“Localization” is the term for adapting a foreign piece of media, be it movies or cartoons or games, for another foreign market. Indeed, what is it? Well, I’ll tell you it’s not as simple as just translating a game from one language to another.
Much of the complaints involved come from those who lack proper understanding of Japanese language quirks as well as standard localization practices (not to mention an abundance of cherrypicking and misplaced priorities), and I’d like to take the time to bring those to light. But before I begin my defense, I think we need to ask ourselves a certain question… What is localization?
Okay, maybe confining all of Treehouse’s detractors into a wholly negative (though very real) stereotype isn’t fair, but is all this scathing criticism really valid? In case you hadn’t read the article’s title, I think not. What changes, you ask? Why, renaming characters, referencing the latest memes, and removing a breast size customization, that’s what! Such heinous acts have rightfully deserved widespread scorn, as angry fans have taken to harassing Nintendo’s Twitter and Facebook accounts as well as those of Treehouse employees and Nintendo Marketing PR.
Often regarded as one of the best localization groups in the gaming world, their lively scripts for games like Animal Crossing, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga are praised as some of the greatest in the American sphere.īear in mind that those titles are only the tip of the iceberg in Treehouse’s excellent resume, yet the group has come under some heavy fire over the past year for controversial changes to recent releases. Censorship! Dialogue changes! Removed content! Too many memes! These are the cries decorating message boards and Twitter pages everywhere, all directed toward one familiar name: Nintendo of America’s Treehouse, the localization branch that translates the game into English (among other languages!) and readies the game for American release.
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