Japanese-to-English video game localisation AMA

I'm a Japanese-to-English game localizer who worked at Spike Chunsoft and Square Enix. I was involved in the english localization of Danganronpa 2, Danganronpa V3, the Chrono Cross remaster and NEO: The World Ends With You. Feel free to ask me anything.

when can we expect AI localisation that doesn't shit up games with current day politics?

Can't wait for AI to take your job.

AI isn't going to replace english localizers

He doesn't knows about the Chinese release of switch games that come with Chinese, Jap, and English.

English is AI 99% of the time.
tick tock.

How would you translate one character mishearing another? Like 立ってる as 食べてる?

We aren't shitting up games, we are improving them. AI simply isn't good enough to translate wordplay, puns and other things. I do censor problematic dialogue and rewrite/change dialogue but japanese is a bland language and these changes only benefit the story. Localizers are not just localizing games, we are also partly the authors. The japanese developers are the authors of the japanese language versions of the games but we are also the authors of the english language versions.

AI is already taking your job.
It's already happening.

Okay, nevermind and fuck off

That's a great question. When one character mishears another—like mistaking立ってる(tatteru, “standing”) for食べてる(tabeteru, “eating”)—the key is figuring out how to make the misunderstanding work in English.

You’ve got a couple of options. One is to find two English phrases that sound similar, even if they aren’t literal translations, to keep the humor or confusion intact—like turning "I'm standing!" into "You're tanning?" or something similar.

If you want to stay closer to the original, you could just translate it literally and then add a footnote or quick explanation, especially if you're doing subtitles or something for readers who care about the language nuance. If you're aiming for a really natural flow, you can localize the joke completely and swap it out for a different sound-based misunderstanding that makes sense in English. It all depends on the tone you're going for and how much you want to prioritize accuracy vs. readability.

I do censor problematic dialogue and rewrite/change dialogue but japanese is a bland language and these changes only benefit the story. Localizers are not just localizing games, we are also partly the authors. The japanese developers are the authors of the japanese language versions of the games but we are also the authors of the english language versions.

Bait thread. Move along, everyone.

post credentials or gtfo

The vast majority of gamers understand why localization is needed.MTL can't capture/replicate the nuance when translating japanese to english, which is why localization is needed. Machines will never replace human localization.

Here's my question: Have your superiors briefed you on the parallel dimension hiding in japanese videogames?

are you aware you are only working on half the game?

Feel free to ask me anything.

I ask you to go kill yourself.

In your opinion what is the most damaging thing that threatens localization in today's world?

go do an AMA on reddit you ファッキングチョンカス野郎。クタバレ

this reads like a chatgpt message

それはとても失礼です。誰もあなただとか、あなたの仲間のインセルたち、そしてアスモンゴールドの側につかないのには理由があります。“ローカライザーという妖怪”については特にね

それはとても失礼です

あなたの仲間のインセルたち

LMAO
dumb fuck

そしてアスモンゴールドの側につかないのには理由があります

And people wonder why localizations are so shit. Literal N7 proficiency.

Feel free to ask me anything

Uuuh, where did i put my pin vise?

The japanese learning community is toxic as hell

It is,
proves he doesn't even speak japanese, it's just bait all the way down and people keep bumping it because they don't know about the optiona field.

because its only obtained through hard work, and most people that wanna learn japanese are stupid weeaboo faggots who watch naruto. go to any first year japanese course in a college/university. if the stench wont kill you, your ears making you bleed to death will. people who take the time to learn japanese, write out kanji, put in effort, live in japan for a few years will hold most weeaboo queers with extreme disdain.

The quality of your bait explains the nature of your localizations prose

god forbid the WEG thread, DALLE 3 faggotry, or any of the fifty expedition 33 shitpost circlejerks get bumped off the board.

I admit that I have a low proficiency but I can just use MTL to translate it and then change whatever lines I want to whatever I want. The higher ups don't give a shit what we do. I'm taking these games back from you toxic incels and giving it to the minorities who deserve it.

two things can suck at the same time

im convinced you're a troll, but this is literally what localizers do. retards will play jrpgs and watch anime for over 20 years and not speak a lick of japanese. they deserve the festering cesspit that is localization. they should choke on it, look up with a poo-stained smile, say thank you, and ask for more

yeah, you and OP, on my nuts. get to work.

watagashi aramasu. my fellow kyodai. KYODAI!
I respect my gaijin brother in arms. ANIKI KEEP BEING YOU!!!
Thank you for your service soregaishimasu

dostedt

You know, if you want to larp as a localiser, you really should achieve N5 instead of just poorly feeding your gibberish into google translate.

Next time you make this thread, you should pretend to be an editor, not someone actually involved with the translation side. You can't fake the latter, you can easily fake the former.

Considering the smugness of the usual できないfags, I do wonder what sort of requirement you need to get paid as MTL pushers like what OP is larping as.
I lived in Japan for 2 years, maybe that'll help my resume. Sure hope it's a WFH job

Very obvious LARP but it's also accurate. The only inaccurate part is that a localizer would bother coming here.

This has to be rage bait.

It's not that high at all but you have to know someone who's already working there to get your foot in the door. Otherwise you're just competing with a thousand other dekinais.

Kill yourself

wfh

japan

yeah man, let me paint a picture

スミスさんは?

今日も欠席です、部長

チッ、外人はやっぱりだめなぁうちの会社には

Do you have any info on why games like Neptunia are now banned on Nintendo?

you have to know someone who's already working there

Man that sucks considering I somehow got my previous jobs by just throwing out resumes at things that peaked my interest
I mean if I work for a 3rd party localizer, it should be possible no? Just send me the script and stuff.
Looking at the embarrassing translations in games that my friends play hurts my head and soul

We're also sabotaging japanese learning resources. You'll never escape us :)

Yeah, just try messing up みんなの日本語, CureDolly, and kanji practice books lmao

Answer my question you faggot. Why is Neptunia now banned on Nintendo when that same exact banned game is releasing on PS4 this year in the west?

all of those get mogged by flash cards you make yourself and immersion by living in japan

least retarded neptard

You gotta learn to swim if you don't want to drown. Especially when you're old and too self-conscious

you're telling that to the wrong person, dumbfuckくん

That didn’t answer my question. I even checked Plebbit out of curiosity but could not find an answer there either.