In 1925, John Logie Baird wanted toconvince the public that his latest invention would be a great success.Unfortunately, when he arrived at the London offices of the Daily Express, hissales pitch was quickly dismissed. “For God’s sake, go down to reception andget rid of a lunatic who’s down there,”a news editor reportedly told staff. “He says he’s got amachine for seeing by wireless.”

1925年，约翰•罗杰•贝尔德(JohnLogie Baird)想让人们相信，他最新发明的东西将大获成功。遗憾的是，当他跑去《每日快报》(Daily Express)伦敦办公室推销，却很快就被打发了。“看在上帝的份上，去前台把那个疯子赶走，”据说一位新闻主编对他的手下们这样说，“那个人说他有台能通过无线电波看到画面的机器。”

This illustrates our inability to predictthe appeal of a medium, and particularly the problem of making a judgmentwithout hands-on experience. “Seeing by wireless”sounds impossible —until someone shows you a television set.

这件事说明，我们无法预知传播媒介的吸引力，尤其是我们总爱不经体验就妄下判断。“用无线电观看画面”听上去不可思议——直到某个人让你见识到电视机。

And that is why anyone surprised by thecontinued success of console games, with a revival of market share and analystsforecasting a “golden era” — long after smartphones were supposed to havestolen their business — should try playing a few. Appreciating the differencebetween the experiences makes it easier to see how they can happily co-exist.

人们很早就认为智能手机会抢走主机游戏的生意，而事实上，不仅主机游戏的市场份额在复苏，分析师们还预言它将迎来一个“黄金时代”，那些惊讶于主机游戏长盛不衰的人都应该试着玩一玩。认识到智能手机游戏和主机游戏给人以不同的体验，就更容易明白二者为何能够愉快共存。

Of course, we should not underplay theexplosive rise of mobile gaming. A decade ago, playing a game on the go meantbuying a dedicated gadget such as the Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable. Nowcommuters tap away on their phones at Candy Crush or Clash of Clans, whileanswering emails and checking the weather on the same device.

当然，我们不应忽视移动游戏的迅猛崛起。10年前，想要边走边玩游戏，就得买个像任天堂DS (Nintendo DS)或是索尼PSP (PlayStation Portable)那样的专用设备。而现在，人们在上下班路上不仅能用手机回邮件、查天气，还能在手机上玩《糖果传奇》(Candy Crush)或《部落战争》(Clash of Clans)。

This year, for the first time, mobile gamessales are predicted to be higher than those on consoles and PCs[REVISE EDS:SEPARATELY, NOT COMBINED]. But that is down to the creation of a vast newmarket, not the cannibalisation of an old one. Many of those playing games ontheir commute go home and switch on the Xbox One or PlayStation 4.

今年，预计移动游戏的销量将首次超越主机游戏或电脑游戏。但那要归因于一个巨大的新市场被开发出来，而不是移动游戏夺走了主机游戏的市场。那些在下班路上玩游戏的人，有很多回家后还会打开微软Xbox One或索尼PlayStation 4等游戏机。

The two genres are quite distinct. Mobilegames are friendlier — not least because their revenue model depends on playerssticking with them. They are often free to download, making money fromadvertising or in-app purchases. They often tend to focus on repetitive puzzlesor slow-building strategies, which lend themselves to small pockets of time andimprecise, stabby fingers.

这两种游戏截然不同。移动游戏相对更友好些——主要因为其盈利模式取决于玩家的忠诚。移动游戏通常是免费下载的，其收入来源于广告或玩家购买游戏内嵌的应用程序。移动游戏很多都是那种重复性的闯关游戏或需要慢慢构筑的攻略，人们只要花些零碎时间动动手指就能玩。

Console games, however, need to justify thepurchase of the machine itself, at about ￡250, and of the game, at ￡30. So theytend to be epic — sweeping plots, gorgeous graphics, storylines that un-foldover many hours. (I have personally saved humanity at least a dozen times, andeach time it looked beautiful.) They often deal with war or its peacetimesubstitute, sport. And they demand precision and dedication, making them almostimpenetrable to anyone who did not start playing as a teen.

主机游戏则不然，需要人们考虑值不值得买，一台游戏机大概要250英镑，游戏也要30英镑。这些游戏往往如史诗一般恢弘——广阔的场景地图、绚丽的视觉效果、各异的故事主线动辄就耗掉数小时。（我自己就至少拯救过人类十几次，而且每次体验都很棒。）有很多主机游戏都设定为战争场景，或选用战争在和平时期的替身——体育场景。主机游戏需要精准度和专注度，除非像青少年一样投入，不然基本搞不定它。

This brings us back to Baird and his greatinvention. Television did not kill the movie industry; we did not all decidethere was no point going out when we could watch what we wanted at home.Instead, the mediums bifurcated: each focused on content suited to its form.Films, like console games, can do spectacle in a way smaller screens cannot.Captain America is a very different experience from Mad Men. So is Grand TheftAuto from Fruit Ninja.

我们回头来说贝尔德和他伟大的发明。电视的问世并没有令电影业消亡；不是所有人都认为，既然在家想看什么就能看什么就没有必要出门了。只是传播媒介分化了：每种媒介只需专注适合其形式的内容。电影，就好比主机游戏，能够展现小屏幕无法表现的大场面。《美国队长》(Captain America)呈现的观感就和《广告达人》(Mad Men)截然不同。《侠盗猎车手》(Grand Theft Auto)与《水果忍者》(Fruit Ninja)给人的体验也不同。

That also means films and console games areopen to the same criticism: their high production values are a barrier toinnovation because so few companies can invest the tens of millions it takes tomake them. Hollywood is dominated by the Big Six studios, themselves owned byconglomerates, and the top-grossing films of last year — Star Wars Episode VII,Jurassic World and Avengers: Age of Ultron — are all sequels. In games, the2015 US bestseller list was topped by Call of Duty: Black Ops III (a sequel toa spin-off, no less). Minecraft was the only original title in the top 10.

那也意味着电影与主机游戏面临同样的批评：二者高昂的制作成本成为创新的障碍，因为很少有公司能拿出上千万投资来制作电影或开发游戏。好莱坞有六大影业巨擘，各自隶属于综合性企业集团，去年票房显赫的电影——《星球大战7》(Star Wars Episode VII)、《侏罗纪世界》(JurassicWorld) 以及《复仇者联盟2：奥创纪元》(Avengers: Age of Ultron) ——均为续作。至于游戏，2015年全美最畅销的游戏是《使命召唤：黑色行动3》(Call of Duty: Black Ops III)（依旧为一个系列的续作）。位列前10的游戏中只有沙盒游戏Minecraft属于初创。