The Potential Need for Teaching Videogame Localisation in the Netherlands

Abstract

The videogame industry and the localisation are two industries that are growing parallel. Within these growing industries there is an increasing demand by customers for specialised content, meaning that more videogames are being translated into different languages. Localising and translating videogames is different from translating written texts or other types of audio-visual media, and the process of localisation is long and complex. This means that learning how to translate videogames requires a specific and specialised kind of education. However, in the Netherlands there is are not many translation programmes, and videogame localisation is only taught at one academic institution in the Netherlands. This study tries to determine whether there is a need for (more) courses on videogame localisation in academic institutions in the Netherlands. This study also looks at the teaching methods, learning objectives and resources needed for such specialised programmes. This study has shown that the localisation industry is growing in the Netherlands, and that there is an actual need for teaching videogame localisation, provided that the right materials and resources are available.