Only French Games Allowed, Says Quebec
Canadian province Quebec has made it illegal to sell English-only video games if a French version is available, reports GamesIndustry.biz. The new law could mean games get delayed in the region, as publishers scramble to put together a translation.
Local games retailer Ronnie Rondeau told the Canadian Star the move could harm his business:
I’m afraid it’s going to cost me my business,
If it really was going to make a difference, I’d be for it, but only a small number of people want to play in French. The rest don’t care.
And money-wise, it’s going to hurt.
It will still be permissible to sell English language games where no French version exists, but since most games will have a French translation for the European release, the law effectively means French-only games will be the norm.
As a UK gamer, I can emphasize with the Quebecian plight. Even in 2009, the release of games in the UK is delayed by having to translate the PAL release for the rest of Europe. I’m still waiting to play Star Ocean: The Last Hope despite its February release in both Japan and America. It really doesn’t take that long to add a bunch of “o”s and change all the “z”s to an “s”, you know.
News Tags: Canada, French, localisation
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I see no logic behind this.
I’m confused.
Welcome to the corporate brain. Can we make money? Do it. Oh, but it’ll piss off everyone between here and Pluto? Who cares? It’s money! *cough*EA, looking at you*cough*
@timeshifter
Do you have any idea what your talking about?
Quebec is stupid this is just like the signage laws they have passed years ago.
@Wolfrider: Maybe not, now that I actually think about it…
@Timeshifter
Read the article. This is a crackpot French Canadian government thing. The games companies have nothing to gain from this.
This is par for the course in Quebec. They have been trying to separate from Canada for generations by failing at referendums and passing inane language laws.
@Philbart999: They have had two referendums spanning 15 years. Don’t try commenting on Canadian history if you don’t understand it and the cultural aspect of having one culture fight on all fronts against another invading culture. Quebec founded Canada, later followed by Ontario; split 50/50 and by French and English. The English portion of the country exploded outward and the only other French speaking Canadians at the time (the Acadians) were exiled and eventually settled the state of Louisiana (now called the Cajun) before the Louisiana Purchase. Now the Quebecois seek to stop their language and culture from being overrun by the English by using provincial laws to enforce and preserve it.
Now that I think about it though, I’m not entirely sure that they make a Quebecois version of games so that might be all for nought. They definitely put it on the packaging though.
@P Marsh, I’ll comment on ridiculous Quebec politics if I damn well please. The Quebecois that support separation a vocal minority that have been successful in convincing many of the electorate in Quebec that their dalliance with the separatists will obtain better Federal deals, and they have been right so far.
Outside of specific, archaic areas of Quebec, the language police, like yourself, are a joke-the buffoons of the country. So please go on at length about the poor french and their need for french language laws because apparently their culture is so weak that they have to protect it from the evil Anglos.
Quebec drives me insane. Here in Ontario we HAVE to have bilingual signage everywhere or they(quebecers) bitch on and on. In Quebec however, they only need french signage and we don’t(read: can’t) give a damn. It’s bull. I get 2 copies of each game manual and map in almost every game I buy and honestly it’s just a waste of resources. And all for what? A game in a different dialect of french than they speak? Really?
@Philbart999: Thats funny, I live in Alberta. I just don’t like people ragging on someone who doesn’t understand what happens when you culture can disappear in a manor of years due to immigration of a larger culture.
Having Quebec speak not just French but their own french, is a huge part of our national identity. Without Quebec were just Americans that have better beer and like hockey; without Quebec, were Alaskans.
Yes they are overzealous and have extreme methods to preserve the status quo, but it is such a huge part of themselves and the rest of the nation that this is something that we should let go of. You don’t have to like it, or how they get it done but having Quebec stay french is what we need to hold on to one of the few things that makes Canada something other than America 2.
@P Marsh
I agree with phillbart999.
I think it is bullshit that Quebec does this all of Canada is bilingual except Quebec because they think they are better. The language laws are stupid and if I have to deal with bilingual signage and packaging so should they. I don’t understand how you can talk about national identity of when Alberta is full of Americans that immigrated from the USA. Alberta has a french speaking population of 2%. so you have as much right to argue as phillbart does. I am tired of the government spending so much time pleasing Quebec when they have better things to do. why hasn’t the government been fixing western alienation instead of holding hands with a Quebec that doesn’t want to be a part of Canada.
Quebec has the highest level of bilingualism in Canada because there is a significantly large english speaking population that needs to speak Quebecois to get around. In fact, there is most likely more bilinguals in Quebec then there are in the rest of the country. My family has been in Canada for over 400 years and we first settled in Quebec, I have an actual connection to keeping french Canada as part of the nation as well as keeping it french. My grandmother still speaks french and she is from Saskatchewan.
And you should know know no one will cater to the west because that won’t win you elections. 60% of Canada’s population is in two provinces, Ontario and Quebec so focusing on the western provinces is dumbshit politics.
@P Marsh the point still stands that much of Quebec is still a bastion for almost medievil notions about social control, language, and culture.
Have any other region on the world state that only media in a certain language can be distributed in said area and that region would be labelled; facist, racist, fundamentalist. Your arguments are intellectually and morally wanting.
I was just about to say some thing like that
@Philbart999:
They are not outlawing english games outright but they are making so that if a french game is available that is the game retailers should sell. English games will not disappear like they are some kind of illegal contraband and not all games get a complete quebecois translation so the law would have a chance to be retracted. And if you really want an english game so much, you can buy them online and have them mailed to you. If enough gamers did this, businesses would suffer and could lobby the provincial government under the pretense that it is hurting local business. Hell, you might be able to loophole the whole damn thing by just keeping the french copies on the shelf or in display and have english copies in the back.
I can see the fascist and fundamentalist comments but racist? How does that have to do with anything in this debate?
Of course gamers can get games in any language! That’s part of how ridiculous certain Quebecois administrators are. As for the racism aspect, the Parti-Quebecois has a long history of specifically targetting, “French” meaning European individuals of certain backgrounds for preferential treatment.
One example; The National Assmebly( a misnomer if ever there was one) negotiated control over what immigrants can target Quebec as a destination upon authorization into Canada. In other words, non-french speaking immigrants are not welcome in Quebec, but, Quebec, still feels entitled to transfer payments from the Federal Government. It is racial profiling pure and simple.
As an American, I say games should only be published in English! First, it’s 2009 and pretty much everyone knows enough English to have fun playing games, and if they don’t, it’s good incentive to learn. Second, time spent on localization can be better spent elsewhere, like improving gameplay.
As for maintaining a “national identity”…whatever. As if Quebecois will suddenly stop learning French and turn into raving Americans if they play English video games. This law is just another “feel-good-make-happy” law that sounds great, but actually accomplishes little.
Uber stupid all it going to do is hurt local sellers. Peoples are just going to buy the games they want online and if you choose your online American shop carefully you can avoid most the GST and TVQ that alone with bundling more than one item in the same box make the shipping almost free! Hell you save some money half the time! Kind of hard to live behind a wall in freaking 2009!