Nintendo Accused of Failing to Credit Certain Workers in…

Summary

Nintendo accused of not crediting game translators, similar issue in the industry before.
Includes in-house translators in credits but not those from secondary companies.
Translators must sign 10-year NDA, can't take credit despite helping in big projects.

Nintendo has been accused of not crediting some of the translators who have worked on its games. The accusations have been levied by multiple translators who have helped to translate Nintendo's titles into various languages to suit its worldwide audience.

Games not crediting employees or freelance workers is a problem that's emerged in the industry before. Putting the name of someone who worked on the game in the credits is a friendly gesture, thanking the worker for their efforts and giving them a bit of bragging rights, too. However, this particular problem with Nintendo even goes beyond the credits.

Game Developer spoke with multiple individuals who have worked on Nintendo titles and discussed the ongoing problem of not being credited in games. When the credits roll, most games will list a translation team that worked on the title. However, as one of the interviewees pointed out, the number of translators listed on many Nintendo games seems to be quite small. This is because Nintendo allegedly credits its in-house translators, but not the translators of secondary companies that work on its games.

The Translator Troubles Don't End With Nintendo's In-Game Credits

Translators working under groups like Localsoft and Keywords have said that it's more or less understood that they won't be credited in games. "It was upsetting, but sadly, that's generally how things work when working through translation agencies, so as much as we were upset (at least some of us), in the end, we shrugged it off as just another day in translation," one translator said. Unfortunately, though, Nintendo allegedly requires its translators to sign an NDA prior to working on its projects. While this is intended to protect Nintendo's projects and to prevent information from leaking, one translator said it can mean waiting up to ten years before they can talk about the projects they worked on.

"It was upsetting, but sadly, that's generally how things work when working through translation agencies, so as much as we were upset (at least some of us), in the end, we shrugged it off as just another day in translation."

This is understandably a problem, especially for freelance workers. Being able to say that they worked on Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, for example, would likely draw more work, as one of the translators pointed out. However, even if the project receives tons of praise, they can't take responsibility for any of it until a decade later. It's worth noting that Nintendo does tend to include the translation groups themselves when a Nintendo game's credits roll, but doesn't name any of the individuals who actually worked on the titles.

Ironclad NDAs seem to be Nintendo's way. Previously, the voice actors who worked on Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom expressed how they're also required to sign NDAs, and it impacts their ability to respond to some fans' requests for voice lines as their characters. Nintendo also has a history of pursuing those who violate its property rights.

It would be nice if Nintendo would change its ways, especially since there's an industry precedent. Following news that some weren't properly credited in Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios issued a patch to correctly credit those who had been left out. However, it seems Nintendo is unlikely to budge.

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