Publications
Publication details [#14041]
Mangiron i Hevia, Carme, ed. 2007. Localització de videojocs [Localisation of videogames]. Special issue of Revista Tradumàtica 5 URL
Publication type
Special issue
Publication language
Catalan
Abstract
The interactive entertainment software industry, popularly known as the video game industry, has grown to become one of the world’s main entertainment businesses, with a multimillion annual turnover and tremendous prospects for further progress. Today’s games are characterised by spectacular graphics, elaborate soundtracks and intricate plots, providing players with a more realistic and intense gaming experience. Video games have become a central element of popular culture and appeal to children and adults alike. Without question, the industry’s globalisation has been one of the keys to its success. Despite the fact that most video games are developed in Japan and English-speaking countries, a substantial proportion of the profits is generated in the international markets. Most developers therefore opt to translate, or localise (the term used by such companies), their products into other languages. The aim of doing so is to adapt the game to the respective target cultures while retaining the look and feel of the original, so that all players, regardless of their nationality, can enjoy the game in the same way, without noticing that it has been translated. However, while localisation has played a crucial role in the boom that the industry has experienced, studies on the localisation of video games are still few and far between. It was therefore thought to be appropriate to devote this issue of the journal to video game localisation, so as to present a detailed overview of this new type of translation, which sits somewhere between software localisation and audiovisual translation. To that end specialists from both academic and professional circles describe their experience in the field from a wide range of angles.
Source : Based on editor