FOX!

Nintendo has traditionally been very reluctant to allow its employees to speak to freely with the gaming press, but that stance has apparently been relaxed in recent years according to Treehouse staffer Chris Pranger - and as if to prove his point, he's taken part in a lively podcast where he covers a whole host of Nintendo-related topics.

Pranger explains that one fun element of working at Nintendo is that the company uses internal staff for voice acting work. A similar situation used to exist at Rare, with developers and designers providing the voices to the characters they made. According to Pranger, it's seen as a "cheap" and "fun" way of handling voice acting, and he's recently lent his vocal talents to the first level boss in Star Fox Zero.

Pranger also says that Nintendo has an extensive game library where employees can sample titles on rival formats to ensure they are well-versed in modern gaming trends. He personally experienced Bioshock Infinite this way.

Finally, Pranger touches on a subject that is close to the heart of many a Nintendo fan - localisation. Translating an RPG into English and other languages is a costly business, but Pranger feels that players perhaps don't realise just how expensive it is.

While online campaigns and petitions might seem like a good way of showing demand for a particular title, Pranger says that even the biggest swell of interest from fans is rarely enough to cover the cost of bringing a title to the west. He also explains that certain projects are handled by different Nintendo divisions - the localisation of Xenoblade Chronicles, for example, was paid for almost entirely by Nintendo of Europe.

It's great that Nintendo employees are able to speak more freely - make sure you listen to the rest of the podcast to hear more of Pranger's thoughts.

[source neogaf.com, via chaingangmedia.com]