Game Localization from Multiple Perspectives: The Roles of Industry, Press, and Players

Abstract

Since the 1970s, video games have become a prominent form of entertainment media. Primarily developed in the United States initially, video games rapidly spread to other regions such as Japan and parts of Europe. An integral component of their worldwide spread was the process that allows them to be comprehensible across languages and cultures: localization. Localization is more than the translation of linguistic signs, it also accounts for cultural norms and expectations.

This dissertation delves into the localization process from the perspective of three stakeholders: industry, players/fans, and press. Game publishers and developers adapt localization policies that guide the work of individual localizers and teams. Localizers work with development teams to modify game content for release in a target locale. Players interpret and respond to changes made during localization. In some cases, they act when a localization is denied for their region. Finally, press operates between industry and players to mediate understandings of individual games, genres, and entire regions as cultural producers.

Ultimately, this dissertation concludes that localization is a liminal process in which multiple stakeholders interpret changes made to media artifacts. Localizers in the industry personalize games according to internal standards developed over decades. Fans and players can also act as localizers, and their ROM hacking work shows how programming and lingual translation are intricately connected in game localization. Game journalists mediate between industry and players, helping to contextualize games in larger social constructs such as genre.