文章讨论了PlayStation Store在游戏发现和搜索方面的不足，通过对比Steam的优秀实践，提出了增加游戏类型和标签、提供细粒度搜索选项以及引入策展功能等改进建议，以提升用户体验并帮助开发者更好地推广作品。
A video made the rounds on social media a few weeks ago that was the perfect highlight of what is wrong with the PlayStation Store. It was from Mike Rose, the founder of publishing label No More Robots, documenting his attempts to find their newest game Descenders on the PlayStation Store on the day it released.
视频在社交媒体上几个星期前，这是，什么是错的PlayStation Store上完美的亮点就传开了。 它来自发行标签No More Robots的创始人Mike Rose，记录了他在发行当天在PlayStation Store上寻找其最新游戏Descenders的尝试。
The video shows Rose going to the “New” tab on the store, and not seeing the game, then typing in the full name of the game in the store’s search function. Even after doing that, he has to scroll past about 10 other entries ranging from DLC to TV shows to find that his game is at the absolute bottom of the list. The game was featured in the Latest Releases tab of the store at the time, so all was not lost, but it’s a good reminder that the deficiencies of the store’s model for discovering anything beyond the mega-huge titles have long been an issue.
视频显示Rose进入商店的“ New”标签，没有看到游戏，然后在商店的搜索功能中输入了游戏的全名。 即使这样做了，他也必须滚动浏览大约10个其他条目，从DLC到电视节目，才能发现他的游戏排在列表的绝对底部。 该游戏当时已在商店的“最新发行”选项卡中进行了展示，因此一切都没有丢失，但它很好地提醒了人们，商店模型在发现超大型游戏之外的任何东西的缺陷长期以来都是一个问题。
To be clear, the biggest sins belong to the website version of the Store, which is what we will mainly be discussing here. The PS4’s version of the Store at least has a few collections of games and the ability to filter by genres, two things that are largely lacking from the web version, but the problems of discoverability still exist.
要明确的是，最大的罪过是商店的网站版本，这是我们将在这里主要讨论的内容。 PS4版本的Store至少具有一些游戏集，并且具有按流派进行过滤的功能，这是Web版本在很大程度上缺少的两件事，但是可发现性问题仍然存在。
So how, if they ever care to do so, should Sony fix the issues with the PlayStation Store? The best way to do it is to look toward Steam, the digital distribution behemoth from developer Valve Software, for some basic ideas. Many will point to the glut of shovelware on Steam, which is a problem that it shares with Sony’s store, but search capabilities and discovery are two things that Steam does exceedingly well. Let’s look at the details of how they do it.
那么，如果他们愿意的话，索尼应该如何解决PlayStation Store的问题？ 做到这一点的最佳方法是，从开发商Valve Software的数字发行巨头Steam中获取一些基本思路。 许多人会指出，Steam上的铲子软件过剩，这是它与索尼商店共同面临的一个问题，但是搜索功能和发现是Steam表现出色的两件事。 让我们看看他们如何做的细节。
类型和标签 (Genres & Tags)
When you first open the PlayStation Store website (above), the left-hand side shows the various sales that are ongoing, along with categories belonging to the PlayStation hardware including PS3, PS2, and VR. There are also categories for bundles and ultimate editions, as well as Indies and Free to Play games. In short, the focus is on pointing the gamer toward the different ways they can buy or pay for games, but very little attention is paid to helping dig through the massive amount of games that exist within the Store. There is no way to search out all First Person Shooters or all RPG’s on the website store, though the PS4’s store does include this in a rudimentary way.
首次打开PlayStation商店网站时(上方)，左侧显示正在进行的各种销售，以及属于PS3，PS2和VR等PlayStation硬件的类别。 捆绑包和终极版以及独立游戏和免费游戏也有类别。 简而言之，重点是使游戏者了解他们购买或购买游戏的不同方式，但是很少关注帮助挖掘商店中存在的大量游戏。 尽管PS4的商店确实以基本方式包括了此内容，但无法在网站商店中搜索所有“第一人称射击”或所有RPG。
Contrast this with the Steam client, where the home screen appears as you see it in the screenshot above. On the left-hand side, you will see categories and genres listed which will allow you to browse in a more targeted manner. These include Action, Massively Multiplayer, and RPG among many others. At the top of the picture, the biggest portion of the screen is dedicated to the Recommended titles which are based on game tags, one of the most important features that Steam employs to help with putting titles the user may want to play in front of their eyes with minimal hassle. These tags are incredibly detailed, using genres such as FPS or Metroidvania or Turn-Based Strategy, descriptors such as History, War, Surreal, Story Rich, Atmospheric, and even feature-based tags like Great Soundtrack or 3D. This kind of specificity really allows the user to create a search of exactly what they want, and from there they can dig in even further, as we will see next.
将其与Steam客户端进行对比，Steam客户端将在主屏幕上显示您在上面的屏幕截图中看到的内容。 在左侧，您将看到列出的类别和流派，使您可以更有针对性地进行浏览。 其中包括动作，大型多人游戏和RPG等。 在图片的顶部，屏幕的最大部分专用于基于游戏标签的推荐游戏，这是Steam运用的最重要功能之一，可帮助用户将可能要玩的游戏放在他们的面前眼睛麻烦最小。 使用诸如FPS或Metroidvania或基于回合策略的流派，诸如历史记录，战争，超现实，故事丰富，大气等描述符，甚至基于功能的标记(如Great Soundtrack或3D)，这些标记都非常详细。 这种特殊性实际上允许用户对他们想要的内容进行精确搜索，然后从那里可以进行进一步挖掘，这将在接下来看到。
细粒度搜索能力 (Granular Search Capability)
As a complement to the genres and game tags, Steam includes an incredibly granular set of search-narrowing options for the user to implement in drilling down to get exactly what they want. As you can see in this picture, this includes a set of ‘number of players’ options as detailed as the types of PvP and co-op, and whether a game is cross-platform. There’s also a robust set of feature-based options to search with, including controller support, cloud and remote play options, Steam Workshop support for easy implementation of game mods, and even accessibility options such as in-game captions.
作为游戏类型和游戏标签的补充，Steam包含了极为细粒度的搜索范围选项集，供用户在向下钻取时实施，以准确获取所需内容。 从这张图片中可以看到，其中包括一组“玩家数量”选项，详细说明了PvP和合作社的类型以及游戏是否是跨平台的。 还有一组功能强大的基于功能的选项可供搜索，包括控制器支持，云和远程播放选项，Steam Workshop支持，可轻松实现游戏模块，甚至可访问性选项(例如游戏字幕)。
Obviously, the PlayStation Store has none of these options on either platform nor do they necessarily need all of them. Some granularity should be achievable though and would go a long way to engendering goodwill from the user base that often feels like they take a backseat to profit in Sony’s calculations. For example, I’m always looking for games to play with my son, so being able to specifically search for games that have couch co-op would be fantastic. Cross-platform has been a hot button for PlayStation gamers for years, with Sony slow to support the feature, so a quick look at which games you can play with you Xbox or PC friends would be a welcome addition. Really any tools allowing for more precise control of the displayed titles would be greatly appreciated, as the more than 4,000 titles just on the PS4 can be a burden to wade through when looking for something new.
显然，PlayStation Store在任何一个平台上都没有这些选项，也不一定需要所有这些选项。 不过，应该可以达到某种程度的粒度，这将大大提高用户群的商誉，而这种感觉通常让他们觉得索尼在计算利润时倒退了。 例如，我一直在寻找和儿子一起玩的游戏，因此能够专门搜索有沙发合作游戏的游戏真是太棒了。 多年来，跨平台一直是PlayStation游戏玩家的热门按钮，而Sony缓慢地支持该功能，因此快速浏览可与Xbox或PC朋友一起玩的游戏将是一个受欢迎的选择。 确实，将非常感谢能够更精确地控制所显示标题的任何工具，因为在PS4上查找新内容时，要经过的负担超过4000个。
策展 (Curation)
This is another place where Steam really shines and is a missed opportunity for Sony to partner with influencers and media partners in a meaningful way. The Store website has no curation whatsoever, while the PS4 Store has the most basic curation in the form of an ‘Editor’s Choice’ collection and a few genre-based collections.
这是Steam真正发亮的另一个地方，对于索尼来说，这是错过与有意义的方式与影响者和媒体合作伙伴合作的机会。 Store网站没有任何策展，而PS4 Store以“ Editor's Choice”收藏和一些基于体裁的收藏的形式提供了最基本的策划。
Steam, meanwhile, has a vast array of curators as part of its system, ranging from gaming magazines and websites to large YouTube channels. These curators put together lists of recommended titles and users can follow those curators that match their interests in order to find games that may be to their interest. One example is the curated collection of the website Rock Paper Shotgun, which has somewhat of a focus on strategy games, is a great place for grognards to go and find the latest strategy and 4x titles. It’s just another layer of discoverability showing that Steam values their user’s time and wants to make it efficient for them to find, and of course, buy the games they want.
同时，Steam拥有大量策展人作为其系统的一部分，从游戏杂志和网站到大型YouTube频道。 这些策展人将推荐标题的列表放在一起，用户可以关注与他们的兴趣相匹配的策展人，以找到可能符合他们兴趣的游戏。 一个例子是网站Rock Paper Shotgun的精选集合，该网站有些侧重于策略游戏，是内人士寻找最新策略和4x称号的好地方。 这只是可发现性的另一层，表明Steam重视用户的时间，并希望提高他们的查找效率，当然也可以购买他们想要的游戏。
Sony’s opportunity here is to both help their users and engage with the press and influencer community that is so powerful and prevalent these days. The Store could feature curated collections from the big influencers like What’s Good Games and Kinda Funny as well as YouTubers and Twitch streamers with massive built-in audiences. Those audience-members would be incredibly excited to have yet another way to engage with their favorite content providers, bringing more traffic to the Store and engagement from the core demographics Sony has always targeted.
索尼在这里的机会不仅是帮助他们的用户，而且还与当今如此强大且普遍的新闻界和有影响力的社区互动。 该商店可以收藏来自What's Good Games和Kinda Funny等有影响力人物的精选藏品，以及拥有大量内置观众的YouTubers和Twitch节目主持人。 那些听众成员将非常激动地希望有另一种与自己喜欢的内容提供商互动的方式，从而为商店带来更多的流量，并吸引索尼一直以来瞄准的核心受众。
整合“ Drop” (Integrate ‘The Drop’)
One of the most popular features of the PlayStation Blog over the years was “The Drop,” a weekly column featuring a writeup on every game releasing across the PlayStation ecosystem that week. Not only was this popular with the fans, but it was also a boon to the developers of those games to have a spotlight on their creations. It was possibly the only widespread notice their titles would get before disappearing into the maw of the Store, and most media outlets picked it up and commented or reprinted it wholesale. Three to four months ago Sony dropped this column altogether.
多年来，PlayStation Blog最受欢迎的功能之一是“ The Drop”，该专栏每周专栏报道该周内PlayStation生态系统中发布的所有游戏。 这不仅受到粉丝们的欢迎，而且对于这些游戏的开发者来说，吸引他们的创作成为福音。 这可能是他们的头衔消失在商店的大门中之前唯一会得到的广泛关注，大多数媒体都将其拿起并进行批注或再版。 三到四个月前，索尼完全放弃了此专栏。
It’s important to note that the problem described at the top of this article is an issue with the algorithm that Sony employs on the Store, and this isn’t easily fixable. It doesn't seem too much to ask that new releases, especially when the exact name of the game is typed into the search, be listed at the top of the results instead of TV shows, DLC, and other ancillary items. Lacking the desire to fix the algorithm, however, Sony could do itself and its stakeholders a bit of good in bringing back The Drop. No More Robots was clearly frustrated with the issue and talked about not developing for Sony consoles again, a problem Sony should be keen to remedy.
需要特别注意的是，本文顶部描述的问题与Sony在Store上采用的算法有关，该问题不容易解决。 似乎并不需要太多，尤其是在搜索中键入了游戏的确切名称时，将新版本而不是电视节目，DLC和其他辅助项目列在结果的顶部。 但是，由于缺乏修复算法的愿望，Sony可以自己和其利益相关者在带回The Drop方面做得很好。 没有更多的机器人显然对此问题感到沮丧，并谈到不再为索尼游戏机开发游戏，这是索尼应该急于解决的问题。
The Drop would be the perfect vehicle to highlight games both big and small, especially in conjunction with the PlayStation Indies initiative they launched back in July. It would only help to drive awareness and sales, which should be a customer-centric policy even the profit-driven Sony could get behind.
Drop将是突出大大小小的游戏的理想工具，尤其是结合他们在7月份推出的PlayStation Indies计划。 这只会有助于提高知名度和销量，这应该是一个以客户为中心的政策，即使利润驱动的索尼也可能落后。
翻译自: https://medium.com/super-jump/fixing-the-playstation-store-32bdcbc28ee3
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