對于舒適的生活模擬類游戲Animal Crossing：New Horizons從來沒有更大的需求。多年來，無論是游戲玩家還是非游戲玩家，都期待著喝杯溫暖的茶，一條毯子以及他們的Animal Crossing:New Horizons假期。正在盛行的Covid-19流感只會增加這種逃避現實的熱情。
For her two small game stores,Kelsey Lewin,the co-owner of Pink Gorilla Games in Seattle,ordered 350 copies.Retailers say it's among the most preordered games they've stocked in years.Despite a widespread outbreak of Covid-19 in and around her city,and government pleas to limit human contact,Lewin is relying on customers to come by and pick up their Animal Crossing:New Horizons box.
在西雅圖的Pink Pink Gorilla Games的共同所有人Kelsey Lewin為她的兩家小型游戲商店訂購了350冊。零售商表示，這是他們這門多年來庫存最多的預訂游戲之一。盡管在她的城市及周邊地區爆發了Covid-19，并且政府呼吁限制與人類的接觸，但Lewin還是依靠客戶來接送他們的Animal Crossing：New Horizons盒子。
“Even if the store is closed,I will personally be here and let people in one at a time.I'll have gloves on,”says Lewin.“A lot of people are riding on Animal Crossing,and we are too.”
“即使商店關門，我也會親自到這里，讓人們一次合一。我會戴上手套。”Lewin說。“很多人都騎著動物穿越，我們也是如此。”
Digital marketplaces for PCs,Nintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,and Xbox One have subsumed a videogame retail business previously dominated by brick and mortar shops.There aren't a lot of practical reasons to buy a game IRL anymore,and the numbers prove it:Game retailer GameStop's annual revenue has dropped by$1 billion since 2015,as the chain closed hundreds of stores over the last couple of years.
PC，Nintendo Switch，PlayStation 4和Xbox One的數字市場已經包含了以前由實體店主導的視頻游戲零售業務?，F在沒有太多實際的理由購買游戲IRL，并且數字證明了這一點：自2015年以來，游戲零售商GameStop的年收入下降了10億美元，因為該連鎖店在過去幾年中關閉了數百家商店。
一種特殊的懷舊和社區意識
But there's a special nostalgia and sense of community tied to driving over to a local game shop and purchasing an artful,shiny box containing the title you've been waiting months or years to play.Lewin's store is fun to be in,an eye-catching hot pink,walls stacked high with irresistible plushies and vintage games.And there's a social aspect:GameStop still hosts midnight release events,where excited fans meet and line up together in anticipation of a launch.
但是，有一種特殊的懷舊和社區意識，與開車前往當地的游戲商店并購買精巧，閃閃發光的盒子有關，其中包含您已經等待了數月或數年的游戲。Lewin的商店充滿樂趣，一個引人注目的粉紅色，墻壁高高地堆滿了令人無法抗拒的毛絨玩具和古董游戲。而且還有社交方面的內容：GameStop仍然舉辦午夜發布活動，興奮的粉絲們會聚在一起并排成一列，以期待發布。
Or it did,until Covid-19,which has transformed one of the most anticipated launch weeks of the year into a mess and a half.On Tuesday,GameStop announced it would cancel its Animal Crossing release event,and the release event for Doom Eternal,initially slated to release on the same day,“to maintain the health and safety of our guests and associates.”In recent days,GameStop employees around the country youtu/be.com/watch?v=wxn9DEfK9YM">have spoken out about their fears around working shifts as Covid-19 spreads.One GameStop supervisor told Kotaku that although GameStop corporate had promised to take precautions like providing hand sanitizer,“the stores in my area have received nothing.”Another employee told Kotaku they feared losing their job because staying home without a doctor's note could count as an unexcused absence.
還是如此，直到Covid-19，它把一年中最令人期待的發射周之一變成了一個半爛攤子。周二，GameStop宣布將取消其Animal Crossing發行活動，而最初定于同一天發行的Doom Eternal發行活動將“維持我們的客人和同事的健康與安全”。連日來，全國各地的GameStop雇員youtu/be.com/手表？ν=wxn9DEfK9YM“>已經說出了他們的周圍輪班工作作為Covid-19差的擔憂。GameStop的一位主管告訴Kotaku的，雖然GameStop的企業曾經答應帶如提供洗手液這樣的預防措施，“我所在地區的商店一無所獲。”另一名員工告訴Kotaku，他們擔心失去工作，因為沒有醫生的照單呆在家里可能會算是無故缺席。
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In some towns and cities,all“nonessential”businesses have been urged or ordered to close.On Thursday,GameStop sent out a memo to employees contending that it counts as“essential retail,”an effort to keep its stores open,according to Kotaku.If police come by,the memo says,employees should refer them to GameStop headquarters.A GameStop representative did not comment to WIRED on the record.
在一些城鎮，所有“非必要”業務都被敦促或責令關閉。根據Kotaku的說法，GameStop在周四向員工發出了一份備忘錄，稱其被視為“基本零售”，旨在保持其商店的開放。備忘錄說，如果警察過來，員工應將他們轉介至GameStop總部。GameStop代表未在記錄中對《連線》發表評論。
Independent stores are sketching out their own rules while following local and state health mandates closely.“Governor Tom Wolf's business ban isn't—strictly—enforced,”says Spenser Brossman,who runs Complete In Box Video Games in Pennsylvania,where Wolf"urged"closures.“Police won't come and shut you down if you remain open.”(By Thursday afternoon,the Pennsylvania governor had announced on Twitter that"all non-life-sustaining businesses"needed to close by 8 pm,and that"enforcement actions against businesses that don't close"would begin on Saturday.)
獨立商店正在草擬自己的規則，同時密切遵守當地和州的衛生法規。“賓夕法尼亞州長湯姆•沃爾夫的商業禁令并未嚴格執行，”在賓夕法尼亞州運營“盒裝視頻”游戲《Complete In Box》的斯賓塞·布羅斯曼說，沃爾夫在此敦促關閉。“如果您保持開放狀態，警察不會來關閉您。”（截至周四下午，賓夕法尼亞州州長在Twitter上宣布，“所有非維持生命的企業”都必須在晚上8點之前關閉，“對未關閉企業的執法行動將在周六開始。）
布魯斯曼原本計劃度過一個“巨大”的周末
Brossman was planning for a“huge”weekend,and says he's had more preorders for Animal Crossing:New Horizons than for any game in the last two or three years.That enthusiasm is still alive even under the broad mandate to“socially distance”;customers walk up every day,knock,and ask if he has the game they're looking for.He's letting people call ahead and pick up at the door or arrange a home delivery anywhere within a 15-mile radius.“We felt that although doing business this way for two weeks will be very difficult(especially with Animal Crossing and Doom),that it was for the best.”(Doom Eternal will be on sale in stores today,a day ahead of schedule,to keep crowds more manageable.)Brossman noticed that,despite his own adjustments,local GameStops are still conducting business as usual.
布魯斯曼原本計劃度過一個“巨大”的周末，并表示與《動物穿越：新視野》相比，他的預訂量比過去兩三年來的任何游戲都要多。即使在“社會距離”的廣泛授權下，這種熱情仍然存在?？蛻裘刻熳呱蟻?，敲門，問他是否有他們想要的游戲。他讓人們提前打電話到門口接您，或者在15英里半徑范圍內的任何地方安排送貨上門。“我們認為，盡管以這種方式開展業務兩個星期將非常困難（尤其是與Animal Crossing和Doom在一起），但這是最好的。”（Doom Eternal將于今天提前一天在商店發售，以使人群更容易管理。）Brossman注意到，盡管自己做了調整，但本地GameStops仍然照常營業。
In New York,Governor Andrew Cuomo has asked all nonessential businesses to send half their employees home.Dan Mastin,who manages Videogamesnewyork,is going to work every day.When he returns home,he has a small quarantine room where he removes his shoes and jacket.He washes his arms and hands before reuniting with his family.Business has been booming,he says;everyone needs games right now as they prepare for indefinite time stapled to their couches.While juggling demand,Mastin says he's practicing careful hygiene and keeping in touch with his suppliers who,as time goes on,might crack under the pressure.<紐約時報中英文網 http://www.244129.buzz/>
在紐約，州長安德魯·庫莫（Andrew Cuomo）已要求所有無關緊要的企業將其一半雇員送回家。負責Videogamesnewyork的Dan Mastin每天都會上班。當他回到家中時，他有一個小的隔離室，在那里他脫掉鞋子和外套。在與家人團聚之前，他洗了胳膊和手。他說，生意一直在蓬勃發展。每個人現在都需要游戲，因為他們需要準備無限時間裝在沙發上。在處理需求的同時，馬斯汀說他正在練習謹慎的衛生習慣，并與供應商保持聯系，隨著時間的流逝，供應商可能會在壓力下破裂。
USPS says they've only experienced"minor operational impacts,”but Amazon has suspended all“nonessential”shipments to warehouses.On Wednesday,Square Enix warned Final Fantasy 7 Remake fans that they might not receive the hugely anticipated role-playing game on its April 10 release day because of“extraordinary circumstances”surrounding Covid-19.And while CD Projekt Red has said that Cyberpunk 2077 is still scheduled for an on-time delivery,it's possible that this weekend's releases may be some of the last to go off as originally planned.
美國郵政總局表示，他們只經歷了“輕微的運營影響”，但亞馬遜已經暫停了所有“不必要的”貨物入庫，在周三，Square Enix警告《最終幻想7重制版》粉絲，他們可能不會在這款游戲中收到期待已久的角色扮演游戲。由于Covid-19的“特殊情況”，發行日期為4月10日，盡管CD Projekt Red表示Cyberpunk 2077仍按時交貨，但本周末的發行可能是最后一次發行按原計劃。
Supply chains will be tested in the coming weeks and months,yet game distributors interviewed by WIRED said they've already received their shipments of Animal Crossing:New Horizons and Doom Eternal and are sending them out to stores.Only one game distributor WIRED talked to said it was closed,which could lead to delays.
供應鏈將在未來幾周和幾個月內進行測試，但《連線》雜志采訪的游戲發行商表示，他們已經收到了《動物穿越：新視野》和《毀滅戰士永恒》的貨，并將其發送到商店。只有一位游戲發行商WIRED表示已關閉，這可能會導致延遲。
“To our knowledge most of the distributors keep their business as usual.The warehouse staff is provided with masks,gloves,and disinfecting liquids,”says Alex Schmidt,head of Wholesale Video Game Marketplace,an information platform for game distributors and wholesalers.Schmidt adds that warehouse workers aren't super close to each other anyway,and can“more or less protect themselves from the virus spread.”
據我們所知，大多數分銷商都照常營業。倉庫工作人員會得到口罩，手套和消毒液，”批發視頻游戲市場負責人Alex Schmidt說，該市場是游戲分銷商和批發商的信息平臺。施密特還補充說，倉庫工人彼此之間并不是彼此非常接近，可以“或多或少地保護自己免受病毒傳播。”
Distributors are disinfecting packages containing Animal Crossing:New Horizons and Doom Eternal as thoroughly as they can when they enter and exit the premises.They can only account for their own vigilance,though.The warehouse staff has to often trust that the incoming products are packed by staff like themselves in the sending company,who took the necessary precautions.
分發者正在對包含《動物穿越：新視野》和《毀滅永恒》的包裝進行徹底消毒，以防它們進入和離開場所。不過，他們只能承擔自己的警惕。倉庫工作人員必須經常相信進來的產品是由派遣公司中像他們一樣的人員包裝的，他們采取了必要的預防措施。
Mario Rocchi,the president of Nintendo distributor Vast Inc.,is still at work in his Pennsylvania warehouse along with his five-person staff.His business falls under the category of“distributor,”so he's allowed to stay open.It's a big warehouse and mostly automated,so his staff has kept a safe distance from each other as workers processed Animal Crossing:New Horizons orders,which all left Wednesday.“If there's any risk of us being in jeopardy,I'll shut this thing down in two seconds,”he says.
任天堂分銷商Vast Inc.的總裁Mario Rocchi和他的五人員工仍在賓夕法尼亞州的倉庫里工作。他的業務屬于“分銷商”類別，因此允許他保持開放狀態。這是一個大倉庫，大部分都是自動化的，所以當工人處理“動物橫渡：新視野”的訂單時，他的員工之間保持了安全距離，這些訂單周三全部離開。他說：“如果有任何危險，我們將在兩秒鐘內將其關閉。”
After years of hand-wringing over whether brick and mortar game stores are endangered,customers'and employees'resilience in the face of a mass pandemic says something about the appeal of these nostalgic businesses—indie and publicly traded alike.It could be that customer service and reliability are great for maintaining a clientele.Or it could be that big corporations,who don't give a choice to their employees,are prioritizing finances over public health.
經過數年的努力，實體游戲商店是否瀕臨滅絕，面對大規模流行病，客戶和員工的應變能力說明了這些懷舊企業的吸引力，無論是獨立的還是公開交易的企業?？蛻舴蘸涂煽啃钥赡軐S持客戶群非常重要?；蛘呖赡苁谴蠊?，他們沒有給員工選擇的機會，而是將財務放在了公共衛生之上。
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