Just For Fun? No, Serious Video Game Players Seek Fame and Money 電競(jìng)玩家為名利而戰(zhàn)

文/彼得·羅 譯/劉小娟 審訂/馬士奎 By Peter Rowe

Just For Fun? No, Serious Video Game Players Seek Fame and Money 電競(jìng)玩家為名利而戰(zhàn)

文/彼得·羅 譯/劉小娟 審訂/馬士奎 By Peter Rowe

Fan Yang is a member of the five-person squad Cloud 9,which hopes to emerge as “Heroes of the Storm” world champions at BlizzCon1美國(guó)電子游戲品牌暴雪娛樂(lè)每年舉辦的年度盛事。in Anaheim.楊帆（音）是五人電競(jìng)戰(zhàn)隊(duì)Cloud 9中的一員，這支戰(zhàn)隊(duì)希望在美國(guó)加州安納海姆暴雪嘉年華“風(fēng)暴英雄”世界錦標(biāo)賽中奪冠。

從故鄉(xiāng)中國(guó)來(lái)美國(guó)時(shí)，楊帆還是一個(gè)小男孩，之后，他仿佛駛上了實(shí)現(xiàn)美國(guó)夢(mèng)的快車(chē)道。他熟練掌握了英語(yǔ)，學(xué)業(yè)表現(xiàn)出色，以A+的平均成績(jī)從拉霍亞高中畢業(yè)，后又拿到了加州大學(xué)伯克利分校的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)學(xué)位。

[2]現(xiàn)年23歲的楊帆是舊金山一名數(shù)據(jù)分析師。

[3]不過(guò)，目前的工作對(duì)他來(lái)說(shuō)只算副業(yè)。他說(shuō)：“其余時(shí)間我都投入到電子游戲中。”

Arriving in the United States from his native China as a young boy,Fan Yang appeared to be on the fast track to realizing the American dream.He mastered English and excelled in school. After rolling through La Jolla High with an A-plus average, he earned an economics degree at UC Berkeley.

[2] At 23, he’s now a data research analyst in San Francisco.

[3] But his job is only a part-time sideline. “The rest of my time,” he said, “I’m doing the whole video game thing.”

[4] Yang is a professional video game player. Next weekend, he’ll lead the top-ranked American team to BlizzCon,a two-day competition in Anaheim. His five-person squad, Cloud 9, hopes to emerge as “Heroes of the Storm” world champs, triumphing on an online battlefield crammed with monsters, wizards,assassins and fireballs.

[5] If you think this is a bizarre career path, you’re not alone. Just ask Yang’s parents.

[6] “They definitely are having a lot of trouble understanding what I’m doing,” Yang said. “They want me to get a good job.”

[7] Yet the best pro gamers make more money than some recent college graduates. Forbes reported that the winners of video gaming tournaments in 2012 reaped more than $30 million.

[4]楊帆是一名職業(yè)電競(jìng)玩家。下周末，他將帶領(lǐng)美國(guó)頂尖的電競(jìng)戰(zhàn)隊(duì)赴安納海姆參加為期兩天的暴雪嘉年華電競(jìng)賽。他帶領(lǐng)的Cloud 9戰(zhàn)隊(duì)由五人組成，他們期待能在此次暴雪嘉年華“風(fēng)暴英雄”世錦賽上奪冠，在這個(gè)充斥著怪獸、巫師、刺客和火球的虛擬戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上成為贏家。

[5]如果你認(rèn)為這條職業(yè)道路不同尋常，那么，與你持相同觀點(diǎn)的大有人在。問(wèn)問(wèn)楊帆的父母就知道了。

[6]楊帆說(shuō)：“我父母很難理解我在做什么，他們想讓我找一份好工作。”

[7]然而，頂級(jí)電競(jìng)玩家的收入比一些剛剛走出大學(xué)校門(mén)的人要高。《福布斯》雜志公布，2012年電競(jìng)比賽獲勝者的收入超過(guò)3000萬(wàn)美元。

[8]據(jù)“電競(jìng)收益”網(wǎng)站統(tǒng)計(jì)，截至2015年，贏家已將4950萬(wàn)美元獎(jiǎng)金收入囊中，其中兩名美國(guó)玩家薩阿希爾·阿羅拉和彼得·戴奇均得到190萬(wàn)美元。此次暴雪嘉年華將通過(guò)比賽決出四款電競(jìng)游戲的世界冠軍，獎(jiǎng)金共125萬(wàn)美金。其中50萬(wàn)將歸“風(fēng)暴英雄”參賽選手所有，冠軍隊(duì)的獎(jiǎng)金為20萬(wàn)，由5名成員分?jǐn)偂?/p>

[8] The “e-Sports Earnings” website maintains that there has been $49.5 million in purses in 2015, with two Americans, Saahil Arora and Peter Dager, each winning $1.9 million. At BlizzCon, where matches will determine the world champions in four dif-ferent video games, the prize money is$1.25 million. Of that, $500,000 will go to “Heroes of the Storm” competitors,with the five people on the first-place team dividing $200,000.

[9] “We are competing for fame and money,” Yang said.

[10] Crude video games first appeared in the 1950s. But as technology improved, the games emerged as a popular pastime in the ’70s and ’80s, buoyed by the likes of “Pac-Man” and “Space Invaders.” With the rise of personal computers, the games have come home.

[11] As Internet connections gained speed and reliability, it became possible to compete with others in distant locations, including other countries.

[12] As an industry, video gaming is not kid stuff, with annual revenue of $22 billion. The players, too, are maturing.Of the 150 million American players,the average age is 35. Most are guys,but the gender gap is narrowing.

[13] Females now account for 44% of all gamers. In fact, women 18 and older outnumber teenage boys by better than 2-1.

[14] Yang first discovered video games when he was 7, playing “Star-Craft: Brood War” for hours at a time.

[15] “I was probably pretty bad,” he said.

[9]楊帆說(shuō)：“我們?cè)跒槊鴳?zhàn)！”

[10]原始的電子游戲產(chǎn)生于1950年代，到1970和1980年代，隨著技術(shù)的進(jìn)步以及“吃豆人”和“太空入侵者”等游戲的推動(dòng)，電子游戲成為流行的消遣方式。個(gè)人計(jì)算機(jī)的普及則為人們?cè)诩依锿嬗螒騽?chuàng)造了條件。

[11]隨著互聯(lián)網(wǎng)連接速度的加快和穩(wěn)定性的增強(qiáng)，人們能夠跟在遠(yuǎn)方甚至異國(guó)的對(duì)手競(jìng)技。

[12]作為一個(gè)產(chǎn)業(yè)，電競(jìng)并非小孩子的把戲，該行業(yè)年創(chuàng)收220億美元。與此同時(shí)，電競(jìng)玩家也在走向成熟。1.5億美國(guó)玩家的平均年齡為35歲，其中大多數(shù)是男性，但女性玩家的數(shù)量也在不斷增加。

[13]如今，女性占全部玩家的44%。事實(shí)上，18歲及以上女性玩家與男性青少年玩家之比超過(guò)2∶1。

[14]楊帆7歲時(shí)第一次接觸電子游戲，當(dāng)時(shí)他玩的是“星際爭(zhēng)霸：母巢之戰(zhàn)”，而且一連玩好幾個(gè)小時(shí)。

[15]他回憶說(shuō)：“我當(dāng)時(shí)玩得可能很差。”

[16] At Berkeley, Yang joined a campus team and entered a college “Star-Craft 2” competition. His team won,each player clearing about $6,000. He entered more contests and won thousands more.

[17] The money was welcome, and eased some family tensions.

[18] “That placated them,” Yang said of his parents, “a little bit.”

[19] At Berkeley, Yang juggled his studies with endless rounds of gaming.He was intent on becoming an internationally ranked player.

[20] “I wanted to get noticed,” he said, “and get picked up by a major team.”

[21] In April, 2015, he led a five-person Berkeley team to victory in “Heroes of the Dorm,” a national intercollegiate competition. For defeating Arizona State University in the finals, the Berkeley players each received a year’s tuition.

[22] That was Yang’s last stop on the college circuit. In June, he was recruited by a powerhouse professional team,Cloud 9. It was the equivalent of being signed by a major league team.

[23] In September, Cloud 9 won the U.S. “Heroes of the Storm” championship, squeaking though the finals with a narrow 3-2 win over Tempo Storm.

[16]在加州大學(xué)伯克利分校，楊帆加入一個(gè)校園戰(zhàn)隊(duì)，并參加了高校“星際爭(zhēng)霸2”競(jìng)賽。他的戰(zhàn)隊(duì)最終獲勝，每人贏了大概6000美元。此后，他又多次參加比賽，賺得數(shù)千美元獎(jiǎng)金。

[17]能賺錢(qián)終歸是好事，緊張的家庭關(guān)系也得到一些緩解。

[18]楊帆談起他的父母：“這讓他們稍稍感到欣慰。”

[19]讀大學(xué)時(shí)，楊帆盡力兼顧學(xué)業(yè)和無(wú)休無(wú)止的比賽。當(dāng)時(shí)的他，一心想成為國(guó)際頂級(jí)玩家。

[20]楊帆坦言：“我想受人矚目，想得到一支實(shí)力雄厚的戰(zhàn)隊(duì)的青睞。”

[21] 2015年4月，他帶領(lǐng)的伯克利分校五人戰(zhàn)隊(duì)在全美校際“寢室英雄”電競(jìng)賽中獲勝。決賽中，他們擊潰亞利桑那州立大學(xué)校隊(duì)，為自己戰(zhàn)隊(duì)的每個(gè)選手贏得了相當(dāng)于一年學(xué)費(fèi)的獎(jiǎng)金。

[22]這是楊帆最后一次參加高校電競(jìng)比賽。6月，豪門(mén)戰(zhàn)隊(duì)Cloud 9將其收入帳下，這相當(dāng)于球員與一支大聯(lián)盟球隊(duì)簽約。

[23] 9月，Cloud 9在“風(fēng)暴英雄”錦標(biāo)賽決賽中3∶2險(xiǎn)勝Tempo Storm戰(zhàn)隊(duì)，奪得“風(fēng)暴英雄”錦標(biāo)賽美國(guó)區(qū)冠軍。

[24] Last week, the international finals began with first-round matches in Burbank. On Wednesday, Cloud 9 was pitted against Logi GIA, a team that the BlizzCon site described as notable for its “quirky picks and all-in attitude.”

[25] The site’s take on Cloud 9: “Standard and consistent, but surprising.”

[26] Cloud 9 won the match, 2-0.

[27] On Friday, the team will face the European champ, Team Dignitas.

[28] The finals are scheduled for Saturday. Thousands of fans will crowd the Anaheim Convention Center (admission starts at $199) to see the action in person. Many more will watch via streaming video (virtual tickets are $39.99).

[29] Karen Lai, 21, Yang’s girlfriend who is also a player, plans to be in the audience.

[30] “It’s kind of like a weird thing,”she said. “This is one of the first generations to be playing video games for a living, so a lot of people don’t understand.”

[31] Still, she’s not surprised by Yang’s success.

[24]上周，“風(fēng)暴英雄”全球決賽第一輪賽事于洛杉磯伯班克拉開(kāi)帷幕。周三，Cloud 9與Logi GIA戰(zhàn)隊(duì)展開(kāi)對(duì)決。暴雪嘉年華網(wǎng)站評(píng)價(jià)Logi GIA戰(zhàn)隊(duì)以“戰(zhàn)術(shù)多變和態(tài)度專(zhuān)注”著稱(chēng)。

[25] Cloud 9則“穩(wěn)扎穩(wěn)打，始終如一，出人意料”。

[26]最 終 Cloud 9 以 2∶0戰(zhàn)勝Logi GIA戰(zhàn)隊(duì)。

[27]周五，Cloud 9將對(duì)決歐洲區(qū)冠軍——Dignitas戰(zhàn)隊(duì)。

[28]總決賽定于周六舉行，屆時(shí)，成千上萬(wàn)的暴雪粉絲將聚集在阿納海姆會(huì)展中心現(xiàn)場(chǎng)觀看比賽（實(shí)體門(mén)票199美元起）。更多人將通過(guò)在線直播觀賽（虛擬門(mén)票售價(jià)39.99美元）。

[29]楊帆的女朋友卡倫·賴(lài)（音）今年21歲，也是一名電競(jìng)玩家，她計(jì)劃去現(xiàn)場(chǎng)觀戰(zhàn)。

[30]她認(rèn)為：“把打電動(dòng)當(dāng)做職業(yè)確實(shí)有點(diǎn)兒不可思議。不過(guò)他們畢竟是第一代以玩電競(jìng)為生的人，所以很多人都不理解。”

[31]話雖如此，但她對(duì)楊帆的成功并不吃驚。

（譯者單位：中央民族大學(xué)外國(guó)語(yǔ)學(xué)院）