Exactly 10 years after it was first announced, the Warcraft film burst into European cinemas this week, to be met with the kind of concerted critical savaging that put the depredations of its Burning Legion to shame. But none of that may matter. This is Hollywood, after all, and despite poor scores from critics, it's entirely possible that Warcraft may go on to be a hit, thanks in part to its global appeal. 自首次宣布制作《魔兽》电影整10年之后，本周，这部影片终于在欧洲各大影院华丽上映了。然而，来自影评界的一致抨击，把燃烧军团的攻城掠地批得无地自容。但是，这些都不打紧。毕竟这是一部好莱坞大片，即便影评分数低得可怜，《魔兽》电影还是完全有可能火上一把的，一部分原因是它的粉丝遍布全球各地。
In China, the world's fastest-growing film economy and home to millions of certifiable Warcraft addicts, anticipation for Jones's film is running enormously high. It's launching in a five-day window after Chinese students finish their exams, and box office pundits estimate that it could open with anywhere from $100M to $150M during that time period. 中国拥有世界上发展最快的影视经济，又是几百万通过认证的魔兽迷的故乡，大家对琼斯这部影片期待甚高。它选择了中国学生考试结束之后的5天窗口期进行公映，票房专家预计5天票房收入将达到1亿~1.5亿美元（6.6亿~9.8亿人民币）。
Significantly, about a third of Warcraft's subscribers are in China; it's doubtful there would even be a Warcraft movie without them. The film is partly Chinese-funded - Legendary Entertainment, a production partner on the film, was acquired by the Chinese group Dalian Wanda this year - and millions of advance tickets have already been booked for the film's opening weekend, which falls on June 8, the holiday on which the Duanwu or Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated.
值得注意的是，大约1/3《魔兽》订户来自中国；如果没有中国玩家，甚至可能都不会有《魔兽》电影。影片是由中国部分赞助的，因为制片合伙人传奇影业今年已由中国大连万达集团收购；该影片开场周末的几百万张预售票已被抢购一空，影片将于6月8日——也就是端午节假期——进行首映。
China also has a distinctly special relationship with Warcraft, a game that had a transformative effect when it entered the country's online arena. 中国和《魔兽》之间还有一种特殊的关系，因为这款游戏传入伊始便为中国的在线游戏带来了翻天覆地的变化。
It was the first highly converged media experience. People were able to form real friendships, and have shared experiences and shared failures, with real online communities of real people. It quite literally changed the game. Everyone had to know what they were doing, and had to be skilled at what they were doing. People had to form communities of 60 or more that would be online at any given time. 中国玩家初尝高凝聚力的媒体游戏体验。人们可以建立真实的友谊，同甘共苦，与真人一起建立真实的在线社区。它实实在在地改变了游戏的体验。每个人都必须知道他们在做什么，都必须擅长自己在做的事，每时每刻都必须形成60人+的社区。
Warcraft also drove economic opportunities. The phenomenon of gold farming, in which players acquire in-game currencies or items to trade for real-world money, began to take off in China in the early 2000s. It snowballed in the subsequent decade. 《魔兽》同时带来了经济机遇。玩家们可以通过“金币种植”情节获得游戏中使用的货币或物品，然后交易得到现实世界的真金白银。21世纪初期，这种盈利模式开始在中国获得飞速发展。在随后10年中，利益的雪球越滚越大。
In 2008, according to figures from the China Internet Centre, some £1.2bn of online currencies were traded in China. In 2011, a gigantic theme park called Joyland opened in China's southern province of Jiangsu, offering 600,000 square metres of rollercoasters and log-flume rides that cost some £20m to construct. 根据中国网络中心的数据，2008年，全国线上货币交易量约为12亿英镑（112.2亿人民币）。2011年，在中国南部省份江苏省建起了一座巨大的主题乐园，名为“嬉戏谷”，那里有占地60万平方米的过山车和激流勇进，建设费用约为2千万英镑（1.9亿人民币）。
Such an affection, in the world's fastest growing cinema market, is likely to be a deciding factor in fulfilling Duncan Jones's aspirations for a trilogy. 全世界发展最快的电影市场对《魔兽》如此青睐，很可能会成为帮助邓肯•琼斯实现“三部曲”愿望的决定因素。 |
