Minecraft language update inadvertently contained racial slur (but it's fixed now)

Jessica Conditt — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

Minecraft has demonstrated some magnificent feats of community creation, but now it's also offering a lesson in the volatile side of crowd-sourcing. Changing the language to Afrikaans, spoken in South Africa and Namibia, yesterday caused the title screen to display the phrase "You are a NIGGER." As Minecraft Forums user EgXPlayer commented, "Thats racist."

Mojang's Jens Bergensten apologized for the slur and encouraged fans to check the new translation via Crowdin -- the Afrikaans home screen now reads "enkelspeler," which translates to "single player," as it should.

[Image via Minecraft Forums user TripleHeadedSheep]

Minecraft language update inadvertently contained racial slur (but it's fixed now) originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox 360 invades South Africa next month

Ludwig Kietzmann — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 22:13:00 EST

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360

Better late than never news now, as Microsoft sends out word that the Xbox 360 will be launching in South Africa this September. After gifting upon the world Nelson Mandela, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charlize Theron, Dave Matthews and frequently delicious koeksusters, it seems only fair to reward the third-world country with a shiny new games console. Local marketing manager, Cindy White, explains that South African gamers are a hungry bunch: "South Africa is a country where the appetite for console gaming is growing in leaps and bounds - expanding to Africa allows us to build a successful business ecosystem for our partners, and to bring more gamers amazing next-generation gaming and entertainment experiences."

What she fails to mention, however, is that the entertainment experience arrives with a significant bite taken out of it. According to the online variant of NAG, a local gaming magazine, Xbox Live will not be "officially" supported within the first 12 months of the system's arrival. Stopping short of physically removing one of the analog sticks on the 360 controller, this move seems to leave quite a significant gap in the console's appeal. Live itself will still function -- the hardcore group of currently connected South Africans can attest to that -- but it will likely be impossible to purchase Live subscriptions from stores or perform marketplace transactions in South African currency.

Both the normal and core editions of the Xbox 360 will launch on 29 September for R3,699 ($519) and R2,699 ($378) respectively. Until then, South Africans can enjoy reading irksome generalizations and ignorant remarks ("You wont ear people talking thats for sure , all you will ear is clicking sounds , cant wait to play againts Shaka Zulu") on the official Xbox forums.

After the break: This entire post written...in the Afrikaans language!

Continue reading Xbox 360 invades South Africa next month

Xbox 360 invades South Africa next month originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Aug 2006 22:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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