Quebec Cracks Down On Translated Videogames

Thanks to VE3D for their story revealing that the Quebec government is cracking down on videogames without complete French-language packaging, meaning that game stores in Quebec are having to return or amend significant portions of their stock. The article says that "...the likes of Electronic Arts, Sony and Microsoft have been following this law for sometime, but everyone else has ignored it", and a game store worker on the Gaming-Age forums indicates stores "...can't sell anything that doesn't have a French cover", so this new enforcement means that "...the cover that says 'Only on Xbox' must read 'Seulement sur Xbox'."

Jingoism?

[NickDngr]

Call me a jingoist if you want, but French Canadians piss me off. Learn english for christ's sake!

In other news...

[foooo]

The Canadians have silly regulations.

More obvious news later today. Stay tuned.

~foooo

Get this out of the way

[gmhowell]

"Canada sucks"
"US sucks more"
"We're Americans too"
"France sucks"
"Drug costs"

Have I missed anything?

Ah... French Canada!

[mcSey921]

All the rudeness, none of the scenery. /me ducks.

That should be

[Anonymous Coward]

"Seulement sur XBoite".

A Modest Proposal

[orthogonal]

Of course this is offensive, and petty: the Quebecois are so worried about being absorbed in the the English-speaking majority of Canada (not to mention the cultural behemoth just to the south), that they limit their own people's right to purchase software they want.

Oh, you want that leet new First Person Shooteur, little Laurant? I'm afraid you can't have it ShootEmUp Games doesn't translate their box into la belle langue. You'll just have to envy the American kids and the kids in British Columbia you chat with in IRC. Maybe you'll end up so warped you become the next "Star Wars Kid", playing with your "light-sabre" in a closet.

But I think there's a simple solution that will allow Laurant his game (and his dignity), while sticking a finger in the eye of the tight-assed Quecbec goverment.

I call the solution Frauxcais. It's the French equivilent to "Engrish [engrish.com]".

The Japanese (and other Asian countries) produce "English" translations that seem almost to be parody -- but are sincere but inept attempts to translate into English, because they want to sell to the large English speaking market.

There's no large Francophone market (apparently, or else the companies would produce translations just for the market share), so we'll intentionally produce fractured, ambiguous, meaningless French, and slap it on bozes for export to Quebec:

• "Les salivates verts de vache violemment." ("The green cow salivates fiercely.")
  
• "Actuellement bientot le bouton au fondle." ("Presently soon the button to fondle")
  
• "Baton sur la lumiere artificielle lentement, pleasuring la boisson." ("Stick upon lamplight slowly, pleasuring beverage.")
  

We print these out on sticky address labels, plaster them on the game box, and, as the French say, viola!, violin!, chello!