Let’s face it: miniature consoles are the game industry’s fad du jour, and it’s starting to show. Nintendo has released two products so far, the NES and SNES Classic (and a possible third might be around the corner), Sony just announced its upcoming Playstation Classic, and SNK Playmore recently released the Neo Geo Mini. While the concept of small retro consoles is hardly new (Sega and Atari have been licensing to crappy mini console makers for years), it’s suddenly become hugely popular and it seems everyone wants a piece of the market. On the surface, it makes a lot of sense. People have fond memories of games they grew up- people who would surely pay to re-live those moments and share them with others.

L等我们面对现实吧：微型游戏机是游戏产业的时尚大谈特谈，并且它开始显现。 任天堂发布了两个产品至今，NES和SNES经典(和可能的第三个可能是在拐角处 )，索尼刚刚宣布了其即将推出的Playstation经典，和SNK PLAYMORE最近发布的新地理迷你。 尽管小型复古游戏机的概念并不是什么新鲜事物(Sega和Atari多年来已授权给笨拙的微型游戏机制造商使用)，但它突然变得非常流行，似乎每个人都希望占领这个市场。 从表面上看，这很有道理。 人们对成长过程中的游戏充满了美好的回忆，他们一定愿意为重拾这些时光并与他人分享而付出代价。

But it has to be asked, isn’t there a better way of doing this? Is it possible that mini consoles are actually a bad idea?

但是必须要问，难道没有更好的方法吗？ 迷你游戏机实际上不是一个好主意吗？

怀旧引起的混乱 (Nostalgia-fuelled clutter)

The most obvious problem with this trend is the additional clutter that game fans have to deal with now. Each new release brings a new device to hook up to your TV, with more cords and controllers to go along with it. I don’t know about all of you, but I have enough things in my entertainment center to keep track of, and I would rather not deal with the first-world-problem of “not enough HDMI ports.”

这种趋势最明显的问题是游戏迷们现在必须应对的其他混乱情况。 每个新版本都带来了一个新设备，可以与电视连接，并带有更多的电线和控制器。 我不认识你们所有人，但是我的娱乐中心有足够的东西要跟踪，我宁愿不处理“ HDMI端口不足”的第一世界问题。

Of course, this isn’t really a problem for the manufacturers, since it’s not their TVs and living rooms that have to deal with the extra crap. And yes, there is a world of third-party products to help solve these problems, but the value they offer is more of a patch than a solution. Fundamentally, the mini consoles themselves are the problem. It’s a problem, however, that most hardware companies aren’t eager to solve. The truth is that video game companies are businesses, whose first obligation is to generate healthy profits.

当然，这不是真正的制造商的问题，因为这不是他们的电视和必须处理额外的废话客厅。 是的，有很多第三方产品可以帮助解决这些问题，但是它们提供的价值更多是补丁而不是解决方案。 从根本上说，迷你游戏机本身就是问题所在。 但是，大多数硬件公司并不急于解决这个问题。 事实是，视频游戏公司是企业，其首要义务是产生可观的利润。

That’s not cynicism, by the way.

顺便说一下，那不是犬儒主义。

While I believe that many businesses (game companies included) have genuinely good intentions for all of their stakeholders (customers included), they do have an obligation to the business itself. That means finding new ways to generate revenue and build up the brand whenever possible — two things that mini consoles do very well. That being said, I think there is a better approach to the demand for retro games: software-based compilations.

尽管我相信许多公司(包括游戏公司)对所有利益相关者(包括客户)都有良好的意愿，但他们确实对公司本身负有义务。 这意味着寻找新的方式来创收并在可能的情况下树立品牌-迷你游戏机做得很好的两件事。 话虽如此，我认为对复古游戏的需求有更好的方法：基于软件的编译。

为胜利而编 (Compilations for the win)

Again, this isn’t a new idea. As far as I’m aware, game compilations date back as far as the fourth console generation with titles like Super Mario All-Stars on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (a title which coincidentally, also shares some DNA with the recent game remaster trend). However, I believe software-based compilations are the best way to offer retro titles to consumers. All-Stars was the second most successful game on the SNES and it was available for purchase by itself or for free with the purchase of the console.

同样，这不是一个新主意。 据我所知，游戏汇编的历史可以追溯到第四代游戏机，其名称包括超级任天堂娱乐系统上的超级马里奥全明星 (这个名字恰巧也与最近的游戏重制趋势共享一些DNA)。 。 但是，我相信基于软件的编译是向消费者提供复古标题的最佳方法。 全明星赛是SNES上第二大最成功的游戏，可以单独购买，也可以在购买游戏机后免费获得。

In my opinion, this is the superior way to distribute game collections. After all, most of us already have one of the three major game consoles sitting under our TV, each of which is more than capable of handling these relatively simple games. On the company’s side, software collections carry the added benefit of being cheap to manufacture since they could be distributed online or via existing media like discs and cartridges. It’s a characteristic that could potentially result in increased profits, and maybe even reduced prices. Plus, if you’re a hardware manufacturer like Sony or Nintendo, bundling these collections could help drive console sales which, while less profitable than cheap marked-up mini-consoles, has the greater benefit of bringing new customers into their respective ecosystems.

我认为，这是分发游戏收藏的上乘方式。 毕竟，我们大多数人已经拥有位于电视下方的三个主要游戏机之一，每个游戏机都具有处理这些相对简单的游戏的能力。 在公司方面，软件收藏还具有制造便宜的附加优势，因为它们可以在线分发或通过现有的介质(如光盘和盒带)进行分发。 此特征可能会导致利润增加，甚至价格降低。 另外，如果您是Sony或Nintendo这样的硬件制造商，则捆绑这些产品系列将有助于推动游戏机的销售，尽管其利润不及价格低廉的迷你游戏机，但将新客户引入各自的生态系统具有更大的优势。

听从领队 (Follow the leader)

Naturally, you might be wondering why these companies are jumping onto the bandwagon if it’s really such a bad idea. Well, I personally think there are several reasons for this.

自然，您可能想知道如果这真是个坏主意，为什么这些公司会加入潮流。 好吧，我个人认为有几个原因。

Firstly, competing companies tend to copy the industry leader in hopes of acquiring market share or even remaining relevant. This is a practice we’ve seen before with hand-helds, disk add-ons, motion controls, and even VR/AR. The simple fact is that Nintendo released an incredibly successful product, showed that a potential market existed, and now others are following suit.

首先，竞争公司倾向于复制行业领导者，以期获得市场份额甚至保持相关性。 这是我们以前在手持设备，磁盘附件，运动控件甚至VR / AR上看到的一种做法。 一个简单的事实是，任天堂发布了一款非常成功的产品，表明存在潜在的市场，现在其他人也纷纷效仿。

Where I think they are falling short, however, is in execution.

但是，我认为它们不足之处在于执行。

I think the NES and SNES Classic were part of a larger strategy involving the intentional death of the Virtual Console and the company’s paid online service. Ultimately, Nintendo felt that these devices were appropriate for their strategy, but that doesn’t mean that it works for others as well. Thankfully, other companies are starting to diversify their plans a bit. Both Sega and SNK/Playmore, while offering mini consoles of their own, are almost simultaneously releasing massive software-based collections on several platforms. Of course, they have the added benefit of being third-party publishers don’t make hardware (not anymore, at least), but it still shows an openness on their part that Nintendo and Sony should seriously consider.

我认为NES和SNES Classic是更大战略的一部分，该战略涉及虚拟控制台的故意终止和公司的付费在线服务。 最终，任天堂觉得这些设备适合他们的策略，但这并不意味着它也适用于其他设备。 值得庆幸的是，其他公司也开始稍微扩大他们的计划。 Sega和SNK / Playmore都提供了自己的迷你游戏机，几乎同时在多个平台上发布了基于软件的大量产品。 当然，它们还有一个好处，即第三方发行商不再制造硬件(至少现在不再使用)，但是这仍然表明任天堂和索尼应该认真考虑的开放性。

In the end, I applaud Nintendo for being the savvy business that they are. They took advantage of their strong catalog of titles and partnerships and successfully left a crater in a previously dead market. Good for them.

最后，我为任天堂成为他们精明的企业而称赞。 他们利用强大的头衔和合作伙伴目录，成功地将火山口留在了此前一片死寂的市场中。 对他们有好处。

Personally, though, I feel the mini console thing is starting to outstay its welcome. Yes, many gamers want to play their old favorites and are even willing to pay to do it (despite what the emulation community might think). But if we’re being completely honest, miniature consoles are redundant; what we really want are the games, and we already have hyper-powered devices that are up to the task of playing them. Selling us proprietary, unwanted hardware for that purpose is a lot like having to buy a second residence in order to own a pet. Sure, I suppose there could be a market for luxury mini-dog-houses, but if our existing homes suffice, then that should be an option too.

不过，就我个人而言，我觉得迷你游戏机已不再受欢迎。 是的，许多游戏玩家都想玩自己喜欢的老游戏，甚至愿意为此付费(尽管仿真社区会怎么想)。 但是，如果说实话，那么微型控制台是多余的。 我们真正想要的是游戏，而且我们已经拥有功能强大的设备，可以胜任玩游戏的任务。 为此目的，向我们出售专有的不需要的硬件就像是要购买第二套住房才能养宠物。 当然，我想豪华小型犬舍可能会有市场，但是如果我们现有的住房足够，那也应该是一个选择。