Quality Improvement Plan: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Regional Spanish Localization

Non-Conforming Output - Description

When Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet launched in November 2022, Nintendo released the games with Spanish localization that used European Spanish (es-ES) terminology and expressions throughout. The same Spanish version was distributed to all Spanish-speaking markets globally, including Latin America.

Within days of launch, Latin American players reported the issue through social media, gaming forums, and customer support channels. Players specifically noted that certain dialogue choices and interface text contained words and phrases that are acceptable in Spain but have vulgar or inappropriate meanings in Latin American Spanish variants.

The most commonly cited example was the use of the verb “coger” (meaning “to take” or “to grab” in European Spanish) which carries sexual connotations in Mexican Spanish and other Latin American variants. Players also reported other regionalism issues where Spanish-from-Spain expressions felt awkward or confusing to Latin American audiences.

Impact

This quality fail had the following impact:

Customer dissatisfaction: Thousands of complaints across social media platforms and gaming communities, with the petition eventually reaching 28,359 signatures
Brand reputation: Negative press coverage and social media backlash about cultural insensitivity toward Latin American markets
Market perception: Latin American players felt The Pokemon Company prioritized European markets over their region despite Latin America representing a significant player base
Lost trust: Questions raised about The Pokemon Company’s commitment to serving diverse global markets
Competitive disadvantage: Other major gaming franchises (including Nintendo’s own first-party titles) were already providing regional Spanish variants
Ongoing issue: Unlike a one-time problem that could be patched, this represented years of accumulated frustration with Pokemon games lacking Latin American Spanish localization
Missed market opportunity: Alienating a large, passionate fanbase in a growing market

Product Specifications

What should have been delivered: The game should have included separate regional Spanish localizations:

European Spanish (es-ES) for distribution in Spain
Latin American Spanish (es-419) for distribution in Latin America and/or regional variants (es-MX) for specific regions like Mexico

The Latin American Spanish localized text should:

Use vocabulary appropriate for young Latin American audiences
Avoid terms with vulgar, offensive, or confusing meanings in target regions
Reflect Latin American cultural contexts and expressions
Pass regional quality assurance review by native speakers from the target market
Align with terminology used in the Latin American Spanish Pokemon anime dub when appropriate

What was actually delivered: The delivered product contained only European Spanish (es-ES) for all Spanish-speaking markets worldwide, with no regional adaptation for Latin American audiences. This approach treated Spanish as a single global market rather than recognizing significant regional linguistic and cultural differences.

Note: As of this writing (October 2025), Pokémon Scarlet & Violet continue to be available only in European Spanish. No patch adding Latin American Spanish was released. However, all future mainline Pokemon games beginning with Pokemon Legends: Z-A (late 2025) will include Latin American Spanish localization from launch.

Root Cause Analysis

To identify why this non-conformity occurred, we conducted root cause analysis using the 5 Whys technique and a review of standard localization processes.

The 5 Whys Analysis

Why did the game contain inappropriate Spanish for Latin American markets?
- Because European Spanish (es-ES) was used for all Spanish-speaking markets without regional adaptation
Why was only European Spanish provided without Latin American variants?
- Because the project scope treated all Spanish as one market rather than recognizing regional differences
Why was the project scoped without regional Spanish variants?
- Because resource allocation decisions prioritized cost savings and faster time-to-market over regional localization quality
Why were cost savings prioritized over regional quality?
- Because the localization budget was based on language count rather than market count, and project managers may have assumed “Spanish is Spanish”
Why was there no quality check to catch regional appropriateness issues?
- Because the QA process did not include Latin American Spanish reviewers or regional appropriateness checks in the testing protocol

Identified Root Causes

Based on our analysis, we identified the following root causes:

Root Cause ID	Root Cause Description	Category
RC-001	Project scope defined Spanish as single market without regional variants	Planning / Scope Definition
RC-002	Localization budget allocated by language count rather than market needs	Resource Allocation
RC-003	No Latin American Spanish-speaking QA reviewers involved in testing	Quality Assurance Process
RC-004	Translation Memory from previous European-focused projects reused without adaptation	Asset Management
RC-005	Regional appropriateness not included as quality metric in acceptance criteria	Quality Standards
RC-006	Assumption that “Spanish is Spanish” - lack of cultural/linguistic training for project managers	Knowledge / Training Gap

Corrective Action

Corrective actions address the immediate problem and prevent it from continuing in current and recently released projects.

Decision: Use As Is

After evaluating the costs and technical challenges of developing a Latin American Spanish patch for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, The Pokemon Company made the business decision to release the game “as is” with European Spanish only. This decision was based on several factors:

Technical complexity: Patching all text, dialogue, and UI elements across the entire game would require extensive development resources
Timeline considerations: A comprehensive patch would take several months to develop, test, and deploy
Cost-benefit analysis: The cost of patching versus the remaining sales lifecycle of the game
Strategic decision: Resources would be better invested in ensuring future releases include proper Latin American Spanish from the start

Immediate Actions Taken

Customer Communication: The Pokemon Company issued public statements acknowledging receipt of customer feedback and the petition regarding Spanish localization needs.
Official Response: Provided response to petition organizers and media outlets: “Pokémon encourages players/users to submit comments and suggestions so that our products can offer the best possible experience to our customers. Although we do not always implement all the suggestions, we read and pay attention to each comment.”
Internal Review: Quality and localization teams reviewed the feedback to understand the scope of the problem and identify systemic process improvements needed.

Process Corrections for Current Release

Action ID	Corrective Action	Responsible Party	Timeline
CA-001	Document all reported inappropriate phrases and regional issues from Scarlet & Violet	QA Team	2 weeks
CA-002	Create comprehensive list of European Spanish terms that are inappropriate in Latin American markets	Localization Team	1 month
CA-003	Communicate decision and rationale to customer support teams to ensure consistent messaging	Customer Relations	Immediate
CA-004	Monitor social media and customer feedback channels for ongoing concerns	Community Management	Ongoing

Preventive Action

Preventive actions implement systemic changes to prevent similar issues from occurring in future projects. The Pokemon Company made significant investments in preventing regional localization issues for all future releases.

Action ID	Preventive Action	Responsible Party	Status
PA-001	Commit to including Latin American Spanish localization in all future mainline Pokemon games starting with Pokemon Legends: Z-A (late 2025)	Executive Leadership	Implemented
PA-002	Update localization project scoping guidelines to require regional variant analysis for all languages with significant regional differences (Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, Chinese, Arabic)	Localization PM Team	Implemented
PA-003	Hire dedicated Latin American Spanish localization staff including editors and specialists	Human Resources & Localization Leadership	Implemented
PA-004	Revise budget allocation methodology to account for regional variants as separate deliverables with distinct resource requirements for all future projects	Finance & Localization Leadership	Implemented
PA-005	Establish mandatory regional QA review requirement: all Spanish localizations must be reviewed by QA testers from both European and Latin American markets	QA Leadership	Implemented
PA-006	Create separate Translation Memories for es-ES (European Spanish) and es-419 (Latin American Spanish) to prevent inappropriate reuse of regional terminology	Localization Engineering	Implemented
PA-007	Add “regional appropriateness” as explicit quality metric in localization acceptance criteria with specific pass/fail thresholds	Quality Standards Team	Implemented
PA-008	Develop and deliver training module on linguistic and cultural regional differences in major languages for all localization project managers and stakeholders	Training & Development	In Progress
PA-009	Update vendor management process to verify that Language Service Provider (LSP) partners have native-speaking resources from target regions, not just target languages	Vendor Management	Implemented
PA-010	Launch Latin American Spanish support for Pokemon GO (March 2024)	Mobile Gaming Team	Completed

Conclusions

The Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Spanish localization issue demonstrates how upstream decisions in project planning and resource allocation can lead to significant quality problems downstream that may not be economically feasible to fix after launch. While the translators produced accurate European Spanish content, the failure occurred at the planning stage when project scope did not recognize the need for regional Spanish variants. The Pokemon Company’s decision to leave Pokémon Scarlet & Violet with European Spanish only rather than developing a patch was a difficult but strategic business choice. While this disappointed Latin American fans, it allowed the company to redirect resources toward a more impactful solution: ensuring all future Pokemon products include proper Latin American Spanish localization from day one.

Key Lessons Learned

Language ≠ Market: Treating Spanish as a single market ignored significant regional linguistic and cultural differences. The petition’s growth to over 28,000 signatures demonstrated the size and passion of the affected market. Future projects must recognize that major languages often require regional variants.
“Use As Is” Can Be Strategic: When corrective action costs outweigh benefits for a product near the end of its lifecycle, investing in preventive action for future products may be more effective. Pokémon Scarlet & Violet remained European Spanish only, but all future mainline games will include Latin American Spanish.
Customer Feedback Drives Change: The sustained petition campaign, supported by beloved voice actors Gabriel Ramos and Gabriel Gama, created enough pressure to change The Pokemon Company’s global localization strategy. Listening to customers and acting on systemic feedback is crucial.
Preventive Action Takes Time: From the petition’s start (November 2020) to the first mainline game with Latin American Spanish (Pokémon Legends: Z-A in late 2025) represents a 5-year journey. Systemic change requires patience, resources, and commitment.
Quality Metrics Must Be Comprehensive: If “regional appropriateness” is not explicitly defined as a quality requirement at the planning stage, it may not be checked during development or QA.

The lessons learned have been incorporated into training materials and are now shared across all localization teams. What began as a significant quality failure for one game has become a catalyst for permanent improvement in how The Pokemon Company serves its global, diverse customer base. While Latin American fans waited years for this change, the systematic implementation of preventive actions means future generations of Pokemon fans will never experience the same regional localization issues that plagued earlier games.

References

ComicBook.com. (2022, January 26). Pokemon Criticized For Inappropriate Latin-American Spanish Localization. Retrieved from https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/pokemon-localization-latin-america-issues/
Bulbapedia. (2025). Pokémon in Latin America. Retrieved from https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_in_Latin_America
Slator. (2022, February 19). Gamers Petition Pokemon to Localize Games for Latin American Spanish Market. Retrieved from https://slator.com/gamers-petition-pokemon-localize-games-latin-american-spanish/
Universitat de les Illes Balears. (2024, April 8). Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: A Comparative Analysis of the Localization in the English and Spanish Versions. Retrieved from https://dspace.uib.es/xmlui/handle/11201/165294
Game Rant. (2025, February 27). Pokemon Has Good News for Fans in Latin America. Retrieved from https://gamerant.com/pokemon-latin-american-spanish-language/

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🤖 GAI Study Prompts

Copy the downloaded content and try it with these prompts:

“How in the world is it possible that companies are releasing products with issues as bad as this?”
“What are some basic tips that could be given to help organizations avoid ending up on Localization Fails lists?”
“Could you explain some of the major differences between Spanish for Spain and Spanish for Latin America?”
“Is there such as thing as Spanish for Latin America?”
“Explain why there’s no such thing as International or a neutral Spanish.”

Unit 3 Complete! Reflect on what you’ve achieved in the Unit 3 - Conclusion.