Localization Expert Examines Squall's Overuse Of Whatever
Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy VIII, Square's PlayStation RPG starring teenage mercenaries caught in a cycle of witches and wars. If you have played the game, you might remember that protagonist Squall is associated with the phrase "Whatever..." Even if you haven't played the game, you likely know how associated with that one word Squall is in his dialogue.
Localizer Clyde Mandelin, who works for Funimation but you might know best for his work on the Mother 3 fan translation, decided to take a look at Squall's best associated line and how it compares to the game's Japanese script. Now, localizations are not literal, so giving Squall a bemused affectation in the English version is not strange or even necessarily worse, but it is interesting how the small changes tweak his character a bit.
In the fifteen instances of Squall saying "Whatever" in English, very few are effectively the same in Japanese, Mandelin found. More often than not, Squall was giving an apologetic yet sarcastic "Well, excuse me" comment in response, rather than his more apathetic and dismissive "Whatever" line.
You can check out Mandelin's Legends of Localization page for a detailed breakdown of every instance of the line and also his other insights into the world of video game localization. You can also find Final Fantasy VIII in surprisingly few places because for some reason it's not a game Square Enix decides to port all that often.
[Source: Legends of Localization]
After months of insisting cross-play was not a necessity for the PlayStation 4, Sony eventually reconsidered their policies against it and allowed Epic's Fortnite to lead the way with cross-platform play between competitor consoles. While this marked a major policy shift for Sony, the sneaking suspicion that only major hit titles like Fortnite would be allowed in permeated the developer community. After some time, Rocket League was also announced to support cross-play, but major titles like EA's recent Apex Legends don't, leading to assumptions that Sony was the obstacle in the way.
Not so, says Shawn Layden, chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment's worldwide studios. In an interview with Game Informer published yesterday, Layden tried to clear the air on what titles can be approved for cross-play. According to the PlayStation chief, everything is on the table, all developers have to do is ask.
"We’re open for business on this one," explained Layden. "All it takes is for publishers and developers who wish to permission it. As ever, just work with your PlayStation account manager, and they will walk you through the steps that we’ve learned through our partnership with Epic on how this works. I don’t believe right now there is any gating factor on that. I think they’re open to make proposals, because the Fortnite thing worked pretty well."
After the interview was published, however, one developer found that Layden's comments did not fit with their experience. The CEO of Chucklefish, developer of games like Wargroove and former publisher of Stardew Valley, made a post on the ResetEra forums disputing Layden's account that all a developer or publisher has to do is ask.
"We made many requests for [cross-play] (both through our account manager and directly with higher ups) all the way up until release month," CEO Finn Brice wrote. "We were told in no uncertain terms that it was not going to happen. From our side, we can literally toggle a switch and have it working. Of course policy work might be more complicated for Sony."
As Layden explains it, the slow rollout for cross-play is more because it has taken some time to figure out how to implement it. Sony's argument is that it is not as simple as "flipping a switch," and they have had to work with Epic to best execute on the idea.
Chucklefish is not the only developer to state that cross-play is only being offered to some developers and not others. A recent tweet from Stew Chisam, CEO of Hi-Rez Studios, developers of the free-to-play shooter Paladins and MOBA Smite, was curt in their plea for Sony to open up the capability to all. On Friday, Chisam accused Sony of playing favorites with cross-play and not letting in other studios, likening it to the Berlin Wall.
Hey @Sony @PlayStation. It's time to stop playing favorites and tear down the crossplay/progression wall for everyone. We have @SMITEGame, @PaladinsGame, @RealmRoyale ready to go when you are. https://t.co/KNDetpXPf5
— HiRezStew (@schisam) February 8, 2019You can read the entirety of our interview with Shawn Layden right here, where he talks about cross-play, the future of E3, the PlayStation software portfolio, and more.
Last year, Activision invited controversy by eschewing a single-player campaign in Call of Duty for the first time in the series' history with Black Ops 4. While the game ended up both selling and reviewing extremely well in large part due to its battle royale Blackout mode, a number of fans held a hard line on the lack of single-player content. Today, Activision confirmed that this year's game will remedy that.
During today's earnings call, Activision president Rob Kostich revealed that they plan to bring back the single-player campaign in this year's Call of Duty game, presumably developed by Infinity Ward. Kostich also mentioned that the game would still have the traditional multiplayer modes in addition to a "new" co-op mode.
Infinity Ward's latest Call of Duty, Infinite Warfare, released in 2016, meaning that the studio is likely next in rotation to develop 2019's game. No further details were discussed at this time.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that Activision Blizzard, the Vivendi-owned merger of both companies, planned on laying off employees centering around a plan to restructure and centralize the company's operations. According to the report, the massive layoffs could affect hundreds of people as Activision Blizzard capped off a tumultuous year where they failed to hit their fiscal target.
Today, the layoffs seemed to go into effect, with Kotaku obtaining a letter from Blizzard president J. Allan Brack to employees.
"Over the last few years, many of our non-development teams expanded to support various needs,” Brack reportedly wrote in the letter. "Currently staffing levels on some teams are out of proportion with our current release slate. This means we need to scale down some areas of our organization. I’m sorry to share that we will be parting ways with some of our colleagues in the U.S. today. In our regional offices, we anticipate similar evaluations, subject to local requirements."
Brack also promised a comprehensive severance package for those affected, which mostly appear to be from non-game development roles.
As part of the restructuring process, Activision Blizzard is legally required to undergo what's called a "quiet period," during which the company cannot talk about major events like reorganization until the Securities and Exchange Commission declares the statement effective. This put employees in an incredibly stressful and precarious position since last Friday, wherein everyone knew layoffs were coming, but no one was getting any information from management.
One employee we spoke to told us on Monday that "it is like waiting for a loaded gun to go off."
In stark contrast to stories of employees hugging each other and crying in the parking lot, Activision Blizzard's longtime CEO Bobby Kotick began this quarter's earnings call by bragging about how 2018 was the best year for the company in terms of financial results ever. Despite this, Activision Blizzard set their target of $3.09 billion dollars extremely high and failed to hit it to the tune of a billion dollars short, resulting in a dipping stock price and decision to reorganize.
The company also planned to reinvest in game development overall, promising a 20 percent increase in developers across King, Activision, and Blizzard over the course of 2019.
We wish all the best to those affected by layoffs today.
After Red Dead Redemption II, Rockstar ended a major piece of their modern game development. The seminal title was the culmination of years of work and effort one one of the biggest games the industry has ever seen. It's not hard to see the game as the end of an era, which it seems like even Rockstar's veteran developers feel. At least, Jeronimo Barrera seems to think so, as he ends a 20-year tenure at the developer.
Barrera, who has been Rockstar's vice president of development, has had a hand in every one of the studio's major games of the last two decades. He tells Variety that he felt like the conclusion of Red Dead Redemption II's development was a natural point to move on.
"I pretty much left when it was done, it was a natural progression," he told the outlet. "I looked at what I would be doing for the next few years if I stayed on and where I was in life with my family, my kids, my desire to make cool s---. I felt like it was hitting all of the right points."
Barrera is looking forward to whatever he might do next in the industry in whatever way he can help it progress or evolve, but isn't sharing specific plans yet. Check out the Variety story for his thoughts and quotes from his decades of experience.
[Source: Variety]
Apex Legends players have solved a mystery that brings a new visitor to the battlefield. All they need to do is locate 10 stuffed dinosaurs that are hidden on the map. When one of these tiny toys is shot, the message "A Nessy Appears..." pops up in the kill feed. When all of them are shot during a match, a towering Loch Ness Monster appears in the water.
Reddit user Fazdaspaz listed all of the dinosaur locations on a handy map, and YouTuber Miguel Lozada gives us a look at the beast in the video below. Here's hoping developer Respawn has more secrets and events like this in mind for Apex Legends' future.
Click here to watch embedded media
Only one small Valentine's Day stands between you and Jump Force, Bandai Namco's upcoming crossover fighting game using characters from the Japanese manga publication Shonen Jump. This means characters like Naruto, Yugi, Goku, and more are fighting each other and fighting off villains. Nothing exemplifies the explosiveness of that dynamic better than the Jump Force launch trailer, which you can watch below.
Click here to watch embedded mediaThe trailer shows how the heroes get assembled and the force they're getting together to stop and also shows Yusuke Urameshi punching a guy real hard with spirit power.
Which character are you most excited to get your hands on? More importantly, which character are you most excited to finally punch? Let us know below in the comments.
Jump Force releases on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on February 15.
There's no shortage of post-apocalyptic shooters these days, but Rage 2 is hoping to differentiate itself with fast gameplay and a unique style. We get to see good examples of both of those in the latest gameplay footage from the game, showing the player taking down a Goon outpost and then engaging in a car chase.
Click here to watch embedded mediaYou can see a lot of your potential arsenal in this video, from superhero pose ground hits to classic assault rifles to rocket launchers drone-like vehicles that hover above the ground. As this is official footage, the player obviously has a lot of experience with the game, so hopefully you can start playing this stylishly after just a little while with the game.
Rage 2 releases on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on May 14.
This month at Game Informer, we're highlighting our new cover story on Obsidian's The Outer Worlds. We're rolling out a ton of exclusive information on the game, but we wanted to take a quick detour and address a recurring theme we're seeing in the comments and discussion surrounding the game. While visiting the studio, we spoke with Obsidian's CEO Feargus Urquhart about fans using the existence of The Outer Worlds as ammo to attack Bethesda and the release of Fallout 76.
Urquhart says he's surprised that some people assume the team at Obsidian would know back in 2015 when they started working on The Outer Worlds that the game's announcement would line up with a negative reaction toward Bethesda's Fallout 76 at the end of 2018. "People even said things about our trailer: 'Oh man, just slamming it home to Bethesda!' because we said the original creators of Fallout and makers of Fallout: New Vegas. We have storyboards from July that said that," he says. "I have no ill will for Bethesda, I love playing Fallout games... We’re not fighting for the same dollars."
Click here to watch embedded media"This isn’t meant to be negative – it can probably be taken as negative. We really enjoyed making Fallout: New Vegas and people really enjoy Fallout: New Vegas," Urquhart says. "Bethesda is looking to take the Fallout brand in a different direction. There's nothing right or wrong about that. That’s their choice. They own it, they get to do what they want with it. But in our mind, there are people that enjoy where Fallout was. That is what we wanted to do with The Outer Worlds, to give people that. And you know what? Maybe that’s a bad decision from the standpoint of the number of people that will buy it. I don’t know… People seem to really enjoy what Fallout: New Vegas was, so let's give them an experience that's as similar as we can to that."
To learn more about Obisdian's thoughts on fans comparing their game to Fallout 76, watch the interview below with The Outer Worlds' co-directors Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky where they explain that they're not happy with fans attacking Bethesda's work.
Click here to watch embedded mediaClick on the banner below to enter our constantly-updating hub of exclusive features on The Outer Worlds.
While players wait for the official kickoff of Rainbow Six Siege's Year Four and its new content, Ubisoft has announced a free weekend for the game (February 14-17 on PC, and to the 18th on PS4 and Xbox One) as well as new editions.
First off, there is no more PC Starter edition of the game, it is being replaced with the Standard Edition on PC for $19.99. If you already own the Starter edition, you will be upgraded for free and your progress transfers over. Moreover, unlocking operators is being switched to the current base game rate, which is quicker.
The premium editions are being upgraded. The new Deluxe Edition ($29.99 on PC/$39.99 on PS4 and Xbox One) features the base game and the Year One operators. The Gold Edition ($59.99 on PC/$69.99 on PS4 and Xbox One) includes the Deluxe Edition as well as the Year Four pass. Finally, the Ultimate Edition ($99.99 on PC/$109.00 on PS4 and Xbox One) gives you all the operators from the previous years as well as the Year Four Pass. For complete details on all the editions, click here.
Ubisoft is expected to announce Year Four's launch date at the Six Invitational 2019 in Montreal on February 17.
For more on the game's Year Four content, check out this previous story. Also be sure to take a look at Bertz's take on Year Three.
[Source: Ubisoft]
For any Division fans or anyone curious about the highly-anticipated follow-up, Ubisoft has set the dates for The Division 2's open beta. Set aside a few days at the beginning of March, because from March 1-4 the beta will be available for anyone on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
While you wait for March you can watch us play through a chunk of the game in an episode of New Gameplay Today, see our big takeaways from the game's open world, or see what the creative director had to say about changes to this new game. The Division 2 will launch shortly after the beta closes on March 15.
At last year's BlizzCon, Hasbro announced a new line of Overwatch action figures called "Ultimates." These figures stands in at six-inches in height, and are said to be highly articulated. Unfortunately, the only figure shown at the time was Mercy, even though she will be released in a two-pack with another figure.
If Hasbro's recent Instagram post says what we think it says, we'll get our first look at the entire first series of Overwatch Ultimates on February 16, which just happens to be during New York Toy Fair. The Instagram post gives us a silhouetted tease of another familiar hero: Tracer.
We'll bring you more news on these figures over the weekend.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Hasbro Pulse (@hasbropulse) on Feb 12, 2019 at 7:09am PST
Pokémon Go developer Niantic has announced that soon it is releasing Go Snapshot – a way to use the game's Augmented Reality (AR) feature to take pictures of your Pokémon situated in real-life environments.
Players can even get their Pokémon's attention and situate and pose them so they can take the kinds of photos they're looking for before saving their creations and blasting them to social media.
[Source: Niantic]
Nintendo has revealed that another Direct is coming our way and soon. The company even revealed at least a snippet of what to expect too.
The Direct will be online Wednesday February 13 at 2 PM PT and will include details on Fire Emblem: Three Houses. According to Nintendo, the video will run roughly 35 minutes.
The link isn't up yet but the video will go live on Nintendo's Youtube page. You can watch the last Nintendo Direct here.
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