Listen up, this is serious talk for the folks here: in December 2018, of the three big console makers, only Nintendo still did not release its games translated into Brazilian Portuguese. Sony and Microsoft had been localizing their exclusives into our language since the previous generation, with subtitles and, in many cases, dubbing.
That’s when a clue appeared. Nintendo of America opened “Bilingual Product Specialist” positions, for Brazilian Portuguese and English. The job description said the person “translates in-game text, voice scripts, manuals and supplementary documents and materials related to development and testing, as needed, to support products”. In other words: someone to put Brazilian Portuguese inside the games, and not just on the boxes and in the marketing.
For those who follow the Big N’s relationship with Brazil, the job drew attention for a simple reason: the history was full of back and forth. Nintendo began selling officially here in 1993, with Playtronic, a partnership with Gradiente and Estrela that defined the Super Nintendo generation. In 2015, however, it ended operations in the country, citing high import taxes. Two years later, it returned indirectly, with a distribution agreement for its games with NC Games.
That is why a Brazilian Portuguese translator job inside Nintendo of America itself was a sign that the company was looking at the Brazilian market with more affection again. Let’s remember that, at the time, there was still no official confirmation of localized games: it was just a job posting.
What came next
The real return came on September 18, 2020, when Nintendo officially launched the Nintendo Switch in Brazil. Today, the Switch system lists Brazilian Portuguese among its languages, separate from European Portuguese. It arrived in force for those who had waited years for it.
Source: Nintendo of America.
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