I can’t say I would have stuck with Ghost of Tsushima — a game I ended up liking a lot despite its numerous shortcomings — if I hadn’t been so completely won over by its photo mode. The mode, which lets you meticulously frame and filter your photos, changing the time, weather, and the expression on protagonist Jin’s face, is brilliant. You can turn the game’s moments of levity, poignancy, and terror into singular pieces of art, or even create moments that didn’t really happen.

我 不能说我会喜欢《对马的鬼魂》(Ghost of Tsushima)(尽管它有很多缺点，但我最终还是很喜欢这个游戏)，如果我还没有完全被它的摄影模式所吸引。 该模式非常出色，可让您精心构图和过滤照片，更改时间，天气以及主角Jin脸上的表情。 您可以将游戏的轻浮，凄美和恐怖的时刻转变为奇异的艺术品，甚至创造出真正没有发生的时刻。

It’s also something I probably wouldn’t have bothered with at all if it wasn’t so easy to share PS4 screenshots on Twitter, and my feed hadn’t been full of other people’s efforts. It was something I wanted to be a part of, and I ended up getting sucked in by the rest of the game, too.

如果在Twitter上分享PS4截图不是那么容易的话，我可能也根本不会去理会它，而我的提要却没有别人的努力。 我想成为其中的一员，最终我也被游戏的其余部分所吸引。

As the PS4’s time as Sony’s primary console comes to an end, I’ve been thinking about the system’s legacy. It had many more important exclusives than the Xbox One, as well as an interface and a controller that I preferred. Third-party games tended to perform better on it, too, and I had an easier time finding friends to play Destiny and Overwatch with. It is, as far as I’m concerned, a great system. But I don’t think any element introduced by the PS4, be it a gameplay mechanic, interface option, or anything else, was more important — and has proved more essential for systems going forward — than the DualShock 4's share button.

随着PS4成为Sony主要游戏机的时代即将结束，我一直在思考该系统的传统。 它具有比Xbox One更重要的独家产品，以及我更喜欢的界面和控制器。 第三方游戏在此方面也往往表现得更好，而且我更容易找到朋友玩《 命运》和《 守望先锋》 。 就我而言，这是一个很好的系统。 但是我不认为PS4引入的任何元素，无论是游戏机制，界面选项还是其他任何东西，都比DualShock 4的“共享”按钮更重要-并且对以后的系统来说更重要。

Sharing your gameplay has become a huge part of gaming culture thanks to Twitch, YouTube, and the various other platforms that have popped up and died off over the last decade. It’s possible to experience games without really playing them yourselves, and games are designed with streaming compatibility in mind. But I’ve never had any interest in becoming a streamer or making videos. I just, on occasion, want to share a nice skybox in The Last of Us Part II, a shot I’ve tinkered with in Spider-Man’s photo mode, or a short video of a comeback in Tetris Effect. I want to be part of a conversation rather than the center of attention, and the Share button is perfect for that.

得益于Twitch，YouTube和在过去十年中突然消失的各种其他平台，分享您的游戏玩法已成为游戏文化的重要组成部分。 无需真正玩游戏就可以体验游戏，并且游戏在设计时就考虑了流媒体兼容性。 但是我从来没有对成为流媒体或制作视频感兴趣。 有时候，我只是想在《我们的最后一部分》中分享一个漂亮的天空盒，或者是我在《 蜘蛛侠 》的照片模式下修补过的镜头，或者是《 俄罗斯方块效应》卷土重来的简短视频。 我想成为对话的一部分，而不是关注的中心，因此“共享”按钮非常适合。

Yes, this is something you’ve always been able to do on PC. But seeing a feature like this worked so elegantly into a console, to have the button right there on the controller, has really encouraged me to keep records of and share my experiences.

是的，这是您始终能够在PC上执行的操作。 但是看到这样的功能在控制台中如此优雅地工作，并在控制器上放置按钮，确实鼓舞了我记录并分享我的经验。

The more I think about the big AAA-exclusives that flooded onto the PS4 a few times a year, the less revolutionary and special they seemed (Bloodborne is probably the exception, even if it’s not a game I’ve personally put the time into). They were, by and large, better, shinier, more polished versions of the PS3 and Xbox 360 games I enjoyed. And that’s fine! It just means that, ultimately, I personally don’t think they’re what defined the system. I think it’s that one little button, and how easy it was to show off the games I enjoyed on the system.

我对每年数次涌入PS4的大型AAA独家产品的思考越多，它们所表现出的革命性和特殊性就越小(“ 血源性”可能是个例外，即使这不是我亲自投入的游戏) 。 总的来说，它们是我喜欢的PS3和Xbox 360游戏的更好，更亮，更精致的版本。 很好！ 这只是意味着，最终，我个人认为它们不是系统的定义。 我认为这只是一个小按钮，在我的系统上炫耀我喜欢的游戏是多么容易。

I don’t think any element introduced by the PS4, be it a gameplay mechanic, interface option, or anything else, was more important — and has proved more essential for systems going forward — than the DualShock 4’s share button.

我不认为PS4引入的任何元素，无论是游戏机制，界面选项还是其他任何东西，都比DualShock 4的“共享”按钮更重要-并且对以后的系统更重要-已经证明。

For Sony, it’s all free marketing that players are happy to take part in. They want to share short little videos of their impressive God of War kills, share the vistas of Uncharted 4, or draw attention to a smaller game that isn’t getting as much traction. As someone who generally prioritizes single-player games over multiplayer, the “share” button allows me to still enjoy a social element with these games, to connect with other players, or share what I’m enjoying. I don’t need to edit together a meticulous video essay about why Ghost of Tsushima succeeds despite its tired mission designs, but I absolutely need to share a shot of Jin barrelling off a cliff on horseback.

对于索尼来说，所有的自由行销都是玩家乐于参与的。他们想分享简短的小视频，讲述他们令人印象深刻的《 战神》杀戮，分享《 神秘海域4》的远景，或者吸引人们关注那些没有获得成功的小型游戏尽可能多的牵引力。 作为通常将单人游戏优先于多人游戏的人，“分享”按钮使我仍然可以享受这些游戏的社交元素，与其他玩家建立联系或分享我喜欢的东西。 关于对马岛的鬼魂，尽管任务设计很累，但我并不需要编辑一丝不苟的视频文章，但我绝对需要分享马骑在悬崖上的Jin的镜头。

I’ve found myself, across this generation, wondering if things would have been different for Microsoft if the default Xbox One controller had a share button on it. You can take screenshots and videos on Xbox One, but it’s just slightly too convoluted to be reliable. Making it a single button press on the PS4 was a genius move. Letting me quickly tweet out a screenshot or video from my system without needing to close the game was something no console had ever allowed me to do with such ease.

我发现自己这一代人都在想，如果默认的Xbox One控制器上带有共享按钮，微软的情况是否会有所不同。 您可以在Xbox One上截取屏幕截图和视频，但是它有点令人费解，难以置信。 只需按一下PS4上的一个按钮，这就是一个天才。 在没有关闭游戏机的情况下，让我快速发布系统中的屏幕截图或视频，这是任何游戏机都无法做到的。

There were wider implications here, too. As a critic, it’s always interesting to which platforms games get reviewed on, and the Xbox One has lagged behind since it released in this regard. When it comes to console review copy requests, PS4 (and later Switch for indies) became the default — and a large part of that is because it’s just a bit easier to take and share screenshots.

这里也有更广泛的含义。 作为评论家，总是对哪些平台的游戏受到关注很有趣，而Xbox One自发布以来就一直落后于此。 当涉及到控制台审阅副本请求时，PS4(以及后来的Indie版Switch)成为了默认设置-其中很大一部分是因为它更易于获取和共享屏幕截图。

It also allowed for the rise of Photo Mode, and with it, the art of digital photography. At some point this generation, Photo mode crossed over from being a cool curio to an important feature, blowing the digital photography community wide open. It’s now possible to take a great in-game photo in many big games without needing to tinker with code, find a way to unlock the camera, or really have any knowledge beyond which button starts photo mode — and without the PS4’s share button, I doubt these would have taken off in the say way.

它还促成了照相模式的兴起，并带动了数码摄影的艺术发展。 在这一代的某个时刻，“照片”模式从一个很酷的古玩转变为一个重要功能，使数字摄影界大开眼界。 现在，可以在许多大型游戏中拍摄出色的游戏内照片，而无需修改代码，寻找一种方法来解锁相机，或者真正知道除哪个按钮可以启动照片模式外，而且无需PS4的共享按钮，我怀疑这些会以某种方式脱颖而出。

Nintendo made sure to include their version of a share button with the Switch, too. It’s a less powerful system, so there are fewer “look at this stunning representation of what’s now possible visually” shares going up on Twitter — but that doesn’t make it any less important a part of Nintendo’s device. It was, I believe, the Switch’s share button that has propelled Animal Crossing: New Horizons to 22 million in sales. “I am enjoying my island” is nowhere near as powerful as “check out this thing on my island,” and the allure of a game about sharing the fruits of your labor is much stronger when you can post a photo to Twitter easily. Sharing shots of Breath of the Wild was an essential part of the experience in the game’s early days, too. Players showed off the corners of the maps they’d discovered, the obscure solutions to problems they’d found — a huge part of the game’s legacy is tied into the way players were able to share their experiences.

任天堂确保也将自己的共享按钮版本包含在Switch中。 它是一个功能较弱的系统，因此Twitter上出现的“分享看得见的令人眼前一亮的视觉效果”的份额越来越少-但这并没有使Nintendo的设备变得越来越重要。 我认为，正是Switch的“分享”按钮推动了《 动物穿越：新视野》的2200万销售。 “我正在享受我的岛屿”远不如“在我的岛屿上检查这个东西”那么强大，而当您可以轻松地将照片发布到Twitter时，关于分享劳动成果的游戏的吸引力就更强了。 在游戏初期，分享野性呼吸的镜头也是体验中必不可少的一部分。 玩家展示了他们发现的地图的角落，解决了他们所发现问题的晦涩解决方案-游戏遗产的很大一部分与玩家能够分享其经验的方式有关。

And now, if you’ve been taking plenty of screenshots, it’s possible to chart the system’s entire life in your Capture Gallery. It’s fascinating going through now and recalling all my experiences with the games I’ve played on PS4, and having these screenshots means that I have records of the moments that stood out to me. On a basic consumer level, it means that I’m going into the next generation with a sense of nostalgia and investment in the games I’ve enjoyed on Sony’s system, and a desire to keep that going.

现在，如果您已经拍摄了大量屏幕截图，则可以在Capture Gallery中绘制系统的整个使用寿命。 现在，这令人着迷，回想起了我在PS4上玩过的游戏的所有经历，拥有这些屏幕截图意味着我拥有当下脱颖而出的记录。 从基本的消费者层面来说，这意味着我将怀着对索尼系统所享受的游戏的怀旧和投资感，并希望保持这种状态，进入下一代。

It was, I believe, the Switch’s share button that has propelled Animal Crossing: New Horizons to 22 million in sales.

我认为，正是Switch的“分享”按钮推动了《 动物穿越：新视野》的2200万销售。

A “share” button is inevitably going to be part of every single console controller released from now on. Ten years from now, I’ll be editing a photo mode shot from Assassin’s Creed: This One’s Finally Set In Feudal Japan to ramp up the contrast and show how the new lighting model emphasizes the fully-rendered veins under the character’s skin, and one of my followers on whatever replaces Twitter will see the shot and be convinced to play the game, too. Perhaps, in time, developers will find new ways to turn the share button more explicitly into a marketing tool, and it will lose some of its shine. But as the generation winds down, I think adding this button to the DualShock 4 was the most important PS4 design choice that Sony made.

从现在开始，每个共享控制台控制器都不可避免地会包含一个“共享”按钮。 从现在开始的十年后，我将编辑《 刺客信条》中的照片模式：这是《封建日本的最后一幕》，以增强对比度并显示新的照明模型如何强调角色皮肤下完全渲染的静脉，以及无论是替代Twitter还是关注我的追随者，都会看到镜头，并被说服玩游戏。 也许，随着时间的流逝，开发人员将找到将共享按钮更明确地转变为营销工具的新方法，并且它会失去一些光泽。 但是随着这一代人逐渐衰落，我认为在DualShock 4中添加此按钮是Sony做出的最重要的PS4设计选择。