I ordered a gameboy advance from Japan, and when it got here, I noticed that the start and select buttons and the gameboy boot logo are all in Japanese. Why is this?
In: Other
It’s called [localization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_localisation). You manufacture a product and then put labels on it in the language where it’s going to be sold + several other common languages.
Windows, for example, lets you change the language pack for what it displays, and recognizes keyboards that are localized for other languages. You can type and interact directly in [cyrillic (Russian)](https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/58a129f43452732276fe7d04/5936da62fd753364125d0b75_russian%20alphabet-compressed.jpg).
edit: totally misunderstood the first time. They’re in Japanese because it’s from Japan?
Translating “start” and “select” would require making different parts, which is expensive.
Translating software doesn’t require making new machines and inventory, you can just do it once and then copy the correct version onto the device for shipping.
Latest Answers