Fan translation being done from English into Finnish for the game, Tales of Phantasia, using the Japanese language version as reference. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside is a Super Famicom game in the RPG genre published by Namco and released in Japan in 1995 is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities

Fan translation of video games refers to an unofficial translation of a computer game or video game, sometimes into a language that it was never marketed in. Fan translation refers to the unofficial Translation of various forms of media by fans, usually into a language in which an official translated version is not available Translation is the interpreting of the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent text likewise called a " translation A personal computer Game (also known as a computer game or simply PC game) is a Video game played on a Personal computer, rather A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them

The fan translation practice grew with the rise of video game console emulation in the late 1990s. A console emulator is a program that allows a computer or modern console (cross-console emulation to emulate a Video game console. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 A community of people developed that were interested in replaying and modifying the games they played in their youth. The knowledge and tools that came out of this community allowed them to work with translators to localize titles that had never been available outside of their original country of origin. In Computing, Internationalization and localization (also spelled internationalisation and localisation, see spelling differences) are means of adapting

Fan translations of video game console games are usually accomplished by modifying a single binary ROM image of the game. ROM hacking is Fan translations of PC games, on the other hand, can involve translation of many binary files throughout the game's directory. A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated In Computing, a directory, catalog, folder or drawer is an entity in a File system, which contains a group of files and/or other directories In dealing with translations of console games, a console emulator is generally utilized to play the final product, although game copiers or similar devices can be used to run the translated ROM image on its native hardware. A console emulator is a program that allows a computer or modern console (cross-console emulation to emulate a Video game console. The central focus of the fan translation community is historically of Japanese-exclusive computer and video games being made playable in English for the first time, and sometimes of games recently released in Japan that are import-worthy and are unlikely to be officially localized to English speaking countries. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States It has since expanded to include other languages as well. Fan translations to English have provided a starting point for translations to many other languages.

The fan translation community was at its most popular, and attracted the most media attention, when certain popular game titles were still being worked on. These were usually parts of popular series such as Square Enix's Final Fantasy. is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its Console role-playing game franchises which include the Final Fantasy series the Dragon Some consider the peak was reached with the translation of Seiken Densetsu 3, a title that was highly desirable to RPG players and also very difficult to translate on a technical basis. is a Console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for Nintendo 's Super Famicom as a part of the Mana

Origins

The earliest fan translations were done by Oasis, a group formed by Dennis Lardenoye and Ron Bouwland, two Dutch fans of the MSX system. MSX was the name of a standardized Home computer architecture in the 1980s Konami’s RPG SD Snatcher was translated in April 1993, and The Legend of Heroes was translated in 1995. () is a leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys Trading cards, Anime, Tokusatsu, Slot machines SD Snatcher is a 1990 RPG released for the MSX2 computer by Konami. Dragon Slayer The Legend of Heroes is a Role-playing game developed by the Nihon Falcom Corporation. Their other projects include Fray, Rune Master 3, Xak - The Art of Visual Stage, Xak 2, Xak - The Tower of Gazzel, Ys, Ys II: The Final Chapter and Wanderers From Ys.

These were possible before emulation on PCs became popular (or even adequate enough to play games) because the games were on floppy disks, and were therefore easier to distribute to the users, in comparison to ROM cartridges used by video game consoles (the MSX also used cartridges, but methods were discovered to copy the content onto floppy disks and other media too). A floppy disk is an increasingly Obsolete data storage medium that is composed of a disk of thin flexible ("floppy" Magnetic storage medium encased

Revival after emulation

RPGe’s translation of Final Fantasy V was one of the early major fan-translated works. is a Console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) in as a part of the Final Fantasy series Original Japanese is on the left; RPGe's translation is on the right.

The development of console emulators led to access to foreign video games. A revival began in 1996 when a group calling themselves Kowasu Ku formed under the lead of one "Hazama". The group stated plans to translate Final Fantasy V, but their efforts were never publically released. is a Console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) in as a part of the Final Fantasy series Later that summer, a user called Demi announced work on a Final Fantasy V translation and founded Multiple Demiforce. It was eventually dropped in favor of Final Fantasy II (NES), a more manageable goal at that time. Demi and Som2Freak used Pasofami to post four screenshots of their work to Archaic Ruins, an emulation website. Shortly after, the translation stalled and the group disbanded.

Derrick Sobodash and David Timko both saw the Archaic Ruins website and contacted Som2Freak expressing interest in translating Final Fantasy V. He provided each with some primitive tools, and for the next few months, Shadow and Timko worked against each other. Both projects generated renewed interest in fan translation.

After months of working against each other, Shadow and Timko began cooperating. ^[1] RPGe, the first major translation group was established on July 8 in the #ff5e IRC channel, on the EsperNet IRC network by Shadow, Timko, Hooie and Thermopyle. ^[2] The start of RPGe sparked many other efforts to unify and within months, Translation Corporation, DeJap Translations and Starsoft Translations had formed.

RPGe's translation of Final Fantasy V was completed October 16, 1997 (version 0. 96). ^[3]

Community hubs

The first hub of the fan translation community was The ROM Hack Board, hosted by Demi on Frognet. The board began in fall of 1996 operating on the Matt's WWWBOARD script. It reappeared later in 1997.

Early community news was posted to emulation websites such as EMU News Service, now archived by ClassicGaming. ^[4] It wasn't until July 8, 1998 that Cataclysm-X, Jason Li and WildBill opened RPG Dimension (also known as RPGd), a site dedicated to reporting fan translation news as well as releases of general ROM hacking tutorials and utilities. ROM hacking is ^[5]

RPG Dimension met competition on March 31, 2000 when Spinner 8 and (wraith) opened The Whirlpool, a rival news site focusing exclusively on fan translations. The former met a slow death over the next two years as staff lost more and more interest in updates. The Whirlpool eventually closed on October 4, 2005 following from a dispute between the site's founders, though site owner (wraith) assured users he was working on another project to supersede the old site. Updates ceased by December 27. ^[6]

The English fan translation community is currently centered at ROM Hacking. net. ^[7]

Legal issues

While unauthorized fan translations are indisputably illegal (Article 8 of the Berne Convention explicitly reserves the right of translation to the copyright holder and whoever receives permission of them, saying "Authors of literary and artistic works protected by this Convention shall enjoy the exclusive right of making and of authorizing the translation of their works throughout the term of protection of their rights in the original works. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, is an international agreement governing Copyright In Anglo-Saxon law, an exclusive right is a de facto non-tangible Prerogative existing in law (that is the power or in a wider sense Right "), it is unusual for copyright holders to object. This is probably largely because the electronic games in question are generally not considered commercially viable in the target language, so the translation is rarely seen as a source of lost revenue.

However, in 1999, one well-known incident in which copyright holders took action involved the translation of a Windows game maker called RPG Maker 95. The Japanese company ASCII had their lawyers send a cease and desist e-mail to the translation group KanjiHack Translations. was a Publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan, and was one of the key players in the creation of the MSX standard home computer in Japan A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law as an attorney, Counsel or Solicitor; a person The group shut down immediately but others eventually finished the project. Titles from the RPG Maker series were eventually localized and officially released in the US for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. RPG Maker, known in Japan as, is the name of an expansive series of programs for the development of role-playing games (RPGs first created by the Japanese group ASCII The PlayStation (abbreviated PS, PSone, PS1, or informally as PSX) is a 32-bit fifth generation Video game console

A popular belief in the fan translation community is that distributing only a binary patch, which must be applied to the full, original game, is legal. The reasoning is that the patch only contains the new data and directives for where it is to be placed, and does not have the original copyrighted material included in any form, and therefore it is useless unless the user applies it to a (copyrighted) ROM, the acquisition and legality of which they are left completely accountable for. This belief, while untested in court, is probably not supported by international copyright law, but this anti-software piracy attitude by the fan translation community may have convinced copyright holders to, by and large, turn a blind eye. The Copyright infringement of Software (also known as software piracy) refers to several practices which involve the unauthorized copying of computer The Idiom turning a blind eye is used to describe the process of ignoring unpopular orders or inconvenient facts or activities

There have never been any legal cases involving fan translation issues, and such projects have been relatively widespread over the Internet for years. In recent years, anime fansubbers have started to attract the attention of some American anime distributors; and as of 2004 one manga scanlator has been handed a cease and desist by a Japanese company, but most of this attention has been restricted to polite entreaties asking fan translators to refrain from dealing with licensed material. A fansub (short for fan-subtitled) is a version of a Foreign film or Foreign Television program which has been translated by fans "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Scanlation (also scanslation) is the scanning, Translation, editing and distribution of comics from a foreign language into the language

Game company acknowledgments

On July 12, 2007, RPGamer released an interview they did with Koichiro Sakamoto, a game producer from Square Enix, acknowledging fan translations: "On a similar note, we told Mr. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. RPGamer is a media and news Website dedicated to covering computer and Video game RPGs. Sakamoto that a fan translation had been done some years ago for Front Mission 1, and asked how he felt about such efforts. The producer replied that he actually found them very encouraging -- it's something the developers should be doing, but because they're not, the fans are doing it instead. He stated that he'd like to be able to give something back to the fans, and would like to thank personally each of the fans that worked on the translation. "^[8]

Popular complete translations

Popular incomplete translations

Notes

1. ^ EMU News Service (June '97) David Timko and Shadow Join Forces for FFV Translation!
2. ^ EMU News Service (July '97) New SNES Translation Group Formed
3. ^ EMU News Service (October '97) Final Fantasy 5
4. ^ EMU News Service closed paged
5. ^ RPG Dimension
6. ^ The Whirlpool's final update
7. ^ ROM Hacking.net
8. ^ RPGamer E3 - Front Mission Interview

See also

• Cavespeak
• Console emulator
• Reverse engineering
• ROM hacking
• Variable width font
• Game localisation