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Nintendo sorry for, explains Smash Bros. Euro delay

May 19, 2008 in News comments 22

Nintendo apologizes for the Super Smash Bros. Brawl delay for Europe, which is hitting Europe on June 27th. Laurent explains that every time you localize a game you have to make sure you've recorded the correct voice, and it takes time. He said that Nintendo wasn't holding back Super Smash Bros. Brawl on purpose for Europeans.

Re-affirming the “Nintendo hates Europe” tag for so many Wii owners this year was the delay between the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl in North America and the region (it’ll now reach Europe on June 27). To try and justify the wait, Nintendo’s Laurent Fischer spoke to Official Nintendo Magazine, and explained that localisation is more than just “swapping over some words.”

Laurent explained:

“Every time you go through localisation you then have to put it through a test, which involves making sure that you recorded the proper voice, and that the proper voice is being activated with the proper trigger, at the proper time… so it’s not just a case of swapping over some words, it requires some proper extra development processes. And so it takes time.”

He added that localisation was a complex issue and Nintendo wasn’t holding Smash Bros. (or any other game for that matter) back on purpose. Fischer concluded:

“I realise that from time to time we have still been disappointing some people, but in general we have also been able to bring to them games which would have never been available before in a European market, and the time frame is slowly decreasing, so I’m positive for the future. We know that we are still not reaching the expectations of all the people, but we’re really doing our best to resolve this.”

With Mario Kart and Wii Fit before the Americans, maybe Europeans will just about forgive you.
Twisted via nintendic.com »
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  • 0
    Dio May 19, 08
    Well, Europe did get Mario Kart and Wii Fit before us.

    So it's not that bad.
    • 8
      Donnelly May 19, 08
      1 game and 1 gimmick about a week before you is not the same as getting the most anticpated game on the Wii 3 months before.
    • 0
      BradSK May 19, 08
      Yeah it is. At least when we were playing Mario Kart and Wii Fit after release, you knew how long you had to wait. We were pretty much left in the dark about the SSBB release until recently.

      Hell, I started to even doubt the existence of it ffs.

      Ah well, suppose it's good that it didn't overlap with GTA IV or my exams, because the majority of this summer will consist of me beating up plumbers and giant penguins with a pink blob with feet.
  • 3
    black doom May 19, 08
    Not good enough... We demand Brawl, now!
  • 0
    Rinkydink May 19, 08
    Half of the European Wii owners would have made the right choice and imported it by now anyway, including me.
  • -1
    bbb7002004 May 19, 08
    There is a gigantic amount of text and voice samples in Brawl, so it takes a great deal longer to translate into multiple languages. Simple really.
    • 4
      Donnelly May 19, 08
      So why not release the UK version? They don't even change anything from the american version (e.g. spellings like color, armor, etc.).
      • 0
        MusiKon May 20, 08
        That's because it's easier to release all across Europe in one go, rather than just slap "UK Version" on American copies (which wouldn't work anyway).
        • 2
          Donnelly May 21, 08
          Slapping "UK version" acrossing an American copy would negate the time taken to convert the game into all the different languages across Europe.

          And lol @ your statement about it being easier to release all across Europe in one go. A staggered release helps prevent shortages.
        • 0
          BradSK May 23, 08
          It would work, since it's what actually happens. As Donnelly said, they don't bother changing any of the American spellings, so what is there to change?
        • 0
          MusiKon May 25, 08
          The change comes from having the game compatible with PAL units, and translating the game to French, Spanish, German, etc., because English is not the only language spoken in Europe.
        • 0
          Donnelly May 26, 08
          That's why I said release the UK version. I'm pretty sure they speak English there.

          Convert NTSC to PAL and release it in the UK, Ireland, Australia and any other English speaking territory.
  • 0
    Distortion May 19, 08
    For God's sake, it's the US release date delay all over again.

    Poor, poor PAL gamers.
  • 0
    Twisted May 19, 08
    I was wondering why they were doing it, I guess this makes sense. Too bad they didn't have the same release date though.
  • 4
    BANDITO ATTACK May 19, 08
    waiting for brawl was more fun than playing it.

    most anti-climactic day of my life.
    • 0
      Big A2 May 20, 08
      Lol, you might be right there.

      This has been one epic wait.
  • 2
    Team Xtreme May 19, 08
    A poor excuse to be honest.

    I'm not actually looking forward to SSBB anymore due to the constant delays and rubbish coverups. Not to say I won't get the game but I'm not looking forward to it like I was.

    Edit: Typos.
  • -1
    Aussie Legend May 19, 08
    They are one of the richest franchises in the world, you would expect more from such a name seriously.

    Just import it (that is what I did), screw waiting.
    • -2
      Final Blade May 20, 08
      You try putting multiple languages on a game, and tell me how easy it is.
      This happen. Although they could have potentially solved this by releasing it then giving an update or patch to put the rest of the Languages on.
  • 1
    StarJet May 20, 08
    Then how come other companies send out localized games on the same day for all regions? Huh? Games like GTA and NFS never got delayed for few regions.
    • 1
      Slumpy monkey May 20, 08
      Because EA and Rockstar actually prepare for launch.
  • 0
    Rune Ripper May 20, 08
    I'd rather have Brawl before America instead of having Mario Kart Wii and WiiFit.

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