双语资讯：索尼为什么要卖网络游戏部门.docxVIP

On Monday, Sony sold its online gaming division to New York investment management firm Columbus Nova for an undisclosed sum. The game publisher that was once known as Sony Online Entertainment—SOE to game-industry insiders—is now operating under the name Daybreak Game Company. John Smedley, its president, will remain and its development teams will be kept intact. 本周一，索尼将其网络游戏部门卖给了纽约一家名为Columbus Nova的投资管理公司，交易金额并未披露。索尼在线娱乐公司（SOE）现改名为黎明游戏公司。该公司总裁约翰o史沫特莱将继续留任，其研发团队也将保留不动。Why would Sony SNE 10.90% ditch its in-house game maker? Because it’s no longer a strategic asset for Sony, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. The company, which launched in 1996 as part of Sony’s 989 Studios, was built to develop and run subscription-based massively multiplayer online, or MMO, games. In recent years, the online video game industry has transitioned to a free-to-play business model requiring game makers to give the games away and generate revenue through in-game micro-transactions. Few game publishers outside of Activision Blizzard ATVI -0.65% with itsWorld of Warcraft franchise have been able to maintain a subscription model with all the free online competition. 索尼为什么要抛弃自家的游戏开发部门？韦德布什证券公司分析师迈克尔o帕切认为，对于索尼来说，它已经不再是一笔战略资产。这家公司成立于1996年，是索尼旗下989家工作室的一份子，主要开发和运行大型多玩家在线游戏(MMO)。近年来，在线视频游戏行业已经过渡到一种免费的业务模式，游戏开发商需要先给玩家免费提供游戏，然后通过游戏内的各种小交易来盈利。除了暴雪公司出品的《魔兽世界》之外，很少有其他游戏制作商能够在众多免费网游的围剿中继续维系订购模式。“Unfortunately, free-to-play is growing most rapidly on phones and tablets, and SOE wasn’t there because those aren’t really core Sony products,”Pachter says. “SOE didn’t support any of Sony’s consumer electronics businesses, so it was easy to sell.”帕切表示：“不幸的是，免费增值模式在智能手机和平板电脑上增长得最快，而SOE并没有进入移动领域，因为这类游戏算不上是索尼的核心产品。SOE对索尼的任何消费电子业务都形不成支持，所以它很容易被卖掉。”Pachter believes that Sony was approached by Columbus Nova, which has over $15 billion of assets through its own funds and affiliated portfolio companies, without it having to shop around the business. Sony likely got a fair amount for the divisi