Game localization has been largely ignored in game studies and constitutes a
relatively new area of research in translation studies. It is a specialized translation
practice requiring technical, cultural and business considerations specific
to games with multiple stakeholders involved. Addressing a general lack of
dialog between these parties, the chapter brings together perspectives of a game
producer and a translation scholar under the key theme of “loss and gain” with
the third voice of a game localization practitioner enriching the final synthesis.
Our tri-party views confirm that games as interactive entertainment designed
to maximally engage the player call for deeper and more trustful partnership
between the stakeholders in game localization than is the case today.
Further changes in the dynamic game industry are evident in the application of
crowdfunding and crowdsourcing of translation. In such a climate this chapter
demonstrates the value of combined perspectives in further advancing game
localization as practices that must be built on mutual understanding of parties
serving different roles in delivering compelling gameplay experience across
languages and cultures.
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2012The Game Localization Handbook (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA; Ontario and London: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Chandler, Heather M
2005The Game Localization Handbook. Massachusetts: Charles River Media.
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2013Understanding Video Games: Essential introduction (2nd ed.). New York and London: Routledge.
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2007 Tokyo: Square Enix.
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Mandiberg, Stephen
2014 “Game, Localization and Diaspora”. In Fun for all: Translation and Accessibility Practices in Video Games, Mangiron, C., Orero, P. and O’Hagan, M. (eds), 217–242. Bern, Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Oxford, Wien: Peter Lang.
Mangiron, Carmen
2006 “Video Game Localization: Posing New Challenges to the Translator.” Perspectives 14 (4): 306–317.
Mangiron, Carmen and Minako O’Hagan
2006 “Game Localization: Unleashing Imagination with ‘Restricted’ Translation.” Jostrans: The Journal of Specialised Translation 6: 10–21. Accessed August 11, 2014. [URL].
Massey, Gary and Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow
2012 “Evaluating the process: implications for curriculum development.” In Translationswissenschaft interdisziplinär: Fragen der Theorie und der Didaktik, Zybatow, Lew, Petrova, Alena, & Ustaszewski, Michael (eds). Frankfurt am Main u.a: Peter Lang.
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Mejías-Climent, Laura
2021. The History of Localization and Dubbing in Video Games. In Enhancing Video Game Localization Through Dubbing, ► pp. 43 ff.
Mejías-Climent, Laura
2021. Dubbing Analysis Through Game Situations: Four Case Studies. In Enhancing Video Game Localization Through Dubbing, ► pp. 163 ff.
Méndez González, Ramón
2019. Specialized Terminology in the Video Game Industry: Neologisms and their Translation. Vertimo studijos 12 ► pp. 71 ff.
Méndez González, Ramón
2022. Localización de videojuegos: herramientas formativas para nuevas prácticas traductivas y paratraductivas. Meta: Journal des traducteurs 67:3 ► pp. 558 ff.
O’Hagan, Minako
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This list is based on CrossRef data as of 21 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.