EverQuest goes multilingual
Sony Online Entertainment has begun localizing online games in four languages.
Characters in EverQuest, Sony's popular online role-playing game, can already speak and learn several fantasy "languages" such as elven, elder dragon, faerie, barbarian, and more. However, some international players will soon be able to use their native language to talk to others in the gameworld. Sony Online Entertainment has announced that it has begun localization for a few upcoming online games. The first phase of localization involves both human and automated translation agents, beginning with French, German, Japanese, and Korean. The first game to feature this real-time translation of in-game player chat will be EverQuest: The Shadows of Luclin, the third EverQuest expansion, which is due in December. Additional plans for localization include the upcoming games PlanetSide and Star Wars Galaxies.
In regard to this feature, Sony Online Entertainment president Kelly Flock stated, "The vision of a global gaming community has always been the core of our business model. The localization allows us to surpass language barriers and give gamers worldwide the best online gaming experience.'' There is no doubt that Sony's localization effort coincides with the current increase in global Internet usage. According to the International Development Conference, more than 50 percent of current Web users reside outside of the United States, and this percentage is expected to increase to 60 percent by 2003.
This effort makes commercial sense for Sony's massively multiplayer games. In the case of EverQuest, a game that is now more than 2 years old, it's safe to assume that most players communicate effectively in the game in English and that there have been relatively few problems caused by language barriers, but the guides and game masters who handle player petitions and problems in-game may benefit from real-time translation capabilities.
For more information, take a look at our previous coverage of EverQuest: The Shadows of Luclin , as well as our full reviews of previous coverage of EverQuest: The Shadows of Luclin and its expansions, previous coverage of EverQuest: The Shadows of Luclin and previous coverage of EverQuest: The Shadows of Luclin .
- Sony Online Entertainment
- Fantasy Online...
- Release: Dec 2, 2001
- ESRB: Teen
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