Cover not available
Article published In:
Game Localisation
Edited by Xiaochun Zhang and Samuel Strong
[The Journal of Internationalization and Localization 4:2] 2017
► pp. 183–202

Seeking delocalization

Fan community and game localization in the age of user empowerment

 | University of Auckland, New Zealand
The continuing development of the Internet and broader technologization have made the presence of game fans and the diverse fan community highly visible, shaping part of contemporary global game culture. The influences of such user empowerment have been debated, notably along the lines of the emergence of participatory culture (Jenkins 2006). Increased fan participation in translation facilitated by technological environments is highlighting the need to pay attention to the role played by such highly engaged users in the localization industry. Yet, to date the topic has not been explored fully in game localization research. To fill this gap, this article considers the significance for game localization of the dynamically evolving status and influence of international game fan communities. Taking the case of a controversy that erupted during 2015 and 2016 over localization of a Japanese tactical RPG (Role Playing Game) title, the article investigates how user empowerment is impacting on game localization. This article demonstrates the importance – for game publishers and developers alike – of recognizing the increasingly significant presence of global game fan communities. In particular, game publishers and developers must be prepared to have clear and consistent localization policies and strategies in place in order to face the scrutiny of increasingly knowledgeable and empowered fan communities.
Keywords: game fan community, user empowerment, delocalization, localization policies, self-censorship
Article outline
  • 1.Background: Game fan community
  • 2.Problem space: Fan community and game localization
  • 3.A case study: Fire Emblem Fates
    • 3.1Background to fans’ participation in localization
    • 3.2Localization controversy over Fire Emblem Fates
  • 4.Discussion
    • 4.1Democratization of localization: Release time, social media and fan intervention
    • 4.2Theorization of translation by fans
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 26 January 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.00004.oha
References (34)
References
Altis, Nathan. 2015. I Am Error. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ashcraft, Brian. 2015. Why Some People Are Calling Fire Emblem Fates ‘Homophobic’, Kotaku . Accessed December. [URL]
Baseel, Andrew. 2015. Police in Japan arrest five men connected with illegal upload of One Piece manga and translation, Rocket News 24. Accessed December. [URL]
Bonds, Curtis. 2016. “Fire Emblem: Fates Changes Controversial Support Conversation in Western Regions”, Nintendo World Report. Accessed January. [URL]
Burn, Andrew. 2006. Reworking the text: Online fandom. In Diane Carr, David Buckingham, Andrew Burn & Gareth Schott (eds.), Computer games: Text, narrative and play, 88–102. Cambridge, MA: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Consalvo, Mia. 2016. Atari to Zelda: Japan’s Videogames in Global Contexts. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cubbison, Lorie. 2005. “Anime Fans, DVDs, and the Authentic Text.” The Velvet Light Trap 561: 45–57. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
de Sola Pool, Ithiel. 1983. Technologies of Freedom. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Dietz, Frank. 2006. Issues in localizing computer games. In Keiran J. Dunne (ed.), Perspectives in localization, 121–134. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dovey, John & Helen W. Kennedy. 2006. Game cultures: Computer games as new media. Berkshire: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Handrahan, Matthew. 4 April, 2016. Nintendo denies bowing to GamerGate pressure in employee firing: Update: IGDA issues statement on Alison Rapp dismissal. Accessed January. [URL]
Hetcher, Steven. 2013. “Amateur creative digital content and proportional commerce.” In Amateur Media: Social, Cultural and Legal Perspectives. Edited by Hunter, Dan, Ramon Lobato, Megan Richardson and Julian Thomas, 35–52. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Jenkins, Henry. 2006. Convergence culture: where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Kain, Eric. 2016. “Fire Emblem Fates’ And The Curious Case Of Localization Gone Terribly Wrong”, Forbes. Accessed January. [URL]
Klepek, Patrick. 2015. 14 December. From Japan, With Changes: The Endless Debate Over Video Game ‘Censorship’ Kotaku . Accessed December. [URL]
. 2016a. 5 March The Ugly New Front In The Neverending Video Game Culture War. Kotaku. Accessed December. [URL]
. 2016b. The Fight Over The Best Way to Translate Fire Emblem Fates. Kotaku. Accessed December. [URL]
Kohler, Chris. 2005. Power-up: How Japanese games gave the world an extra life. Indianapolis: Brady Games.Google Scholar
Lastowka, Greg. 2013. Minecraft as Web 2.0: Amateur creativity and digital games. In Amateur Media: Social, Cultural and Legal Perspectives. Edited by Hunter, Dan, Ramon Lobato, Megan Richardson and Julian Thomas, 153–169. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Lewis, E. Philip. 1985. “The Measure of Translation Effects” In Difference in Translation. Edited by Joseph F. Graham, 31–62. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Matthewman, Steve. 2011. Technology and social theory. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Muñoz-Sánchez, Pablo. 2009. “Video Game Localization for Fans by Fans: The Case of ROM Hacking”. The Journal of Internationalisation and Localization 1 (1): 168–185. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Muscar, Jamie. E. 2006. A Winner is Who? Fair Use and the Online Distribution of Manga and Video Game Fan Translations. Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law 9 (1), 223–254.Google Scholar
Newman, James. 2013. Illegal deposit: Game preservation and/as software piracy. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 19(1) 45–61. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2008. Playing Videogames. London and New York: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nord, Christian. 2001. “Loyalty Revisited. Bible Translation as a Case in Point” Target 7, 2: 185–202.Google Scholar
Nornes, Markus. 1999. “For an abusive subtitling”. Film Quarterly 52 (3): 17–34. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
O’Hagan, Minako. 2009. ‘Evolution of User-generated Translation: Fansubs, Translation Hacking and Crowdsourcing’. Journal of Internationalization and Localization, 11 :94–121. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
O’Hagan, Minako and Carmen Mangiron. 2013. Game localization: Translating for the global digital industry. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
O’Hagan, Minako and Heather Chandler. 2016. ‘Game localization research and translation studies Loss and gain under an interdisciplinary lens’ In: Gambier, Yves and Luc van Doorslaer (eds). Border Crossings: Translation Studies and Other Disciplines, 309–330. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pérez-González, Luis. 2014. Audiovisual Translation: Theories, Methods and Issues. London and New York: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rheingold, Howard. 1993/2000. The virtual community: homesteading on the electronic frontier. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.Google Scholar
Skipper, Ben. 2015. Fire Emblem Fates homophobia: Bisexual character drugged to believe men are women and women are men. International Business Times. Accessed January. [URL]
Wirtén, Eva Hemmungs. 2013. “Swedish subtitling strike called off! Fan-to-fan piracy, translation and the primacy of authorization”. In Amateur Media: Social, Cultural and Legal Perspectives. Edited by Hunter, Dan, Ramon Lobato, Megan Richardson and Julian Thomas, 125–136. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Cited by (8)

Cited by eight other publications

Liu, Xinyuan, Weiqing Xiao & Kanglong Liu
2025. Analyzing research trends in localization. Digital Translation DOI logo
Moreno García, Luis Damián
2025. Exploring the official and unofficial paratexts of Chinese indie video games on Steam Pages. Digital Translation DOI logo
Ashok, Pratiksha
2023. Game localization: A comparative case study of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile) in India and China. Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds 15:2 ► pp. 129 ff. DOI logo
Karagöz, Selahattin
2023. Recirculated, recontextualized, reworked. In Translation Flows [Benjamins Translation Library, 163], ► pp. 107 ff. DOI logo
O’Hagan, Minako
2022. Indirect translation in game localization as a method of global circulation of digital artefacts. Target. International Journal of Translation Studies 34:3 ► pp. 441 ff. DOI logo
Mangiron, Carme
2021. Found in Translation: Evolving Approaches for the Localization of Japanese Video Games. Arts 10:1 ► pp. 9 ff. DOI logo
Mejías-Climent, Laura
2021. Game Localization: Stages and Particularities. In Enhancing Video Game Localization Through Dubbing, ► pp. 79 ff. DOI logo
O’Hagan, Minako, Julie McDonough Dolmaya & Hendrik J. Kockaert
2019. Pandemic, localization and change of guard. The Journal of Internationalization and Localization 6:2 ► pp. 69 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 9 january 2025. 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.