35 YEARS OF LOCALSOFT
Localising games since before game localisation was considered an essential part of the industry, Localsoft has grown from modest 8-bit foundations to incorporate offices in Spain and Manchester. With more than 3,000 game projects successfully completed, CEO Randall Mage takes us through 35 years of unspoken history
How did the company get started - and in games specifically? Having studied international business and with other goals in my mind, I started my career as a translator in 1988 by sheer chance. It wasn’t long before a videogame title landed on my lap, and then another… and another! After approximately ten years translating video games with more than 350 titles translated, I established Localsoft.
“After approximately ten years translating video games with more than 350 titles translated, I established Localsoft.”
What was the state of game localisation like during the 80s and what was the process? Publishers in each target language country usually managed localisation. Regarding translation, they used freelance translators, like myself at that time, and they would take care of proofreading internally, usually by one of their staff. Voiceovers were also usually managed by the publishers, and they would use a similar approach: outsource the voiceovers to recording studios and take care of quality assurance internally. There was little to no testing at the time.
Obviously there was very little voice work going on in gaming in the 1980s. Did you foresee a massive demand for it? In the 1980’s it was mainly translation for manuals, backs of boxes and marketing material. Voice work started to pick up in the mid 90’s but we had little to no participation in that area of business as it was managed directly between the publishers and the recording studios. I had always wanted to build a recording studio to expand our list of services as I knew there would be a high demand in voice work, including pre- and
August 2022 MCV/DEVELOP | 35
Randall Mage, CEO Localsoft
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