A Note on Video Game Localization

Making video games is hard. Want to know another tough job in video games? Localizing them. 

Essentially, the role of a localization team for a video game is to translate foreign text into the targeted languages the publishers are supporting, including adaptation, and voice over recordings. During the translation process, the localization group have many factors to keep in mind such as abstract elements of the source material, culture, history, dimensions of the text (since, for instance, Japanese characters can take up space differently in a text box as opposed to English), and more to tailor to the audience's language. On top of that, they also have to do their best to keep the core of what's being translated.

Changes in the language translation process can be subtle or grand, and it all relies on culture norms and standards set by society and by the developers of the game.

As a gamer from the outside, I can only imagine the rigorous and difficult process of localizing a video game. We're not talking about the Candy Crush or Tetris kind of games here, but the ones that have dedicated stories, scripts, and enough text to consider the translator a prestigious author of a fantasy novel series. It's a job that was, and still can be, under appreciated. As of late, it's been getting some time in the spotlight and is, frankly, getting better and better with every release. 

If you've played Japanese role-playing games, then you may have unconsciously wondered about how certain phrases or sentences were structured considering the game's birthplace, especially if it's a JRPG entirely driven by or mostly consisted of written text. I never considered the process of localization in video games until I played The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, a JRPG developed by Japanese video game company Nihon Falcom and translated for the West by Marvelous USA Inc. a.k.a. XSEED Games. If you have extra time, check out this intense and fantastic writing piece by Jason Schreier of Kotaku talking about how the Trails in the Sky's sequel almost didn't make it to America because of behemoth localization hurdles: "The Curse of Kiseki: How One Of Japan's Biggest RPGs Barely Made It To America."

(Photo: Kotaku)

To sum up the article, XSEED Games ran into numerous problems localizing the game, making it a sort of a miracle that it even released in the western market. But it finally did, and it's some of XSEED's finest work for translating a 60+ hour JRPG with more words than the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, and then some. From script editing, to properly translating phrases and sentences, a back-and-forth QA process, and more, it's clear that localizing foreign video games is no easy task. Coming from an outsider perspective, it seems damn near impossible. 

That's why it absolutely blows my mind what the localization team from Sega America is doing with their new video game, Judgement, a game similar to the popular Yakuza series set to release in the West on June 25, 2019.

In a write-up posted on the PlayStation blog site by Localization Producer of Sega Scott Strichart, Judgement plans to release with TWO English subtitle tracks with noticeable differences - one for Japanese audio and another for English audio (Judgement will also have subtitles in French, Italian, German, and Castilian Spanish!). To tackle this challenge not only requires a highly skilled and diligent team of translators, but the DEEPEST dive into the narrative context, subtlety and all, while making sure that it's consistent and makes sense. 

(Photo: PS Blog. The main character's dialogue differs from speaking in Japanese with English subtitles vs speaking in English with English subtitles, but both achieve the same effect.

For those that have played a Yakuza game, you clearly understand how much text are in those games and the amount of work it can text to translate it all (Spoilers: it's a hell of a lot). The term 'impressive' is the biggest understatement for the effort and dedication here. Scott Strichart and his team are going the extra mile to provide unique experiences for both audio languages. It's simply groundbreaking and one of the reasons why I'm excited to play Judgement.

While the focus here was more on Japanese games, keep in mind that nearly every game has to go through localization challenges. Even Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has its own interesting story about adapting Slavic lore for gamers around the world. I highly recommend checking the video out:

If there's anything to take away here, it's that some of the best video games are made by some of the most passionate people, and that definitely includes the localization team. They're a big part of what makes foreign video games a unique experience and filled with so much heart that it feels wrong to not acknowledge the work put in by the writers and translators. 

After all, the effort has come a long way.

We went from this,

This translation mishap is so bad, but hilarious.

to this,

'You spoony bard!' is a translation error, but an iconic one nonetheless.

to now this: