The International Edition and National Exoticism

Stephen Mandiberg

Abstract

This paper analyzes the current group of locally released and consumed Japanese "International Edition" video games. It considers the meaning of internationalism, nationalism, language and translation/localization within the context of these video game special editions in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. By understanding the International Edition as linked to trends of both self-exoticism and self-orientalism within Japanese history the paper seeks to understand alternate meanings to the video games beyond simple commercial ventures, and how language and translation bring about these alternate meanings.