Larian Studios Forums Divinity 2 - Ego Draconis (English) Divinity 2 - Ego Draconis Questions, questions, questions...

SORRY!!!!! I guessed/assumed there would be one. I had no clues that is not the usual thing. So what is it then, only german?

There won't be a Dutch/Flemish version. Gamers in Belgium usually hate to play these kind of games in Dutch, they do prefer an English version. The market would just be too small and thus make it not interesting to release a Dutch/Flemish version.

Then forget my initial question, english and german will be out at the same time.

Italian version!?

Too bad. I'd thought they'd deserved one.

But as you seem to have more market knowledge than me ...

As far as I understand it, Alrik, every translation costs quite a bit of money to do and results in a different version of the game (So takes time as well as money). Every different language also needs its own version of any patches, of course, which adds even more work (And expense) down the line.

That cost needs to be balanced against expected sales and for many of the less spoken languages it just isn't cost effective. This is why most games are translated into around half a dozen languages at most.

This is what I have read, at least

eeuw. No Ducth version please. Let's keep it nice and English.

Why are you against a Dutch version? Even if games usually had a bad Dutch localization, you could expect a Dutch version from Larian that is just as good as the English one, couldn't you?

I'd ask the very same.

since most entertainment that comes our way, movies, tv, games etc.. is in english, possibly subtitled. It's something we've grown accustomed to. When its dubbed in dutch, it just sounds wrong and cheap. Plus many of the dialogue written in english translates badly to dutch, clever jokes get lost in translation or even get replaced with lame ones. Last but not least, because of the lack of intonation in the dutch language everything sounds better said in English.

I don't want to play a game with a duch accent. (flemish would pass but still a no no)

I live in Belgium and speak Dutch. I would never even think of buying any media that has been translated to Dutch. Draghermosran already pointed out several reasons why.

I do not see why people in Germany and France insist on having almost everything dubbed. So much of the original story / humor / acting is lost in translation. I guess it's just habit and it won't change any time soon.
Also, i would not want to hear the same voices over and over in different series / movies / games.

This will always be something we do not understand from our side and most German/French people do not understand from their side

Personally, I think it's a pitty because most of my knowledge in languages comes from watching & playing media in its original language.

Being a games translator, I have to say the argument "jokes get lost in translation" is a very overrated one - since there are not that many such jokes in usual games. It's different with overly humorous games of course but that is not a big part of the cake. And of course there ARE translators who actually are good writers and can save the humour/style/spirit of the original. It goes without saying that you don't find them in Far Asia working for 3 Cents per word.

What people from countries without translation tradition don't know/understand is that this kind of translation/dubbing usually is quite good in Germany for example... another fine example seems to be Hungary (in movies at least). The people have long experience with it and manage to deliver good work - which you can't compare some lame localisation from other countries. Plus games are nowhere near to movies yet... most games have mediocre voice acting and/or texts at best. So, even if you don't translate them to German, they are not perfect anyway. (Obviously, that's not the case with movies.)

Personally, I prefer the original game, too, of course. But I don't agree with the general criticism of game/movie localisation.

I think films are a whole other debate, honestly. I truly hate dubbed films - won't watch them. They always seem so artificial. I'll take my films with subtitles every time, as I think the original language adds to the flavour of a film.

With games, I'm completely the reverse (Although I do have one in German that is rather good, it's a free game so my tolerances go WAY up! ). I like to completely understand what it is I'm supposed to be doing, I think. With (most) films, getting every word down is not so important.

All your base are belong to us! Make your time!

In The Netherlands movies, television programs and games are only translated for children. There is absolutely no market for a translated version of a movie like Batman or a game like Divinity 2.

What if wasn't translated into Dutch, but produced in Dutch? Would you still prefer the English version? I guess you read books by Dutch or Flemish authors in Dutch, and you watch Dutch movies in Dutch ... so why not play a game by a Flemish studio in Dutch (or Flemish)? Just because you're accustomed to playing games in English? I can't imagine there are no good Dutch or Flemish voice-actors ...

I know a bad (or even mediocre) localization can ruin a game, and I have no problem with playing games in English, but if a German studio produces a game in German (my native tongue), I see no reason why I should buy the English version instead of the German one.

Of course, this is just a hypothetical discussion, since Larian has clearly stated there won't be a Dutch version.

I was wondering... will there be windowed mode for the game?

the market for a dutch game is off course so small that it wouldn't be worth the investment

cheaper and easier to make it in english

The market for a Dutch game is simply not interesting, same for movies and tv programs. And this is not only the case in Belgium but also in The Netherlands.
We really don’t like dubbed movies, translated games... If you want to punish us, now you know how

Usually (and unfortunately) the translation is badly done and we are so used to the original game/movie that this will most likely never change.

And stop convincing us from the opposite!