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Halo MCC remasters voices in international markets.. by removing them.

Ahasverus

Member
This is a thread a fellow gaffer who is a junior asked me to make, I'll gladly help because this is a fair cause.
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I'd like to start this post explaining that this is a very important topic for a lot of people (even if it doesn't affect that much the American market) still, I'd like to hear your opinion.

In 2004, when Microsoft launched Halo 2 it was universally acclaimed, but for their Spanish-speaking fans (both in Spain and America) they decided to dub the game in what they called "neutral Spanish" (some kind of made-up language that mixes several Spanish dialects and accents), and they had the brilliant idea of dubbing it in LA with a bunch of non-professional actors. The result was a huge DISASTER, completely out of place for their flagship franchise. Let me show this to you:

>> This one is downright awful, the worst quality scene in the entire game
>> Another great example. Tartarus and 343GS have horrible voice acting

This is far beyond bad. It's horrible. This is not a post about accents, the voice work for Halo 2 in Spanish was terrible. But Microsoft stated, back in the day: "Halo 2 is so good, our spanish-speaking friends will soon forget about the voice acting". Amazing. Just amazing. It's incredibly disrespectful to millions of fans out there (Spanish is the most spoken language in the world right after English). Many people disliked that dub, both in Spain and America, so Microsoft decided to correctly dub the future Halos, both in Spain's "Castilian" and in America's "Latin" (and the new games have a way more professional voice acting for both regions).

Now, 10 years later, Microsoft decides to bring us Halo 2 Anniversary, and everyone was expecting better this time. So, a small group of fans contacted Microsoft Ibérica (Microsoft in Spain), because we thought that a 10th Anniversary edition was a GOLDEN opportunity to ammend their mistake and give us a proper dub for what it is probably the best entry in the series. But now they are still doing things aiming for the worst case scenario:

We will get Halo 2 Anniversary in full English, not even subtitles.

This is absurd due to one main reason: Halo - The Master Chief Collection has a pretty awesome launcher that allows user to remix all the campaigns in customized playlists. What's the point in playing some levels in Spanish and then suddenly play others that come in full English, without even sub texts? It's nonsense, and will make our experience very awkward. Halo deserves better. Why are they doing this? We can't know for sure, but what's sure is this:

Spanish-speaking users are the only ones who will get Halo 2 without localization. It's amazing that things like this still happen in 2014.

Yesterday, a group of Italian journalists that are aware of our situation asked 343i about this at Gamescom, and they told them that maybe they could reconsider adding a Spanish dub in the future as DLC... but it would only be the original one!! So we have the worst possible scenario here, either we get the game in full english or we get the hideous voice acting from 2004 (you can see the full story here):

>> http://halo2anniversary.blogspot.com.es/2014/08/noticias-desde-la-gamescom-sobre-el.html

Now a lot of fans are running a quite successful petition to ask Micrsoft for a proper localization for their biggest franchise in gaming. They can't be wrong again 10 years after that mess. We want a decent voicework in Spanish for Halo 2 Anniversary. Why?

- It's absurd to sell us a Collection with 3 games in Spanish and one in full English.
- Fans can't be learning other languages every time they want to enjoy their favorite games.
- You don't enjoy a game the same way if it's playing in another language, or if you have to be constantly reading texts instead of paying attention to the action.
- Halo is Microsoft's flagship franchise and it certainly deserves better.

This is why we are humbly asking you for a little help to our cause. We've created 2 petitions for users to vote in.

First (the most successful one), on Xbox Feedback:
>> https://xbox.uservoice.com/forums/251647-gaming-achievements/suggestions/6083567-halo-2-anniversary-con-nuevo-doblaje-en-castellano
And another one in Change.org:
>> http://www.change.org/es/peticiones/microsoft-ib%C3%A9rica-s-r-l-haced-un-doblaje-en-castellano-castellano-del-juego-halo-2-anniversary
Finally, a Reddit thread:
>> http://www.reddit.com/r/halo/comments/2cxh7q/halobungieorg_halo_fans_in_spain_are_unhappy_with/

And also (which is amazing!) Claude Errera himself from Halo.Bungie.Org also showed us his support:
>> [url]http://halo.bungie.org/news.html?item=40538[/URL]

There's also a Facebook page and a dedicated blog that is updated constantly with every new bit of information we can get:
>> https://www.facebook.com/Halo2A
>> http://halo2anniversary.blogspot.com.es/

We've also contacted the media, and the response has been huge so far:

1.- PSNOW
>> http://psnow.es/noticias/surge-una-...-que-doblen-al-castellano-halo-2-anniversary/
2.- LOGROSXBOX
>> http://www.logrosxbox.com/foro/general-f4/apoya-doblaje-halo-castellano-t104616.html
3.- SOMOSXBOX
>> http://www.somosxbox.com/foros/146202-halo-2-anniversary-ingles-subtitulos.html#.U9ji0_l_v75 AND http://www.somosxbox.com/foros/146151-queremos-halo-2-anniversary-doblaje-castellano.html
4.- 3DJUEGOS
>> http://www.3djuegos.com/noticia/144070/0/halo-2/firmas-doblaje-castellano/master-chief-collection/
5.- HOBBYCONSOLAS
>> http://www.hobbyconsolas.com/notici...lo-2-anniversary-sea-doblado-castellano-76954
6.- GAMERFRAGS
>> http://www.gamerfrags.es/halo-2-anniversary-solicitud-nuevo-doblaje/26/06/2014/
7.- VRUTAL
>> http://www.vrutal.com/noticias/2199...a-peticion-para-que-sea-doblado-al-castellano
8.- GAMESCUSTOM
>> http://es.gamescustom.com/103380/peticion-para-que-halo-2-anniversary-sea-doblado-al-castellano
9.- NEXTGAMER
>> http://nextgamer.es/noticias/xbox-o...rosoft-doble-al-castellano-halo-2-anniversary
10.- BLOGDEUNOSGAMERS.BLOGSPOT
>> http://blogdeunosgamers.blogspot.co...ue-halo-2-anniversary-doblado-castellano.html
11.- IGN
>> http://es.ign.com/xbox-one-gaming-h...-que-se-doble-halo-2-anniversary-en-castellan
12.- XBOXMANIAC
>> http://www.xboxmaniac.es/noticias/halo-2-anniversary-en-castellano-depende-de-ti-2984/
13.- VANDAL
>> http://www.vandal.net/noticia/13506...anniversary-se-vuelva-a-doblar-al-castellano/
14.- GAMEIT
>> http://www.gameit.es/los-espanoles-piden-firmas-para-que-halo-2-llegue-doblado-al-castellano/
15.- ALFABETAJUEGA
>> http://www.alfabetajuega.com/notici...gue-doblado-al-castellano-firmad-aqui-n-39745
16.- TODOJUEGOS
>> http://www.todojuegos.com/noticia-19760/Peticin-para-el-doblaje-en-castellano-de-Halo-2-Anniversary
17.- VICIOJUEGOS
>> http://www.viciojuegos.com/foro-apo...ra-Halo-2-anniversary-en-Castellano/1620351/1
18.- HYPEBEYOND
>> http://www.hypebeyond.com/t13609-us...-vuelva-a-doblar-al-castellano?highlight=HALO
19.- BLOGOCIO
>> http://blogocio.net/se-abre-la-peti...al-castellano-de-halo-2-anniversary-no-77891/
20.- XGN
>> http://www.xgn.es/noticias/100345/f...rsary-tenga-un-doblaje-original-en-castellano
21.- MUNDOGAMERS
>> http://www.mundogamers.com/noticia-halo-2-anniversary-genera-polemica.6933.html
22.- DIARIOTECNOLOGIA
>> http://www.diariotecnologia.es/peti...rsary-sea-doblado-al-castellano/#.U9kOGfl_v74
23.- ELHACKER
>> http://foro.elhacker.net/noticias/u..._vuelva_a_doblar_al_castellano-t417479.0.html
24.- 365NOTICIAS
>> http://365noticias.net/ver/halo-2-anniversary-genera-polemica
25.- ANAITGAMES
>> http://www.anaitgames.com/noticias/halo-2-anniversary-doblaje-castellano-espana
26.- CRIBEO
>> http://www.cribeo.com/ocio_y_cultura/4633/surge-una-peticion-para-doblar-halo-2-anniversary
27.- CUANTARAZON
>> http://www.cuantarazon.com/914984/entre-todos-conseguiremos-que-desde-xbox-nos-hagan-caso
28.- HALO.BUNGIE.ORG
>> http://halo.bungie.org/news.html?item=40538
29.- 17K GUARDIANS
>> http://www.halo.17kgroup.it/sc/5604-halo-2-anniversary-i-fan-spagnoli-chiedono-aiuto/
30.- KINGDOMGAME
>> http://kingdomgame.it/news/6570-halo-2-anniversary-gli-spagnoli-chiedono-aiuto
31. VIDAEXTRA
>> http://www.vidaextra.com/fps/halo-2-anniversary-no-vendra-doblado-al-castellano
32.- REDDIT
>> http://www.reddit.com/r/halo/comments/2cxh7q/halobungieorg_halo_fans_in_spain_are_unhappy_with/

The biggest Halo community in Italy also joined the cause:

>> http://www.halo.17kgroup.it/sc/5604-halo-2-anniversary-i-fan-spagnoli-chiedono-aiuto/

But it's still not enough. We need help to get more strength for the cause. We kindly ask to you consider giving a vote on Xbox Feedback or Change.org. Please let's show Microsoft that they should consider this fan petition as something important to their users. It's absurd that every other country gets their localization while we Spanish-speakers only get plain English.

Although this may sound like an impossible task, there IS in fact a precedent:
HALF LIFE 2: EPISODE TWO

Back in the day, we got the news that it would only come in English, while the previous Episode and the original game were fully dubbed:
>> http://www.meristation.com/playstat...aje-de-half-life-2-episodio-2/1521428/1645875

Did we make it? Well, here is your answer (spoiler alert: YES!):
>> http://www.vidaextra.com/fps/half-life-2-episode-two-y-portal-ya-cuentan-con-doblaje-al-espanol

This example only gives us more strength, and taught as a very important lesson: you can get results if you keep fighting for them. If the guys at Valve made it, why shouldn't Microsoft follow? They still have time to get the voice acting into the final game at launch.


We hope that this post is as important to you as it is to us. Thanks a lot for reading, for understanding, and for helping.

It's time to finish this fight.
 

darthbob

Member
I'm just gonna preface this by saying that I'm a native English speaker in the U.S. who doesn't know a lick of Spanish, but reading through this I support your plight!
 

Tenki

Member
I still have my Halo 2 copy with that horrible dub. That neutral Spanish had to be the worst possible solution.
 
Damm, I did not know about them not dubbing it. As a spaniard watching these vids made me cringe hard.

Such a mess of a dub.
 
I wouldn't know as someone who has very minor spanish knowledge - i'm sure the dub is awful and has no excuse for existing -

That said from what I know about Spanish it must be difficult to account for all the different dialects and types of usage of spanish.

MS should just own up and put together a good spanish dub.

I know a lot of games have awful spanish translations/dubs. It's been a problem for a long time.
 

burnfout

Member
I always respect Sony for offering so many languages. Almost all of Europe gets native languages.

Hope Microsoft does the same.
 

Blueblur1

Member
That is ridiculous. As a Spanish speaker, I can attest to how awful that dub is. It made me go running back to English Halo 2 immediately. They should really provide a new Spanish dub. With the amount of money Halo makes, it would be ridiculous not to.
 

Robby

Neo Member
Yeah, I can understand wanting to be cheap and not do another dub, but no subtitles? Are they fucking idiots?

No (Spanish) subtitles is a pretty big oversight for non English speaking countries. Yet, I'm sadly not surprised as more than 20 countries haven't even got their xbox yet.
 
I don't mind them removing the voice acting if it was universally panned, but to not include subtitles is all kinds of stupid.

Aren't there subtitles on the original Spanish versions?
 
(Spanish is the most spoken language in the world right after English)
Actually it's Mandarin, then Spanish, then English

Which only proves your point that they shouldn't half ass the Spanish version
 

Cels

Member
best case scenario: full dub
worst case scenario: release Halo 2 with english VA with no subtitles
what will probably happen: release Halo 2 in english VA with subtitles
 

fernoca

Member
First time hearing Halo in spanish. Wasn't that bad. :p

In Puerto Rico even when our native language is spanish, we get all games exactly as the US, which is basically english with spanish as a secondary language...if the dev/pub includes it in the first place.


Sucks that they're not bothering even with subtitles. Hopefully this will get more exposure and they will fix it at least wuth subtitles.
 
First time hearing Halo in spanish. Wasn't that bad. :p

In Puerto Rico even when our native language is spanish, we get all games exactly as the US, which is basically english with spanish as a secondary language...if the dev/pub includes it in the first place.


Sucks that they're not bothering even with subtitles. Hopefully this will get more exposure and they will fix it at least wuth subtitles.

Then hear this awesome shit dude https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_ws8_epB1E
the chief "El jefe maestro" is fucking epic and i want halo 2 dubbed like that PLEASE STINKLES DO SOMETHING.
 
In an ideal world, they'd let you choose your voice and subtitling languages, with a subtitle toggle. Like a lot of games already do.

And yeah, replacing a terrible dub with nothing isn't a great approach.
 

El Sabroso

Member
So far the petition on xbox.uservoice.com is only for Castilian, I hope they actually pay attention that being in spanish means a lot for spanish language speakers.

I grew up with games in other languages, so have no problem with a full english Halo 2 which language being non dependent of region is an option I lost from X360 to XB1 , but if this petition makes it have professional voice acting like Gears of War (which is a game I enjoy in latin american spanish) can be a great plus for the game, definitely will support.

I think the best decision they can make right now is putting subtitles and call it a day if they don't want to spend in voice acting and I totally agree nobody wants that terrible voice acting back

- Fans can't be learning other languages every time they want to enjoy their favorite games.
- You don't enjoy a game the same way if it's playing in another language, or if you have to be constantly reading texts instead of paying attention to the action.

I disagree with this, more of the english I learned was through games and enjoyed learning it and playing so it is not that bad to play games on english being spanish language native speaker, as it is wrote here, but that's my opinion.
 

Atruvius

Member
I think everyone should be able to understand English and what better way to learn than to play video games in English.

Personally I really detest translating audio from from English to other languages in any media. And subtitles are usually translated poorly missing some of the stuff that was said.
 

Yuuichi

Member
Probably 2007 Ubisoft.

www RIP.


As for the actual matter at hand, as someone who has and continues to spend large amounts of time learning Japanese to play games, while I could see how some people could say "deal with it", if you're releasing the game in a market with a different primary language, you damn well better localize it. But if it's not getting an official release in any Spanish speaking countries, I can't blame MS.
 

Jomjom

Banned
I think everyone should be able to understand English and what better way to learn than to play video games in English.

Personally I really detest translating audio from from English to other languages in any media. And subtitles are usually translated poorly missing some of the stuff that was said.

Why should everyone be able to understand English?
 

cameron

Member
It's a Halo product. I don't understand why they wouldn't go full out and ensure everything is perfect, including localization. This isn't something you cheap out on.


I think everyone should be able to understand English and what better way to learn than to play video games in English.

Personally I really detest translating audio from from English to other languages in any media. And subtitles are usually translated poorly missing some of the stuff that was said.

A parody reference that I'm missing?
 

Atruvius

Member
Why should everyone be able to understand English?

Because it seems to be the global language and because something like this can happen. Somethings will be harder for you in life if you only understand your native language. It makes communicating with foreigners a lot easier because the chances are that they can speak English.
 
Either go full english or full translated with the Collection. What's the point of having 3 games on spanish and one completely in english? Seems inconsistent and not worthy of a remaster of one of gaming's biggest franchises.

And you have my bow.

Y mi guitarra mariachi.

Yeah, my sword or something.
 
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