Descrição
The localization phenomenon is related to products, much in the same way as translation is related to texts. I believe that concepts such as global and international should be employed with caution in the context of localization. My thesis: there is no such thing as a global product; products and services become international insomuch as they are re-located in a new market place. There always are restrictions on localization. The Brazilian localization of the video game Pick Axe Pete for the Magnavox Odissey2 seems to be an exception to this restriction rule. Moreover, the 1983 localization of this game was the first real effort of that nature in the Brazilian video game industry. When analyzing such a state of affairs one is confronted with the fact that the localization phenomenon can hardly be understood regardless of history. In our case study, the historical analysis of the Brazilian localization of Pick Axe Pete allows us to contemplate a connection between the social problems of gold prospection in Serra Pelada, and the beginnings of the Brazilian video game industry. The localization process itself implies the connection.||O fenômeno da localização está para o produto assim como o da tradução está para o texto. Acredito que conceitos como global e internacional devam ser empregados com cautela no contexto da localização de produtos. Minha tese: não existe um produto global; produtos ou serviços apenas se internacionalizam quando se localizam, quando se replicam em outras praças e mercados para além de sua praça de inserção primeira. Há sempre restrições operando sobre o processo de localização. A localização brasileira do videogame Didi na mina encantada parece desafiar o postulado das restrições. Ademais, o lançamento desse jogo, em 1983, marca o primeiro processo significativo de localização de um videogame no Brasil. Analisando essa questão, somos confrontados com o fato de que nenhum processo de localização se revela à revelia da sua historicidade. Em nosso estudo de caso, a análise histórica da localização brasileira de Didi na mina encantada descreve um vínculo entre a questão do garimpo em Serra Pelada e os princípios da indústria dos videogames no Brasil. Esse vínculo se dá pelas implicações desse processo de localização que estudamos.ABSTRACTThe localization phenomenon is related to products, much in the same way as translation is related to texts. I believe that concepts such as global and international should be employed with caution in the context of localization. My thesis: there is no such thing as a global product; products and services become international insomuch as they are re-located in a new market place. There always are restrictions on localization. The Brazilian localization of the video game Pick Axe Pete for the Magnavox Odissey2 seems to be an exception to this restriction rule. Moreover, the 1983 localization of this game was the first real effort of that nature in the Brazilian video game industry. When analyzing such a state of affairs one is confronted with the fact that the localization phenomenon can hardly be understood regardless of history. In our case study, the historical analysis of the Brazilian localization of Pick Axe Pete allows us to contemplate a connection between the social problems of gold prospection in Serra Pelada, and the beginnings of the Brazilian video game industry. The localization process itself implies the connection.Keywords: Game Localization; Magnavox Odyssey 2; Pick Axe Pete; Os Trapalhões; Serra Pelada
