Regarding the Localization of Haurchefant in the EN/FR/DE Versions of FFXIV

[RiceisNice]

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Not only is this disrespectful to the writers and developers, it's a huge slap in the face to fans who want an AUTHENTIC FFXIV experience. You failed to deliver that for them.

It's more or less this. A similar circumstance was Hideo Kojima being extremely upset (if not angry) with a certain scene in MGS:PW being censored in the Japanese version. Story writers and such want their stories to be told the way they wanted it to be told, not bowdlerized and lose the original scope.

[Berethos]

He said he's working closely with the Japanese team to ensure no more 'problematic' (gay male) characters are added.

You really, really need to re-read what he posted.

When he says they've worked more closely so that similar problems do not occur, he's talking about not having discrepancies make their way in and that the Japanese and EN/FR/DE versions are much closer.

Claiming that means they are making sure no more problematic/gay characters are added is, quite simply, a leap in logic not supported by anything in his post.

[AriaEnia]

I actually enjoy the company of a pervy guy friend, gay or not, who's really really really dependable when problematic times come.
I'm not an American.

[Lukha]

See, I would be really happy for this appology if I thought it was sincere, and that such ridiculous changes would be avoided in the future, but I already know it's not true. Sure, you fixed Haurchefant for the 3.0 quests, but other unnecessary changes were made instead, like Matoya's picking on Alphinaud which didn't really happen in Japanese.

And even if you DO intend to do better going forward, that doesn't fix the fact that the version we've received is wrong, and apparently acknowledged by Yoshi-P himself as such. When can we expect a more accurate version of the script to be made available for those of us who want it? I recognize that it would be unfeasible to change the voice work already in place, but an alternate, more faithful text pack to go along with the Japanese voices would surely be possible.

[Remus]

I like the EN version so i am happy anyway. When people told me about the JP version im glad they changed it and they made the right call too be honest to do it. There may be some who like it but you need to look at it at a larger scale they are the localisation team not just the translation team, they need to make it fit for the western audience and most people in the west won't like how the JP version is. Anyone i have told about this they have said they are glad they changed it. After saying that though i can understand how unprofessional it was.

[Serilda]

You're way off base with that thought. Posting it in this topic is a disgraceful response to a sincere apology, and lengthy account of what was changed and why.

I completely agree, even as someone vehemently opposed to the over-localisation that happens at times. There's no need for personal attacks just because someone made and publicly acknowledged a mistake. There was no need for John to say anything at all, and he clearly put a lot of effort into trying to share his point of view. Jumping on him for that sends a terrible message back to the team who are working so hard.

I think the reason this problem is so much more noticeable is that it's no longer 1995 and companies can't make major changes to games without people knowing. Especially in an online game where most people are playing with people from other regions, using different versions of the game simultaneously, and expecting to talk about the things that happen in real time. 'The west' is a massive place spanning a huge amount of different cultures, so what works for one person is never going to work for everyone in the same way. Robbing us of sharing in the same experience as our friends has been frustrating, but if they are listening to the feedback and trying to be less heavy-handed in future then I wish them nothing but the best.

[Vayanne]

Thank you for the post, Corvinoobus! This explanation means a lot to me and from the replies it is evident most people share the same sentiment. Thank you for the hard work and passion you put in this game! As a translator myself I have always been amazed by the quality of the translations here.
I admit being confused by the differences in Haurchefant's localization, wondering which version should I consider his "true self", and came to the conclusion that to really know him one has to watch all four versions. The character is great in all of them, though I have to admit the German Haurchefant being my favourite. I am biased towards the German version, the lines there just seem to tell more compared to the English, which generally keeps the dialogue simpler and shorter. I stress again that this is my personal bias, I am not saying one version is better than the other. From my experience Germans do prefer to elaborate their sentences .

[Asheloux]

I was wondering why no one knew what I was talking about when I said that Haurchefant was kinda nutty and a douchebag but super cool.
Like the fact that he was your best friend and fully supported you as such was still clear in the Japanese version but his personality and the fact that he makes your character make wtf faces was all part of the fun!
I never got to see English Haurchefant...but Japanese Haurchefant was so cool!
Then again, I love his archetype in Japanese media so maybe that's why I wasn't thrown off by it.

[ThinkPInk]

Thank you so much for the EN version. Great call and keep up the good work!

[Teakwood]

You guys are fantastic. Honestly, I think the NA localisation team is my favourite thing about this game, by a fairly wide margin. I know you can't please everyone all the time, and I know how frustrating that must be both for you and the people left cold by whatever work is in question, but I just want to say I loved everything about his character and I think you guys did a fantastic job, and I really appreciate that you took the time to explain what was going on (since I'm really curious about that kind of thing!)

As a gay guy who gets super frustrated by characters in elvaan-accuracy range of the original JP, I also do appreciate that you took the time to be concerned about problematic portrayals that wouldn't come across right in English, and I think you did a FANTASTIC job with him and all of his dialogue.

...now excuse me while I cry in a corner for a while ;_;