An Unsung Gaming Hero- An Interview With Jeremy Blaustein

CommentFebruary 13th, 2011 15:52

Hi all, Retroplayer here. Recently I had the absolute pleasure of conducting a Skype interview with videogame translator and localizer Jeremy Blaustein. Jeremy is best known for localizing games such as Snatcher, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill 2, Dragon Quest VII, Fatal Frame, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations, Shadow Hearts 1, 2 and 3 as well as casting the two main leads in Shenmue. Once you listen to this interview I hope you’ll agree with me that Jeremy is indeed an unsung gaming hero. I think it’s not without reason why the voice acting in the Metal Gear Solid series took a massive slump after Jeremy parted ways with Konami subsequent to the release of the orginal Metal Gear Solid. Of course, Metal Gear Solid, while he will naturally be most known for it, is only a small facet of his career. So I bring you an interview with the man himself in full audio glory. If you guys can put up with my thick Irish accent I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

By the way, the above picture is, to the best of Jeremys knowledge, the only picture ever taken from the recording sessions of Snatcher for the Sega CD. Jeremy can be seen in the middle wearing the brown leather jacket, white shirt and blue jeans. (In fact, anyone else think he’s dressed almost exactly like Ryo Hazuki from Shenmue? Coincidence?) Also, I was going to really snip this interview up but I wanted to post it in pretty much its original form as it happened. I think it’s important that I don’t rip it apart too much and let it speak for itself. The interview is 1hr 37minutes and is broken into two parts. Enjoy!

Jeremy Blaustein Interview – Click to play or Right-Click and Save Link As

So what were my impressions of Jeremy? I got the impression that he’s the kind of person that has perfectly balanced his work and home life. On one hand he’s someone who once given a project will put his heart into it while on the other hand he’s a regular father and husband. He’s someone that seemingly wanted something different in life than what was expected of him and well, took his fate into his own hands, took to learning a second language and packed his bags for Japan.He’s an individual who, to some, may be taken as someone who is ” too outspoken” , but as a gaming journalist I thought his forwardness was refreshing. There’s too many PR answers in this industry that it was great to have a chat with someone who is just a normal guy and interacted with me like I was a person rather than The Gaming Liberty itself. So thanks, Jeremy! Thanks for your hard work within our industry. Thanks for your seemingly unappreciated work on Metal Gear Solid and thanks for doing this interview. I had a blast. Oh and by the way, anyone else hear Jeremys daughter shout out “10!10!10!” when he was trying to think of the Final Fantasy game that outsold Shadow Hearts 2? I see Jeremy is passing the gaming torch on. Awesome, just awesome.

Be sure to check out Jeremy’s company specialized in multilingual translation of games and anime as well as voice over arrangement!

–Zpang.com–

—-Announcement—-
From now on you can find the Retroplayer slot on a Sunday INSTEAD of a Thursday. This change is effective immediately.

Hope to see you there and thank you for your understanding.