Pokemon Games Slammed For Naughty Language Translation
It's no secret that things sometimes get lost in translation, but when a Pokemon game goes from saying "have a nice day, Ash Ketchum" to "go f**k yourself, Ash Ketchum," there might be a problem. Now, The Pokemon Company finds itself under fire for some NSFW language localisation.
As we know, localisation is one of the last steps in a game's journey before it hits the shelves. Although whole teams of translators and localisation teams work to make sure things have universal appeal across the board, it's not as simple as changing a few words around.
This can lead to sometimes hilarious mistakes like Magneto saying "Welcome to Die!" in the 1992 X-Men game or Ghisbusters being told "Conglaturation" in the NES game of the same name. Other times, it can lead to some rather colourful language - as the Pokemon games will tell you.
What's Wrong With Pokemon's Localisation?
Voice actors Gabrial Ramos and Gabriel Gama have delved deep into the Pokemon series and explained the problem with its Spanish localisation. While you might question what the problem is - considering we've had Spanish localisation since the early days - we've typically only had Peninsular Spanish localisation.
In a deep-dive video, they explain that Peninsular Spanish is different to the Spanish spoken in Latin America. As well as Pokemon words like gust, pound, and tackle, having different meanings in Latin American, others phrases can be deemed downright offensive. For example, the phrase "nos importa un pito" means "we care very little" in Spanish, but can be used in parts of Latin America as "we don't give a f**k."
The pair highlight that releases including Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and Pokemon X and Y have NSFW phrases when localised for European Spanish in Latin America. Now, there's a petition for a Latin America-specific localisation. At the time of writing, over 18,000 fans have signed it. Similarly, the petition wants another Portuguese translation for Brazilian players.
When Will We Get New Pokemon Localisation?
Click to enlargeUnfortunately, even if the petition makes a dent, it's unlikely to be brought in anytime soon. Pokemon Legends: Arceus launches on January 28 and will be the latest mainline entry since Sword and Shield in 2019. The Latin American audience is once again expected to be huge, so there could be a few blue lines that have slipped through the net.
Just like Maxis hearing that The Sims players wanted customisable pronouns off the back of a petition, the latest campaign has caught the attention of The Pokemon Company. An official statement reads, "Pokémon encourages players/users to submit comments and suggestions so that our products can offer the best possible experience to our customers. Although we do not always implement all the suggestions, we read and pay attention to each comment."
We know the Pokemon games are aimed at adults and kids alike, but if you're in Latin America and worried your child might face a foul-mouthed rant from a Sinnoh Team Rocket, maybe check out Arceus before your little ones.
