CAPCOM Translators: Ruining The Plot Since 1996

[Pikminister]

And since nothing is gonna change things (and none will even try), we better get used to how it is.

As it is, Resident Evil Wiki is right. They can always point to the translations from the official source.

[News Bot]

And since nothing is gonna change things (and none will even try), we better get used to how it is.

As it is, Resident Evil Wiki is right. They can always point to the translations from the official source.

In the near future, we'll have every single file in the series accurately translated, and will most likely translate every single script in the series.

The Resident Evil Wiki is only ever right because I'm the one who started that, and faced plenty of resistance from a bunch of dicks who think plot holes should be taken as fact just because they are in English.

[Pikminister]

That place needs more like you over at RE Wiki... at least people that can write a damn bio. Some of the character bios are badly written. Probably because kids and non-English speaking/writing fans try to contribute. It's a mess sometimes.

That's why I only visit PU for my canon fix.

P.S. I forgot about Wikipedia and how they deal with the canon... whew!

[REmaster]

I think it basically boils down to translators being too lazy to elaborate. Instead of translating the full extent of original content, they rush and look for shortcuts, leaving out bits and pieces they deem trivial, working with a "close enough" method.

Unfortunately, the series plot is suprisingly rich, which the general masses can't truly appeciate until someone like News Bot comes along and fills in the blanks/fuck ups. As you can see, altering the smallest details can have a huge impact on how the game's overall plot is percieved. If there are certain details in the original source material, it's probably there for a reason.

Meh, just woke up and felt like rambling. Breakfast of champions.

[nemesis120]

Given the realities of the translation business, it's no surprise that there are tons of errors.

For those who don't know, there's very little money in translating manga or video games and the subject matter is usually quite easy. People with a lot of skills go and translate stuff like patents, medical or finance documents.　Most translators are freelance and, if you want more money, you either need to go and get more skills (as the company will just delete you from their translator list if you want too much money). The salary Capcom offers is low and an idiot could make more money elsewhere.

Capcom has in-house translators but, IIRC, they primarily use freelancers (they're hiring in-house now though). I think their turnover is a bit high and I know some of their reviewers had issues with being given poor translations.

I think one of the bigger issues with translation is the people who know a bit of English. Almost every translator I know has had this - it was the reason I quit my first translating job (someone who knew a bit of English was telling me to incorrectly translate something).

[News Bot]

Given the realities of the translation business, it's no surprise that there are tons of errors.

For those who don't know, there's very little money in translating manga or video games and the subject matter is usually quite easy. People with a lot of skills go and translate stuff like patents, medical or finance documents.　Most translators are freelance and, if you want more money, you either need to go and get more skills (as the company will just delete you from their translator list if you want too much money). The salary Capcom offers is low and an idiot could make more money elsewhere.

Capcom has in-house translators but, IIRC, they primarily use freelancers (they're hiring in-house now though). I think their turnover is a bit high and I know some of their reviewers had issues with being given poor translations.

I think one of the bigger issues with translation is the people who know a bit of English. Almost every translator I know has had this - it was the reason I quit my first translating job (someone who knew a bit of English was telling me to incorrectly translate something).

It is always great to get the viewpoint of an actual translator. Some people (Dracarys) are under the impression that translators can do no wrong and the translated English scripts are flawless and take precedence over what was actually written by the writers.

[Carnivol]

For those who don't know, there's very little money in translating manga or video games and the subject matter is usually quite easy. People with a lot of skills go and translate stuff like patents, medical or finance documents.

Odd. I've kinda experienced this to be the other way around. People who "like to think" they are translators (or just have no standards) jump onto those kinds of jobs blindly (as they are a dime a dozen). Big and major companies more often than ever trying to score themselves cheapo translations of stuff that really shouldn't have been given to a normal translator at all, but rather should have been given to someone with not just experience as a translator, but also some sort of legal (or otherwise relevant) background. And, well, regarding the manga / video games thing; it all depends on the client and contracts. Really (and which language's you're translating into, how many needless steps there are between the printing press and the translator and so forth). Manga translations can set you up a pretty nice side-income certain places, assuming you among others retain your rights to royalties for the product (translation) and so forth. A friend of mine gets some okay annual checks for stuff he's translated that people borrow from the library.

I've always felt that translations really are a thing for those with special interests, though. And should almost exclusively be done by someone with interest and passion for the source material and/or target language. (This is why I turn down a lot of jobs/projects... they're just not my cup of tea.)

Most translators are freelance and, if you want more money, you either need to go and get more skills (as the company will just delete you from their translator list if you want too much money). The salary Capcom offers is low and an idiot could make more money elsewhere.

I'm not sure what the rates are for certain other countries and languages these days, but I feel my rate's are pretty good (low) compared to other translators in my region, but I'm not complaining - mainly 'cause I feel the overall pay vs workload is still disgustingly good. I don't do fulltime translations anymore, only stuff on the side when I have the time for it and even that's sometimes more on the side than I get from my regular job. A lot of the game translations I do these days are mainly product descriptions for thingies. 200~500 words for each title, mostly, and they net me pretty much $30~60 each (pre-tax) and they rarely take more than 15 minutes to wrap up (sometimes even less, if I can start abusing translation memories.)

Capcom has in-house translators but, IIRC, they primarily use freelancers (they're hiring in-house now though). I think their turnover is a bit high and I know some of their reviewers had issues with being given poor translations.

From my experience; in-house translators, more often than ever, deals with marketing/PR stuff and various stuff tied to communication within the company (and sometimes proofreading/reviewing of the stuff external translators hand in) - which is why the freelancers still gets dragged in. Sometimes, on stuff where I've had to deal with a lot of intermediate languages and my bullshit detector goes off left 'n' right; I've had the pleasure of being able to run things past an in-house communications translators instead of the guy handling the actual translations for stuff... let's say the results were... interesting.

I think one of the bigger issues with translation is the people who know a bit of English. Almost every translator I know has had this - it was the reason I quit my first translating job (someone who knew a bit of English was telling me to incorrectly translate something).

Now THIS I can relate to. Wankers who don't speak either language A nor language B, yet tries to force mistakes down your throat 'cause they for some reason either have amazing ideas about how one language works over the other or because they just don't fucking understand how grammar works in a language they don't speak

[Dracarys]

Some people (Dracarys) are under the impression that translators can do no wrong and the translated English scripts are flawless and take precedence over what was actually written by the writers.

Complete bullshit. I'm not even gonna bother correcting this.

[News Bot]

Complete bullshit. I'm not even gonna bother correcting this.

Good.

[Darkmoon]

Alright, behave. Newsbot, there was no reason to single out Dracarys in your post like that when you knew it would tick her off. Dracarys, there was no real reason to reply since you consider it bullshit.

[Dracarys]

Alright, behave. Newsbot, there was no reason to single out Dracarys in your post like that when you knew it would tick her off. Dracarys, there was no real reason to reply since you consider it bullshit.

I'm not gonna let a complete lie about me get posted without telling people it is so. Some people know where I stand on things but not everyone.

[Vito]

I see no bullshit here. News Bot, are you're going to continue translating Wesker's file from RE5?

[News Bot]

Alright, behave. Newsbot, there was no reason to single out Dracarys in your post like that when you knew it would tick her off. Dracarys, there was no real reason to reply since you consider it bullshit.

Just going by what she said.

...and you do realise these games are released in English also, with English voice overs, even in Japan. I'm sure the natural reply to this will be "Bad translations" but quite frankly I wonder how long people are expected to believe this.

and previous implications that mistranslations which lead to butchered plot details are intentional.

[Darkmoon]

Really? You two are going to keep bickering? I admit, I'm rather siding with Dracarys on this particular issue - there was no need to single her out by name - but by all that is Holy I am getting tired of seeing your names in reported topics having yet another bicker.

So next time I see one of you pushing the others buttons - and yes, that's entirely within my judgement - I'll ban the offender for a week. Just so I can have some peace and quiet. I suspect I'll get several letters of thanks from other members equally fed up with this school yard crap.

Now, both of you may feel free to complain to Carn. Please so via priate message, however, and let's keep this on topic.

[News Bot]

No complaints from me.