Culturalization is also often essential to maintaining the affective appeal of a game in the localized versions and to preserving the player’s suspension of disbelief, defined in a video game context as the “tolerance of implausible media content...and the willingness of the public to accept the limitations of the medium and to prevent these limitations from interfering in any way with acceptance of the content offered by authors" (Crosignani et al. 2008, 39). According to Crosignani et al., suspension of disbelief is one of the keys to successful game design, as it allows the measurement of“the cohesion of plot, characters, setting and all the other elements created to fine-tune a winning game experience (ibid.). Poor localization risks breaking the suspension of disbelief, as they explain:
One out-of-context expression in a script of half-a-million words can make a crucial difference.…That is why localizers must never lose sight of the entire scene, paying particular attention to context, the rhythm of narration, shades of meaning in dialogue and every other minuscule, seemingly insignificant element that might break the spell.
(Crosignani et al. 2008, 39-40)
Undoubtedly, cultural references that are opaque or offensive for players are likely to break their willing suspension of disbelief and prevent them from enjoying the game. In addition, poor localization serves as a constant reminder to players of the fact that the game has not been originally intended for them. In Chandler's words "[i]f end users are convinced that the international versions were planned for them from the beginning, they will be satisfied that they are getting the same game experience as the [originally intended] English-speaking player" (2005, 12). For this reason, Japanese developers of AAA titles, such as Square Enix and Nintendo, devote considerable attention to the adaptation of the cultural content of their games. This ensures there are no sensitive issues, oddities, or "culture bumps" (Leppihalme 1997) that may break the suspension of disbelief and affect negatively the reception of the localized game in the target markets.
Edwards (2008) highlights the need to include the culturalization of the original content of a game from the early stages of development in order to avoid damaging the commercial interests and the public image of the companies involved. She cites several examples of games heavily criticized or even banned because they overlooked geocultural issues, such as Resistance: Fall of Man (2006), which contained an exact reproduction of Manchester Cathedral without having asked for permission. This angered the Church of England, who strongly oppose violent games, and they demanded an apology from the developer. To address potentially sensitive cultural issues in a game, Edwards (ibid.) suggests trying to identify overt geocultural issues by examining theme, locale, and content type, and looking at issues such as the use of religion, beliefs, ethnicity, gender, historical events, political systems and cultural practices. Once these issues are identified, their severity should be established, distinguishing between overt offence, likely to cause local problems, and reasonable risk, which could cause some minor negative feedback. Game companies are becoming aware of, and are increasingly paying more attention to, cultural, and ideological issues in games. For example, Peter Fitzpatrick, Senior Project Manager in Microsoft Game Studios, confirms that Microsoft spends “considerable time and effort during the development cycle to ensure that insensitive or offensive content is addressed so that the game will
appeal to a global audience" (cited in Chandler 2005, 101).
In addition to changes derived from geopolitical issues, culturalization is also triggered by marketing and promotional issues. Game titles, similar to movie titles, are often changed when localizing a game for other territories. For example, the Japanese game 零[zero](2001) was renamed Fatal Frame for North America and Project Zero in Europe and Australia. The original Japanese title reportedly refers to "a void" in reference to the ephemeral presence of a spirit and suggests a play on words, as the original title 零,when pronounced as “rei", is the homophone of the Japanese word 霊 for “spirit”or “ghost”.Due to the impossibility of translating this pun, the NA title became Fatal Frame, a more transparent and concrete title in reference to the camera that Miku, the main protagonist, uses to fight and capture ghosts. On the other hand, the Australian and European title, Project Zero, is closer to the literal meaning of the original Japanese title, retaining the original cynical intent. In reference to previously discussed games, the two Japanese releases NierReplicant (2010) and NierGestalt (2010), with practically identical content other than some altered character design, are somewhat anomalous cases in which the differences in the titles are mainly motivated by the need to signify a different platform for which each version is released. Additionally, the naming of NierReplicant derives from the rebel androids called "replicants" in the classic sci-fi film Blade Runner (1982) and is an example of intertextuality alluded to in the game title by the developer.
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