Why Videogames Localization is so important?

Localization still plays a role in the enjoyment and distribution of Videogames in many countries, particularly in Italy.

First of all, it is important to understand the meaning of localization, which is It is not simply a matter of transporting a concept from one language to another, but of "adapting it" to a specific socio-cultural context, so that a work can be understood in its entirety by a public as vast and heterogeneous as possible. Localization involves work that does not only take into account the literal meaning of the word, but a whole range of semantic variables that must overcome geographical boundaries.

Before making any change, however, the translator must always confront his client, proposing possible alternatives that do not excessively distort the starting material. If a certain character, during a dialogue, refers to a particular "proverb" or "manner of speaking" typical of a culture different from ours (and therefore difficult to understand), it is necessary to find a counterpart in Italian that manages to express the same concept while distancing considerably from the basic script.

Persists a large number of individuals who, for one reason or another, do not fully understand the English-speaking idiom. Without detracting from the unquestionable importance of bilingualism, diminishing the value of our language in the name of a "majority" approval, we will end up creating a sort of “linguistic dystopia" in which a culture predominates at the expense of another.

Assuming that a user understands English sufficiently in order to play without excessive problems can be symptomatic of a dangerous linguistic subjection.

If well done, the localization does not distort the original work, but rather gives it new luster, amplifying the possibilities of diffusion, because allows to obtain shades of meaning of a given historical period, for example, and empathize better with the situation.

Translation and localization, therefore, perform an important function, which should be enhanced and promoted. Because they allow a work to creep deeper into the folds of consumer society; because they give their opportunity to dig in the public that, in a video game, is only looking for a pastime, without transforming the output of any new production into a crusade in favor of multilingualism. Because, in essence, they keep a language alive.