aka senshi (senshi@IHUG.COM.AU)
Wed, 1 Sep 1999 01:22:43 +1000
X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.05 [en] (Win95; I) Message-ID: <37CBF343.1150804D@ihug.com.au> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 01:22:43 +1000 From: "Chou or CC (aka senshi)" <senshi@IHUG.COM.AU> Subject: Re: Petition For Sakura 3Ria Padua wrote: > I would agree with what Nanaki said about the format (if it's actually > released here). As a gamer and a big ST fan, I'd like to have in ANY way an > English translation to the game. I'm proficient in Japanese myself (I can > read Hiragana, Katakana, and SOME Kanji), but it would be more helpful if it > has translations IN the game without going through the hassle of looking for > translations/walkthroughs in the net and print it out. The whole reason that lead to this sudden rage of anger isn't about *having* a English version of ST, but a matter of *what* kind of a translation that one is going to get if it was released in English. I'm sure that 99% of the people on this list will love to have it translated into a language that they are fluent in, whether it is English, Chinese, Korean or whatever. But that is not the reason that lead to all these posts. > My sisters, who are more die-hard gamers than I am, unfortunately, didn't > like ST. Why? Because it's in straight-out Japanese and looking back and > forth to the game and to the walkthroughs took away the fun and focus towards > the gaming experience. This is like the sub vs dub argument used by anime fans, the sub fans says that the scripts are move faithful, while the dub fans say that the subtitles are distracting from the actual experience. etc. but this is not the point being argued here. What people were complaining about here is because they're afraid that the translation isn't faithful. The game could still well be fun and a great gaming experience, but is not the *same* fun and gaming experience as a faithful translation, THAT's the reason why people where complaining. > It doesn't HAVE to be dubbed in English, so long as > there are some English in it (they actually prefer it in subtitles). It's > not that they don't like the language, it's too much of a hassle to look back > and forth to the screen and to the translated text printout... Assuming that ST is going to be released in English, I don't see how they would just subtitle it. Subtitling it will probably mean that it will be limited to the *fanboys* and losses it's mess appeal, as statistics of anime tape sales would point out to you ;) > I'm sorry to offend some people here who are die-hard purists, but--- do you > ACTUALLY know the whole Japanese language all by itself (not to mention > reading the Japanese language)? Maybe for you, that is if you really ARE > fluent in Japanese, you'd complain this sort of thing--- but what about > non-Japanese speakers like most of us here? Sure, we're used to hearing the > original seiyuu in the game, but what about the language itself? It takes > out the fun and the feel of playing the game if you can't even understand a > single damn word. Okay, I'm not fluent in the Japanese language, hell, all the Japanese I know is what I've learnt from watching anime, Japanese TV series and playing games, but I still enjoy playing thru the games even thought I don't know every single detail of the game, (although I get the main points since I'm Chinese and I am fluent in kanji). The main reason the game was so much fun for me was because it is *foreign* to MY culture in the first place! I know that a few of us here share this view (Terrance comes to mind) and I'm sure that the reason that those who are not happy to the possiblity of Working Design in doing the translation is that WD's history suggests to them that they localize the game the bought the rights to. > My point is--- if YOU want to have a petition to bring ST3 here in the U.S., > it should have more than one point on why you want the game to be released > here. Come on--- you can't expect the U.S. release of ST3 to be played by > die-hard ST fans only--- don't you want other people who has never heard of > it want to have some experience in this game too (or at least, in the series > itself)? I certainly would. If you want ST3 to be one of the best-selling > games in here, it has to have a high rating and liking by all gamers in > general, not just ST fans! It would be likely to have future sagas of ST be > released here WITHOUT even a petition turned in to Sega/Red, etc. The inhereted problem with ST, IMO, isn't so much about the language barrier, but the GENRE of the game. Yes, it's an RPG/adventure/strategy, but one of the main focus of the game is the love simulation section, which is a genre that even in Japan that people cannot accept, let alone in America, for this sole reason is already limiting the game to a niche market. I would dare say that the mere thought of trying to win love from a virtual personality would make the average Joe think three times before they would even look INTO the game, let alone purchasing it. Think about it, people that idolize Lara Croft are regarded as computer geeks with no life (generally speaking), now you're trying to convince people to play virtual dating? "I'll go out to get a REAL date, thank you very much!" is probably what they would tell you. Sure, you and I ST fans know there's a lot more to ST than dating, but what would the average person think? America, although always being portrayed as the leader of the world in some areas, is actually quite old fashioned and closed minded than you would like to think. > Sorry to offend anyone in this ML, but I'm TRULY sick and tired of all of you > complaining about "oh, if ST3 does release here, there should be no English > translation" or "WD shouldn't translate the game in English", etc. etc. I > don't really care how they handle the game--- subtitled or dubbed--- so long > as I understand what I'm playing and not go through anymore hassles just to > understand and enjoy it. Nobody is saying that there shouldn't be an English release. Some are just suggesting if the English version is some hacked up, badly translated version then there might as well be none at all. And nobody is arguing about whether the game should be sub or dub, but the actual script itself. Poor handling of the script is what's on people's mind right now. This is the case of "good sub/dub vs bad sub/dub". Later Chou