Pikachu Name Change Reactions: Web Unhappy, Stages Protest [POLL]
Nintendo's far-famed Pokemon series, one of the Japanese gaming company's more popular brands in the global market, will be celebrating its 20th anniversary since it was first introduced back in 1996. In line with this, the company will be releasing a couple of new video games from the franchise: "Pokemon Sun" and "Pokemon Moon."
The company decided it's also best to release an official version in Chinese. However, contrary to what Nintendo might have expected, the fans from Hong Kong were none too thrilled with the move. In fact,the idea of changing PIkachu's name did not sit well with the locals
A Facebook community known as Petition to keep Regional Chinese Translations of Pokemon has recently posted an English version of their petition letter, dated March 27, addressed to the Nintendo company.
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According to the group, who are Pokemon fans from Hong Kong, the people from the city are already used to the names of the characters from the series based on the local translation employed when the series debuted in Hong Kong.
"If your company is to abandon these translations, it might possibly be considered disrespectful to the local culture," the letter reads. "Some may even consider the decision to be a sign of Mandarin supremacy over Cantonese, and thus propose boycotting the series as a whole. It may tarnish your company's public image."
This rationality was seconded by Prof. Stephen Matthews of the School of Humanities at the University of Hong Kong. "It's seen in the current climate as creeping 'mainlandisation'," he told BBC. "In the last few years people have felt that what makes Hong Kong special is disappearing bit by bit and what is an issue of Pokemon which is fairly trivial, becomes a big one because it's very sensitive."
While the purpose of the translation to traditional and simplified Chinese is for unification, the group also voiced their concern over the idea that Hong Kong people may not be able to relate their beloved character with the name change.
The new version of the name "Pikachu" won't sound similar when pronounced in Cantonese and what the locals have been used to. The "chu" sound will be pronounced as "jau." Some even protested in front of the Japanese Consulate in Hong Kong, Game Rant reports.
