现在20世纪60年代末，

when Ralph Baer and his team released his prototype,

当时拉尔夫·贝尔及其团队发布了他的原型机

the Brown Box,

“棕盒子”(Brown Box)，

a vacuum tube circuit that could be connected to a television set

这是一种可以连接到电视机的真空管电路，

allowing two users to control cubes that chased each other on the screen.

允许两名用户控制屏幕上互相追逐的方块。

But it wasn't until the 1970s that games became mainstream 語法

但直到20世纪70年代，游戏才成为主流，

when the first commercial arcade video game,

当时第一款商业街机电子游戏，

Computer Space by Nutting Associates,

Nutting Associates公司制作的《Computer Space》，

was introduced.

正式问世。

And in the same decade,

在同一个十年里，

Atari introduced Pong to the arcades.

雅达利(Atari)将《Pong》引入了街机厅。

A game that many who were born in Generation X will remember fondly,

许多X世代出生的人对这款游戏依然记忆犹新，

Pong is a table tennis sports game with simple two-dimensional graphics,

《Pong》是一款带有简单二维图形的乒乓球体育游戏，

and it quickly grew in popularity. 短語搭配

它很快就流行了起来。

It was the first commercially successful video game,

这是第一款获得商业成功的电子游戏，

and it helped to establish the video game industry

而它与第一台家用主机共同奠定了电子游戏产业的基础，

along with the first home console,

这台家用主机就是

the Magnavox Odyssey.

米罗华奥德赛(Magnavox Odyssey)。

Soon after its release,

在它发布后不久，

several companies began producing games that copied the layout of Pong's gameplay

几家公司开始制作模仿《Pong》玩法设计的游戏，

and went on to release new types of games. 短語搭配

并随后发布了新型游戏。

But back in 1976, 短語搭配

不过回望1976年，

of course, things were quite different and gaming was simple.

情况当然大不相同，当时的游戏很简单。

Pong was the height of at-home multiplayer gaming 用詞

《Pong》是家庭多人游戏的巅峰，

with only two dials, one button, and a switch.

它只有两个旋钮、一个按钮和一个开关。

And new, it cost nearly $100,

当时它的全新售价将近100美元，

which is enough to buy an Xbox 360 and a Nintendo Wii by today's dollars.

换算成今天的美元，这笔钱足以买下一台Xbox 360和一台任天堂Wii。

So what about the modern gaming era 表達脈絡

那么现代游戏时代

and the prices people paid to play?

以及人们为了玩游戏所支付的价格呢？

The 1990s were a decade of innovation in video gaming,

20世纪90年代是电子游戏创新的十年，

a transition from sprite-based graphics to full-fledged 3D graphics.

实现了从基于精灵图的图形向成熟3D图形的过渡。

It gave rise to several genres of video games including the first-person shooter, 短語搭配

它催生了多种类型的电子游戏，包括第一人称射击游戏、

real-time strategy, survival horror,

即时战略游戏、生存恐怖游戏，

and massively multiplayer online or MMO. 文化背景

以及大型多人在线游戏(MMO)。

Consoles went from fourth to fifth to sixth generation,

游戏主机从第四代、第五代发展到第六代，

CD-ROM technology was born with the Nintendo 64 being the last major home video game console to use ROM cartridges,

CD-ROM技术诞生，任天堂64(Nintendo 64)成为最后一款使用ROM卡带的主流家用游戏机，

and game controllers took on a new look with the Super NES controller 短語動詞

游戏控制器也焕然一新，Super NES控制器的出现，

introducing a more rounded dog-bone-like design and adding two more face buttons,

引入了更圆润的类似狗骨头的设计，并增加了两个面板按钮

X and Y, arranged in a diamond formation.

X和Y，呈菱形排列。

Games such as Street Fighter II,

《街头霸王2》(Street Fighter II)、

Mortal Kombat,

《真人快打》(Mortal Kombat)、

Sonic the Hedgehog,

《刺猬索尼克》(Sonic the Hedgehog)、

Super Mario 64,

《超级马力欧64》(Super Mario 64)、

Doom, Resident Evil, StarCraft,

《毁灭战士》(Doom)、《生化危机》(Resident Evil)、《星际争霸》(StarCraft)，

and dozens more were released.

以及几十款其他游戏相继发行。

And how much did the '90s games cost?

90年代的游戏卖多少钱呢？

Well, Super Mario 3 cost $94.40,

《超级马力欧3》售价94.40美元，

Mortal Kombat for Super Nintendo was priced at $119.55,

超级任天堂版《真人快打》售价119.55美元，

Street Fighter II was a cool $123.13, 用詞

《街头霸王2》则高达123.13美元，

a big chunk of cash for a '90s gamer. 習語

对90年代的玩家来说，这是一大笔钱。

Those prices should have continued to rise, 語法

这些价格本应继续上涨，

but that's not what happened.

但实际情况并非如此。

The price eventually dropped to $60.

游戏价格最终降到了60美元。

We couldn't work out exactly when this was, 短語動詞

我们无法确切得知这是什么时候发生的事，

but the online opinion of gamers says that it was sometime in the '90s,

但网上玩家们的普遍观点认为这发生在90年代的某个时候，

and $60 is where it has stayed.

并且价格就一直保持在60美元。

And with rising development costs and inflation,

随着开发成本不断上升和通货膨胀，

how and why has the price not shifted?

价格究竟为何且如何做到保持不变的？

Kate Cox from The Consumerist,

非营利消费者事务网站The Consumerist的

a non-profit consumer affairs website,

凯特·考克斯(Kate Cox)，

detailed some of the practices that have become standard with video game sales in recent years.

详细介绍了近年来电子游戏销售中已成为标准的一些做法。

She explained that the reason most retailers in the US charge $59.99 for a new video game on release week is because it's a price point that comes from the publisher, 用詞

她解释说，大多数美国零售商在新游戏发布首周标价59.99美元的原因，是因为这是发行商定下的基准价格，

and all the retailers that sell the new product agree to abide by it. 短語動詞

所有销售这款新产品的零售商都同意遵守这一价格。

Stores that choose not to abide by this price quickly find themselves out of favor with the publisher, 講解

选择不遵守这一价格的商店会很快失去发行商的青睐，

risking future shipments.

面临未来断货的风险。

So if big game store is keen on getting players in the door, 講解

因此，如果大型游戏商店渴望吸引玩家进店，

they won't drop below the publisher's guidance.

他们就不会将价格降到低于发行商指导价的水平。

And gaming media website GameRant concluded that all the triple-A publishers set their game price at $60 文化背景

游戏媒体网站GameRant总结道，所有3A级发行商都将游戏价格设定为60美元，

as it's a guaranteed method of leveling the playing field. 習語

因为这是维持公平竞争的可靠方法。

Publishers set the minimum price of $60 because it guarantees their cut will be substantial enough to support them 用詞

发行商将最低价格设定为60美元，因为这保证了他们的分成足以维持生计，

with more being made from extras such as collector's editions, 文化背景

而通过收藏版、

DLC, and microtransactions.

DLC和微交易等额外内容则可以赚取更多利润。

Unfortunately, the model may not be as lucrative for retail,

遗憾的是，这种模式对零售商来说可能没那么暴利，

and stores often take a hit on stocking new games, 習語

商店进货新游戏常常会承受损失，

which is part of the reason used game stores don't offer much cash for used games,

这也是二手游戏店收购二手游戏时不愿给太多现金，

yet still on-sell them at a much higher price. 用詞

却仍以高得多的价格转手出售的部分原因。

So where exactly does the $60 go to?

那么这60美元到底去了哪里？

According to Alex Pham in an article for the Los Angeles Times in 2010,

根据亚历克斯·范(Alex Pham) 2010年在《洛杉矶时报》上发表的一篇文章，

that $60 price is broken down as follows: 表達脈絡

这60美元的价格分配如下：

$27 goes to the publisher,

27美元归发行商，

$15 to the retailer,

15美元归零售商，

$7 to returns, 用詞

7美元用于退货，

which are games that don't sell and are sent back,

也就是未能售出而被退回的游戏，

$7 is a platform royalty, 文化背景

7美元是平台权利金，

which is paid to Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo,

支付给索尼、微软或任天堂，

and $4 to production and distribution.

4美元用于生产和分销。

You might have noticed that there's no mention of the developer. 短語搭配

你可能注意到了，这里并没有提到开发者。

Well, that's because in most cases the developer has already been paid.

这是因为在多数情况下，开发者已经拿到了报酬。

And to talk about developing video games for a minute, 表達脈絡

让我们花点时间谈谈电子游戏的开发，

you would think that a game that is more expensive to make 語法

你可能会认为制作成本更高的游戏，

should be more expensive to buy.

购买价格也应该更贵。

Well, that's just not the case. 短語搭配

然而事实并非如此。

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

《使命召唤：现代战争2》(Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)

cost $200 million to make,

制作成本达2亿美元，

whereas Gears of War only cost $10 million to make. 語法

而《战争机器》(Gears of War)的制作成本仅为1000万美元。

Surprise, surprise, they'll sell for $60 語氣意圖

惊不惊喜，它们的售价都是60美元，

and generate $27 of profit per sale.

并且每次销售都能产生27美元的利润。

Will video games stay $60 and below forever?

电子游戏的价格会永远保持在60美元及以下吗？

No one knows for sure. 短語搭配

没人能确定。

And we found there is a lot of debate from gamers on Reddit and Quora as to when things might change. 短語搭配

我们发现Reddit和Quora上的玩家对于情况何时会发生改变有很多争论。

Maybe you have your own opinion on why the $60 price tag has lasted so long.

也许你对为什么60美元的定价持续了这么久有自己的看法。

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

欢迎在评论区告诉我们你的想法。

Also, be sure to check out our other video called Minecraft vs. Roblox,

同时，请务必去看看我们的另一期视频《Minecraft vs. Roblox》，

how do they compare?

它们之间相比如何？

Thanks for watching,

感谢观看，

and as always, don't forget to like, share, and subscribe.

和往常一样，别忘了点赞、分享和订阅。

See you next time.

我们下次见。