For me Native Speakers (english speaking NPCs with local accents) in game is something that is very important. It was always since beggining (CN47) and even after 1500 hours of play (both H1 and H2) I don’t like that it isn’t there (in most cases). When I hear american/british accents over all places its ruin my experience. For me it’s immersion breaking and I would pay an extra cost for dedicated DLC with native speakers since I play this game a lot!
Example for Dubai:
What is your opinion?
Native Speakers as Paid DLC
Yes, I need it no matter the cost! I would pay even if it was expensive ($30-40)
Yes, I would pay if the price was low ($10-20)
No, I don’t need it but I don’t mind if game would have one.
I would like it coming later, but I doubt I would pay for it and I assume, if I am part of the majority, this means “$30-40” is not what would cover the costs.
You know the two ICA tutorial missions that are pretend and make believe? To be honest, that is how a lot of the Hitman 2016 maps felt to me. To be honest, I love Marrakesh but it really ruins the immersion for me that everyone has an American or British accent.
When I heard a Moroccan soldier say “oorah” or hearing a Moroccan shopkeeper say, “nice threads”, it really ruins the atmosphere for me
I honestly can’t imagine that a DLC like this would ever be profitable after you factor in the costs to hire people, re-recording all the dialogue and then editing it.
It’s a double edged sword. It really feels out of place when guards insult you in Japan or Morocco with a “Bet ya enjoy this huh tough boy”.
Sure you could add a “localised” accent, but why would everyone in downtown Marrakesh talk english, even with a local accent, anyways?
Just have a look at the closed down thread that said H2:SA is racist because chinese NPCs talk ‘engrish’.
I’d love if the general population spoke local languages with subtitles. That would be immersive. But at the same time hard to follow random conversations.
So for gameplay purposes, English everywhere is alright, and localized accents are kind of a strange middleground imo.
One thing that is really noticeable about Hitman 2016 is the lack of voice actors. I hear that surfer sounding guy in every level. All the guards sound the same except for the occasional British guard.
I think the game would really improve with native speakers.