双语：索尼将发布新一代游戏主机

　　　　Sony Corp. is planning to unveil its next-generation home videogame console during a February event, showing off a successor to its current PlayStation 3 system.　
　　　　索尼公司(Sony Corp.)计划在2月的一次活动中发布其下一代的家庭视频游戏主机，展示其目前的PlayStation 3系统的后继者。　
　　　　The Japanese electronics giant Thursday unveiled plans for a special PlayStation-themed event set for Feb. 20, teasing fans to "see the future' at the event. People familiar with the matter have said the new device will make its debut there, beating Microsoft Corp. to the punch in announcing its own next-generation game machine.　
　　　　这家日本电子产品巨头周四公布了2月20日一个以PlayStation为主题的活动的计划，声称游戏迷们将在活动上“看到未来”。了解情况的人士说，新款游戏主机将在这次活动中首次亮相，这是针对微软(Microsoft Corp.)的先发制人之举。微软也即将发布其下一代游戏主机。　
　　　　Sony's device will be released later this year, these people said, and will spar against Microsoft's own machine, which is also expected to be released by the holidays.　
　　　　上述知情人士说，索尼的游戏主机将在今年晚些时候上市，并将与微软的游戏主机一争高下。预计微软游戏主机将在假日前发布。　
　　　　Sony's updated console's arrival comes as the console videogame industry has entered a tailspin. Sales of new videogames, consoles and accessories at U.S. retail shops fell 22% in December when compared with the same time a year prior, according to surveys by industry watcher NPD Group.　
　　　　索尼的新一代游戏主机面世正值视频游戏机行业陷入混乱之际。行业观察组织NPD Group的调查显示，去年12月，美国零售店的新视频游戏、主机和配件销售额同比下滑22%。　
　　　　In another sign of the difficult environment for traditional videogame machines, Nintendo Co. slashed sales forecasts for its new home console, the Wii U, earlier this week. After launching its first new home console in six years in November, Nintendo said Wii U sales disappointed during the holiday shopping season. The company is now forecasting plans to sell 4 million units versus an earlier estimate for 5.5 million units.　
　　　　还有一个迹象也显示了传统视频游戏机面临的困境，任天堂公司(Nintendo Co.)本周早些时候大幅下调其新的家庭游戏主机Wii U的销售预期。任天堂说，Wii U在假日购物季期间的销量令人失望，此前该公司于去年11月发布了其六年来的首款新游戏主机。任天堂目前预期这款游戏机的销量为400万部，早些时候的预计数字为550万部。　
　　　　The videogame industry is undergoing a sea change. While videogames used to be limited to dedicated game machines and personal computers, the proliferation of smartphones and other Internet connected devices is opening the floodgates to free or inexpensive games.　
　　　　视频游戏行业正经历突变。虽然视频游戏曾经被限制在专门的游戏机和个人电脑上，但智能手机和其他上网设备的大量涌现打开了免费或低价游戏的闸门。　
　　　　Such shifts in consumer behavior and the aging consoles─the Xbox 360 debuted in 2005 and the PS3 a year later─are weighing on game sales, which have contracted every month since December of 2011. Further, Electronic Arts Inc. EA +4.31% said the console industry's packaged goods sales fell by about a fifth last year.　
　　　　消费者行为的这种转变和游戏主机的老化──Xbox 360于2005年首次推出，PS3则是在2006年亮相──给游戏销售带来了压力，自2011年12月以来，游戏销售不断萎缩。此外，艺电(Electronic Arts Inc.)说游戏机行业的包装零售货物销售额去年下降了20%左右。　
　　　　In a nod to the changes afoot in the industry, Sony is planning to incorporate more social gaming aspects into the new machine, people familiar with the matter said. Also, while hardware improvements were a key focus of past console upgrades, Sony is more focused this time on the changes in how users interact with the machine, these people said.　
　　　　知情人士说，为了应对行业的变化，索尼打算在新的游戏机中整合更多的社交游戏因素。他们说，同时，虽然以往的主机升级重点关注的是硬件改进，但这次索尼更关注用户与游戏机的互动方式的改变。　
　　　　When developing the PlayStation, Sony had considered removing its optical disk drive, opting instead to require gamers to download titles over the Internet, people familiar with the matter said. But concerns over the size of videogame files, and slow Web connections in some countries led Sony to scrap the plan, they added. Microsoft made a similar decision for its console as well.　
　　　　知情人士说，在开发PlayStation时，索尼曾经考虑去掉其光盘驱动器，代之以让玩家在网上下载游戏；但由于担心视频游戏文件太大、以及一些国家的网速太慢，索尼放弃了这个计划。微软针对其游戏主机也做了类似的决策。　
　　　　Complicating the design of the new device will be the likely inclusion of chips designed by Advanced Micro Devices Inc., which people familiar with the matter said have been used in prototypes. The chip is separate from the technology Sony currently relies upon for its PlayStation 3, known as the Cell chip, which was developed jointly with International Business Machines Corp. and Toshiba Corp. The move would both introduce compatibility concerns with existing games, built to run on the Cell chip, while also ending a long-running partnership with Nvidia Corp., which supplies graphics chips for the current PlayStation.　
　　　　令新款游戏机的设计更为复杂的是，它可能包含由高级微设备公司(AMD)设计的芯片，知情人士说这种芯片已经用在原型机上。这种芯片不同于索尼目前在其PlayStation 3上所用的技术，后者名为Cell芯片，是与国际商业机器公司(IBM)和东芝公司(Toshiba Corp.)合作开发的。改换芯片会引发与基于Cell芯片的现有游戏能否兼容的问题，同时还会结束与英伟达(Nvidia Corp)的长期合作关系。英伟达为目前的PlayStation游戏主机供应显卡。