Trails developer Nihon Falcom is considering using AI in order to assist with translation for its future games, the studio's CEO has revealed.
In an interview with Japanese gaming platform 4Gamer (via Automaton Media), Nihon Falcom head Toshihiro Kondo said that leaving initial translation work to AI could "compress the entire process and ultimately speed up development".
Kondo acknowledges that "human effort would still be needed to make final adjustments to the translated words and lines", but expresses a hope that AI translation could shorten the distance between the Japanese release of a Nihon Falcom game and the Western release.
In the interview, Kondo says that it's not possible to release Trails games simultaneously worldwide due to the amount of text in them, which he says is "several times larger than that of a typical RPG".
According to Kondo, the Nihon Falcom team begins translation work on a Trails game once the Japanese version is complete, which is why Western versions of the games usually "come out a year later at best".
He doesn't acknowledge the possibility of bringing in a translation team to work on a Trails game alongside the Japanese developers, although it's fair to say Nihon Falcom is a relatively small studio, so perhaps this isn't possible for logistical reasons.
In any case, although Kondo doesn't fully commit to using AI in order to translate future Trails games, I'd be surprised if we didn't start seeing first-pass translations done by AI on Trails games, with humans touching up the results to make sure they're fit for purpose.
Kondo doesn't say his studio has already used AI to work on any translations, which means we probably won't see AI being used for projects like Trails through Daybreak 2 or the upcoming Trails in the Sky remake, nor should other games like Ys X: Nordics be affected.
Stay tuned for more on this and all other things Nihon Falcom.