[OT] Games and their localizations

[Alneyan]

Disclaimer: this is likely to be somewhat of a rant. Proceed at your own risks, as you were warned.

Once upon a time, games weren't usually translated in French, or when they were, multiple Languages were supported rather than French alone. These were the good days, where you weren't compelled to stand an awful translation with its own bugs, in a language you don't fancy.

Nowadays, while almost every game is translated, you can seldom choose your own language, even for "international" releases. (For example, AOW: Shadow Magic was exactly the same in France than in the US with an added translation, but you couldn't choose between English and French, while both Languages were actually supported. The original exe was all that was needed to change the language, but wasn't provided) You can argue it is due to space constraints from time to time, but do a few text files weight this much, when you still have some free space on the CD? Voices might be a problem in games relying heavily on voice acting though.

As you may know, France is well-known from being protective with its own language, which might explain this change in recent years. Very few games are now available without any translation (unless imports that is), but is it because the editors know too well English games would sell poorly or because of some regulation? I would not be surprised if the latter was the more appropriate explanation, as I *seem* to recall reading something along these lines concerning Quebec. And they *are* other laws quite similar in France, so.

So, is it basically the same in a country such as Germany (which should be the biggest market for games in Europe), or can you actually find games available in other Languages there? Or rather, is it yet another French peculiarity or some general trend? I can only speak about the situation here in France, as I don't know how it is handled in other countries where English isn't widely spoken.

Lastly, I am right in assuming there is no general mean to "delocalize" a game save for buying it again in English, especially more recent ones? (There might be some site dedicating to hosting the original, unaltered files... I should stop daydreaming.)

[Andr�s]

Well I don't usually check the local game stores but the situation look similar here, most games seem to be translated into Spanish.
Add to this the fact that our language is very widespread so that there are many different accents and regionalisms that will sound strange somewhere else.

ISTR that in Spain they even re-translate games, movies and stuff that is in "Latin-American Spanish" ore some other foreign accent.

I've never seen a game that allows you to choose the language.

[Slynky]

I have Pokemon cards in different Languages. Does that count?

(sorry...just goofing around)

[Alneyan]

*Sighs with relief as Slynky seems to have forgotten his hypotheses involving some intelligence gathering and spying*

Most if not all games with several Languages support are somewhat old, between the early 90's to 1996 or so. It was then usually English, German, Spanish, French and Italian. (System Shock or... *Coughs* Little Big Adventure *Coughs* were featuring more than one language to name but two) I forgot though that videos are *heavy* and so these will likely pose a problem. But texts alone would be enough to placate me.

[Fyron]

I've never seen a game that allows you to choose the language.

Never played Civilization 2?

[Puke]

ahhh, System Shock. Such a brilliant game. I never had the Version with voice acting, until I found it in a bargain bin. Now I cant get it to run on a modern machine, and none of the "Dos Emulators" I have found support games that run in protected mode.

but back to the point, many games (mostly major titles, some minor ones) from the 80s and 90s supported multiple Languages. often you would select english, french, german, or spanish at the time of the install, or when you started the program.

It may not have to do with actuall language issues, but other market factors that distributors wish to control (similar to region encoding on DVDs) or it may have to do with release dates. movies are timed for release in different regions, presumeably because of different market pressures in each area (similar relases effecting expected turnouts, etc) and videogames may do the same. also, international Versions of games often have a later release date, as translation is the Last thing to happen, and the game company does not want to delay the domestic release.