For Generation X (and early Gen-Y) gamers like myself, there was never a choice which system you owned if you wanted to play games online. If you were to ask someone why they were an Xbox gamer instead of PlayStation, you were likely to hear “because that’s where my friends play” or something very similar.

F 或X一代(和早期的Y世代)的玩家像我一样，从来就没有，如果你想上网玩游戏，你拥有哪个系统的选择。 如果您要问某人为什么他们是Xbox玩家而不是PlayStation玩家，您可能会听到“因为那是我的朋友玩的地方”或类似内容。

Games like Halo 2, Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, and Star Wars Battlefront 2 were mainstays during the early days of Microsoft’s wildly popular Xbox Live service, and Sony had no real answer. They have spent the better part of two decades trying to catch up and find the killer app that would help them compete with Microsoft, while at the same time often portraying a casual disregard for the importance of the multiplayer space. Let’s take a look at the details and a few of the games Sony has tried to put into battle against the Xbox behemoth.

在微软广受欢迎的Xbox Live服务的早期，Halo 2，Splinter Cell，Ghost Recon和Star Wars Battlefront 2等游戏是主流，而Sony没有真正的答案。 他们花了二十年的大部分时间试图赶上并找到有助于他们与Microsoft竞争的杀手级应用程序，与此同时，他们经常刻意忽略多人游戏空间的重要性。 让我们看一下细节，以及索尼试图与Xbox庞然大物进行战斗的一些游戏。

From the very beginning, Sony allowed Microsoft to get well ahead of them when the original Xbox released with a built-in Ethernet jack in November 2001. Sony did not offer any sort of connectivity until it launched the PS2 Network Play initiative in July 2001 in Japan and August 2002 in the US. Along with the initiative, Sony began marketing the PS2 network adapter, featuring both a phone-line modem and Ethernet jack which fit into the console’s Expansion Bay at the back of the system. Sony would later build the Ethernet jack into the slimline PS2’s starting in 2004.

从一开始，当2001年11月发布带有内置以太网插Kong的原始Xbox时，索尼就使Microsoft领先于微软。索尼在2001年7月推出PS2 Network Play计划之前没有提供任何类型的连接。日本和2002年8月在美国。 随着这项计划的开展，索尼开始销售PS2网络适配器，该适配器具有电话线调制解调器和以太网插Kong，可安装在系统背面控制台的扩展海湾中。 索尼后来从2004年开始将以太网插Kong安装到超薄PS2中。

Even with that step, Sony was apparently unconvinced of the future of multiplayer gaming. Unlike the full-fledged Xbox Live service offered by Microsoft, Sony did not create their own service to go along with the network adapter hardware and instead relied upon the publishers of the games to use their own servers to host multiplayer matches. It wasn’t until November of 2006 that Sony officially launched the PlayStation Network (PSN), a service that finally let gamers play online in a unified ecosystem that Sony itself controlled.

即使迈出了这一步，索尼显然也不相信多人游戏的未来。 与微软提供的全面的Xbox Live服务不同，索尼没有创建自己的服务来与网络适配器硬件一起使用，而是依靠游戏的发行商使用自己的服务器来主持多人游戏。 直到2006年11月，索尼才正式推出PlayStation Network(PSN)，这项服务最终使游戏玩家可以在索尼自己控制的统一生态系统中在线玩游戏。

When the PS3 launched, the PlayStation store didn’t even have it’s own app or functionality within the system. You actually had to launch a browser on the console (not an easy or intuitive process to be sure) and navigate to the web page that was the store, where you could then browse for games. It was clear Sony had put very little thought into the online portions of their ecosystem.

当PS3启动时，PlayStation商店甚至在系统中都没有它自己的应用程序或功能。 实际上，您实际上必须在控制台上启动浏览器(肯定不是一个简单或直观的过程)，然后导航到商店的网页，然后可以在其中浏览游戏。 显然，索尼几乎没有考虑到其生态系统的在线部分。

It is impossible not to also mention the devastating hack that shut down PSN for almost a month in 2011, damaging Sony both financially and in the reputation of its service. This also played into the failure of one of the few franchises where PlayStation found some success in the online space, as we will see soon.

还要提及2011年将PSN关闭近一个月的破坏性黑客，这不仅损害了Sony的财务利益，也损害了其服务声誉。 这也导致了PlayStation在在线领域获得一定成功的少数特许经营之一的失败，我们很快就会看到。

The Japanese giant actually made a few prescient moves here that helped them begin to win over fans who loved PlayStation games but had been coerced by the online possibilities on Xbox. First, the service was initially free, which performed well against the subscription model that Xbox Live employed. In addition, Sony conceived the Trophy system, its own take on the Xbox Achievements system. This has become wildly popular with gamers and spawned a subculture of trophy hunters that will buy and play almost any game in order to add to their count of the ultimate prize, the Platinum Trophy.

这家日本巨人实际上在这里采取了一些有先见之明的举动，帮助他们开始赢得了那些热爱PlayStation游戏但又被Xbox的在线功能所迫的粉丝们。 首先，该服务最初是免费的，与Xbox Live所采用的订阅模型相比表现良好。 此外，索尼构思了Trophy系统，它是Xbox成就系统的专有工具。 这已经在游戏玩家中变得非常流行，并产生了奖杯猎人的亚文化，他们将购买和玩几乎任何游戏，以增加他们的终极奖白金奖杯。

As always though, it’s all about the games in the end, and Sony has struggled these two decades to find exclusive games and franchises that would compete with the 800-pound gorilla that is the Xbox online ecosystem. Gamers no doubt play titles like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto Online with their PlayStations, but the Holy Grail are games like Halo, platform exclusives that sell systems and draw players into the orbit of your console, leading to brand loyalty and increased sales.

与往常一样，最终都与游戏有关。索尼在过去的20年中一直在努力寻找能够与800磅大猩猩(Xbox在线生态系统)竞争的独家游戏和特许经营权。 毫无疑问，游戏玩家可以在其PlayStations上玩《 使命召唤》和《侠盗猎车手》 ，但《圣杯》是Halo之类的游戏 ，该平台独家销售系统并吸引玩家进入游戏机的轨道，从而提高了品牌忠诚度并增加了销量。

It’s not that Sony hasn’t tried, but they just haven’t been able to figure out the secret sauce that would lead to the kind of ubiquitous success and participation in the zeitgeist that their competitor has enjoyed. Here are just a few of the titles that tried to usurp the throne over the years, as well as a look at where Sony stands today.

并不是索尼没有尝试过，但他们只是无法找出秘密的调味料，而这种秘密的调味料会导致这种竞争者无处不在的成功和参与时代精神。 这些只是多年来试图篡夺王位的一些头衔，以及索尼今天的地位。

SOCOM：美国海军海豹突击队专营权 (SOCOM: US Navy Seals Franchise)

The original SOCOM released in 2002 for the PS2 and was Sony’s original first-party foray into the online gaming world. The squad-based tactical combat genre was still emerging at the time, and this one brought a lot of console gamers into what had previously been the domain of PC gamers alone. SOCOM was a big hit, as the multiplayer functionality was strong with little lag and good matchmaking. The games combined single-player campaigns in addition to the core multiplayer action, so there was something for everyone.

最初的SOCOM于2002年为PS2发布，是Sony首次涉足在线游戏世界。 当时，基于小队的战术战斗流派仍在兴起，这将很多游戏机玩家带入了以前仅PC玩家领域的领域。 SOCOM受到了极大的欢迎，因为多人游戏功能强大，几乎没有滞后，并且具有出色的配对能力。 除了核心的多人游戏动作外，这些游戏还结合了单人游戏，因此每个人都有一些东西。

The game was popular enough to receive multiple sequels, and even a few PSP iterations, each one refining the online shooter formula and receiving good to great reviews all around. Later games had the capacity for up to 32 simultaneous players, and dedicated teams and clans emerged. Zipper Interactive, the studio that originated the series and lead development on most of the titles, was lauded as one of Sony’s best first-party studios. As broadband technology became faster and more ubiquitous, it appeared SOCOM would continue to grow and be the tentpole online experience that both Sony and it’s fans craved.

该游戏非常受欢迎，可以接收多个续集，甚至可以进行几次PSP迭代，每个迭代都完善了在线射击游戏的公式，并获得了不错的好评。 后来的比赛最多可容纳32名同时选手，并且出现了专门的团队和部族。 Zipper Interactive是一家起源于该系列电影并领导大部分产品开发的工作室，被誉为Sony最好的第一方工作室之一。 随着宽带技术变得越来越快，越来越普及， SOCOM似乎将继续发展，并成为索尼及其粉丝渴望的在线体验。

Alas, it was not to be, as a stroke of horrible luck would see the downfall of the series. SOCOM 4 was released on April 19, 2011, and while the reviews were good, they weren’t quite up to par. The nails in the coffin, however, came the day after the game’s release, when Sony was forced to shut down the PlayStation Network due to the hack that exposed the information of millions of its subscribers. With the network crippled, the game’s main fan base of online gamers was unable to play for over three weeks. By the time the service came back online, the window for SOCOM 4 had passed and lack of trust in Sony’s service kept people away in droves. Zipper Interactive would go on to make one more game, but SOCOM 4’s fate would be the studio’s as well, and they were shuttered in March of 2012.

las，不是这样，因为一连串的倒霉将使系列赛倒台。 SOCOM 4于2011年4月19日发布，虽然评论不错，但还没有达到标准。 然而，棺材上的钉子是在游戏发行后的第二天出现的，当时索尼因黑客入侵而被迫关闭了PlayStation Network，这暴露了数百万订户的信息。 随着网络的瘫痪，该游戏的主要在线游戏迷群体无法玩了超过三周。 到服务重新上线时， SOCOM 4的窗口已经过去，对索尼服务的不信任使人们蜂拥而至。 Zipper Interactive将继续开发另一款游戏，但SOCOM 4的命运也将与工作室一样，并于2012年3月关闭。

Many gamers still pine today for the return of SOCOM, and it seems like it would make sense for Sony’s re-entry into the online shooter realm to happen with a recognized IP. But the gaming world has changed since 2011, and with the ubiquity of Battle Royale games and online shooters in general, it’s hard to say if Sony has the appetite to jump back into those shark-infested waters once again.

如今，许多游戏玩家仍然为SOCOM的回归而努力，似乎索尼以认可的IP重新进入在线射击游戏领域似乎是有意义的。 但是自2011年以来，游戏世界发生了变化，而且随着《大逃杀》游戏和在线射击游戏的普遍存在，很难说索尼是否有足够的欲望再次跳入鲨鱼泛滥的海域。

MAG(大型动作游戏) (M.A.G. (Massive Action Game))

Releasing in 2010, this was an online-only squad-based shooter, also by Zipper Interactive. The hook here was, as the title suggests, the game supported 256 players at a time, a number unheard of on consoles at that time. In fact, the game held the Guinness World Record for that feat for a while. The various game modes had anywhere from 64 players all the way to the full 256 pitted against each other across three different factions. Players could level up their characters and, with the game world being persistent, could grow them into positions of command over platoon and squads.

该产品于2010年发布，是Zipper Interactive旗下的一款基于在线的射击游戏。 顾名思义，这里的问题是游戏一次支持256个玩家，这在当时的主机上是闻所未闻的。 实际上，该游戏曾一度保持了吉尼斯世界纪录。 各种游戏模式从64位玩家一直到三个不同派别中的256位玩家对决。 玩家可以升级他们的角色，并且在游戏世界持续不断的情况下，可以使他们成长为排长队的指挥官。

The game was generally well-reviewed, and the fact that it had good online performance given the number of players and a new style of server architecture employed to get to those massive numbers, speaks to the quality of the product. Unfortunately, the game had two things going against it. First, it was a PS3 exclusive, and that console had an extremely rough go of it in the first half of its life cycle. Sony had designed an incredibly powerful system, but it was notoriously expensive and hard to develop for, so it suffered from a lack of developer support and sales lagged the competition in the early years. Due to this, the audience was not as large as it could have been for the game.

该游戏总体上受到了好评，并且考虑到玩家数量以及采用了新颖的服务器架构以吸引大量用户的考虑，它具有良好的在线性能，这说明了产品的质量。 不幸的是，游戏有两件事与之相反。 首先，它是PS3独有的，并且该游戏机在其生命周期的前半段经历了非常艰难的过程。 索尼设计了一个功能非常强大的系统，但是众所周知它昂贵且难以开发，因此它缺乏开发人员的支持，并且在早期销售落后于竞争对手。 因此，观众人数不如游戏本来的大。

M.A.G. was also a victim of the PlayStation Network shutdown in April 2011, so while it had a good following, when you take something away from gamers for that long they are going to find something else to play. The game never recovered and it’s servers, along with those for SOCOM, were shut down in 2014. This is another title mentioned heavily when industry watchers and fans talk about a return to the online shooter space for Sony in the PS5 era. This game seems to fit with what is happening in the online FPS space, and the 256 player hook may still attract some to check it out. As with all things Sony, it remains to be seen if they have the desire to mess with it.

MAG还是2011年4月关闭PlayStation Network的受害者，因此，尽管它拥有大量的追随者，但是当您长时间从游戏玩家手中夺走某些东西时，他们会发现其他可以玩的东西。 该游戏从未恢复，其服务器以及SOCOM的服务器已于2014年关闭。当行业观察家和粉丝谈论PS5时代索尼重返在线射击游戏领域时，这是另一个被大量提及的游戏。 该游戏似乎与在线FPS领域中发生的事情相符，并且256位玩家的钩子仍然可能吸引一些人来检查它。 与索尼的所有产品一样，他们是否愿意与之纠缠还有待观察。

驾驶俱乐部 (Driveclub)

Sony’s first attempt at an online-focused driving game was basically doomed before it even had a chance to leave the starting line. Driveclub was actually announced alongside the reveal of the PS4 in 2013 and was supposed to launch with the console that November. However it suffered some of the worst delays seen in recent years, and even when it launched in October of 2014, it was still plagued with bugs and performance problems that kept most people away.

索尼在尝试以在线为重点的驾驶游戏方面的首次尝试基本上注定了失败，甚至没有机会离开起跑线。 实际上， Driveclub是在2013年与PS4 一同发布的同时宣布的，原定于11月与游戏机一同发布。 但是，它遭受了近年来出现的最严重的延误，即使它于2014年10月推出，它仍然受到bug和性能问题的困扰，使大多数人无法进入。

A free, stripped-down version was supposed to go on PlayStation Plus at the same time to help entice people to play and, hopefully, upgrade to the full version, but that was delayed as well, until the following year to keep from stressing out the already over-taxed servers.

一个免费的，精简版的游戏本应同时在PlayStation Plus上发布，以帮助人们玩游戏，并希望升级到完整版，但这也被推迟到第二年，以免造成压力。已经负担过重的服务器。

Another problem that likely cost the game an early audience was the unclear messaging about what kind of game it really was. Racing games are typically either simulations or arcade-type racers, but Driveclub seemed to occupy the no-man’s zone in the middle. The graphics looked like a simulation, but the play tended more towards arcade-style. Unfortunately for the game, Sony already had established franchises that filled the roles very nicely, with Gran Turismo the much-loved simulation and Need For Speed the long-running arcadey franchise, so Driveclub ended up being the unloved middle child in the family.

可能会使游戏吸引早期观众的另一个问题是不清楚它是什么类型的游戏。 赛车游戏通常是模拟游戏或街机型赛车手，但Driveclub似乎占据了中间的无人区 。 图形看起来像是模拟，但是游戏趋向于街机风格。 不幸的是，对于游戏而言，索尼已经建立了非常出色的角色，而深受喜爱的模拟游戏《 Gran Turismo 》和长期运营的街机游戏《 Need For Speed 》，使Driveclub最终成为了家庭中不受欢迎的中间孩子。

The game was ultimately fixed from its disastrous state at launch and did find good reviews and some level of popularity. The titular “clubs” were apparently done well, a feature not seen before or since, and it has been supported well in the years since, with motorbikes and a VR mode adding to the value. Sadly, it was too little too late for the game’s maker, Evolution Studios, which Sony shuttered in 2016. The game’s servers were shut down earlier this year, so despite it’s comeback, this one has to be regarded as a missed opportunity for PlayStation fans.

最终，该游戏从发行时的灾难性状态被修复，并且确实获得了好评和一定程度的普及。 名义上的“俱乐部”显然做得不错，这是以前或之后从未出现过的功能，并且自那以后的几年中一直得到很好的支持，摩托车和VR模式为其增添了价值。 令人遗憾的是，对于索尼公司在2016年关闭的游戏制造商Evolution Studios来说，为时太晚。该游戏的服务器于今年早些时候关闭，因此，尽管它卷土重来，但对于PlayStation迷来说，这是一个错失良机。 。

Sony has had some success elsewhere in the online multiplayer space, with favorite franchises such as Metal Gear, Uncharted, and The Last of Us having solid entries in that field. All were well-regarded games in their own right, but the multiplayer modes of these single-player, story-driven franchises were never going to sell systems or bring Sony the mass appeal they sought, as the servers were mainly populated with players that had already bought the games for their single-player campaigns. And that brings us to today…

索尼在在线多人游戏领域的其他地方已经取得了一些成功，其中包括《 合金装备》，《神秘海域》和《最后的我们》等最喜欢的特许经营权，在该领域有很强的实力 。 所有这些游戏本身都是备受好评的游戏，但是这些单人游戏，故事驱动的特许经营权的多人游戏模式永远不会出售系统，也不会给索尼带来他们所寻求的大众吸引力，因为服务器主要是安装了具有已经为单人游戏购买了游戏。 那把我们带到了今天……

秋季家伙 (Fall Guys)

If you’ve been asleep for the last month, or perhaps marooned on a desert island, you may not have heard of the game that is taking Twitch, Twitter, and PlayStation by storm. Fall Guys seems the least likely candidate imaginable for achieving the killer app status that Sony has longed for, yet here we are.

如果您上个月睡着了，或者在荒岛上昏昏欲睡，则可能没有听说过席卷Twitch，Twitter和PlayStation的游戏。 Fall Guys似乎是实现索尼渴望的杀手级应用程序可想象的最不可能的候选人，但我们来了。

Launching with relatively little fanfare earlier this month, Fall Guys looks like a Candyland fever dream where jelly beans in various costumes with dodgy physics-based controls try to complete various mini-games on a quest to be the last bean standing. It is essentially several rounds of mini-games that look best suited to a party type game seen many times before, but this one rises far above and manages to be much more than the sum of its parts. You can, of course, purchase increasingly adorable costumes with the in-game currency earned through each match, or use real money, but it is definitely not pay-to-win, so there is little to object to on that front. Progression is quick and you can win the crown whether you’re playing for the first time or the hundredth.

《 Fall Guys》本月初推出时几乎没有大张旗鼓，看起来像是《 Candyland》发烧的梦想，在这个过程中，身穿各种服装的软心豆粒采用基于物理学的狡猾控制，试图完成各种迷你游戏，以期成为最后的豆角。 从本质上讲，这是几轮迷你游戏，看上去最适合于多次见过的派对型游戏，但是这一轮超越了其他游戏，而且远远超过了各个部分的总和。 当然，您可以使用通过每场比赛获得的游戏货币来购买越来越可爱的服装，或者使用真钱，但这绝对不是赢钱，因此在这方面很少有人反对。 进步很快，无论您是初次还是百分之一都可以赢得冠军。

The cheery colors, ridiculous controls, hilarious costumes, and general chaos with 60 players at once makes for instantly addictive and occasionally frustrating gameplay. The ability to spectate your friends or jump right back into another game makes each death seem less upsetting, and this one excels in pulling you in for that “just one more” feeling. While Fall Guys isn’t a true exclusive, appearing on Steam as well (but strangely not on Xbox), it’s a game that seems ready-made for the console player and Sony is reaping the rewards of having the exclusive on that side of the ledger.

欢快的色彩，荒谬的控制方式，滑稽的服装以及一次有60名玩家的普遍混乱，使游戏立即上瘾，有时令人沮丧。 观看朋友或立即跳入另一场比赛的能力使每次死亡似乎都不太令人沮丧，而这种击球擅长将您带入那种“多一点”的感觉。 虽然Fall Guys并不是真正的独家产品，它也出现在Steam上(但奇怪的是没有出现在Xbox上)，但这款游戏似乎已经为主机玩家准备就绪，索尼正在收获在独家产品上获得独家收益的好处。分类帐。

Whether the adoration of the game and it’s massively positive reception among the all-important influencers and Youtube personalities can persevere is yet to be seen. This seems to be a game ripe for the kind of licensed content and fresh seasons or new mini-games that Fortnite does so well, whether that’s new taunts and dances or excellent new costumes. Sony has the kind of clout to make that happen, but whether they see fit to exercise it will ultimately tell the story of Fall Guys and its staying power.

这款游戏的崇拜及其在所有重要影响者和Youtube人物中得到的广泛好评尚无法持久。 无论是新的嘲讽和舞蹈，还是出色的新装扮， Fortnite都可以很好地胜任这种许可内容，新鲜季节或新迷你游戏。 索尼拥有实现这一目标的能力，但是他们是否认为可以行使它最终将讲述《 秋季家伙》的故事及其持久力。

With PlayStation 5’s launch just months away, this is the perfect time for Sony to announce something big with which to storm back into the online multiplayer race.

随着PlayStation 5的发布仅数月之遥，这是Sony宣布重返在线多人在线竞赛的绝佳时机。

Could SOCOM make a comeback? Will they make another attempt at a persistent racing game? Will they employ one of their AAA studios to make something altogether new and different? This is Sony, so the crystal ball is spectacularly cloudy, but it stands to reason that the gaming giant will have something up it’s sleeves to continue the fight for dominance with Microsoft. Stay tuned!

SOCOM可以卷土重来吗？ 他们会在持久的赛车游戏中再次尝试吗？ 他们会雇用他们的AAA工作室中的一员来创作全新的作品吗？ 这是索尼，所以水晶球阴云密布，但这足以说明这家游戏巨头将继续努力争取与微软的统治地位。 敬请关注！