earticle

영어

This paper aims to show the Korean game fans' online discussion on the pros and cons of localizing Starcraft and to explain some characteristics of its localization. Since its debut in 1998, StarCraft, a real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment, has enjoyed great popularity in Korea, stimulating remarkable growth in the nation's eSports industry. As of 2007, StarCraft sold about 9.5 million copies around the world, with 4.5 million of them sold in Korea. It is thus hardly surprising that the revelation of StarCraft II captured much attention and imagination in the Korean game community. However, it was reported that unlike the original game, the sequel would be published in a localized form, perplexing many Korean gamers who had long familiarized themselves with the English version of StarCraft. While some fans welcomed the developer's decision on localization, most of the fan community opposed localization itself and the proposed translation method. As such, the developer had to pay careful attention to the fans' opinions in its localizing process. The localization of StarCraft II has three peculiarities in terms of fans' activities. First, it was the very fans who disputed the ongoing localization of their beloved game. Second, the developer held a translation contest to gather the fans' opinions on translation and to reduce their discontent. Third, fans' discussion on translation was focused almost entirely on the names of in-game Units and Buildings.