On April 1st a new law came into effect in the province of Quebec regarding the sale of video games. The law states that if a French-language version of a game exists, it must be made available to consumers. If a game has both a French and English version, only the French version will be sold in stores in Quebec.
The law does not prevent the sale of non-French language games. If a game does not have a French-language version (usually Parisian French), then whatever version has been developed be it in English, Japanese, or other, then it will still be available to Quebecers. If a French version is subsequently released, then it will replace the non-French product on store shelves.
The new law is meant to promote the French language in the province. It also forces retailers, distributers, and publishers to make French-language games accessible to the Francophone community. In many cases there are already localized versions (French included) of games developed, but their distribution in the province of Quebec has been neglected. Developers needn’t worry as their games will still be for sale in Quebec no matter what language their games have been developed in.
