從《街霸》與《拳皇》看日本電子遊戲在香港的本地化

Abstract

香港是日本電子遊戲在亞洲的消費中心之一。約翰‧費斯克(John Fiske)認為讀者透過將新意義賦予文化產品而成為「主動讀者」(active readers)。香港的遊戲玩家、商人及文化產業界人士透過修改遊戲規則、創造遊戲術語及生產有關商品，將日本電子遊戲變成「港式」。本文以《街霸》(Street Fighter)與《拳皇》(The King of Fighters)兩大格鬥系列為個案研究，分析日本電子遊戲如何在亞洲展開全球化及本地化。《街霸》與《拳皇》自1990年代以來曾風靡千萬香港男性，它們對香港的漫畫、電影、時裝及語言等都有不同程度的影響。在參與《街霸》與《拳皇》街機時，香港玩家建立一套獨特的打機術語與規則，《街霸》與《拳皇》亦成為最多被改編為香港漫畫的日本電子遊戲。本文從歷史學及人類學的角度與方法，以《街霸》與《拳皇》為例，討論香港如何將日本電子遊戲本地化及其背後的文化意義。

Hong Kong is one of the consumption centers of Japanese electronic games in Asia. As John Fiske points out that readers can become ”active readers” by adding new meanings to cultural products, Hong Kong game players, businessmen and artists have been turning Japanese games into Hong Kong-style Japanese games and other forms of hybrid culture in terms of the rule of playing, the making of crossover cultural products as well as specific languages translated, used or created. Being one of the first articles on the subject of Japanese games in Asia, it examines the reception and domestication of Japanese games in Hong Kong through a case study of Street Fighter (SF) and The King of Fighters (KOF), the two of the most popular arcade games as well as combat games in the world. Both games have had a strong impact on Hong Kong popular culture and entertainment industry. Hong Kong artists and players have been selectively and creatively incorporating elements of Hong Kong commercial movies, martial arts novels and comics, as well as lower-class slang and behavior into these two Japanese games. Examining the history of SF and KOF in Hong Kong, the making of new rules and jargons by Hong Kong players, and the adaptation of these two games into Hong Kong comics from historical and cultural perspectives, this study aims to deepen understanding of the dynamic force of localization and transnational cultural flows in forging Asian popular culture.