Modern Warfare 2 Japanese Localization Misses the Point
From a not-really-ban in Russia to an attempted ban in Australia, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has had its share of foreign controversies. Today we’re discovering that the game is causing a little stir in Japan, but from fans instead of the government. Magweasel gives word that the Japanese localization leaves much to be desired. At the center of the issues is the “No Russian” scene, in which Vladimir Makarov is supposed to tell the player “Remember, no Russian.” In the story, this is a straight-forward message: as a Russian nationalist, he doesn’t want his men speaking Russian as they kill civilians. But in Japanese, it was apparently translated to, “Kill them; they are Russians.” Needless to say, this sort of misses the point of the scene, which is a lynchpin for much of the game’s plot.
The poor translation has reportedly sparked ire from fans in Japan, some of whom are claiming they’ll only buy the English-language version instead of hearing the poor Japanese. It’s hard to blame them. If that important scene loses its context, very little of the global conflict that follows would make sense. Of course, this could be a case of fans making a mountain out of a molehill, and considering the game’s 39/40 score in Famitsu, it’s likely to sell just fine regardless.
