Comments 5

Re: Chris Pranger From Nintendo Treehouse Discusses Harsh Realities Of Localisation

warsong

@PlywoodStick Yes, that's true--another reason that localization is even as labor-intensive as it is. Even though I prefer Japanese VA, I do understand that dubbing should be attempted on titles that have potential mass appeal, such as Xenoblade or Pokemon for business (that is, $$$) reasons.

But--and this is a big 'but'--NOA needs to draw a distinction between these titles and more niche ones such as Fatal Frame, Conception, or arguably the upcoming SMTxFE where fans of the series tend to prefer the original VA. Misreading this delays releases, increases costs, or even precludes/ruins localization in the first place.

It's like NOA thinks a niche title won't do well, so they assign less resources to its localization, leading to bad English VA, the title bombing, and confirming NOA's flawed premises. That Taiko Drum Master game where they changed the songs to crappy American ones is a good example of what I'm trying to illustrate, although I think that was Namco/Sony who botched that one up.

Re: Chris Pranger From Nintendo Treehouse Discusses Harsh Realities Of Localisation

warsong

I think NOA is mildly xenophobic and doesn't seem to understand that most fans of J-games are also fans of anime and Japanese voice acting. If Fatal Frame 5 is dubbed in English without the option for Japanese audio, even though it is the game I am MOST looking forward to since buying my Wii U AND new 3DS XL, I won't buy it. Not only that, I will definitely switch to Playstation next console cycle. As much as I love Nintendo and Mario games, my goodwill is running on empty and I need to get my J-fix somehow. (And speaking of Mario, the new SMB U was a disgrace--same music and graphics as its Wii predecessor. For shame, Nintendo. For shame)