IGN: How Fans Translated The Great Ace Attorney When Capcom Couldn't

[Theswweet]

IGN posted an article about the Great Ace Attorney fan-TL that was finished a few months ago. They talked with the folks that worked on the project about a bit of the process, and the history of the game's (lack) of a translation.

Imagine translating 32,000 boxes of Japanese text, each box consisting of 15 or so words filled with nuanced dialogue and cultural references specific to a country other than your own. It's a grueling task only the most dedicated would endure, and that's exactly the spirit behind the Scarlet Study team, a group of enthusiastic online fans who did what Capcom couldn't: translate the entirety of Dai Gyakuten Saiban, a standalone game in the Ace Attorney series, oftentimes dubbed The Great Ace Attorney.

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While the technical side of the project was tough to tackle, the actual translating brought its own set of hurdles. Masterofmemes, another administrator, talked about the challenges of staying true to the original text. "I'd say we kinda straddle the line between 'direct' translation and 'eat your hamburgers, Apollo.' [A meme poking fun at the official localization of the main series and its heavy inclusion of Japanese themes despite its Los Angeles setting] While we want the original writing to shine as much as possible, we also try to read into the nuances a little bit and make them work in English."

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https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/0...ed-the-great-ace-attorney-when-capcom-couldnt

 

[Deleted member 54320]

N i c e

 

[Tailzo]

Nice. Wasn't there other japan-only games in this series? Did those get translations?

 

[Kinsei]

Nice. Wasn't there other japan-only games in this series? Did those get translations?

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AAI2 did.

 

[Theswweet]

Nice. Wasn't there other japan-only games in this series? Did those get translations?

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As of right now, the only untranslated games is this game's sequel. Even then, there's the Youtube TL.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

"Couldn't" ?

 

[Deleted member 8861]

Nice. Wasn't there other japan-only games in this series? Did those get translations?

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AA Investigations 2 on the DS also received a translation by fans, I don't know of any other ones, the original trilogy on the GBA did, perhaps.

GAA is getting a sequel though I think, so that one's probably the next.

 

[Platy]

Does he eat hamburguers on the wild west?

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Screw Capcom. They don't even have the courtesy to tell us it isn't going to happen. I'm glad passionate fans like these exist.

 

[Jawmuncher]

I'll never understand how capcom "can't" localize certain titles like TGAA 1&2 along with Investigations 2 which have committed fanbases.

But atlus, xseed, and others can localize stuff with even more text from the most niche titles and give them a physical release to boot.

 

[N75]

As much shit as I give Capcom for how they handle this series, I feel like DGS is where at least the localization team's hands were tied.

From Capcom being apprehensive of non-Phoenix games due to AAI underperforming (which might have been more to do with piracy) to potential legal issues with the Holmes stuff in the US. The localization team were told to prioritize AA6 over DGS if I remember right and that game came out in late 2016. Not to mention that DGS 1 and 2 were the lowest selling entries in the series.

The best people can hope for in regards to an official translation is for an Android/iOS release, as those ports already exist in Japan and releasing a new game on the 3DS at this point would be dumb.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

"How Fans Translated The Great Ace Attorney When Capcom Couldn't"

By working for free

 

[Raijinto]

Yeah hate to be like the 4th comment late to this but I also take issue with the "couldn't". Like said above we've not even been given an explanation/excuse. Screw "couldn't".

But that aside I'm definitely going to give this a try eventually.

 

[aiswyda]

As much shit as I give Capcom for how they handle this series, I feel like DGS is where at least the localization team's hands were tied.

From Capcom being apprehensive of non-Phoenix games due to AAI underperforming (which might have been more to do with piracy) to potential legal issues with the Holmes stuff in the US. The localization team were told to prioritize AA6 over DGS if I remember right and that game came out in late 2016. Not to mention that DGS 1 and 2 were the lowest selling entries in the series.

The best people can hope for in regards to an official translation is for an Android/iOS release, as those ports already exist in Japan and releasing a new game on the 3DS at this point would be dumb.

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I understand the rest of this, but "potential legal issues with the Holmes stuff in the US" doesn't make sense to me; Sherlock Holmes as a character is no longer protected by US copyright law (hasn't been for a while) and actually is the subject of a prominent copyright case discussing the way we copyright characters in long running fiction. Unless the games specifically take from some of the later ACD stories (who's copyright expires in the next few years) I can't imagine there's any valid associated copyright claim.

 

[Theswweet]

I understand the rest of this, but "potential legal issues with the Holmes stuff in the US" doesn't make sense to me; Sherlock Holmes as a character is no longer protected by US copyright law (hasn't been for a while) and actually is the subject of a prominent copyright case discussing the way we copyright characters in long running fiction. Unless the games specifically take from some of the later ACD stories (who's copyright expires in the next few years) I can't imagine there's any valid associated copyright claim.

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IIRC it does use characters from the later stories.

 

[N75]

I understand the rest of this, but "potential legal issues with the Holmes stuff in the US" doesn't make sense to me; Sherlock Holmes as a character is no longer protected by US copyright law (hasn't been for a while) and actually is the subject of a prominent copyright case discussing the way we copyright characters in long running fiction. Unless the games specifically take from some of the later ACD stories (who's copyright expires in the next few years) I can't imagine there's any valid associated copyright claim.

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From what I've read, it does use subjects/characters from those copyrighted stories.

I'm pretty sure that the Conan Doyle estate has gone after some of the recent Sherlock movies even though they're in the clear, so Capcom may not want to risk it.

 

[aiswyda]

IIRC it does use characters from the later stories.

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Ahhhhh okay, that makes a lot more sense. I just thought they took Holmes and Watson, didn't realize they took characters/cases beyond them. Understandable why it hasn't been translated then, given how protective the Doyle estate is.

From what I've read, it does use subjects/characters from those copyrighted stories.

I'm pretty sure that the Conan Doyle estate has gone after some of the recent Sherlock movies even though they're in the clear, so Capcom may not want to risk it.

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I haven't done a ton of research on it, but it's wild that the copyrighted characters isn't the first thing brought up when people discussing localization then; the Doyle estate is very litigious and if there's any potentially valid claims it absolutely makes sense for Capcom to not localize it.

That's also true, but those claims would be dismissed almost immediately (for ones that have expired), so I don't think that's a huge concern.

 

[Lumination]

I'll never understand how capcom "can't" localize certain titles like TGAA 1&2 along with Investigations 2 which have committed fanbases.

But atlus, xseed, and others can localize stuff with even more text from the most niche titles and give them a physical release to boot.

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Opportunity costs. Smaller companies fight for scraps of the pie while bigger corps put all their muscle on bigger pieces. Another factor is that bigger companies often pay better, have better benefits, etc. meaning the actual cost may be higher for them than for the exact same product for a smaller company running on a smaller group of passionate individuals.

 

[N75]

I haven't done a ton of research on it, but it's wild that the copyrighted characters isn't the first thing brought up when people discussing localization then; the Doyle estate is very litigious and if there's any potentially valid claims it absolutely makes sense for Capcom to not localize it.

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I've looked it up and it seems like

Spoiler: DGS Minor Spoilers

elements from The Three Garridebs and The Lion's Mane are used throughout Case 4.

There are also a number of references in Holmes' apartment.

 

[Eolz]

Nice to see IGN put some light on this.
Good old Cacpcom.

 

[Vibranium]

I have mad respect for the fan translation teams. They follow Janet Hsu's localization philosphy very accurately too, wish she could comment on it (her team would do it if they were allowed to by top brass).

Capcom USA should just crowdfund localization if the costs for niche titles make no sense to Japanese management.

 

[zombiejames]

"Couldn't", haha. Good job, IGN.

 

[H.Protagonist]

Opportunity costs. Smaller companies fight for scraps of the pie while bigger corps put all their muscle on bigger pieces. Another factor is that bigger companies often pay better, have better benefits, etc. meaning the actual cost may be higher for them than for the exact same product for a smaller company running on a smaller group of passionate individuals.

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^This. What's financially feasible for a smaller company is not necessarily going to work for a larger one. It's nothing anyone wants to hear, but the hard numbers often say their time is better spent on different projects. A dedicated online presence doesn't always translate to consumer clout, unfortunately.