Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Player Haters

So I just saw a post on GameSetWatch about the Acclaim MMO import, Dance Online. As I previously posted, these Acclaim MMO titles have clearly gone the "cheapie" route when it comes to localization and, more specifically, culturalization. See below:

Black is an EXTRA feature. It makes your person look unique, so that is an EXTRA feature. Therefore, you having to PAY for it. (Or ask a friend to pay for it).

Typos aside, this goes a long way toward proving my point: culturalization is the sleeping dragon when it comes to importing games from Asia. Culturalizing, in terms of a definition, is the process of making content changes above-and-beyond the basic relanguaging of a game for other territories. For example, some Asian countries are -- shall we say -- a little more "liberal" with reagrd to low camera angles and teenage undergarments. Therefore, a little sensitivity (and work) is required when bringing an Asian game to a more "prudish" land such as the United States.

Sure, it seems so easy! Grab some games from Korea! They make so much money! They are so awesome! Until you realize..uh-oh! There are not a lot of black people living in Korea, and therefore, black skin is considered an "extra feature" in their games. Whoops!

In all fairness, the story goes on to say that Acclaim is offering the "African-American upgrade" for next-to-nothing in the item shop. C'mon, guys. If you're gonna import these titles without understanding their content, and then try to prop them up with limited changes in order to make a quick buck, you're gonna have to deal with the raminfications of your laziness. Boo on Acclaim!

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