Undubbing is a type of video game hacking that restores the original language audio content of a game that has been
localized for export while retaining the translated text of the language into which it has been localized.
A typical candidate for an undub is a Japanese game which has been
published
Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
in the United States, with voice acting dubbed in English and text content translated into English, but lacking an in-game option to use the original Japanese audio. The process of undubbing consists of identifying the location and format of the relevant audio content in both the localized and the original versions of the game, then grafting the audio data extracted from the original language version into the localised game.
Oftentimes, dialogue will be completely rewritten in translation, which prompts some to do a total or partial
retranslation of the game in order for the displayed text to fit the actual context of the audio content. Content present in the original game, but cut in the process of localization (due to reasons such as
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...
, or, in some cases, a lack of time) may also be restored in an undub.
Reasons for undubbing
Voice acting is a considerably bigger business in Japan than it currently is in English-speaking countries. It is not uncommon for acclaimed TV
animation
Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
voice actors to be signed by a video game publisher to provide voice acting for a high-profile game. In the west, on the other hand, voice localization projects usually have smaller budgets, and as such, do not have as professional a market as the Japanese one. Due to this, there is a perceived notion that Japanese voice acting is of higher quality, and as such many fans prefer to listen to the Japanese audio track while playing the game, even if they do not speak or understand the Japanese language. Undubbing thus caters either to an audience who does not speak the original language or has not mastered it well enough to enjoy the untranslated text in an
imported
An importer is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. Import is part of the International Trade which involves buying and receivin ...
version of the original game, but still prefers the original audio for the reasons mentioned above, or to an audience that speaks the original language, but prefers to read in the Latin alphabet (or simply hear the original voice-actors chosen by the original studio, as it's not uncommon in Japan to create a character with a specific voice-actor in mind). Because the localized text is left in place where present, an undubbed game can usually still be fully played by those who could not play the import.
See also
*
Fan translation of video games
In video gaming, a fan translation is an unofficial translation of a video game made by fans.
The fan translation practice grew with the rise of video game console emulation in the late 1990s. A community of people developed that were inter ...
*
ROM hacking
ROM hacking is the process of Modding, modifying a ROM image, ROM image or ROM file to alter the contents contained within, usually of a video game to alter the game's graphics, dialogue, Level (video games), levels, gameplay, and/or other elemen ...
References
External links
The Undubbing FAQ
Video game modding
Hacker culture
Video game culture