華納兄弟探索頻道利用現成的玩家一號 IP 打造大型虛擬宇宙

虛擬宇宙雖然還遠遠未成為主流，但已經充斥著各大品牌和娛樂公司。為了不被拋在後面，美國幾家最大的娛樂公司，如環球音樂、服裝品牌，甚至連鎖餐廳，都透過虛擬存在或透過一些策略投資在虛擬世界中開闢了一兩個角落。

Major entertainment companies and brands are already present in the metaverse, which is still far from being widely used. Several of the biggest US entertainment companies, like Universal Music, clothing brands, and even restaurant chains, have established a presence in the metaverse through a virtual presence or strategic investments.

各大娛樂公司和品牌都出現在虛擬宇宙中，但距離廣泛使用還很遠。美國幾家最大的娛樂公司，如環球音樂、服裝品牌，甚至連鎖餐廳，都透過虛擬存在或戰略投資在虛擬宇宙中建立了影響力。

Warner Bros. Discovery made its big play in January 2024 with what has to be the most natural transition of entertainment IP to this futuristic digital landscape. The colossal entertainment company partnered with a newly-forged studio to realize the metaverse potential of the Ready Player One property. With the novelist behind the original story also involved, Warner Bros. Discovery could have a potentially huge stake in the metaverse.

華納兄弟探索頻道 (Warner Bros. Discovery) 於 2024 年 1 月大放異彩，以娛樂 IP 向未來數位景觀最自然的過渡。這家龐大的娛樂公司與一家新成立的工作室合作，以實現「頭號玩家」財產的虛擬宇宙潛力。由於原始故事背後的小說家也參與其中，華納兄弟探索公司可能​​在虛擬宇宙中擁有巨大的潛在股份。

Ready Player One was originally a 2011 science fiction novel by Ernest Cline. It’s set in 2045 and follows a gamer as they search through a virtual reality game for an Easter egg that would grant them the creator’s fortune. In 2018, the film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, and Simon Pegg hit the box office and did incredibly well.

《頭號​​玩家》最初是歐內斯特‧克萊恩 2011 年創作的科幻小說。故事背景設定在 2045 年，講述了一名玩家在虛擬實境遊戲中尋找復活節彩蛋的故事，該彩蛋可以為他們帶來創造者的財富。 2018年，這部由史蒂芬史匹柏執導，泰伊謝裡丹、奧莉薇亞庫克、班門德森、西蒙佩吉主演的電影票房大賣，成績斐然。

With around a $160 million budget, its marketing campaign showcasing Warner Bros.’s massive haul of popular IPs that were thrown into the nostalgia-inducing flick helped to return over $579 million worldwide. Of course, tapping into popular IPs is a tried and trusted recipe across entertainment. Even at the top Canadian online casino, you’ll find major IPs like Jurassic Park, Rick and Morty, and Space Invaders.

其行銷活動預算約為 1.6 億美元，展示了華納兄弟在這部懷舊電影中投入的大量熱門 IP，幫助其在全球範圍內獲得了超過 5.79 億美元的回報。當然，利用熱門 IP 是整個娛樂界經過驗證且值得信賴的秘訣。即使在加拿大頂級線上賭場，您也會發現《侏羅紀公園》、《瑞克和莫蒂》和《太空侵略者》等主要 IP。

Just as these slot games often collect the most clicks at online casinos, Ready Player One earned a colossal following for its epic collection of IPs. Now, Warner Bros. Discovery is teaming up with Cline, the film’s producer, and the AI and metaverse company Futureverse to forge Readyverse Studios. The developer has an exclusive license to bring the IP and additional brands to the metaverse.

正如這些老虎機遊戲通常在線上賭場中獲得最多的點擊量一樣，《頭號玩家》也因其史詩般的 IP 集合而贏得了大批追隨者。現在，華納兄弟探索頻道正與電影製片人 Cline 以及人工智慧和虛擬宇宙公司 Futureverse 合作，組成 Readyverse Studios。開發商擁有將 IP 和其他品牌引入虛擬世界的獨家授權。

Getting the Ready Player One metaverse experience will, undoubtedly, be a monumental task. Getting the initial setting in place is one thing, but then, it’ll likely need to let the user explore the virtual world similarly to in the movie and encounter a whole host of characters and settings from other Warner Bros. IPs. However, progress has been made, as indicated by the Open hero experience trailer for the Readyverse.

毫無疑問，獲得「頭號玩家」虛擬宇宙體驗將是一項艱鉅的任務。完成初始設定是一回事，但隨後，它可能需要讓使用者像電影中一樣探索虛擬世界，並遇到來自其他華納兄弟 IP 的大量角色和設定。然而，正如 Readyverse 的開放英雄體驗預告片所示，已經取得了進展。

Said to be a multi-biome, multi-mode battle royale experience that infused multiple IPs, it’ll set the stage for the next phase of gaming in the metaverse. This will, reportedly, be one of many immersive experiences released as a result of the partnership between Readyverse Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery. At the end of the Open trailer, which was released on March 10, 2024, it says that those who are interested can join the waitlist.

據說這是一種多生物群系、多模式的大逃殺體驗，注入了多個 IP，它將為元宇宙遊戲的下一階段奠定基礎。據報道，這將是 Readyverse Studios 和華納兄弟探索頻道合作推出的眾多沉浸式體驗之一。 2024年3月10日發布的公開預告片結尾表示，有興趣的人可以加入候補名單。

At the time of writing (late September 2024), the Open page remains a landing page, with the game still ‘coming soon.’ Still, a project like this will take a lot of time, and the concept of Ready Player One certainly won’t lose its appeal in the metaverse as time goes on. When it does eventually open, though, it’s bound to draw in gamers.

截至撰寫本文時（2024 年 9 月下旬），Open 頁面仍然是登陸頁面，遊戲仍「即將推出」。儘管如此，像這樣的項目仍將花費大量時間，而隨著時間的推移，「頭號玩家」的概念肯定不會失去其在虛擬宇宙中的吸引力。不過，當它最終開放時，必然會吸引遊戲玩家。