Localization output, but not everywhere
God of War: Ragnarok, the sequel to the third-person action game based on Norse mythology, has been released with full localization into Russian. After reading the version of the game on the Ukrainian PS Store, socialbites.ca learned that the actor who voiced Kratos’ main character, Mikhail Belyakovich, and his son Atreus are Ivan Nepomnyashchiy.
In July, Belyakovich in an exclusive interview with socialbites.ca approvedvoice-over work began with the first trailer released in September 2021. Localization works were completed on time. The actors in the previous episode, which was released in 2018, also voiced their characters in Ragnarok.
However, on November 9, shortly after its release, it was revealed that the game will not be available in all regions with Russian voiceover.
The game will be distributed in all countries with Russian subtitles, but the voiceover will only be available in certain states.
On the afternoon of November 8, Sony Santa Monica studio, the authors of the game, published a blog post about localizing the project in different regions. The publication stated that dubbing with Russian actors will be available in all countries in the European section of PlayStation, including Turkey.
socialbites.ca managed to find out that Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe (SIEE) is working on God of War: Ragnarok with full localization into Russian, but there is a division into separate regions within the company.
As a result, Russian dubbing was available in only one region – Europe East (SIEE-E).
Checking the PlayStation Store digital game stores in different countries confirmed that the full Russia localization is available in at least five countries. These are Poland, Ukraine, Russia (unofficially), United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
A Russian from the UAE confirmed to socialbites.ca that the God of War: Ragnarok disc can be purchased from stores in that country with full Russian localization.
According to him, the code on the disc is “same as in Poland”.
Why not Turkey?
previous portal Shazoo Referring to the PlayStation support service, he reported that the Turkish versions of God of War: Ragnarok will have full localization in Russian. It has been argued that players should expect dubbing both in boxed versions of the action and when downloading over the Internet.
The socialbites.ca reporter personally bought the God of War: Ragnarok disc for PlayStation 5 in Istanbul and made sure there was no Russian dubbing.
When you go to the settings, you can select subtitles and menus in Russian, but only English is available for speech. You can only download the voiceovers, but in French, Italian and German.
It turned out that Turkey is also included in the Europe West (SIEE-W) group, which includes only European languages. It turned out that the digital versions of the game on the PS Store in Turkey do not have Russian voiceovers. It is also unexpected that countries such as Hungary and the Czech Republic are included in this group along with Turkey.
Where and how to buy with full localization?
In Poland, Ukraine, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, you can purchase God of War: Ragnarok by paying with a debit card from a non-Russian bank. Judging by the cost of the game, it will be most profitable to buy it in the Ukrainian PS Store.
For example, in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the action will cost $ 70 (4.3 thousand rubles) and $ 80 (4.9 thousand rubles), respectively. The cost of the game in Poland is 339 PLN (4.4 thousand rubles), and in Ukraine – 2.3 thousand hryvnia (3.9 thousand rubles).
PS4 versions cost PLN 299 in Poland, UAH 2,000 in Ukraine, and $60 and $70 in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
If you don’t have a foreign debit card, you can consider purchasing using payment cards (these are special cards with a code inside that you can top up in the PS Store digital store without debit cards). This is the only option to buy Ragnarok on the semi-closed PlayStation Store in Russia. The store has imposed restrictions on payment methods from March 2022 due to a special military operation.
In Russia, the digital store only accepts payment cards, so they are actively bought. Currently, replenishing your account balance will be extremely expensive.
A payment card of 1 thousand rubles will cost 5 thousand rubles, that is, potential buyers will have to pay five times more.
In the Russian version of the PS Store, the game is sold for 5 thousand rubles. For PlayStation 4 and 5.5 thousand rubles. for PlayStation 5. From this point of view, purchasing the game through the local store seems unreasonably expensive.
A Polish card for 200 zloty will cost $ 44 (2.7 thousand rubles). Their undoubted advantage is that maps for the Polish PS Store are quite common.
But payment cards in hryvnia are extremely rare and expensive. Sellers are ready to send a code for replenishment of 2 thousand hryvnia for 17 thousand rubles. – a completely inappropriate option, considering the difference.
In this regard, other announcements were posted on the network: sellers are ready to buy God of War: Ragnarok for the buyer’s account, receiving a commission for the transaction plus an amount for the game itself.
socialbites.ca found offers for $ 99 or 6.1 thousand rubles. We’re talking about the Ukrainian version of Sony Santa Monica’s Scandinavian action.
Source: Gazeta
Jackson Ruhl is a tech and sci-fi expert, who writes for “Social Bites”. He brings his readers the latest news and developments from the world of technology and science fiction.