It’s a busy time this week what with Game Developers Conference in full swing. I’m about to head off to the event to check out a localization panel, because covering that is exactly the sort of thing that will make 1UP’s traffic soar as the Internet rushes in to learn more about concurrent multi-regional voice recording sessions. Yep.
Also big this week? Mass Effect 3. I didn’t review the game for 1UP because I didn’t have enough time to finish it; our original plan was for Thierry to do a “renegade” review while I would tackle the “paragon” angle, but since I haven’t seen the controversial ending yet I decided to settle for letting him fly solo and taking part in our video review instead. I still have a lot to say about the game, though; it’s just that I’m going to say those things in the form of a series of op-ed pieces over the coming weeks instead of a single review. I posted my first one this morning, in fact.
I’m certainly in the minority here (though perhaps also the majority of GameSpite readers?), but I am 100x more excited about game localization than I am about Mass Effect coverage. Living in Japan, it’s been surprising, lately, to see Japanese-developed console games debut in North America, only to be in Japanese stores days or weeks later (Shadows of the Damned, Asura’s Wrath, etc.). And then there’s European development, which must involve several languages. I, at least, am looking forward to seeing what comes out of your attending that panel, Jeremy.