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extraspeech · 5 years ago

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Videogame Translation in China

China: the Largest Videogame Market in the World

The Asian giant has now become the largest video game market in the world. According to the latest HIS report, the video game market in China represents a $38 billion in revenue in 2018. In addition, the income of the sector of Video games in China accounts for 25% of the world total: one in every four dollars of the video game industry is being billed in China. In 2017, most of the revenue came from PC titles. However, video games for mobile phones or tablets outperformed the rest of the platforms in 2018. Spending on mobile games grew 55% in 2018, and increases of 24% are announced for 2019. Meanwhile, consoles still cannot find their place in the Chinese market. The sales figures of the PS4 and Xbox, barely exceeded 500,000 units since they launch.

An Overpopulated Country

All this avalanche of figures is driven by the huge population of China. The Asian giant has a population of about 1400 million people. In addition, taking a closer look at the demographics of China, we see that about 21% of its population is between 15 and 40 years old. We could discuss what is the average age of a gamer, but surely many of us agree that it is probably in this range. This means almost 300 million potential gamers, with stable jobs and growing purchasing power. Recall that the unemployment rate in China is around 4% according to official figures, and that the country has an increasingly large and stable middle class.

A Generation Without Computers

Unlike what happens in the West, where many of us have our personal computer, in China the situation is very different. It is estimated that around 95% of Internet users in China access the network through their mobile phones. In France, cybercafes were a revolution for the year 2001, when high-speed connections still did not exist and we couldn’t play StarCraft games every time we would receive a call at home (damn 56 kbps connection!). Cybercafes in France were a hit in all cities. Neighbourhoods were filled with gamers’ nests. Tournaments, night marathons and birthdays were organised as well as all kinds of events. Cybercafes happened to become social centres for many young people. However, with the advancement of technology and the arrival of high-speed connections to French homes, cybercafes moved into the background and many of them had to close in 2003 or 2004. Today, China continues to have thousands of cybercafes throughout the country. In addition, Chinese cybercafes have gone one step further: they offer 35-inch screens, hundreds of games, sofas, home delivery and very low prices, even for Chinese stores. In fact, many Chinese decide to use cybercafes as hotels in some areas of the country: it is much cheaper to spend the night in the cyber than to sleep in a simple room in a hostel.

Mobile Phones as the Dominant Platform

The situation of cybercafes in China is a very important fact to understand the impact of mobile platforms in China. For the vast majority of Chinese people, their mobile phone is their personal computer. It’s the device they use every day, the one they take to work, to school and the one they still use when they go home. It is with what they use to read the news, follow their social networks, watch movies or series online. In addition, of course, it is becoming the favourite platform for Chinese to play video games. Honor of Kings, the mobile version of the League of Legends, is currently the most profitable game. According to official announcements, Honor of Kings is expected to report to Tencent, the developer of the videogame, a profit of more than 3 billion dollars. Such is the addiction and reception that the videogame received in China, that Tencent has decided to limit the number of hours of play per day to those under 18 years of age.

Tencent, the Largest Videogame Company in the World

The Chinese company Tencent is the largest technology company in the country and one of the most important in the world (Tencent owns 40% of Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, that says it all). For the last few years, they have been investing very strongly in the videogame industry. As you may know, Tencent today owns large Western companies such as Supercell, Riot Games and is a large shareholder of other major companies in the sector, such as Epic Games or Activision Blizzard.

According to specialists, Tencent’s greatest competitive advantage lies in the enormous social network infrastructure available to it. The two largest instant messaging platforms in China are owned by Tencent: Wechat and QQ. These Chinese social networks have nearly 1,000 million active users per month, of which more than 700 million daily use their services daily. In addition, Tencent is one of the pioneers in the implementation of applications called hub. This type of application integrate different services or programs within the same application. In this way, you do not have to change application to use maps, view images, read the news or play mobile games. This is a total revolution in China, and Tencent is one of the leaders. To make matters worse, Tencent announced the re-launch of Wegame in 2018. Wegame is a video game download platform that will compete with Steam in China. Tencent’s game publishing platform now has more than 200 million registered players. Tencent’s monopoly in China is slightly threatened by its biggest competitor, NetEase, another giant technology group in charge of operating games such as StarCraft II, Overwatch and Diablo III in China, among other titles.

Videogame Translation in China

According to the latest Chinajoy convention, the most important videogame fair in China, the Asian giant develops and publishes more than 30,000 mobile games every year, almost 2500 new games every month. However, not all of these games go through localisation processes. Some are not even translated into other languages. The Chinese game developer and entrepreneur still does not understand the importance of localisation and translation of video games. In my opinion, this is mainly due to two reasons. First, that the domestic demand of the country continues to grow year after year. There is still room for growth by exploiting the internal market and many developers prefer to invest their money in national promotion. Second, the lack of national competence to locate games in other languages. The Chinese developer has today two basic alternatives for the translation of video games: foreign companies or Chinese companies. The first one, the big international translation companies based in China, are very expensive. They suppose an investment too big for a service that for many videogames companies, today, is complementary and optional. Secondly, specialised translation companies in China are very young and have little resources. Most of these companies are pretty recent, founded 4 or 5 years ago. The services they offer are economically affordable, but their results are far from satisfactory. The number of foreigners living in China is very low today. If you’re looking for experienced video game translators, you are looking at a tiny professional population. Videogame translation in China is being carried out mostly by people without training or experience in the sector. The mere fact of being native and proficient in English is usually enough to enter into a selection processes for any Chinese video game translation company. As China’s domestic demand is satisfied and profit margins within China are shrinking, Chinese videogame companies will begin to attach much more importance to international markets and to the localisation and translation of content. Given the low competition that exists in the sector, today China is a world full of possibilities for video game translators.

Videogame Translation: What Language?

Due to proximity and ease of work, the majority of localisation work from Chinese are done in Asian languages, such as Korean, Japanese or Thai. The adaptation of contents tends to be much more discreet when it comes to marketing products regionally. However, French is rising as one of the most important languages for the gaming sector in China. The growth of emerging economies such as the French-speaking African countries is raising the demand for French translators in China.

FAQ About the Videogame Translation Market in China

If you have come this far, surely you have many doubts about the videogame sector in China. I will try to answer some of the most frequent questions. If you have any other questions, leave your question in the comments! Is it necessary to know how to speak Chinese to work in China? No. It is advisable, though. As a general rule, knowing how to communicate in English is enough to survive in China. The new generations of Chinese learn English from a young age and are always eager to practise it with foreigners. What are the trends of mobile games this year in China? In recent months many games about the Second World War are coming out. PVP games with very good graphics. Games where you control ships or warplanes. A good example of this type of game is War Wings, by Tencent Games. How much does a freelance translator charge in China? It depends. It is estimated that the average should be around 200 RMB per 1000 words for English to French (about 26 euros per 1000 words) and a little more from Chinese to French. Nowadays, it seems to be difficult to live on freelance translations in China. Sometimes huge projects arrive, of 100,000 words. Other times, only small projects of 2,000 or 3000 words. How much does an in-house translator charge in China? In-house video game translator positions are very much required in China. Conditions are usually quite interesting, although salaries depend on the city and the experience of the translator. To give an indicative figure, a professional hired as "Specialist in localisation of video games" can make between 12,000 and 15,000 RMB per month (about 1600–2000 euros). What About Delivery Time? As you can imagine, in China there are hardly any labour regulations, agreements or standardisation in this sense. Much less if we talk about sectors as recent as the translation of video games. The goal of Chinese translation companies is to get the job out as soon as possible and in the best possible way. When working as a freelancer, you can almost always negotiate your availability with translation companies. However, the faster you complete the work, the more likely you are to collaborate with them again. Once again, each project is different and many times delivery depends solely on the deadline set out by the end client. Either way, translation companies expect an output of 2,500 words a day for part-time translators and about 5,000 words a day for in-house or full-time translators. As a general rule, Chinese companies do not differentiate repetitions from the rest of the text, so you will normally charge 100% of the work done. However, some companies might pay 50% for repetitions or that do not even count them or pay them. In the end, it is up to you to choose whom we want to work with. The time you devote to each translation is up to you. There will be people who are able to translate more than 1000 words per hour, while other people might need more time. There are many factors that determine the speed at which you do translation: your level of commitment, concentration, typing speed, how well you master your translation software, the familiarity you have with the type of game you are translating, et cetera. Personally, and as a reference, I think I can translate about 1000 words per hour from English to French. Of course, it is impossible for me to maintain this level of concentration for a long time. I need to unplug from time to time to avoid mistakes. What is the worst thing when working with Chinese translation companies? Working with Chinese companies can sometimes be a very exasperating experience. Rigour, consistency and precision are not usually attributes that are highly valued by Chinese translation companies. As I said before, times are fundamental in an economy that grows to more than 7% each year. Many times you can find yourself lacking in resources to do a good job. Sometimes, communication with the project manager or with the final client is not very good. For those who translate video games, software or applications, it is essential to know the context of a word. It is very important to have good communication with the client to know what this loose word refers to, without context. For example, attack or raid are widely used words in RTS games. However, seeing them loose in an Excel box, is it a verb? A noun? Who performs the action? Another problem that we can find is often confidentiality. When working as a freelancer for a translation company, it is unlikely that you will have any contact whatsoever with the videogame developer. Many Chinese translation companies have confidentiality agreements. How can you translate a video game if you have not had the opportunity to play it? How can you adjust your writing style if you don’t know what the game looks like? Unfortunately, consistency is sometimes secondary when translating for Chinese companies. However, there are other companies that much more sensible and determined to deliver a good job. Lately, I received some projects for which I was given some days to familiarise myself with the game before being given the document to translate. What is the best thing about working with Chinese translation companies? The lack of rigour and consistency can be unbearable for more experienced translators. In addition, translation rates in China are much lower than those offered in Western countries. However, China offers enormous possibilities for development and growth for any translator. To give you an idea, in just over two years working for Chinese translation companies, I must have translated more than 50 video games and as many mobile applications. Some of these projects are small card or casino games, but other projects had more than 250,000 words. Nowadays, China allows you to work whatever you want. There is a huge and growing demand in all sectors and very few professionals to cover it. It is an ideal country to train and get experience. Also, if you are willing to sacrifice part of your free time and become a multi-employer, you can start saving money and start making plans for the future, something that today does not seem so easy in European countries. How can I find a videogame translator job in China? Chinese translation companies are always looking for translators. Many translation offers are published on portals such as 51job (Chinese and English). Another way would be to directly contact some Chinese translation companies, such as Gametrans, among others. Read the full article

#translation #translationagencies #translator #videogametranslation

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oliviedenh · 5 years ago

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Videogame Translation in China

China: the Largest Videogame Market in the World

An Overpopulated Country

A Generation Without Computers

Mobile Phones as the Dominant Platform

Tencent, the Largest Videogame Company in the World

Videogame Translation in China

Videogame Translation: What Language?

FAQ About the Videogame Translation Market in China

#translation #translationagencies #translator #videogametranslation

0 notes

tibodh · 5 years ago

Text

Videogame Translation in China

China: the Largest Videogame Market in the World

An Overpopulated Country

A Generation Without Computers

Mobile Phones as the Dominant Platform

Tencent, the Largest Videogame Company in the World

Videogame Translation in China

Videogame Translation: What Language?

FAQ About the Videogame Translation Market in China

#translation #translationagencies #translator #videogametranslation

0 notes

lauremichelena · 6 years ago

Text

Videogame Translation in China

China: the Largest Videogame Market in the World

An Overpopulated Country

A Generation Without Computers

Mobile Phones as the Dominant Platform

Tencent, the Largest Videogame Company in the World

Videogame Translation in China

Videogame Translation: What Language?

FAQ About the Videogame Translation Market in China

#translation #translationagencies #translator #videogametranslation

0 notes

lilmandine-blog · 8 years ago

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What is going on with video game localisation?

Voir l’article en français ici

Ver el artículo en español aquí

In 2017, while the video game industry generates billions worldwide, there are still games, even of the most anticipated ones, that reaches the non-English speaking market… in English.

To understand this phenomenon, some parameters have to be taken into account, among them:

the game development studios’ (and publishers’) vision,

their financial and material resources,

the licence’s success in one region and the market size,

the video game genre, and the number of words to be translated.

The latter point especially relates to RPGs (Role Playing Games) that, for containing a lot of dialogues and in-game texts of all sorts, require a more complex localisation process, which doesn’t go hand in hand with the game genre popularity in the European market.

Localisation is a long and difficult technique that pretends to go beyond the common idea of “translation”. It’s about adapting an entire world, the one within the game, to a different culture. The process often begins when the game is still in development, making it harder for translators to understand the context and implying constant communication with writers and changes on a regular basis. Several translations fields apply to localisation (dubbing, subtitles, images, etc.), which is why many people are involved and why it is so expensive.

Thanks to the Internet and recently created tools, the job has gotten easier when compared to the 90s, but still requires quite an investment of time and money. Companies must ask themselves: is localisation really necessary for my game to be understood and to be a best seller?

Do you speak English?

If AAA games are often localised, and with greater care over time, others ask non-English speakers to remember their English lessons from when they used to draw their teachers with a moustache instead of actually listening (a real challenge, for most of us). These mostly American or Japanese games, whether they are considered as part of a niche market or lacking sales potential, hit the shelves without having been translated to the own consumers’ language. This is what happened with the DanganRonpa series, and more recently Zero Time Dilemma and Persona 5. The most affected genres are JRPGs, Point & Click games and visual novels, that generally make less money. Not to mention the indie games scene, that can’t always see localisation as a priority due to obvious financial reasons.

In two weeks after it was released, Persona 5 had managed to ship 1.5 million copies worldwide, in Japanese and English

Don’t blame the companies, blame the system

However, independent game studios are not the only ones having a hard time with this; big companies are affected too, like Capcom, with the Phoenix Wright series. Despite its popularity, the game is not selling so well in Europe, and this led the company to cease physical release and to distribute the game through the Nintendo eShop only, in English.

Companies face other problems, such as piracy. Translating a game, with the aim of releasing it for everyone at the same time or a posteriori, to suit the customers’ desires—or to stop them from complaining on the Internet—does not only mean selling more, but also seeing more pirated copies slipping through the system (see the example of Punch Club). Why would companies invest in localisation knowing how risky it is?

Some of us, the non-native English speakers, have the chance to speak one of the most commonly translated to languages in the video game industry. These languages are referred to as EFIGS (English, French, Italian, German and Spanish), an acronym that firstly appeared in the 80s and that is still used nowadays. Things get more complicated for Chinese speakers for instance; companies have to face censorship and prohibitions and few games are localised in the end.

Non-localised games don’t reflect the companies’ lack of will but highlight a more complex reality, which, by the way, does not prevent the Internet from being the Internet and grumbling when a game doesn’t have the luxury —that’s what it is—to be localised.

Indie game with language skills

Some indie game development studios pay particular attention to localising their games despite additional costs. Shovel knight, developed by Yacht Club Games, has been localised to 7 languages and includes in its Japanese version references to Japanese culture and old video games (Alex Kidd, Doki Doki Panic), which is, besides, proof that localisation goes further than a “simple” translation. The studio’s webpage says they’ve put a lot of effort in localisation so that the game can “be experienced by everyone in their native language”. We appreciate the gesture, Yacht Club Games.

The Japanese Shovel Knight localisation includes slight changes as a tribute to the 90s localisation process

The French indie Game Last Fight follows the same pattern with a localisation into 10 languages including Japanese and Korean.

Localisation, besides being a way to gain a wider audience, is also seen by these studios as a way to receive a long-term international recognition and to access the Japanese market and its significance in the industry.

Turns out it was translated after all

As in the case of films and series, video games has its devoted fans that spend hours translating what companies chose not to. These fan translations, available as patches on the Internet, are the product of an endless passion for a specific game and a desire to share it with the others. Since the 90s, these video game enthusiasts have been particularly active in translating from Japanese to English, and more recently from English to other languages, especially Spanish. They even sometimes provide better quality work than professionals, as they have access to the game, and thus to the whole context (and not phrases without images or explanations). They know better than anyone the game, have motivation and dedication, and that’s what turned the hobby into a serious and useful discipline.

Localisation has become a widespread lucrative business, that ensures significant incomes but yet is difficult to afford. Companies must be 100% sure they’re going to be rewarded for their investment. For our part, we can see things differently: who hasn’t learned a bit of English by playing video games?

This article contains facts you can find on http://www.trans.uma.es/presentacion.html Trans, revista de traductología

#videogametranslation #Englishfail #localisation #localization

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not-your-pussikat · 6 years ago

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Lots of work makes this #localization #translator happy! Or, as Hannibal Smith would say: "I love it when a plan comes together!" #lovemyjob💕 #happyascanbe #videogametranslator #xl8 #t9n #l10n #videogames #translation https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsac_V-jXv9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=i08rv92jrdl5

#localization #translator #lovemyjob💕#happyascanbe #videogametranslator #xl8 #t9n #l10n #videogames #translation

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lilmandine-blog · 8 years ago

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Pourquoi mon jeu est en anglais ?

Ver el artículo en español aquí

Click here to see the English version

En 2017, à l’heure où le jeu vidéo génère des milliards de dollars dans le monde entier, arrivent encore dans l’hexagone des incorruptibles jeux non traduits au français, parfois même des plus attendus.

Les paramètres à prendre en compte pour comprendre ce phénomène sont nombreux. On peut noter, entre autres :

la vision de l’entreprise et du distributeur,

leurs moyens financiers et matériels,

le succès de la licence dans la zone pour laquelle est destinée la traduction y la taille du marché,

le genre du jeu, et la quantité de texte à traduire.

Ce dernier point concerne notamment les RPG (jeux de rôle), qui nécessitent un travail de localisation plus complexe par la quantité de dialogue, travail qui ne va pas forcément de pair avec le succès du genre en Europe.

La localisation est un processus complexe et laborieux, qui dépasse le concept commun de traduction, car il s’agit d’adapter tout un monde, celui du jeu, à une autre culture. On commence souvent à traduire le jeu lors de la phase de développement, ce qui implique d’éventuelles difficultés pour le traducteur par manque de contexte, et des modifications à effectuer régulièrement. Ce processus nécessite l'usage de différentes techniques (doublage, sous-titrage, infographie), et donc l’intervention de nombreux professionnels et un coût élevé en conséquence.

Le métier s’est beaucoup simplifié par rapport aux années 90 grâce à internet et aux nouveaux outils, mais demande toujours un investissement non négligeable en temps et en argent. Les entreprises doivent se demander : la localisation est-elle vraiment nécessaire pour la compréhension du jeu et son succès ?

La langue de Shakespeare

Si la majeure partie des blockbusters sont localisés, et ce avec de plus en plus de soin, d’autres jeux vous demanderont de mettre à profit vos cours d’anglais du collège. Qu’ils soient originaires des États-Unis ou du Japon, les jeux considérés comme de niche ou qui n’ont pas pour habitude de se vendre comme des petits pains arrivent en France sans être traduits au français. C’est le cas des DanganRonpa, ou plus récemment de Zero Time Dilemma et Persona 5. Les genres les plus touchés sont les JRPG, les Point & Click et les visual novels, qui, de manière générale, se vendent moins en Occident. Sans parler du cas des studios indépendants, qui pour des questions évidentes de budget n’en font pas leur priorité pour leurs jeux.

Persona 5 s’est hissé dans le classement des meilleures ventes en France à sa sortie, et ce sans avoir été traduit

Ne jetez la pierre à personne

Ces difficultés ne touchent pas seulement les studios indépendants ; les grandes entreprises sont également concernées, comme le montre l’exemple de Phoenix Wright. La saga, pourtant connue, s’est assez mal vendue ces dernières années dans nos contrées, poussant Capcom à cesser la distribution physique des derniers opus de la série pour la remplacer par une distribution digitale du jeu, en anglais.

Mis à part les chiffres de ventes insuffisants, les entreprises aujourd’hui font face à d’autres problématiques, comme le piratage. La traduction d’un jeu pour un marché donné, ou la traduction a posteriori à la demande — ou suite aux plaintes — des joueurs, ne sera pas toujours synonyme de ventes supplémentaires, mais également d’un nombre de copies piratées plus important (voir Punch Club [en anglais]). Pourquoi donc investir de l’argent si le seul résultat est la dynamisation de ces pratiques ?

Le français fait pourtant partie des « EFIGS », terme qui a fait son apparition dans les années 80 et acronyme correspondant à anglais, français, italien, allemand et espagnol, les langues de traduction les plus courantes dans le domaine du jeu vidéo. Les francophones peuvent donc s’estimer chanceux, car les jeux non traduits sont peut-être suffisants pour générer des polémiques, mais ils ne représentent en réalité qu’une infime partie du marché. Les moins bien lotis sont les Chinois, qui reçoivent un pourcentage très faible de jeux localisés sur leur marché pour des raisons de censure et d’interdictions de la part du gouvernement.

Les cas de non localisation ne reflètent pas un manque de volonté de la part des entreprises, mais mettent plutôt en évidence une réalité complexe, qui n’empêche pas les joueurs d'exprimer leur mécontentement lorsqu’un jeu ne peut pas se payer le luxe (car c’est ce dont il s’agit) qu’est la localisation.

Ces jeux indés et polyglottes

Certains studios indépendants mettent un point d’honneur à faire localiser leurs jeux, malgré les frais engendrés. Yacht Club Games, studio à l’origine de Shovel Knight, énonce sur son site internet que chacun doit pouvoir profiter du jeu dans sa langue maternelle. Le jeu, traduit avec soin vers 7 langues, a également subi une refonte pour le marché japonais avec l’ajout de clins d’oeil à la culture japonaise et aux jeux des années 85-90 (Alex Kidd, Doki Doki Panic). Preuve en est que la localisation va plus loin que la traduction.

Shovel Knight nous offre une traduction de grande qualité

Le Powerstone français Last Fight suit la même tendance, avec une localisation à 10 langues, dont le japonais et le coréen.

Pour ces deux studios, la localisation a pour but d’atteindre, au-delà d’un chiffre d’affaires plus important, une reconnaissance internationale à long terme et l’accès au marché japonais, si significatif pour l’industrie vidéoludique.

Mais si, il est traduit le jeu !

Il n’y a pas que les films et les séries qui sont traduits par des amateurs ; l’univers du jeu vidéo lui aussi regorge de fans dévoués et prêts à dédier leur temps libre à la traduction amateur. Ils sont à l’origine de fan translations, en général disponibles sur le net sous forme de patchs. Cette communauté, apparue dans les années 90, s’est d’abord dédiée à la traduction du japonais à l’anglais, et par la suite de l’anglais à d’autres langues, notamment l’espagnol. Leur travail dépasse parfois celui des professionnels en terme de qualité, puisqu’ils ont accès à l’intégralité du jeu, et donc au contexte (et non seulement à une liste de phrases). Par leur motivation, leur connaissance exhaustive de l’univers du jeu et leur dévouement, ces fans ont réussi à faire de leur hobby une discipline davantage prise au sérieux, qui permet à certains jeux de passer les frontières.

La localisation est maintenant un business lucratif et bien installé dans l’industrie vidéoludique ; les studios doivent cependant être sûrs à 100% du retour sur investissement avant de se lancer. Ils font pourtant face à l’incompréhension des joueurs, qui ne s’imaginent pas le travail et le budget nécessaires pour qu’un jeu soit traduit dans leur langue. Et puis, après tout, n’avons nous pas tous commencé à apprendre l’anglais par les jeux vidéo ?

Cet article contient des éléments d’information trouvés sur http://www.trans.uma.es/presentacion.html Trans, revista de traductología

#videogametranslation #Frenchfail #localisation

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lilmandine-blog · 8 years ago

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¿Por qué mi juego está en inglés?

Click here to see the English version

Voir l’article en français ici

En 2017, cuando la industria del videojuego genera un volumen de negocio de miles de millones de dólares en todo el mundo, todavía llegan al mercado español juegos sin localizar, incluso de los más populares de la época.

Son numerosos los parámetros que hay que tener en cuenta para poder entender este fenómeno. Destacan principalmente:

la visión de la compañía y de la distribuidora,

las capacidades financieras y materiales de estas,

la popularidad del juego en la región para la que se va a traducir y el tamaño del mercado,

el género del juego, y la cantidad de texto que traducir.

Este último punto se aplica especialmente a los RPG (juegos de rol), que requieren un trabajo de localización más complejo por la cantidad de diálogos, trabajo que no va de la mano con el volumen de ventas del género en el mercado europeo.

La localización es un proceso largo y arduo, que comparada con la traducción da un paso más, por el hecho de adaptar un mundo entero, el del juego, a una cultura diferente. Se empieza a menudo a traducir mientras se está desarrollando todavía el juego, lo que supone dificultades de comprensión del contexto por parte del traductor, y cambios a lo largo del desarrollo. Este proceso requiere la intervención de varias técnicas (doblaje, subtitulado, retoque de imágenes), lo que implica la necesidad de recurrir a múltiples profesionales y, en consecuencia, de tener un presupuesto sustancial.

El oficio se ha simplificado mucho con internet y con las nuevas herramientas, en comparación con los años 90, pero aún así requiere tiempo e inversión. Por consiguiente, las empresas deben preguntarse: ¿es realmente necesaria la localización para la comprensión de nuestro juego y para su éxito?

La lengua de Shakespeare

Si bien es cierto que la mayoría de los blockbusters se localizan, y cada vez más cuidadosamente, hay otros juegos para los que tendrás que saber inglés. Sean de Estados Unidos o de Japón, los juegos considerados de nicho o que no suelen venderse como rosquillas llegan a España sin traducción al castellano. Es el caso de los DanganRonpa, o más recientemente Zero Time Dilemma y Persona 5. Son más afectados los JRPG (juegos de rol japoneses), las aventuras gráficas, y las novelas visuales, que no son fuentes de ingresos para las compañías, sin mencionar el caso de los juegos indie, que no siempre se pueden localizar por cuestiones evidentes de presupuesto.

Se han vendido unas 6.000 copias físicas de Persona 5 en España (datos del 28 de abril de 2017), a pesar de la falta de localización del juego

No eches la culpa a nadie

Estas dificultades no las sufren sólo las desarrolladoras independientes. Sucede también en las grandes producciones, como lo muestra el ejemplo de Phoenix Wright. A pesar de ser bastante conocido, el juego de Capcom no es súper ventas, y la compañía acabó por abandonar la localización de las últimas entregas de la serie, y las propone ahora en Europa solamente en versión digital, en inglés.

Hoy en día, además, las empresas se enfrentan a otros problemas, como el de los juegos pirateados. Traducir un juego para todos los mercados, o hacerlo a posteriori para cumplir la solicitud de los fans (o para que dejen de quejarse), no es forzosamente sinónimo de ventas adicionales, sino también de pirateo (ver Punch Club [en inglés]). Este es otro argumento por el que las empresas se muestran reacias a una inversión en este sentido.

En cuanto a España en particular, hay que saber que aunque comparte el idioma con los países de América latina, la localización se contempla en general solo para la península, dentro de un proyecto de localización para el mercado europeo. Para Argentina y sus vecinos, la distribución del juego se hace en relación con la en Estados Unidos y Canadá, que se consideran como un mismo mercado, y los juegos llegan a menudo en inglés. Eso se podría explicar por las diferencias a nivel del idioma entre el español de aquí y de allí, o por razones geográficas. La localización, por lo tanto, sale mucho menos rentable para un mercado tan pequeño como España. Lo bueno de España, sin embargo, es que forma parte de los «EFIGS» (en inglés, las siglas de inglés, francés, italiano, alemán y español), que son los idiomas a los que se traducen más a menudo los videojuegos, por la importancia de los países respectivos en el mercado europeo.

La falta de localización no refleja una falta de voluntad por parte de las compañías, sino una realidad difícil, pero no impide que los jugadores muestren su descontento en Internet al enterarse de que un juego no beneficiará del lujo que es la localización.

Estos juegos indie y políglotas

Algunas desarrolladoras independientes prestan especial atención a la localización de sus juegos, a pesar de los costes que supone. Yacht Club Games, creadora de Shovel Knight, proclama su visión altruista al respecto; según su página web, quiere que cada uno pueda disfrutar del juego en su lengua materna. El juego, traducido con esmero a 7 idiomas, contiene incluso guiños a la cultura japonesa y a juegos de los años 85-90 (Alex Kidd, Doki Doki Panic). Eso es prueba de que la localización va más allá de una «simple» traducción.

Shovel Knight muestra una traducción al español de gran calidad

Destaca también el juego indie francés Last fight, traducido a 10 idiomas, entre ellos el coreano y el japonés.

Para estas desarrolladoras, la localización tiene por finalidad, además de unas cifras de venta superiores, un reconocimiento internacional, del que carecen por su estatus, y también el acceso al mercado japonés, tan significativo en la industria.

¡Sí que está traducido el juego!

El mundo de los videojuegos, al igual que el del cine, está lleno de aficionados dispuestos a emplear todo su tiempo libre a la traducción de los juegos. Dan a luz a fan translations en forma de parches disponibles en internet, productos de su pasión por los juegos y su deseo de compartirla. Esta comunidad, que emergió en los años 90, se dedica especialmente a traducir del japonés al inglés, y más recientemente del inglés a otros idiomas. Su trabajo es a veces mejor que el de los profesionales, pues tienen acceso al juego entero, en vez de frases sueltas sin contexto. Su conocimiento del juego, su motivación y su dedicación les permite hacer de su hobby una disciplina seria y útil.

En la escena hispánica de la traducción amateur, con bastante peso en comparación con los otros idiomas, se encuentran en particular algunos españoles muy dedicados a la tarea. Tales Translations es un grupo que lleva 11 años traduciendo la serie de los Tales of, y que se compone de unas 20 personas. El youtuber Adriguel se encargó de la traducción al español del juego The Binding of Isaac.

La traducción de Adriguel se puede encontrar en la página moddingofisaac.com

La localización es actualmente un negocio muy lucrativo desarrollado a nivel internacional, pero no todo el mundo se lo puede permitir. Las empresas tienen que estar seguras al 100% de su inversión. En cuanto a nosotros, ¿quiénes somos para quejarnos? Al fin y al cabo, ¿no hemos aprendido todos inglés con los videojuegos?

Este artículo contiene información que puedes encontrar en la página de Trans, revista de traductología http://www.trans.uma.es/presentacion.htm

#traducción #videojuego #localización #videogametranslation #Spanishfail

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