Categories
Games

When Localization Changed

USgamer posted a great interview with my buddy Rich Amtower, as well as Alexander O. Smith, about their experience localizing Vagrant Story, a game that changed, well, the game of how seriously localization was — and should be — taken.

Categories
Books

Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien

Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt are a power couple when it comes to the localization game, and on top of all those books that Matt wrote in his Attack series (that initially shared the same trade dress and publisher as Arcade Mania), the two have now collaborated on a new book, Japandemonium Illustrated, that takes the form of a proper translation of the yokai encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien. It looks like a fantastic book, and is available through Amazon.

Categories
Art Books Games

Legends of Localization Book 2: EarthBound

I’m already in need of the first Legends of Localization book, covering The Legend of Zelda, and book 2, covering EarthBound, looks just as amazing. There’s plenty of photos to gawk at on the Fangamer order page, and here’s also very positive review on Tiny Cartridge.

Categories
Games

Rezzing It Up

rez-infinite-ps4-screen15-us-05dec15

For anyone in the west who follows the Japanese gaming scene, you’re probably well aware of the localization (and more) company 8-4, or maybe the 8-4 Play podcast, that they host on a bi-weekly basis (“a podcast about games, Japan, and Japanese games”). I’m lucky enough to call the 8-4 family good friends, and it was huge news this week to get the announcement that Mark MacDonald, the company’s Executive Director, was in the process of leaving the company (while finishing some final projects) to join Tetsuya Mizuguchi‘s Enhance Games, where he’ll be heading production and business development. Although it could be seen as a sad milestone for 8-4, I couldn’t be happier for Mark, and can’t wait to see what he’ll be helping produce with Mizuguchi at Enhance. I’m sure 8-4 will also continue to be just fine in the hands of original founders John Ricciardi and Hiroko Minamoto and the rest of the team — and we’re told that Mark will continue to show up on the 8-4 Play podcast, which is great news indeed.