External translators criticize Nintendo for a lack of credit after working on its games
Translators who have worked on multiple first-party Nintendo titles through an external agency have complained about a lack of recognition for their efforts.
The details:
Speaking with Game Developer, several anonymous sources stated that despite months of work on Nintendo's biggest hits, the company has failed to acknowledge them in the in-game credits. "I kind of accepted [miscrediting] as 'part of the business' but that doesn't mean it's fair or right," one translator said. "The fact that these companies are not able to give any reasonable explanation for omitting external translators (and even developers) from their credits is proof of this, I think."
The aforementioned translator went on to explain that the decision not to credit external staff for their work may have resulted in fewer job opportunities, as employees are unable to list the games on their résumé due to a lack of evidence, and companies are less likely to approach them directly.
It was also claimed that Nintendo requires contracted translators to sign a non-disclosure agreement prohibiting them from discussing or promoting their work on the project for ten years. Because of the company's internal policy of not crediting agency workers, many games have only a few localization staff listed in the credits, with up to 20 employees missing.
As for why agencies allow the problem to persist, one source claimed that "agencies and clients just play the blame game endlessly," and that "when it comes to money, fees, contracts, and anything related, everything shifts to dark mode." Another translator explained that even if a client, such as Nintendo, made a decision that negatively affected translators, agencies would still go along with it.
Failure to credit localization and QA staff has been an ongoing issue in the industry for years, with Sega’s Forspoken not listing a single member of the team in its end-game credits. Many in the industry continue to call out companies on social media, with @CreditsLoc continuing to post examples of translators missing from AAA game credits on X.
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