TRANSLATION GAME

JEREMY BLAUSTEIN and SAM BURTON on what it takes to localize a game

- Luke Kemp

Dragonbaby is a localization company based in Osaka, Japan, which was co-founded by Jeremy Blaustein and Sam Burton. If you recognize Blaustein’s name, it may be from his freelance work on games including Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill. Burton has been translating for all his working life.

“I’m probably more of an exception than the rule,” Burton says, explaining that he’s been in localization since graduating from the University of Manchester in 2015. This was because his first role, with a large localization company in London, was “very low paid, very long commute. But they accepted people with no experience”. Today, he’s head of localization.

“I also think that I’m an exception,” says Blaustein, “but then again, I come from two generations earlier than Sam. I studied Japanese and I didn’t know playing games [as more than] a hobby. And when I found myself in Japan after a time, at about 25 years of age, I interviewed for Konami in Tokyo. [I worked there] for a few years in the ’90s. And that’s how I got my start.”