In case you haven’t noticed, over the past couple of years, Nintendo has been using the word “new” in a lot of their titles. For instance, we have New Super Mario Bros., New Super Mario Bros. 2, Yoshi’s New Island, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and even the infamously-named “New” Nintendo 3DS. Well, in a recent interview for the Part-Time Gamers podcast, Chris Pranger, a localization writer for Nintendo, spoke out about many aspects of localization, including why “new” appears on so many titles that are no longer technically new.

When asked about why “new” seems to be tacked onto everything, Pranger responded with this:

“In Japanese, “new” is exotic and sounds cool. That is the exact reason why “new” is on so many titles.” — Chris Pranger

Now, you may be wondering why “new” still appears on localized games when the word “new” is much more mundane. Well, Pranger went on to explain that they have mentioned multiple times to the Japanese developers that the word doesn’t invoke the same sense of exotic excitement as it does in Japan. However, those developers see that as a non-issue so long as the the word isn’t offensive or confusing, so that’s why “new” still appears on games, even after the first iteration.

What do you think? Do you find the constant use of “new” in Nintendo titles to be annoying or confusing, or does it even really matter? Feel free to let us know what you think in the comment section below!

Source: Chain Gang Media (the relevant discussion begins around the 1:04:00 mark)

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