Would the games come to NA if...

[Yar]

...they didn't need to be translated to French for Québec first? Or, does the Québec release come later after the English version's release?

I was just thinking about how they date North American releases for one day, compared to European releases. And also how the majority of Quebecois speak French, and THEY DO live in North America.

Now, I don't claim to live in Canada, so I may be totally wrong also. Just curious.

(ALSO: This Topic Should Actually Read: "Would the games come earlier to NA if they didn't need to be translated to French for Québec first? MY bad, fo sho.)

[ReloadPsi]

I'm not sure if they are translated to French for the Quebecois anyway. I had a thread going in the FF8 forum showing the differences in the French PAL version and none of the Quebecois users seemed familiar with it at all.

At least, that's how I recall it.

[Takara]

They don't translate the games in French for Quebec. Our games are in English. Normally, they just include a second user manual in French, and most of the time it's in black and white (whereas the original one remains in colour if it was printed in colour), and the print quality is laughable. I could always show you the French box cover for FFXII in all its pixellated glory. Thank goodness the English one was also included. I put the French one in the recycle bin because it was so darn ugly.

There were a few games that were translated in French, but they're pretty uncommon. The only one I can think of was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, for the SNES. I couldn't tell if it was translated in Quebec or in France, however, and it was released later than the English version.

[Yar]

Okay, so if they aren't often released in French, do they just play less games? Or do more people speak English there than I think?

[Slothy]

Okay, so if they aren't often released in French, do they just play less games? Or do more people speak English there than I think?

Depends on where you go in Quebec. A lot of people in Montreal speak english for example, and there are actually totally english speaking communities in Quebec. I would assume that the people who don't speak english but play games simply try to stick to games with little reliance on text, or maybe they rely on translations online. I can't say for sure.

[Roto13]

Very few people in Quebec aren't bilingual. There isn't really much of a need for the french instruction booklets, even. It's just the law.

[Takara]

Very few people in Quebec aren't bilingual. There isn't really much of a need for the french instruction booklets, even. It's just the law.

Exactly. The more it goes, the less common it is for people here to not have some basic grasp of English. It's taught in classes as early as elementary school. Those gamers that aren't bilingual or understand very little English usually stick to the games where text isn't as important. They can always refer to the French booklet for basic commands.

Internet also helps. I remember having to keep my French/English dictionary back when I was playing FFIV back in the early 90's (and wondering why some of it never made much sense due to FFIV's Engrish script; FFVI was much easier to decipher.)