While I haven't played Persona 5, or any of the other titles outside of the first, in English, I got the impression that the in-house localization team (that had worked on previous titles) had a pretty good grasp of the difference between localization and translation.
Reading some of the behind-the-scenes interviews, I thought that some of the text was localized quite well. I wonder what happened. Were there changes in personnel?
Personally, I feel like you would lose a lot of the Japanese vibe in the process. It doesn't mean that you can't make a bittersweet, coming-of-age, high-school drama resonate with a "foreign" audience, but to what extent should you go to preserve the original material if it only serves to detract from immersion?
This is a question that I face all the time. If you need a reminder that localization is tough, look at the (stellar) job that the FFXIV team does with their work. There are many, MANY instances where they favor localization over translation, and the fanbase can't decide whether it's a good thing or not lol. Personally, I think they take it just a bit too far, but I like the "Ifrit Bleeds We Can Kill It" story so much, that I'm willing to let it slide.
Truth is, most game designers don't understand the challenges / demands of localization, nor are they aware of what they can do to make our job easier. You often get treated like some kind of glorified dictionary and it's a constant struggle to make the team understand just what the process entails. lol
I'll check out the article later, but I don't want to be spoiled on anything!
Mh not sure I agree with this.Content might work differently due to what is accepted in different cultures.The translation should try and convey the same message as the original but keeping in mind the sensibilities of its audience.
I disagree with you...disagreeing lol
The aim of translation is to convey the source text into something that the intended audience can understand. Whether or not it is controversial is irrelevant. Whether the subject matter is difficult or not is also irrelevant. Your job is to render the message into something that has identical, or near-identical meaning for the intended audience. This is not to say that it's all about the words. If that was the case, machine translation would suffice. Rather, you're conveying the message, the underlying intent of the statement (including any insinuations or innuendos involved). You making sure that the sensibilities of the audience are protected comes down to intent: did the speaker have those same sensibilities in mind when they made their statement? If so, then you would naturally include that in your translation. If the speaker intends to offend, then you would include that as well, though you would have to make concessions based on the game's rating and the context of title itself (e.g. whether or not racial / sexual slurs belong in the game or not, etc.).
Localization means adapting the message so that it's culturally relevant to the intended audience. For example, if you have two kids talking about their favorite superhero, making allusions that a monster lives in their toilet, or referencing a specific pop idol, these would need to be localized to avoid confusion of your players.