Cover not available

Article published In: Digital Translation
Vol. 10:1 (2023) ► pp.58–87

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

An analysis of the Spanish dubbing of the video game Iron Man 2

ORCiD logo with link | University of Oviedo
Published online: 24 July 2023
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/dt.22014.rod
Abstract
Our study was motivated to investigate reasons why the Spanish localisation of the video game Iron Man 2 (Iron Man 2 (Sega 2010).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) attracted extensive criticism. Scholars and gamers alike labelled it “abysmal” (. 2021b. Enhancing Video Game Localization Through Dubbing. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, 134) and among the worst dubbing in Spanish of all time in the video game history. This article provides a descriptive and empirical analysis of the Spanish dubbing of the cinematic scenes of the game. We have focused our analysis, firstly, on the synchrony of the 50 cinematic scenes following . 2021b. Enhancing Video Game Localization Through Dubbing. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar levels of restriction and types of dubbing synchronies, and, secondly, on the voice actors’ performance (acting, pronunciation and diction) and voice quality (character coherence) for the most relevant game characters by applying the methodology for voice quality analysis, drawing on Bosseaux (Bosseaux, Charlotte. 2015. Dubbing, Film and Performance: Uncanny Encounters. Bern: Peter Lang Publishing Group. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, . 2018. “Voice in French dubbing: The Case of Julianne Moore.” Perspectives 27 (2): 218–234. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) and Rodríguez Fernández-Peña, Alfonso Carlos. 2020. “Translating Intonation and Prosody in English-Spanish Voice-Over: Strategies, Resources and Professional Practices.” PhD dissertation. University of Oviedo.. The results show that there has been a chain of oversights in the dubbing process, involving dubbing directors, voice actors and testers, which likely contributed to the negative reviews of the localised version in Spanish.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The voice recording process of a video game
    • 2.1The Spanish dubbing of Iron Man 2
    • 2.2Video game synchrony
    • 2.3Voice casting and character coherence
    • 2.4Performance
  • 3.The Spanish dubbing team
  • 4.Methodology
    • 4.1Sound-sync analysis methodology
    • 4.2Voice quality analysis methodology
  • 5.Analysis of the Spanish dubbing
    • 5.1Synchrony analysis
    • 5.2Pronunciation of relevant words
    • 5.3Voice quality analysis
  • 6.Performance
  • 7.Results and conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Gameography
References (43)
References
Ashby, Patricia. 2011. Understanding Phonetics. London: Hodder Education.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ávila, Alejandro. 1997. El doblaje [Dubbing]. Madrid: Cátedra.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bosseaux, Charlotte. 2015. Dubbing, Film and Performance: Uncanny Encounters. Bern: Peter Lang Publishing Group. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2018. “Voice in French dubbing: The Case of Julianne Moore.” Perspectives 27 (2): 218–234. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bustamante, Carmen. 2012. “El cantante lírico [Lyrical singing]”. In La voz: la técnica y la expresión, by Inés Sánchez Bustos, 76–97. Badalona, Buenos Aires, México DF: Paidotribo.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chandler, Heather M. 2005. The Game Localization Handbook. Massachusetts: Charles River Media.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chaume, Frederic. 2007. “Quality Standards in Dubbing: A Proposal.” Tradterm 131: 71–89. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2012. Audiovisual Translation: Dubbing. Manchester: St. Jerome Pub.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dyer, Richard. 1979. Stars. London: British Film Institute.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fodor, Istvan. 1969. “Linguistic and Psychological problems of film synchronization.” Acta Linguistica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 19 (2): 379–94.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Groensteen, Thierry. 1998. “La transecriture: Pour une theorie de l’adaptation [Transwriting: towards a theory of adaptation]”. Colloque de Cerisy, 14–21. Quebec: Editions Nota Bene.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hutcheon, Linda. 2013. A Theory of Adaptation. Oxon: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Loureiro Pernas, María. 2007. “Paseo por la localización de un videojuego [A stroll through video game localization]”. Tradumática: tecnologies de la traducció 51: 1–6.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mejías-Climent, Laura. 2016. “Videojuegos y doblaje. La sincronización [Video games and dubbing. Synchronization]”. Fòrum de Recerca 211: 271–290. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2017. “Multimodality and Dubbing in Video Games: A Research Approach.” Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series: Themes in Translation Studies 171: 99–113.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2018. “El ajuste en videojuegos: el doblaje de Assassin’s Creed Syndicate [Adjusting video games: the dubbing of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate]”. TRANS. Revista de Traductología 221: 11–30. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2021a. “Clasificaciones de videojuegos. Una propuesta práctica para estudios empíricos [Video game classification. A practical proposal for empirical studies]”. Tradumàtica: tecnologies de la traducció 191: 22–46. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2021b. Enhancing Video Game Localization Through Dubbing. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Minutella, Vincenza. 2021. (Re)creating Language Identities in Animated Films: Dubbing Linguistic Variation. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
O’Hagan, Minako. 2005. “Multidimensional Translation: A Game Plan for Audiovisual Translation in the Age of GILT.” In Proceedings of the Marie Curie Euroconferences MuTra 2005 Challenges of Multidimensional Translation, by Heidrun Gerzymisch-Arbogast and Sandra Nauert, 76–87. Saarbrücken: Advanced Trasnlation Research Center (ATRC).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Orero, Pilar. 2006. “Voice-over: A case of hyper-reality.” In Proceedings of the Marie Curie Euroconferences MuTra ’Audiovisual Translation Scenarios’ by Mary Carroll, Heidrun Gerzymisch-Arbogast and Sandra Nauert, 173–181. Saarbrücken: Advanced Trasnlation Research Center (ATRC).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Palumbo, Arrigo, Barbara Calabrese, P. Vizza, Nicola Lombardo, Aldo Garozzo, Mario Cannataro, Francesco Amato, and Pierangelo Veltri. 2010. “A Novel Portable Device for Laryngeal Pathologies Analysis and Classification.” In Advances in Biomedical Sensing, Measurements, Instrumentation and Systems, by Subhas Chandra Mukhopadahyay and Aimé Lay-Ekauakille, 335–352. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pratten, Robert. 2015. Getting Started with Transmedia Storytelling. A Practical Guide for Beginners. London: CreateSpace.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pujol Tubau, Miquel. 2015. “La representació de personatges a través del doblatge en narratives transmèdia. Estudi descriptiu de pellícules i videojocs basats en El senyor dels anells [Character representation through dubbing in transmedia narratives. A descriptive study of the video games and movies based in The Lord of the Rings]”. PhD dissertation. University of Vic.
Rodero Antón, Emma. 2001. “El tono de la voz masculina y femenina en los informativos radiofónicos: un análisis comparativo [The masculine and feminine tone of voice in radio news broadcasts: a comparative analysis]”. Mujeres, hombres y medios de comunicación 21: 319–329.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rodríguez Fernández-Peña, Alfonso Carlos. 2020. “Translating Intonation and Prosody in English-Spanish Voice-Over: Strategies, Resources and Professional Practices.” PhD dissertation. University of Oviedo.
Rose, Philip. 2002. Forensic Speaker Identification. London: cRc Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sánchez Mompeán, Sofía. 2015. “Dubbing Animation into Spanish: Behind the Voices of Animated Characters.” JoSTrans, the Journal of Specialised Translation 231: 270–291.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2020. The Prosody of Dubbed Speech. Beyond the Character’s words. Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting. Basingtoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schwarz, Barbara. 2011. “Translation for Dubbing and Voice-Over.” In The Oxford Handbook of Translation Studies, edited by Kirsten Malmkjaer and Kevin Windle, 394–409. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Setter, Jane. 2019. Your Voice Speaks Volumes: It’s Not What You Say, but How You Say It. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sioli, Fluvio, Fabio Minazzi, and Andrea Ballista. 2007. “Audio Localization for Language Service Providers.” In Multilingual Localization: Getting Started Guide (Supplement to Multilingual’s October/November issue), by Donna Parrish and Laurel Wagers, 18–23. Multilingual Media LLC.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Skolnick, Evan. 2014. Video Game Storytelling: What Every Developer Needs to Know About Narrative Techniques. Berkeley: Watson-Guptill Publications.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Soriano, David. 2014. “10 doblajes desastrosos en castellano, cuando la tecla de mute se convierte en tu mejor amiga [10 appalling dubbings in Spanish, when the mute button becomes your best friend]”. IGN (online magazine Spain). [URL]
Spiteri Miggiani, Giselle. 2021. “English-Language Dubbing: Challenges and Quality Standards of an Emerging Localisation Trend.” JoSTrans: the Journal of Specialised Translation 361: 2–25.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tomasovic, Dick. 2018. “From Marvel Comics to Marvel Studios: Adaptation, Intermediality, and Contemporary Hollywood Strategies.” In Comics and Adaptation, edited by Benoît Mitaine, David Roche and Isabelle Schmitt-Pitiot, 159–171. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississipi.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Van Leeuwen, Theo. 1999. Speech, Music, Sound. London: Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Whittaker, Tom. 2012. “Locating “la voz”: The Space and Sound of Spanish Dubbing”. Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies 13 (3): 292–305. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gameography
Arizona Sunshine (Vertigo Games 2016).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Captain America: Super Soldier (Sega 2011).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Alipour Esgandani, Sogol & Yasser Shekofteh
2025. E2PCast: an English to Persian voice casting dataset. Signal, Image and Video Processing 19:3 DOI logo
Rodríguez Fernández-Peña, Alfonso Carlos
2024. From screen to game: Translating Iron Man 2 cinematics into Spanish. Digital Translation 11:1 ► pp. 45 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 8 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue