Lego and Tencent have formed a wide-ranging digital partnership to develop games, online videos and a social media network for children in China, as the Danish toymaker seeks to restart its stuttering growth trajectory.
乐高(Lego)与腾讯(Tencent)结成了覆盖面甚广的数字合作伙伴关系,为中国儿童开发游戏、在线视频和社交媒体网络。目前这家丹麦玩具制造商正寻求重启其举步维艰的增长轨迹。
The world’s second-largest toymaker and Asia’s biggest technology group will launch their first joint digital initiatives later this year and one of them is likely to be an online game designed especially for China.
这家全球第二大玩具制造商与亚洲最大科技集团将于今年晚些时候推出首批联合数字项目,其中可能包括专为中国设计的在线游戏。
Lego has sometimes struggled with its digital projects but China has been a rare unalloyed bright spot for the toymaker after more than a decade of stellar sales growth came to a halt last year.
乐高有时在数字项目上遭遇困境,但中国已成为这家10多年强劲销售增长去年陷入停滞的玩具制造商一个难得的真正亮点。
The Danish toymaker jettisoned its chief executive after only a few months on the job in 2017, bringing in a younger leader and touting his digital experience.
2017年,乐高前首席执行官上任仅几个月即被炒,随后公司迎来了一位兜售其数字经验的更年轻领导者。
Under the partnership, Lego-branded games will be developed, published and operated on Tencent’s popular gaming platforms in China.
依据上述合作伙伴关系,乐高品牌游戏将在腾讯在国内流行的游戏平台上进行开发、发布和运营。
The toymaker will also seek to get round restrictions that prevent Lego videos published on YouTube from being played in China by putting them on Tencent’s own video service.
这家玩具制造商还将寻求绕过YouTube上发布的乐高视频无法在中国播放的限制,将这些视频放在腾讯自己的视频服务上。
The partnership will also seek to bring Lego Life, a social media network for young children that the toymaker has launched in 26 countries, to China as well as publish the online operating system for its Boost coding toys.
这一合作伙伴关系还将寻求把Lego Life(乐高在全球26个国家推出的面向儿童的社交媒体网络)带到中国,并为其Lego Boost编程玩具发布在线操作系统。
Lego executives underlined the emphasis on safety in the partnership. The toymaker has long been worried about the potential misuse of its products online. Some former executives have bemoaned that the company’s conservative approach to the digital world has allowed the likes of Minecraft to steal a march on the toymaker.
乐高的高管们强调了这一合作伙伴关系对安全的重视。这家玩具制造商长期担心其产品可能在网上被滥用。一些前高管抱怨称,该公司对待数字世界的保守姿态,让《我的世界》(Minecraft)之类的游戏夺得了先机。
“We’ve seen more and more Chinese children engage with the world digitally, and the partnership will bring them safe and imaginative digital Lego content,” said Jacob Kragh, general manager of Lego in China.
乐高中国区总经理雅各布?克拉格(Jacob Kragh)表示:“我们看到越来越多的中国儿童通过数字技术与世界互动,这一合作伙伴关系将给他们带来安全、富于想象力的数字乐高内容。”
Lego’s attempts to replicate the build-anything potential of Minecraft have flopped, first with Lego Universe and then Lego Worlds failing to capture children’s imagination.
乐高尝试复制《我的世界》中建造虚拟世界的努力都未获成功,先是《乐高宇宙》(Lego Universe),然后是乐高世界(Lego Worlds),都没能抓住孩子们的想象力。
Matthew Hudak, analyst at Euromonitor, said that while the company had yet to create a major hit, “the potential upside of creating one may be worth continued heavy investment”.
欧睿咨询(Euromonitor)分析师马修?胡达克(Matthew Hudak)表示,尽管该公司尚未开发出一款风靡的爆款网络游戏,但“打造这样一款游戏可能带来的好处或许值得继续大举投资”。
He said Lego needs to build its brand awareness in China, with particular focus on creating products tailored for local consumers.
他说,乐高需要在中国构建品牌知名度,尤其应专注为中国消费者量身打造产品。
The Danish toymaker opened a factory in China in 2016 and eventually expects to make about three-quarters of all its products for Asia from its Jiaxing facility. Lego also won a copyright case against imitators of its bright plastic bricks for the first time in China last year.
2016年,这家丹麦玩具制造商在中国开设了一家工厂,预计乐高在亚洲所售全部产品的约四分之三最终将在这家位于嘉兴的工厂生产。去年,乐高还首次在中国赢得了针对其色彩鲜艳的塑料积木仿冒者的版权官司。
“Faced with the tendency of lower age in internet users, the co-operation between the Lego Group and Tencent can leverage technological and innovative means to build a healthy online environment for children,” said Anna Gao, vice-president of Tencent Games.
腾讯游戏副总裁高莉(Anna Gao)表示:“面对互联网用户低龄化的趋势,乐高集团与腾讯之间的合作可以充分利用技术和创新手段,为孩子们打造一个健康的网络环境。”
Lego is facing its biggest test since it came close to financial collapse in 2003. Its sales declined 5 per cent in the first half of 2017 due to weakness in the US and Europe, causing it to shed almost a tenth of its workers as it pressed “the reset button”.
乐高正面临自2003年濒临财务崩溃以来的最大考验。由于美欧市场疲软,该公司2017年上半年的销售额下降了5%,导致公司按下“重启键”,裁减了近十分之一员工。