The news, sourced back to 4players.de (translation) attributes a statement to Activision saying that "although it is not a conspicuous element in the normal game ... we have decided to take this game immediately from the German market."

Whether that means the content isn't in the game but is on the PC version for modders to exploit, or if it's a swastika as part of a background somewhere, who knows.

Planet Wolfenstein notes that the Wolfenstein teams from Endrant and Raven already have been laid off, putting a revised localization into doubt. Update: Raven's workforce reductions were across the board, not specifically targeting the Wolfenstein team.

Update: Via twitter, Kotaku reader Spunior pointed me back to one of the sites also linking to 4player.de. Schnitterbericht has a ton of screenshots showing differences in the U.S. and German versions of Wolfenstein. The final one (scroll alllllll the way down) shows a faint swastika at the bottom of a poster. If that really triggered a voluntary recall, Mein Gott in himmel!

We've emailed Activision for comment. Should any be provided, it'll be updated here.

Sell Stop in Germany [4players.de, via Blue's News]

Gamasutra this morning reported Warcraft's return to China, noting that Activision's switch from local operator The9 to NetEase on June 7 will have its costs. NetEase has had to spend 1 million yuan - about $146,000 U.S. - each day of a closed beta that has been running since July 30.

The transition and the downtime have been costly to both Activision Blizzard and NetEase. According to media claims, NetEase has spent an estimated 1 million yuan ($146,455.77) per day maintaining game servers for the closed beta it's been running since July 30 as a test period. That's basically $7.3 million U.S.

Further, half of World of Warcraft's global installation base of 11.5 million is estimated to be from China, and it remains to be seen just how many stick with the MMO after such a long absence. One analyst however, believes that because of the restrictions in the Chinese market, they account for just 6 percent of Activision Blizzard's revenues from Warcraft.

The holdup was attributed to enhanced scrutiny by Chinese regulators and some content changes, which we wrote about back in August. On that score, NetEase also reports that a Chinese localization of Wrath of Lich King has been finished and submitted to the government for approval.

World of Warcraft Restarts Commercial Operations in China [Gamasutra via VG247]

I've been wondering how well Scribblenauts would work over in the UK, as over there taking off your pants has far stronger connotations than it does on the U.S. side of the pond. Well now we know, thanks to a press release assuring UK customers that they can safely draw water from a tap, stroll down the pavement, and partake of an ice lolly without having to mess about with our butchery of the language.

"Fear not mistaken pants-over-trouser-wearers, as Scribblenauts developer, 5th Cell, has gone out of its way to localise the UK release of Scribblenauts to include words specifically for the UK market. Faucets, popsicles, sidewalks, diapers and, of course, the meaning mess that is football and soccer, will confuse British DS owners no more..."

Scribblenauts for the Nintendo DS will be out on October 9th...sorry, 9th October in the UK.

“Codemasters has targeted Russia as a front-line territory, key to our overall EMEA strategy” said Axel Herr, Senior VP Publishing, EMEA, Codemasters. “Localisation and tailoring of content is key to our emerging market strategy and Codemasters is keen to continue leading the charge in these fast-evolving markets.”

Targeted? Front line? Leading the charge? Is Codemasters supporting Russia or invading? Perhaps a little bit of both.

CODEMASTERS® CONFIRMS FULL SUPPORT FOR RUSSIA
Codemasters' key titles to be released with full Russian language support
Tuesday 11th November/... Further expanding its global drive, Codemasters® today announced that it will be fully supporting the Russian language localisation of all its upcoming key ‘AAA’ titles, including Rise of the Argonauts®, Damnation® and, for the first time on next-gen consoles, the eagerly anticipated war simulator due for launch in 2009, Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising™.

The announcement comes as a continuation of Codemasters’ drive for growth in emerging markets, including Russia, the Middle East, Central & Eastern Europe and India. Russia will be the first of the emerging territories to get full language for key titles from Codemasters as the company continues to push the boundaries in global development and support.

“Considering the scale and enthusiasm of the Russian market for our upcoming titles, especially Operation Flashpoint, we recognised that offering a dedicated Russian-language support was the next important step for Codemasters” said Hal Bame, Director, Distributor Territories, Codemasters. “We’re looking forward to providing an even more accessible game-play experience to future players of our key titles.”

“Codemasters has targeted Russia as a front-line territory, key to our overall EMEA strategy” said Axel Herr, Senior VP Publishing, EMEA, Codemasters. “Localisation and tailoring of content is key to our emerging market strategy and Codemasters is keen to continue leading the charge in these fast-evolving markets.”

Localisation and PC distribution within Russia will be handled by Noviy Disk company. The Xbox 360® and the PLAYSTATION®3 system versions will be distributed within Russia by Vellod. The following games will be released with Russian language support:

Rise of the Argonauts®
As the King of Iolcus, Jason had everything—a prosperous kingdom, the respect of his peers, and a beautiful fiancé. When she was killed on their wedding day, he vowed to do anything to restore her life. Now, in order to accomplish this heroic feat Jason must seek out the Golden Fleece — and with the help of Greek mythology’s greatest heroes — set sail on the most epic voyage of all.

A grand scale Action/RPG, Rise of the Argonauts immerses players in a gladiatorial adventure set in the vibrant and powerful world of Ancient Greece brought to life. Taking the role of Jason, players will battle alongside Hercules, Achilles and other Argonauts as they engage in brutal combat against formidable beasts and enemies, in a vast world alive with wondrous inhabitants and stunning panoramas. The search for the Golden Fleece is not only one of exploration but of transformation — from warrior king to exalted hero touched by the gods.

www.rise-of-the-argonauts.com

Unfortunately, since we weren’t able to see the characters fighting in the game before we recorded, we had to make some guesses about the way in which lines would be used in battle situations. Sometimes we got it right, but sometimes we didn’t. So, in the end, it was necessary to edit some lines slightly. But, overall, I think it came out sounding pretty good.

Overall she sounds incredibly enthusiastic about the whole project, to the point where I'm actually mulling over picking up the PS3 version for another play through.

RPG Eternal Sonata Composes New PS3 Features Tomorrow [Official PlayStation Blog]

For example, Aroon Tan, president of Games Exchange Alliance (GXA), suggested that Singapore—which has ambitions of becoming a regional games hub—promote itself as a gateway for foreign game developers to Asia. Based in Singapore, GXA aims to help game companies overcome commercialization hurdles and bring game titles to market across Asia.

Tan explained that setting up physical presence in several Asian countries is a challenge for North American and European game companies. However, Singapore's policies provide relatively lower barriers to entry to the country and the region, he told ZDNet Asia.

"Singapore offers lots of incentives, making it an attractive first market to enter the region," he said, adding that at the recent Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, exhibitors he met were keen to do business in Asia.

The export market is still a giant hurdle — while there are South Korean and Chinese companies making quiet, but successful, inroads to Western markets, quality localization remains something that many companies haven't quite managed to do.

Asia must localize for global gamers [ZDNet Asia]

Funcom just announced that they have signed an agreement with 1C to fully localize the voice and text for a Russian version of Age of Conana: Hyborian Adventures. 1C will also operate local customer service, which I believe requires a gun license, deal with the community websites and in-game support for Age of Conan in Russian. Funcom still plans to take care of the back-end tech and server infrastructure as well as handling all future development for the game.

The companies plan to build a dedicated Russian realm to allow the Russian community the chance to stick together and communicate with each other in their native language. Didn't Czar Nicholas II try to create a Russian realm once? I'm pretty sure it didn't end well.

“1C Company is a clear leader in the Russian speaking regions, and we are confident we have found the perfect partner,” said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. “We have already shipped a substantial amount of English boxes into Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, but we know that the real key to success is achieved through localized servers and services. Together with 1C Company we will do our uttermost to make Age of Conan a success for many years to come.”

“We are happy working together with Funcom on bringing Age of Conan to Russia. The game has already gained success here, reaching top places in many retail charts. With an already established fan base in Russia I’m sure it will become even bigger after the localized version appears on the market,” said Nikolay Baryshnikov, International Sales Director of 1C Company. “Age of Conan is a great mix of action, RPG elements and adventure. I believe that the game has potential to become a big hit in Russia.”

"We are committed to providing a new level of game experience through the use of local game masters, community managers and customer support. For years we have waited for the right MMO game to come along and now it is here, in our hands."

Polish version of Age of Conan coming in second half of 2008

- The highly anticipated MMO scheduled for fully localized Polish release as CD Projekt enters Service Partnership Agreement with Funcom -

Durham, USA - April 24th, 2008 -Funcom and CD Projekt are delighted to announce the signing of a Service Partnership Agreement for a Polish version of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. According to the agreement CD Projekt will fully localize voice and text and operate local customer service, communities, websites and in-game support for Age of Conan in Poland, while Funcom will take care of back-end technology, server infrastructure and continuous development of the game.

"It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that we are announcing this partnership, one that proves to be yet another milestone for our company - releasing the first subscription MMORPG fully localized into Polish." said Michał Kiciński, joint CEO of CD Projekt. "We are committed to providing a new level of game experience through the use of local game masters, community managers and customer support. For years we have waited for the right MMO game to come along and now it is here, in our hands."

"CD Projekt has an impressive track record both as a developer and distributor, and they have done excellent localization and distribution work on other Funcom titles such as The Longest Journey. Escalating our collaboration to a whole new level is something we truly look forward to," said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. "We believe a key aspect in making Age of Conan successful around Europe is to work closely with great local partners such as CD Projekt. In many countries it is essential to release in the local language to truly succeed, and Poland is definitively such a territory. CD Projekt is through its agreement with Eidos the chosen partner for retail distribution, sales and marketing in Poland so it's a perfect match. Together we aim to make Age of Conan a great local success."

Age of Conan is consistently mentioned as one of the most anticipated PC games in development. At launch the game will have received more than thirty covers on high-profile gaming magazines across the globe and more than fifteen major awards, including numerous "Best MMO of E3" awards and the official "Best Online Game" award at the Games Convention 2007. Age of Conan is a key title in Microsoft's Games for Windows line-up, and a showcase title for nVidia. Age of Conan launches 20th of May in North America / Oceania and 23rd of May in Europe. The release date in Poland is still to be set.

For more information or to pre-order Age of Conan - either in English, German, French or Spanish - visit the official website at www.ageofconan.com where you also can access the respective community websites.

Instead of hiring expensive middlemen, we harness the volunteer efforts of our passionate players. Instead of managing the process manually, we create an automated system of empowering tools and reward systems that encourage players to do the right thing. Above all, we make the process repeatable so that we can run it over and over again at almost zero incremental cost. We are building an engine whose mechanical structure is derived from the physics of human psychology and whose brightly burning fuel is a steady stream of fun seeking players.

The Translation Game [Lost Garden]

Improved localization shows one thing: The maturing of a market. In the early days of console gaming in the West, Japanese games often arrived riddled with funny English, grammar errors and misspellings. Those days are all but gone. Korea, where PC gaming rules, has recently turned an increased eye towards console gaming. Voice actor Kang Soo-jin, who voices Shu in the localized Blue Dragon, says:

Many game developers spend a lot of time and money on visual effects. But poor dubbing work can ruin the whole game.

Agreed. And in relatively new markets like Korea, it can mean the difference between a console game sale and Star Craft. Brian Ashcraft

Localization In Korea [The Korea Times]

Pocketgamer (via GameSetWatch) has a look at bad translations in mobile gaming. While bad localization in console titles is pretty much a thing of the past, the same isn't true for cell phone ones thanks to low budgets. Take this line from Magnetic Joe:

Take Joe to the exit while avoid spikes! While you are magnetised, the neighbour magnetic cells attract you!

Okay! We will! And thanks for the tip! But this kinda stuff is not just in-game. The odd sounding lingo even pops up in the marketing material. Check out the blurb for Death Trap:

Death Trap is a horror action game that the terrifying graphics will make you enticed with surreal illusion.

Awesome. I am so there. Brian Ashcraft

Mobile Translations Funny [GameSetWatch]

It's a crapshoot, really. Some cool games get English localization. Some bad ones get it. Other never do, staying forever out of most Westerner's hands. While tiny percentage of really neat titles already with loads of English never get a US/Euro release.

Take DJ MAX. It's a Korean rhythm game (think DDR for the PSP and the PC) that appears to have been produced with the outside world in mind with the menu almost entirely in English, but the game has yet to achieve beyond import status. The video above is on the easiest setting — 4 button mode. It goes up to 8 button plus analog. It seemed poised to ride in Lumines' wake, but sadly, never did.

The game's company, Pentavision, just announced DJ MAX 2 for the PSP and, at the moment, Korea. Publishers, are you listening? Brian Ashcraft

DJ MAX 2 Announced [Ruliweb, Thanks Torokun!]

Let's face it gamers, no matter what gender or sexual orientation, we all want to know one thing about an upcoming game. How big is it? This intimate question was put to two of Nintendo of America's game localization guys, Nate Bihldorff and Bill Trinen about the highly anticipated Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

The boys wasted no time in whipping out a whopping 9 dungeons, 70 hours of gameplay and boasted of a Hyrule field five times as big as the map in Ocarina of Time. They also assure us that there are a lot more side quests so that the game doesn't end up becoming and endless string of dungeons one after the other.

The Zelda franchise has always been known for the size and depth of it's games and it sounds like this one is more than ready to rise to the occasion. Flynn De Marco

More Here [Tanomi] Thanks, Phez!

Earthbound-like RPG Contact for the DS is odd. It should be. The game is courtesy crazy Japanese game studio Grasshopper Manufacture, who also brought us Killer7. The game is getting English localization thanks to publisher Atlus. Game site Siliconera talked with Tomm Hulett, the game's localization director:

I'm not sure why it didn't do well in Japan, though I do suspect its release just before the highly anticipated Mother 3 had something to do with it. However, Contact's US release will be the only wackiness infusion American Earthbound fans get for a while, so we can at least corner that demographic. I also think most of the DS users in this country are still gamers (as opposed to Japan, where a large majority are non-gamers), so there should be more people who will appreciate the humor featured in Contact. Which isn't to say non-gamers won't enjoy Contact; they totally would.

Is it me or did Tomm contradicted every single thing he said? Regardless, cool game and worth picking up if you are into RPG and even if you're not. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Siliconera]

Fortunately, the gameplay and unique setting still let Yakuza stand out, it's just a shame that, based on the first taste of English dubs, we'll be unnecessarily cringing at every other line.

Warning: NSFW language and kind of a bummer. Michael McWhertor

Yakuza Game Intro [GameTrailers]

Game Informer has an interview up with Nintendo's US localization team who worked on translating Brain Age's more Japanese-oriented puzzles into equivalent American analogues. It's a pretty interesting insight on trying to adapt a game from one culture to another. Here's a quote:

By necessity there were a number of training exercises that we had to replace because they relied on unique features of the Japanese language. But in almost every case we found very good analogies that you could use to take its place. Something you wouldn't rely on knowing the reading of a particular Japanese character or that sort of thing. With English, looking for syllable breaks in words can be a little bit harder than it seems. So forcing people to do that made them engage in that same sort of activity that you do when you read aloud, which is one of the best activities for increasing blood flow to the prefrontal cortex. So all of the exercises that we came up with were replacements for the original Japanese exercises were also tested with the little brain colander device that sits on top of your head that measures blood flow.

Because as the disembodied, brain-munching head of Dr. Ryuta Kawashima would be quick to point out, the bloodiest hunks of brain are the tastiest.

Behind Brain Age [Game Informer]
Previously: Making Brain Age

Localization: The process of making a game developed in another country/language retain its cultural relevance and storyline in the country it's being shipped to.

It's a simple enough task in principle, but not in execution. With a game like Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance making sure the deep storyline transfers from Japanese to American audiences is critical. No one notices a great localization, because its integration is seamless. The goal of localization is to make gamers wonder if the game was even done in Japanese. Three of the guys behind the curtain took some time to talk with me about the process.

Rich Amtower and Tim O'Leary, both Associate Localization Producers and Alan Averill, Localization Writer/Editor showed up for the interview, the results are after the jump.

Kotaku: Fire Emblem is a series that in part so compelling because of the punitive character death its characters face. How does dealing with these characters appearing in and out of the storyline change your jobs?

Alan Averill: That aspect of Fire Emblem is one of the things that makes the game unique and makes it different. You have a real investment in these characters because if they die, they're gone. Not only does that force you to think before your actions, but it forces us as localizers to make you care about your characters.

Kotaku: So as localizers, how do you make us care about them?

Rich Amtower: The Key thing for our task, is injecting the characters with enough personality to make their characters lives mean something to you so that their deaths will matter to you. Do we choose their characters because of their personality or what they can bring to the game strategically. I always choose the characters who's personality appeals. There are small adjustments that are made when a character dies, not major splinterings, but when we get these moments to make a character's absence do something. In Path of Radiance there's a trio of brothers, if any of them die, based on who's alive or who is dead the conversations can change. Making sure that their lives matter and making sure that their abscences are obvious too. It means that you've lost more than a character - you've lost a personality.

Kotaku: These personalities can't always translate directly, you guys have to do some work on rebuilding certain characters, right?

Tim O'Leary: Sure. Take the character of Bastion, who, while not a main character does have a lot of speech. We had to do a lot of work with his character. The way he spoke in the original Japanese version just didn't translate here. So I took and made him this sort of type character, if you read through his text you'll see that it's all in Iambic pentameter. That's an example of taking the character and making them adapt, at the core the character is still the same character and fills the example.

Rich Amtower: There's no way to convey that character (Bastion), there's no way to convey what that character's speech means, a lot of that character's speech was cultural assumption, so instead of a straight translation, we have to remap it culturally. Iambic pentameter immediately calls up things to mind, even that subtle nudge pushes things in the right direction.