Falcom is looking into speeding up the process of localization for its games with the aid of AI translation alongside human correction.
During an interview with 4gamer, Nihon Falcom President Kondo Toshihiro was asked to share his thoughts on the results of testing out the AI translation engine known as ELLA. In response, he said that, while there are times when it gets the subtleties wrong, there are also times when it translates so well that you’re shocked and think, “That’s exactly right.” Although there are still some areas where it is not as good as a human, he found it to be impressive technology compared to what was possible a generation ago.
Toshihiro mentioned that he used to play foreign PC games that were translated into Japanese, but the translated text was close to the level of a first-stage translation by today’s standards. In comparison, the translation generated via ELLA is at a much higher level. Also, since AI is constantly learning, he believes that it will be possible to significantly reduce the amount of work time in the future, even with the need for some human intervention.
Regarding concerns about people losing their jobs due to AI, Toshihiro said that if world trends will move in the direction of utilizing the technology, it will be inevitable. He likened it to early 19th century England, where the Luddite Movement had occurred, and workers had rebelled against the introduction of machines.
Furthermore, Toshihiro was asked about the possibility of Nihon Falcom using AI translation such as ELLA for the Trails and Ys series as well as the company’s other games. He responded by saying that speed is an important factor in developing games. Until about 20 years ago, 80 to 90 percent of Falcom’s player base was from Japan. However, recently, the ratio of overseas players has been increasing, especially in Asia. He pointed out that if a game doesn’t sell overseas, it may not be able to reach Japanese players. Given that, he believes there is potential for AI translation to shorten the time it takes to reach overseas customers and improve accuracy.
