A popular football video game should be translated into Welsh, the Senedd has heard.
Plaid Cymru’s Mabon ap Gwynfor wants to “put pressure” on games developer Electronic Arts (EA) to produce a Welsh language version of EA Sports FC – formerly known as Fifa.
Speaking on the floor of the Siambr (Senedd debating chamber) on Wednesday, Mr ap Gwynfor said the move would help learners and he asked Mark Drakeford, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, to support the move.
Having gaming available through the medium of Welsh is vital for people
He said: “I visited Ysgol Glan-y-Mor (a school in Pwllheli) and spoke to one new Welsh speaker, a pupil, who said that what would encourage him to speak more Welsh would be to play EA Sports Fifa through the medium of Welsh.
“I contacted EA Sports, and they responded saying: ‘Unfortunately, it will not be possible to include the Welsh language in EA Sports FC 24.’.
“Adding that it would take two years for them to produce a Welsh-medium version.”
He said he had spoken to other children who wanted to see Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft available in Welsh and called on Mr Drakeford to “join with me in putting pressure” on game developers.
Minecraft, which is owned by Microsoft, is already available in Welsh.
Mr Drakeford, a former Welsh first minister, said he was “content” to raise the issue.
“Having gaming available through the medium of Welsh is vital for people,” he said.
“As Mabon ap Gwynfor said, when the sector is changing so quickly, it’s important for young people to have the things that they enjoy available to them in English available in Welsh as well.”
In his letter to EA, Mr ap Gwynfor said Welsh is “one of the oldest languages in Europe” but is “under constant threat”.
He said: “Remarkably continues to survive and is currently thriving.
“One of the challenges is to ensure that technology adopts the language.
“I was speaking to school children in my constituency in Ysgol Glan y Mor, in the town of Pwllheli recently and the children told me that they would love to be able to play Fifa (by EA Sports) with the option of Welsh. This struck me as a fantastic idea.”
He added that Google, Microsoft and Meta have already adopted Welsh.
In response, EA said: “Unfortunately it will not be possible for us to include the Welsh language in EA Sports FC 24.
“Although we publish the game in 85 countries, EA Sports FC 24 is translated into 19 languages, not all of which are available for in-game audio commentary.
“We include relatively few languages for our global audience because each one requires significant resources to introduce and maintain.
“Adding a new language in full, with both audio and text content, will take up to two years, and will require continued investment over the long term to keep it up-to-date with our constantly-evolving game.”
