The Japan Subculture Research Center published an interesting post by Demian 'Ryu Ichinose' Smith about his experience translating Ryu ga Gotoku 龍が如く, a Playstation 2 videogame known in the West as "Yakuza". Demian's post highlights the challenges video game translators are typically facing when trying to localize a game with as much cultural background as Ryu ga Gotoku. How do you translate Yakuza slang into English? How do you explain cultural peculiarities without distracting gamers from the storyline? How do you preserve the game's original atmosphere and spirit when the deadline is just around the corner?"The following months consisted of me deciphering Engrish into sometimes cliché, sometimes ghetto-thug inspired dialogs. I was explicitly encouraged to add loads of fucks and shits. I remember reading a review shortly after the release that complained about the excessive usage of swear words."
If you are interested in the Yakuza video game series, also watch this video review of Yakuza 4 by IGN and Jake Adelstein. Jake Adelstein is one of the editors of the excellent Japan Subculture Research Center blog and a famous expert on the Japanese underworld. Both the blog and his book Tokyo Vice are worth checking out.
Source: Mind your f**ks and s**ts: Localizing Yakuza 1 龍が如く翻訳物語 http://www.japansubculture.com/2011/05/mind-your-fks-and-sts-localizing-yakuza/, Japan Subculture Research Center http://www.japansubculture.com/
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