According to a poll conducted by publisher Spike last month, Japanese gamers prefer dubs in their native language for shooters and action-adventure games from the west. Judging by the poll, Ubisoft are making the right choice by dubbing Splinter Cell: Conviction in Japanese for its April 28 release in Japan.
Among the voice talent recruited for the game are Atsuko Tanaka and Rikiya Koyama — Major Motoko Kusanagi and Hideo Kuze, respectively — from GITS: Stand Alone Complex. Here’s a list of the seiyuu that will star in Conviction. It’s a fairly star-studded cast:
Sam Fisher: Tesshō Genda
Jeffrey Thomas Reed: Rikiya Koyama
Victor Coste: Norio Wakamoto
Anna "Grim" Grimsdóttír: Atsuko Tanaka
Kobin and Lee: Hisao Egawa
Tesshō Genda, playing the lead role of Sam Fisher, is also cast as the Japanese voice of Kratos in the God of War games. Ubisoft have stated in the past that breaking into the Japanese market is amongst their long-term goals, so it’s nice to see them putting effort into localizing their key products.
Splinter Cell: Conviction is rated CERO C (15 and above) in Japan. Ubisoft intend to release a Japanese demo of the game for Xbox 360 owners to try out in the near future.
