Japan Answers: Subs VS Dubs

You might have a good idea about what core gamers in English speaking countries think about subtitles and dubbing for localizations of games originating from Japan. But how do Japanese players feel about the reverse process -- English games being brought over to Japan?

Spike attempted to find out. The publisher polled people both through its website and via a survey form that was included with games. The survey was conducted from April 2007 through December 2009 (yes, that's a "seven").

The results were released today, and look a little something like this:

Of the 6,656 responses, 49% said they prefer subtitles. 47% said they prefer dubs. 4% somehow managed to answer "other."

Amongst PS3 owners, dubs were a little more popular than subs. Xbox 360 saw the opposite result.

The results varied by genre. FPS and action gamers preferred voice overs in order to keep from getting in the way of the action. RPG gamers, wanting to preserve the atmosphere of the original, preferred subtitles more than in any other genre.

These results are of great concern to Spike, as the publisher, in addition to releasing homegrown titles like Chunsoft's Shiren the Wanderer series and the Kenka Bancho series, is also a major localizer of overseas software.

In fact, visit the survey results page, and you'll find a message promising a new localization announcement coming on March 4.