Wall-E is First-ever Arab Localized Game
Wall-E is First-ever Arab Localized Game
July 8, 2008
Middle-East website Al Bawaba reports that Disney Pixar’s Wall-E will be the first Arab localized video game.
Luke Keighran, THQ Export Sales Manager remarked:
We are delighted to be part of this, launching an Arabic game is every Arab gamers’ wish. This is a great opportunity for us to grow further in promising territories like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and a solid demonstration of our commitment to the Middle East market. It is [distributor] Pluto Games’ enthusiasm and will that made this commercially possible and we hope it will be the first of a long line up for Arabic titles in the future.
There are only few games that would suit the Middle East’s morals more than WALL*E. The game depicts family virtues in a fun adventurous story line immersing the players in a world of passionate pursuit for adventure.
Rabeeh Zakaria, THQ Product Manager for Pluto Games, added:
Wall-E is the first next generation video game to be produced in Arabic, we are seeing encouraging growth of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 formats and are delighted to be able to finally distribute a product that speaks our language. We hope others will follow with THQ’s step and help contribute to the growth of the gaming industry in the Middle East.
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Posted 09/05/08 at 12:10pm
ZippyDSMlee: Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : wut? do uuu needz a hugz too? :X
ZippyDSMlee: Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : wut? do uuu needz a hugz too? :X
Posted 09/05/08 at 11:33am
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : @Zippy: *Facepalm*
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : @Zippy: *Facepalm*
Posted 09/05/08 at 10:35am
ZippyDSMlee: SticKboy:yay! *pounce cuddles luff luff* :P
ZippyDSMlee: SticKboy:yay! *pounce cuddles luff luff* :P
Posted 09/05/08 at 10:34am
Zevorick: @Flamespeak What about Claire Redfield from Resident Evil? She's certainly not the typical "Weak woman character"
Zevorick: @Flamespeak What about Claire Redfield from Resident Evil? She's certainly not the typical "Weak woman character"
Posted 09/05/08 at 10:04am
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : Oh and Chrono Trigger FTW
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : Oh and Chrono Trigger FTW
Posted 09/05/08 at 10:03am
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : Wow. Someone pulled a New Anon in the 11-year-old GTA thing.
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : Wow. Someone pulled a New Anon in the 11-year-old GTA thing.
Posted 09/05/08 at 09:20am
Tarosan: That is just stupid... 'Paper Tiger' I mean really, he's begging to be arrested and criminally charged with contempt
Tarosan: That is just stupid... 'Paper Tiger' I mean really, he's begging to be arrested and criminally charged with contempt
Posted 09/05/08 at 09:16am
Tarosan: Oh god not again what is he doing now?
Tarosan: Oh god not again what is he doing now?
Posted 09/05/08 at 08:50am
sortableturnip: JT press release *snicker* http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/2008/09/03/the-new-face-of-the-broward-judiciary.aspx#comment-1340589
sortableturnip: JT press release *snicker* http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/2008/09/03/the-new-face-of-the-broward-judiciary.aspx#comment-1340589
Posted 09/05/08 at 08:49am
Austin_Lewis: @Harmless Bunny: Ayla from Chrono Trigger
Austin_Lewis: @Harmless Bunny: Ayla from Chrono Trigger
Posted 09/05/08 at 08:43am
HarmlessBunny: @ Flamespeak: How about April Ryan from the Longest Journey?
HarmlessBunny: @ Flamespeak: How about April Ryan from the Longest Journey?
Posted 09/05/08 at 08:29am
BlackIce: @AL, KoF, GrPr: Paradise City. Full Volume.
BlackIce: @AL, KoF, GrPr: Paradise City. Full Volume.
Posted 09/05/08 at 08:28am
SticKboy: ATTN Zippy: Dude, check out the last comment in the latest BBFC vs PEGI news story; we finally agree on something!
SticKboy: ATTN Zippy: Dude, check out the last comment in the latest BBFC vs PEGI news story; we finally agree on something!
Posted 09/05/08 at 08:20am
gamepolitics: I have only been able to play my Spore offline... also, I'm underwhelmed so far
gamepolitics: I have only been able to play my Spore offline... also, I'm underwhelmed so far
Posted 09/05/08 at 08:11am
NovaBlack: so once again, pirates.. playing early and no hassle (DRM cracked so no benefit from it) and legit consumers hassled
NovaBlack: so once again, pirates.. playing early and no hassle (DRM cracked so no benefit from it) and legit consumers hassled
Posted 09/05/08 at 08:10am
NovaBlack: @GP check out the spore furums. LOTS of ppl complaining cant activate game with Ea servers. Game was cracked Before release!!!
NovaBlack: @GP check out the spore furums. LOTS of ppl complaining cant activate game with Ea servers. Game was cracked Before release!!!
Posted 09/05/08 at 07:42am
Cheater87: Dead Space banned in 3 countries. http://www.destructoid.com/dead-space-release-date-pushed-up-again-outright-banned-in-three-co
Cheater87: Dead Space banned in 3 countries. http://www.destructoid.com/dead-space-release-date-pushed-up-again-outright-banned-in-three-co
Posted 09/05/08 at 06:56am
beemoh: EA 'free petrol' stunt causes controversy: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7599639.stm
beemoh: EA 'free petrol' stunt causes controversy: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7599639.stm
Posted 09/05/08 at 06:11am
Flamespeak: Jade from Beyond Good and Evil is a good one. Too bad it didn't sell too good. Here's to the sequel.
Flamespeak: Jade from Beyond Good and Evil is a good one. Too bad it didn't sell too good. Here's to the sequel.
Posted 09/05/08 at 06:10am
Flamespeak: Lara Croft = Sex object, Fat Princess = making fun of overweight women, Cooking Mama = women belong in kitchen.
Flamespeak: Lara Croft = Sex object, Fat Princess = making fun of overweight women, Cooking Mama = women belong in kitchen.
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
I wonder if Saudi Arabia will ban this for "promoting zionism" like they did with Poke'mon.
Did we forget to tell the Arabs that games based on movies have a tendancy to phail miserably?
---------------------------------
So speak I, some random guy.
Shh, lets let them have this one.
As to the story, this helps lead us to my vision. I envision a world where wars are unneeded, as all conflicts are settled by a series of Team Deathmatches. Hax and spawn camping will be considered war crimes, punished by account ban.
LoadingReadyRun called, they want their jokes back.
Personally, I think it should be setteled with ping pong.
No, let's settle it over a few rounds of Super Smash Bros.
You know the deal: no items, no fun, Final Destination, etc.
Say what now?
Edit:
Oh right, I forgot about those guys.
Now I remember that video. It must have seeped into my subconcious when I was looking through their videos during the Mass Effect controversey. Whoops.
It was inevitable, a movie with such high ratings would have a game go everywere....
but DAMN! I never thought pixar would outdo themselves, but they did...
Am I the only one slightly disappointed by this crap?
~You Could Be Mine, But You're Way Out Of Line..~
By the movie or the localization?
The movie was fan-freakin-tastic. It's definitely near the top of the Pixar spectrum.
As for the game...what's the big deal? It's rare enough for that region of the world not to bitch about games in general, so if they're willing to have this one, why not? I hope it's good, but honestly I don't think the game quality will be the big issue. It'll be whether or not someone with an axe to grind can find something in it to declare the game "harmful" and move to have it banned.
It's more a.. Lack of progress issue. Not everyone in the Middle East is a Fundamentalist Muslim. I remember ABC doing a story on Egyptian College Students a while back. They were really polite versions of American Students.
~You Could Be Mine, But You're Way Out Of Line..~
Ah, I see what you meant.
Out of curiosity, were these Egyptian college students in the U.S.? Europe? Egypt?
While not everyone in the Middle East is a Fundamentalist Muslim, they do represent a non-trivial amount of the wealthy/powerful elite, who are the ones who get to dictate the rules over there. Look what happened after our most recent Iraq debacle...we manage to get democratic elections held and Hamas wins...
It's not the Middle Eastern people as a whole who evoke this sort of reaction. It's the ones promoting Sharia and the like, and they unfortunately happen to be the ones with the loudest voices and the biggest sticks. So that's what molds the rest of the world's perception of their countries, for the most part.
It's sounds like the fundamentalist leaders follow Yosimite Sam's butchered version of Teddy Roosevelt's "I speak softly but I carry a BIG stick".
ie "I speak LOUD, and I carry a BIIIIGGER stick! And I USE it too!
Everywhere in the world we're subject to a "loud-acracy". The quiet literati are letting the loud represent what's going on. Why can't people do like Korn's album and keep our freaks on a leash?
The well-meaning people are also too scared to do the things that help others put themselves in power. In a power vacuum, fierce competition is encouraged- when current leaders are wiped from their offices of power, "political selection" favors the ruthless to take their place. The altruistic types need to learn that you need to bend your own psyche a little and be more selfish and aggressive (if only for the phase when government is in transition) if you actually want to be in a position to make a difference for the world. Once you secure your position in office, go back to your typical altruistic ways.
Seriously though, how hard is it to localize beeps and whistles.
Good on Pixar though. I find they're always one or two steps ahead of their competition in terms of tech. Dreamworks always looks like they're animating using Pixar's *last* toolset.
-- If your wiimote goes snicker-snack, check your wrist-strap...
To be fair, while it definitely isn't WALL*E, Kung Fu Panda was actually a very good movie.
I can see where this game will be accepted since one of the major themes is "The US will ruin the world".
That's pretty cool, but, for the record, Assassin's Creed was the next-closest thing to localised, from the amount of Arabic going around in that game :P
-The Bird
Why don't we take all the fundamentalist christians and all the fundamentalist muslims and have them fight each other to the death on (inter)national TV? We win no matter what the outcome, plus I bet they'd be willing to kill each other with a little provocation.
The fundie Christians usually aren't the violent sort. Loud? Yes. Annoying? Yes. But not violent. Fundie Muslims, on the other hand...
look up the LRA
well yes but pit them up against muslim fundies that shout death to america and want to push muslim philosophy (such as all women wear head scarfs) and who knows what will happen. Never mind the abortion clinic bombings we've had.
Better yet, get all of the annoying and violent religious fundamentalists in the world, stick 'em on some island, and arm each one with a BFG 9000.
With the stagnation in console sales the industry is going to be looking for any region with growth potential. If this works then two things are going to happen - first, we'll see alot more "Muslim-friendly" games localized for the Arab world and second we'll see some games produced with a mind towards Arab localization. By that I mean that they will either be easy to edit for a Muslim audience or certain ideas will be dropped entirely.
I believe this is isn't accurate, according to this post from March 30, 2004 8:39 am ...
http://www.geek.com/sony-unveils-first-ever-arabic-title/
It's good to see more games being ported to that region but it is by far not the first game to ever be localized in arabic.
Arabian Lords (http://www.arabianlords.com/Public/main_public_master.aspx) has been released there for over a year now and there were games before that.
Good on em imo.
The first step to breaking down stereotypes and assumptions is shared culture. Hence why 'breaking bread together' was typically a forum used to increase relations between factions.
As for the wankers offended by the Middle East actually getting some attention, how fucking petty can you get such that an arabic localised version of a Pixar game actually causes you to get annoyed? Grow the fuck up. It's this xenophobic crap on both sides of the fence that prevent either culture from understanding each other and (surprise surprise) increases the hatred and violence both ways.
Even kids in preschool can learn these lessons and yet adults somehow manage to miss it. Just fucking amazing..
Surely, no one can help that their ancestors all decided to find their religious prophets on the same damn fertile crescent...otherwise these religion turf wars wouldn't have been this serious. Maybe it would've been better to just give every major religion its own continent.
Good. I appreciate the progress. I have a little bit more hope for some other things possibly getting localization jobs.
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