The Brazilian Problem
I don't think anyone realizes exactly how many Brazilian people we have playing this game. Today i took a trip the Balamb Island, where all new players start their journey. What did i discover? Literally 50-100 people standing around outside of the main starting building all speaking Portuguese (official language of Brazil).
They have created an enclave on Balamb Island and on the strip of land leading to the boat that takes you to Balamb Island.
Why this is a problem:
This is problematic for new players. If we continue to allow a specific group of people who do not speak english to loiter at the very first place a new player sees when they download the game, they will be turned off and more than likely say "oh this is just another foreign MMO where nobody speaks english".
I challenge you all to take a stroll down by the boat that takes you to Balamb, and check out the type of people you see loiter around there. Check their profiles. All Brazilian. Dozens of them. Take a trip to Balamb and relive your noob days. Easily 50-100 Brazilians everywhere from the boat you get off of, past the docks, and into the village. Brazilians. Sure you might find another south or central american country there. Maybe El Salvador, Colombia, or Argentina.
This is significantly worse than the enclave of French people who congregate to the right of Azraels Night Club. This is also worse than the Arabs who congregate to the right of the Jesus Freaks. Those people aren't a problem because they arent the first thing a new player sees. The first few moments a new player has in a game determine if he or she will continue playing, or uninstall 5 seconds later.
I do not have a solution to give to you all. Maybe you can brainstorm solutions here. There is no need to say im racist or that i have it out for a specific group of people. This is not true. I just simply see a phenomenon that could negatively impact the game.
|