Game localization

[sbp]

Interesting article (http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuhf/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=506830) that talks about this issue. A snippet to start:

Video game heroine Lara Croft is an adrenaline junkie unafraid of getting bloody. But in Germany, the buxom starlet of the ``Tomb Raider'' series doesn't bleed -- even if she's being mauled by a tiger.

Although the $25-billion video game industry is global, the games themselves aren't. They reflect the distinct cultures and traditions of different markets, and game publishers carefully tweak their titles to tone down offensive material.

Red blood in a game sold in the United States turns green in Australia. A topless character in a European title acquires a bikini in the U.S. Human enemies in a U.S. game morph into robots in Germany. Violent sex scenes in a Japanese game disappear in the American version.

[gear02]

Very interesting, particularly the part where in Germany, sex is ok, but violence is not while in this country the opposite is true. That explains a lot of things...

thanks sbp!

[cheapie]

can we exchange the violence for the topless figures??? that would be schweet!

[Cantacuzene]

Thats why there is so much rape here. We encourage violence and repress sex.

[Freelance Superhero]

yes, more sex more sex!

[Bires]

...and in mid-Africa...
the goal of video games is not to kill terrorists or become super powerful, but to secure a square meal, then better and better meals...winning the game is being able to eat meat!

WHO WANTS TO EAT?!?

[gear02]

Originally posted by Bires
...and in mid-Africa...
the goal of video games is not to kill terrorists or become super powerful, but to secure a square meal, then better and better meals...winning the game is being able to eat meat!

WHO WANTS TO EAT?!?

so wrong :disa:

[Nija]

To be honest I did read article so everything I say is from working in the video game industry.

The reason for most of the localizations are laws. Germany has some strict laws regarding virtual violence, so the software publishers have to abide by them to get their product there (although sometimes they don't and their products is relegated to behind the counter, and it's treated almost like scat porn)

In Japan, your subtitles can't move. At all. Not even a pixel up or down. At the company I worked at, there was a manual called a CRC (code release checklist), and it was about 11 pages, at the smallest.
Localizations ran around 25-50+ pages of things. Everyone of them needed to be either "yes" or be approved by Two vice-presidents.

[coleslaw]

The worst of the localizations is for a country named Wal-Mart. :rolleyes:

[gear02]

Originally posted by Nija
To be honest I did read article so everything I say is from working in the video game industry.

The reason for most of the localizations are laws. Germany has some strict laws regarding virtual violence, so the software publishers have to abide by them to get their product there (although sometimes they don't and their products is relegated to behind the counter, and it's treated almost like scat porn)

In Japan, your subtitles can't move. At all. Not even a pixel up or down. At the company I worked at, there was a manual called a CRC (code release checklist), and it was about 11 pages, at the smallest.
Localizations ran around 25-50+ pages of things. Everyone of them needed to be either "yes" or be approved by Two vice-presidents.

Must be hard. We often complain about the long lead times between a Japan release and a US release, but we forget why.

Why can't subtitles move?? I don't get it.

[LPMiller]

Originally posted by gear02


Must be hard. We often complain about the long lead times between a Japan release and a US release, but we forget why.

Why can't subtitles move?? I don't get it.

They suffered from polio as children, and have but limited mobility now. Sad, really. They had such potential as subtitles - possibly one day working their way up to full fledged Closed Captioning...but now....sigh.

[Nija]

Originally posted by gear02


Must be hard. We often complain about the long lead times between a Japan release and a US release, but we forget why.

Why can't subtitles move?? I don't get it.

The best explaination I ever got was, "Because they run the gaming industry, so we do what they 'prefer'". Of course by "prefer" they mean, the game cannot be approved for japanese localization, which isn't a good thing.

Don't worry it's the same way for DVD subtitles. ;)