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The Daily Grind: Should localization delay a great game?
At E3 this year, we were thrilled to learn that mega-sandbox ArcheAge is headed Stateside at some point in the future. We were less thrilled to realize that's probably a very distant future. As the devs told us, critical game systems like crafting aren't yet finalized let alone implemented, never mind the long and grueling process of localizing the Korean game for Western audiences, a process that involves a whole lot more than mere translation. But do you actually want an MMO to be tooled to your nationality's supposed preferences if that means long delays? Sure, garbled language and typos drive me insane (ask the writers!), but we suffer them in Western-made games already. And I'm not convinced that Western and Asian audiences are so different that any game requires a multi-year conversion. Some days, I just want the game, localization be damned. What about you? Do you think proper localization is enough of a justification to delay an otherwise-amazing MMO? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
E3 2012: The world of Defiance
Can Defiance work? The cross-media venture between Trion Worlds and Syfy is one of the most interesting projects in the industry right now, if for no other reason than that a TV/MMO crossover has never been done before. At least, not like this. We hunted down the Trion crew at E3 this week to play the Xbox version of the title and chat with the devs about the setting and specifics of this game. While Jef will have his hands-on impressions of Defiance in the next The Firing Line column, we wanted to share some of the lore and setting that the devs talked about at the expo. Join us after the jump for a look at the world of Defiance!
E3 2012: XL COO on ArcheAge, CBT4, and coming to America
This is one of those good news/bad news ArcheAge articles. The good news is that XLGAMES' sandpark title is absolutely coming to the West. The bad news, though, is that we still don't know exactly when. XL didn't have an official presence at this year's E3, but the firm was kind enough to set up a private interview with COO Suk Woo Choi away from the hustle and bustle of convention ground zero. We talked at length about CBT4, game systems, and the challenges inherent in localizing ArcheAge for Europe and America.
ArenaNet launches French and German wikis for Guild Wars 2
It's hard for some folks to imagine MMOs without wikis for looking up where the seventh Heart of a Stinky Womp Rat can be found or where that one dratted quest NPC is. ArenaNet has news for those people: In a blog post this morning, French Community Manager Stéphane Lo Presti introduced the official French and German Guild Wars 2 wikis. The ever-growing official Guild Wars 2 English wiki already has over 4,700 articles, and the new wikis will hopefully be caught up to speed quickly now that they're open for contribution. Because most ArenaNet employees aren't French- or German-speakers, the team is relying more heavily on user-generated content for these wikis. Lo Presti also brought out news of a Spanish wiki still in development. Once that's released, there will be official wikis for all the localized languages in the game.
Neverwinter releasing Q4 2012, opens French and German websites
Neverwinter was the unexpected surprise of PAX East for us, which is why we're psyched that it should be in all our hot little hands by the end of the year. Perfect World announced that its upcoming Dungeons and Dragons MMO will launch globally in the fourth quarter of 2012. As part of the global efforts, Perfect World has opened up French and German websites to cater to the diverse European playerbase. Each localized website is just as informative and media-packed as its English counterpart. Cryptic Lead Producer Andy Velasquez is quite excited to be working on the project and anticipates players' delight when the game finally arrives: "As a fan of Dungeons and Dragons, it's a rewarding experience to develop Neverwinter and contribute to the lore of the franchise. We're taking calculated steps to ensure Neverwinter will captivate players with its immersive storylines and beautiful artwork while being a fast and fluid action game." [Source: Perfect World Entertainment press release]
RIFT kicks off service in Korea
MMOs generally don't sojourn too far from home. Outside of launches in the US and Europe, it's rare for a western game to be adapted to the Korean or Chinese market; far more often games from those markets get shipped here. But it does happen every so often, and such is the case with RIFT. As of today, the game has officially started its full commercial service in Korea under the guidance of NetMarble. The game is also launching with several of the usual launch events such as promotional giveaways, although they're of limited utility if you don't read or speak Korean. It's an unusual export, but with several Korean games making major promotional pushes in the US (such as Aion and TERA), it might be the time to see if cross-cultural appeal works in the other direction. And if you're familiar with the language and want to see how the game plays when adapted, now's the time.
EVE launches in Japan, adds multilingual search tool
Japanese sandbox fans are saying domo arigato this morning as CCP and Nexon have officially launched a localized version of EVE Online in the land of the rising sun. Japan boasts the world's fourth largest gaming community, and CCP has added it to an impressive list of conquests that include English-, Chinese-, Russian-, and German-speaking markets. The company is handling all of the game-related conversion tasks via its in-house localization system, while Nexon is responsible for various marketing and support initiatives. CCP has also added a multilingual search tool to the EVE client. The new functionality "helps weld the disparate language groups present in EVE into a more global and unified game experience –- truly demonstrating the impact and value of the single shard server model," says senior producer Jon Lander. [Source: CCP press release]
Massively Exclusive: Star Trek Online announces EU relaunch, double XP weekend
Star Trek may feature universal translators, but the crew at Cryptic has to make do with old fashioned techniques until the future catches up with us. As such, the studio has announced that it is relaunching Star Trek Online in Europe to support its French- and German-speaking players. Starting right now, the game, website, forums, and game support will be available in all three languages. To further cater to European players, Cryptic has vowed to add more EU-friendly event timeslots. Executive Producer Dan Stahl hopes this will spread STO across the world: "The launch of Star Trek Online in Europe is the culmination of our efforts over the past several years to bring gamers the Star Trek universe on a truly massive scale." All players can benefit from this European relaunch, as Q's coming back to celebrate with a double-XP bonus weekend. Anyone who logs in from today through Monday, April 2nd, at 1:00 p.m. EDT, will not only benefit from the a skill point and bridge officer point boost but can claim a free IDIC Tribble of his or her very own. The Tribble provides a unique buff to your character based on his, her, or its class -- and if you manage to get all three buffs on you at once, you'll be granted an additional boost to damage, resistance, and health regen. [Source: Cryptic press release]
World of Tanks takes aim at southeast Asia
Wargaming.net might want to think seriously about changing its name to Worldgaming.net. The studio behind World of Warplanes announced today that it's bringing its World of Tanks MMO to southeast Asia. Wargaming has formed a partnership with SEA Gaming that will bring the World War II action title to gamers in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. This isn't a simple port of the European or American client, either, as Wargaming.net says gamers in the region can expect full localization, a Singapore-based server group, and dedicated support services. Online gaming in southeast Asia features an estimated 100 million players, who will generate nearly $1 billion in sales by 2015, according to market analysts at Niko Partners. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
Guild Wars 2 to implement Spanish localization
In less controversial Guild Wars 2 news for today, a post on ArenaNet's blog confirms that the game will have Spanish localization on launch. While German and French were already a part of the game, Spanish-speaking fans have been hoping for localization for quite some time. The ArenaNet developers listened to those hopes, and apparently having decided that they can make this happen at the high standard they hold themselves to, have taken this project on. Because of the variation of spoken Spanish across the world, the game won't be receiving Spanish voicing; instead, voiced content will have Spanish subtitles. With that in mind, ArenaNet is now looking for Spanish QA and a localization editor to join its team in Bellevue, WA and a Spanish-speaking community manager for its Brighton, England offices. If that's your wheelhouse, polish up your résumé and head over to NCsoft's jobs page for more information.
Star Wars: The Old Republic to launch in the Asia Pacific region on March 1st
On launch day, fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic were able to start logging into the game simultaneously across the world... assuming "the world" meant North America and Europe. The Pacific regions were unfortunately deferred to a later launch date, something that provoked some ire from fans in that area. However, the wait is now over for an official launch day. A launch of March 1st has been announced for Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. Naturally, there are fans in those regions who would prefer to play on regional servers but have already started play on existing servers via imported copies of the game. BioWare is promising that players in these regions will be able to transfer characters for free for a limited time following the launch date, allowing everyone to move to regional servers if desired. The game is also available for pre-order now, so if you're in the affected region and want a copy, best take a look at stores near you for order options.
Miike: Ace Attorney movie being localized for worldwide release
During the International Film Festival Rotterdam, news of a localized release for Takashi Miike's Ace Attorney adaptation came from a reliable source: Takashi Miike himself. At a Q&A following a showing of the film, Miike announced that a worldwide release was planned.According to Twitchfilm, each version would have both dubbed and subtitled dialogue using the character names from that region's version of the games. So Miles Edgeworth, et al. in America, but ... Benjamin Hunter in France.Now that we have admissible evidence that we'll be able to see the movie, how is it? "This is definitely a love-it or hate-it affair, and if you don't dig the silly caricature tongue-in-cheek atmosphere which inhabits the universe of 'Ace Attorney,' you will tire of the film way before its halfway point has been reached," Twitchfilm said. "But if you DO have fun with it, this is the fastest way to spend almost two and a half hours."
Ask Massively: On mourning a netbook edition
Well, I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. My stalwart little netbook, River, finally developed a serious problem: Her screen developed a pair of nasty cracks. I've had her for only a couple of years, but she's been a great portable machine and a real help at getting work done. Now if only it weren't such an enormous pain finding someplace where I could get her repaired, as I'd really prefer not to replace her. But it might come to that. Even with an injured performer, however, the show must go on, and the show in question is Ask Massively. This week, we're fielding questions about ArcheAge and working in the gaming field, something that I'm sure is of interest to many of our readers. If you've got a question you'd like to see in a future installment of the column, mail it to ask@massively.com or leave it in the comments below. Questions may be edited for brevity and/or clarity.
One of the hardest NES games ever translated to English
If you're a stone-cold psychopath whose masochistic gaming tendencies push you away from ... well, normal-people games and into the cold embrace of impossible games, then the unavailability of an English port for Takeshi's Challenge has probably been a sore point for you. We probably shouldn't encourage your self-destruction, but you should know that a few kind souls have translated the bizarre NES title for your localized enjoyment. The localization comes from ROM modder KingMike (via Tiny Cartridge). Before looking into acquiring the game, though, we'd suggest you also find an English language strategy guide to help you, because this game was made by the Devil.
The Iron Pine Peak Curtain falls: RIFT launches in Russia
Earlier this year we heard that RIFT would be bridging US-Soviet relations in a way unseen since Rocky Balboa stood toe-to-toe with Ivan Drago in '85. Today that dream has become a reality, as RIFT is now live across Russia. This follows a string of beta tests and language localization for the title in the region. To make this happen, Trion Worlds partnered up with Belver, which will operate the MMO in the area. Russian fans can now check out a localized edition of the RIFT website in their native tongue. Next up on RIFT's worldwide tour? The game is headed to South Korea "sometime next year." [Source: Trion Worlds press release]
Aeria Games bringing Need for Speed World to a global audience
Do you feel a need to get behind the wheel of a car and race through the city streets? Would you prefer to do so without being arrested or the risk of crashing into a building at 100 MPH? Need for Speed World fulfills that requirement, and as of today, Aeria Games is bringing the game to a worldwide audience. It's the second game that the publisher has handled from Electronic Arts following the work done on Battlefield Heroes earlier this year. Like many other releases from Aeria Games, Need for Speed World's global release comes with several different localizations. The client is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Polish, letting players of several different nationalities face off against one another on the mean streets of several fictional cities. And of course, the core racing mechanics of the game have remained intact so that players can enjoy the whole free-to-play racing game in whatever tongue is most comfortable.
Runes of Magic to receive Turkish and Latin American localization from Aeria Games
Aeria Games seems to be making a niche for itself localizing games into neglected regions. Earlier this year, it was announced that the company would take on the localization for Perfect World International for Latin America. Now it's doing the same thing for another game, taking the responsibility of localizing Runes of Magic for both the Latin American market and the Turkish market. That means all of the current live features of Runes of Magic in your native language, assuming your native language is Spanish, Portuguese, or Turkish. No details have been disclosed about the timeframe for the launch of these new localizations. According to Len Hoang, CEO of Aeria Games, the release is part of the company's overall ongoing strategy -- "We believe emerging markets will continue to rise in importance for Aeria Games as we commit to growing our global community of power players." Keep your eyes peeled for more news about the release. [Source: Aeria Games press release]
Report: Final Fantasy Type-0 getting international release
According to Andriasang, Square's Ultimania guide for Final Fantasy Type-0 includes an interview with director Hajima Tabata, who reportedly reveals that his team is currently working on the international version of the PSP title. This would be the first official confirmation of the game's upcoming arrival in Europe and North America -- though the interview doesn't bring up any details about the timetable for said localizations. Andriasang also reports that the interview contains Tabata's plans for the franchise's future. He reportedly wants to make a direct sequel to the game, titled (what else?) Type-1, and would like to see the next installment on a home console. We've contacted Square for a comment on ... well, everything you just read.
Cave and Microsoft's Deathsmiles 2X experiment turned out pretty well
Cave's decision to offer Deathsmiles 2X as a "Games on Demand" title in North America back in May has paid off. In an interview with Siliconera, Cave game development manager Makota Asada said that, as "an experiment," the offer "was pretty good for what we were expecting." So good, in fact, that Asada said Cave would be willing to try this again. "Yes, we do think we might do it again in the future." According to Asada, it was Microsoft who approached them looking to dip its toes into the digital imports waters. Deathsmiles 2X is, obviously, a sequel to the company's previous shmup, which was offered as a retail disc in North America. "Because our titles are shooting games, language is not that important, so we decided to try it along with Microsoft," Asada concluded. No matter what language you speak, we can all agree things need to get shot -- and Cave is pretty good at that, so kudos to them.
Spanish version of Perfect World International is on the way
Despite the name, Perfect World International has always been fairly national after all. Or at least, it's been limited in the sense that unless you can read the game's English text, you're going to have a hard time navigating it. Fortunately for players in Latin America, Aeria Games is currently in closed beta testing for a Spanish version of the game client, complete with all of the game's content and free expansions to date. The official site for the Spanish version is up, along with registration options for players hoping to take part in the testing and refinement of the title. We've also received a few preview screenshots of the game in its current incarnation, although ironically enough none of these screenshots features text in any language. If you're hoping to be able to play the game in a language other than English, keep your eye on the localization of this title in the coming months. [Source: Aeria Games press release] %Gallery-12224%
