As crossplay unifies player communities, gaming hardware differences are less relevant than ever. The walls are breaking down, all paths now lead to the same destination, and games are better for it.
由于交叉游戏统一了玩家社区，因此游戏硬件差异变得比以往任何时候都更加重要。 城墙被打破，所有路径现在通向同一个目的地，而游戏更适合它。
By Jordan Minor
由 乔丹小
Nothing screams dystopia more than two massive corporations conscripting their massive audiences into a petty legal war. No viewer should care which studio controls which Marvel movie rights. No consumer should take a side in the ongoing war between Apple and Epic Games over Fortnite direct payments. And yet here we are, sighing while Epic adds Marvel characters to Fortnite to rub iOS players’ noses in what they are missing due to Apple’s stubbornness. #FreeFortnite.
没有比这两家大型公司更能唤起反乌托邦的魅力了，他们吸引了众多观众参加一场小规模的法律战争。 任何观众都不必关心哪个工作室控制着哪部漫威电影版权。 任何消费者都不应该在Apple和Epic Games之间就Fortnite直接付款的持续战争中站出来支持。 然而，在这里，我们叹了口气，而Epic向Fortnite添加了Marvel角色，以抚摸 iOS玩家由于苹果的固执而丢失的东西。 #FreeFortnite。
Despite its cynical strategy, Epic’s stance is closer to the honest future of gaming, at least philosophically. Apple is the champion of the closed platform. But as walls collapse and platforms blur together, the path forward becomes a path we all share. The gaming singularity has nearly arrived.
尽管采取了愤世嫉俗的策略，但至少在哲学上，Epic的立场更接近游戏的诚实未来。 苹果是封闭平台的拥护者。 但是随着墙壁的倒塌和平台的模糊在一起，前进的道路将成为我们所有人共享的道路。 游戏的奇点几乎到了。
推倒这堵墙 (Tear Down This Wall)
Consider how Fortnite, battle royales, and other live Games-as-a-Service maintain their massive multiplayer audiences. They merge them. Not that long ago, the idea of PlayStation players competing against Nintendo or Xbox players was unheard of, even if they were all playing the same game. Now, crossplay becomes more common every day, uniting communities and allowing them to thrive.
考虑Fortnite， royalty和其他实时游戏即服务如何保持大量的多人游戏观众。 他们合并它们。 不久以前，PlayStation玩家与Nintendo或Xbox玩家竞争的想法是闻所未闻的，即使他们都在玩同一款游戏。 现在，交叉竞赛每天都变得越来越普遍，使社区团结起来并使他们蓬勃发展。
When a single game becomes more important than the platform you play it on, fascinating things start to happen. Removing Fortnite from Android and iOS can’t and won’t kill Fortnite. The game already exists on too many other devices. Instead, it makes platform holders look like overbearing parents yanking their kids out of the party. Funnily enough, one of Fortnite’s key mechanics happens to be tearing down walls other players desperately build up.
当一个游戏变得比您在其上玩的平台更重要时，令人着迷的事情开始发生。 从Android和iOS移除Fortnite无法也不会杀死Fortnite。 游戏已经存在于太多其他设备上。 取而代之的是，它使平台持有者看起来像个霸道的父母，将他们的孩子拖出聚会。 有趣的是，Fortnite的主要机制之一恰好是拆除了其他玩家拼命建立的墙。
Consider the fact that Epic’s Unreal Engine is also the same technology that powers everything from Fortnite on mobile to the most visually impressive next-generation tech demo we’ve seen so far. Not only that, Epic gives away the engine for free via the Epic Games Store for other creators to use. Don’t worry about the platform, just make your game.
考虑一下这样一个事实，即Epic的虚幻引擎也是为移动世界上的Fortnite到迄今为止我们看到的最令人印象深刻的下一代技术演示的一切提供支持的技术。 不仅如此，Epic还通过Epic Games Store免费提供了该引擎，供其他创作者使用。 不用担心平台，只需制作游戏即可。
所有形状和大小 (All Shapes and Sizes)
I’m as big a supporter of unique, weird video game hardware as any Nintendo fan. But I can’t deny the benefits of console makers humbling themselves just a little bit, admitting that their devices primarily exist to connect players with great games, respecting and playing nice with other devices with that same mission. No one watching a live stream cares what interchangeable box the person is using.
我和任天堂的粉丝一样，都对独特，怪异的视频游戏硬件表示支持。 但是我不能否认游戏机制造商的利益只是屈服于自己，承认他们的设备主要是用来连接玩家与出色游戏的，尊重并与具有相同使命的其他设备打交道。 没有人观看直播节目，不在乎该人使用的是哪个可互换盒子。
The Nintendo Switch is a tablet with controllers that lets you play games on the go or on a TV. You can get a pretty similar experience attaching a Razer Junglecat, Razer Kishi, or PowerA Moga XP5-X Plus controller to your phone. You can play many of the best mobile games on either machine. Plenty of casual Apple Arcade games come to Switch, albeit not in a subscription. If you want to play mobile games on a TV, connect a DualShock or Xbox controller to an Apple TV, plug an HDMI cable into your phone, or use Chromecast for screen mirroring. You have choices for reaching the same basic gaming idea.
Nintendo Switch是带有控制器的平板电脑，可让您随时随地或在电视上玩游戏。 您可以在将Razer Junglecat，Razer Kishi或PowerA Moga XP5-X Plus控制器连接到手机上时获得类似的体验。 您可以在两台计算机上玩许多最好的手机游戏。 大量的休闲Apple Arcade游戏都加入了Switch，尽管没有订阅。 如果要在电视上玩手机游戏，请将DualShock或Xbox控制器连接到Apple TV，将HDMI电缆插入手机，或使用Chromecast进行屏幕镜像。 您可以选择达到相同的基本游戏构想。
It’s okay to have a preferred way to play. The Nintendo Switch remains my go-to device because of its amazing library of exclusive Nintendo games. The power of those exclusives is also why I don’t exactly think we’re heading toward a so-called “one-console future,” even if buying Microsoft’s Halo and Sony’s Horizon Zero Dawn from the same PC gaming marketplace is pretty wild.
可以采用一种首选的游戏方式。 Nintendo Switch仍然是我的首选设备，因为它拥有令人惊叹的独家Nintendo游戏库。 即使从同一PC游戏市场购买微软的Halo和索尼的Horizon Zero Dawn也相当疯狂，但这些独家产品的强大功能也使我不完全认为我们正朝着所谓的“单一控制台的未来”迈进。
However, once you get over your rigid gamer preconceptions of what constitutes a “real” game system, you’ll see how all of these perfectly valid options end up blurring together. An iPhone is as much an inheritor of the Game Boy’s popular legacy as Nintendo’s own handhelds. We may take different roads to get there, but we all end up at the same games, and that’s a good thing.
但是，一旦您对构成“真实”游戏系统的僵化游戏玩家的观念有了误解，您就会发现所有这些完美有效的选择最终如何变得模糊起来。 iPhone和任天堂自己的掌上电脑一样，是Game Boy受欢迎的遗产的继承者。 我们可能会走不同的路到达那儿，但是我们最终都会参加同一场比赛，这是一件好事。
不断改进，永无止境 (Always Improving, Never Ending)
You can see the singularity forming in how these products keep looking more and more like each other as they borrow the same ideas. In the past, you could easily tell the difference between a customizable gaming PC, a bespoke gaming console, and a phone that barely played games at all. Now, they really are all just computers of varying shapes and sizes, running whatever games the specs can pull off.
您会看到这些产品借用相同的想法时，如何保持彼此越来越相似的独特性。 过去，您可以轻松分辨出可定制的游戏PC，定制的游戏机和根本不玩游戏的手机之间的区别。 现在，它们实际上只是形状和大小各异的计算机，可以运行各种规格的游戏。
They all upgrade themselves like computers, too. Console generations are still technically a thing, we’re about to go through another transition. However, more than ever, boxes like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X feel like marginal improvements over what has come before rather than total reinventions. From their features to their games to their system architecture, they look like the latest high-end gaming PCs, complete with gaudy cases.
他们也都像计算机一样升级自己。 从技术上讲，控制台一代仍然是一回事，我们将经历另一个过渡。 但是，与以往相比，像PlayStation 5和Xbox Series X这样的包装盒比以往有了些微的改进，而不是完全重新发明。 从功能到游戏，再到系统架构，它们看起来都像最新的高端游戏PC，并配有华丽的外壳。
This is after a generation that saw half-step improvements to consoles with the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X. Rumors also strongly indicate Microsoft and Nintendo will soon release alternate consoles with different power levels, a weaker Xbox Series S and a stronger Nintendo Switch Pro. That means scalability is more important than ever in game development, so one cross-gen purchase can run on a variety of hardware, with different visual results. Soon, we’ll be swapping in better components ourselves as these console games get closer to their PC counterparts.
这是继PlayStation 4 Pro和Xbox One X对游戏机进行了半步改进之后的一代。有谣言还强烈表明，微软和任天堂将很快发布具有不同功率级别的替代游戏机， 较弱的Xbox Series S和更强大的Nintendo Switch亲 这意味着可扩展性在游戏开发中比以往任何时候都更加重要，因此跨代购买可以在各种硬件上运行，并获得不同的视觉效果。 不久，随着这些主机游戏与PC机之间的距离越来越近，我们将自己更换更好的组件。
This piecemeal release strategy is new territory for game consoles, but smartphone enthusiasts have seen it for years with annual phone upgrades. A 2020 iPhone is certainly a generation ahead from a 2013 iPhone, but that transition happened in increments buyers could opt into whenever they wanted. Ironically, Apple once invited Epic Games onstage to demonstrate the power of a new iPhone with an Unreal Engine gaming demo. It might as well have been a first-party E3 presentation, and that was before Mario showed up.
这种零星的发布策略是游戏机的新领域，但多年来，智能手机发烧友已经通过年度电话升级对其进行了观察。 2020年的iPhone当然比2013年的iPhone领先一代，但这种转变以增加的速度发生，买家可以随时选择加入。 具有讽刺意味的是，苹果曾经邀请Epic Games登台，以虚幻引擎游戏演示来演示新款iPhone的强大功能。 可能还只是第一方E3演示，而那是在Mario出现之前。
越过溪流 (Crossing the Streams)
Even the expensive hardware bottleneck may become irrelevant if game streaming technology reaches its full potential. Right now, suffering through a laggy version of Just Dance over Google Stadia is not our recommended way to play. Gamers will most likely always want an offline way to play games they actually own, instead of just renting a game to stream over the internet. Thinking that everyone will immediately get onboard with streaming is a pretty privileged mindset.
如果游戏流技术能够充分发挥其潜力，那么即使是昂贵的硬件瓶颈也可能变得无关紧要。 目前，我们不建议您通过Google Stadia上的《舞力全开》(Just Dance)的慢节奏版本来玩游戏。 玩家很可能总是希望使用离线方式来玩自己真正拥有的游戏，而不是仅仅租借游戏以通过互联网流式传输。 认为每个人都会立即加入流媒体是一种非常特权的心态。
Still, don’t discount the allure of playing the most beautiful version of any game you can think of anywhere on any device that has an internet connection. Google isn’t the only industry titan chomping at the bit to make this happen. Microsoft’s real next-gen offering might be Project xCloud bundled with a Game Pass subscription. Sony would love for you to only use its hardware, but the company still lets you play PS4 games on your phone with Remote Play or over the internet with PlayStation Now. Steam’s Remote Play Together feature lets you play with friends who lack a game by streaming it to their PC.
不过，不要低估在任何可以连接互联网的设备上玩任何游戏中最漂亮版本的魅力。 谷歌并不是唯一一家实现这一目标的行业巨头。 微软真正的下一代产品可能是与Game Pass订阅捆绑在一起的Project xCloud 。 索尼希望您仅使用其硬件，但该公司仍允许您通过Remote Play在手机上或通过PlayStation Now在互联网上玩PS4游戏。 Steam的“远程一起玩”功能使您可以将缺少游戏的朋友通过将其流式传输到他们的PC上进行游戏。
The only major holdout is Nintendo, old-fashioned and somewhat rightfully afraid of the internet. Game streaming more than anything could destroy arbitrary barriers between you and your video games, so of course Apple isn’t allowing any of these services onto the App Store.
唯一的主要支持者是任天堂，它是老式的并且有些理所当然地害怕互联网。 游戏流媒体比任何东西都可能破坏您和您的视频游戏之间的任意障碍，因此，Apple当然不允许在App Store中使用其中的任何服务。
直到所有人都合而为一 (Till All Are One)
There are downsides to a wholly merged gaming singularity. It makes it easier for a company to keep players online and enforce strict copyright rules. It also turns individual games into devalued pieces of content inside huge libraries.
完全合并的游戏奇点存在弊端。 它使公司更容易使播放器保持在线并执行严格的版权规则。 它还将单个游戏变成了庞大的库中贬值的内容。
Netflix and Spotify are rich, but you can’t say the same for all of their filmmakers and musicians. And I can’t stress enough how tasteless it is for Epic to weaponize children and paint their fight for more money as some kind of crusade against Apple’s platform of tech fascism.
Netflix和Spotify都很有钱，但是您不能对他们的所有电影摄制者和音乐家说同样的话。 而且，我对Epic施加压力，对儿童进行武器装备并画出他们争取更多钱的斗争，这是对Apple的技术法西斯主义平台的一次讨伐活动，这真是太卑鄙了。
However, the sooner we overcome needless separations in gaming-whether they’re caused by hardware, software, or corporate pride-the sooner we get to what matters: everyone enjoying video games.
但是，我们越早克服游戏中不必要的分离(无论是由硬件，软件还是企业自豪感引起的分离)，我们就越早意识到重要的事情：每个人都喜欢视频游戏。
Originally published at https://www.pcmag.com.
最初发布在 https://www.pcmag.com 。
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