Gamers in Belgium and Holland will be paying more than other European countries for Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts and Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, due to the cost of translating both games.
While both titles are widely expected to go on sale around the EUR 39 mark in most major markets, it seems that gamers in Holland and Belgium will be paying EUR 59 for Pinata 2 and Banjo Nuts & Bolts respectively.
When asked by Dutch site Perfect-Rare why this was the case, a Microsoft Benelux spokesperson blamed the cost of translating both games and the relative size of both markets for the decision.
“We decided to fully translate both titles, which drove up costs,” the spokesperson said.
“If you look at the Dutch speaking market, then it’s hard to spread the costs across a limited number of consumers.
“A French or a German version, for instance, would be subject to the same costs, but the costs would fall due to there being a larger number of users.”
On the plus side, we’d imagine that younger gamers in the Benelux region will be delighted to be able to play games in their own language.
Given that pretty much every Dutch or Belgian person we know speaks impeccable English, whether older Rare fans in either nation will be happy to pay an extra EUR 20 remains to be seen.
Still, with Pinata: Trouble in Paradise out next week and Banjo set to follow in November, we should know soon enough.
