People complaining about Tales games not leaving Japan

[brunoafh]

There are a number of articles/blogs/whatever complaining that Namco Bandai doesn't support the Tales games in the west. I'm not going to point fingers or post links, but I recently read one that more or less said Namco Bandai "are idiots" for not bringing the games over. There are countless of rants about this subject, they pop up on N4G constantly. My question to these folks is this: why don't you just learn Japanese? The Tales games are almost all released on region free platforms (PS3, portables) in one way or another, so there's no restriction there. Importing games can be pretty expensive, but if you opt for the Hong Kong versions, you won't end up paying that much more than $60, the retail price you'd here. The games probably wouldn't sell very well here anyway, so I can fully understand Namco Bandai's decision to not make it a priority to localize them to an English speaking base.

If you really want to play the games that bad, then you should take it upon yourself to learn some Japanese, not whine about the publisher's decisions. It's not that difficult, and it's not like you have to be a master of Japanese to understand a game. I'm far from fluent in Japanese, but after a few months of studying, I've been able to play any game in Japanese that's put in front of me, and anyone else can do the same. There are a number of fantastic free resources online, and you'll be getting a new skill and new knowledge out of it. It'll also open up hundreds of other Japan-only games to you. As for time constraints and busy schedules, if you have enough time to pour dozens of hours into the newest Tales game, you have enough time to try and dabble with a new language.

[yosh]

The games probably wouldn't sell very well here anyway

...And yet Namco makes things like Antiques Roadshow: The Game

[swiftzx]

Where's Lisalover1?

[jfrost]

Oh, that's just silly. Come on.

[Flake]

My question to these folks is this: why don't you just learn Japanese?

Just like that? Yeah, I'll do that. I'll learn a language well enough to sit down and play a 60+ hour, text-heavy game full of colloquialisms, Japanese-in jokes, pop-culture references, or historical lore. Yeah, it'll take a couple of years, moving to Japan (for immersion), and tens of thousands of dollars but let's not let THAT get in the way of your idea.

Seriously? Have you ever TRIED to learn a second language fluently as an adult? Especially one completely removed from the tree your native language is on? This is the worst rebuttal to a gripe that I've ever seen. What you're suggesting doesn't sound like fun at all. Every time you come to a town would call for hours of research.

[brunoafh]

My question to these folks is this: why don't you just learn Japanese?

Just like that? Yeah, I'll do that. I'll learn a language well enough to sit down and play a 60+ hour, text-heavy game full of colloquialisms, Japanese-in jokes, pop-culture references, or historical lore. Yeah, it'll take a couple of years, moving to Japan (for immersion), and tens of thousands of dollars but let's not let THAT get in the way of your idea.

Seriously? Have you ever TRIED to learn a second language fluently as an adult? Especially one completely removed from the tree your native language is on? This is the worst rebuttal to a gripe that I've ever seen. What you're suggesting doesn't sound like fun at all. Every time you come to a town would call for hours of research.

You don't need to understand every colloquialism, joke, pop-culture reference, etc. to be able to play and enjoy the game. It takes surprisingly little time to be able to understand the menus required to navigate the game. You won't have to move to Japan or spend tens of thousands to do so either. You don't really need to understand every single piece of dialogue, do you?

[Flake]

Yes, yes I do. Especially if the medium is supposed to be telling a story. There is a reason I don't read books in German, even though I can figure out how to turn the pages and insert a book mark without any fluency.

[Erik_Twice]

Yes, yes I do. Especially if the medium is supposed to be telling a story. There is a reason I don't read books in German, even though I can figure out how to turn the pages and insert a book mark without any fluency.

Couldn't agree more.

I mean, by that logic you can watch every film in the world without subtitlse, it's not that dialogue matters that much anyways.

[joehero]

What you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

[YoshiEgg25]

What you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

As good of a movie reference as that was, that wasn't very nice.