It's sometimes difficult to tell when an issue only appears to be big because a few blogs picked up on it on a slow news day, or when it's the real deal. The recent hubbub surrounding Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2's localization may just fall into the latter category.

Earlier this week, Square Enix shared a ten minute Japanese Modern Warfare 2 trailer. In case you missed it, you can stream it here:

[video]

Notice how everyone is speaking foreign? That's right, Square Enix has given Modern Warfare 2 a full Japanese localization, complete with voices. This is somewhat of a surprise, as the first Modern Warfare, released by Activision when it still had a Japanese branch, was subtitled.

The Japanese voice overs, and some questionable translations in general, have apparently ignited 2channel gamer rage. You can see some of the complaints (in Japanese) at My Game Flash.

A lot of the issues seem to be specific translation errors, which initially left me thinking that this was just a few people making a big deal over nothing. But now Famitsu.com has taken note of the issue. Claiming to have received inquiries from its readers, the site asked Square Enix for comment, specifically regarding concerns that the Japanese version is Japanese only -- that is, only Japanese for both voices and subtitles.

Square Enix's response was: "Both voices and subtitles are Japanese only. You cannot switch to English voices The last title was just subtitles, but there was strong desire from Activision to widen the entrance for beginning FPS players, and so we translated the voices as well. Considering fan expansion from here on out, we believe our judgment was correct."

The company also told the site that Activision and Infinity Ward looked into the possibility of selectable English and Japanese voice tracks right until the end, but technological limitations were a barrier. Other versions of the game, the company noted, are available exclusively in one language, and changing the game engine specs to make the Japanese version compatible with multiple tracks would be too risky.

Square Enix also decided to respond directly to the issue, updating the Modern Warfare 2 site with a notice warning of the Japanese-only voice and subtitle tracks.

The notice also mentions the following changes form the US version:

• The campaign mode has a scene set in a Russian airport. In the US version, you can kill members of the public here. In the Japanese version, the game ends if you do this (similar to the German version).
• In the US version's post clear bonus content, you're able to attack everyone. The Japanese version prevents you from attacking POWs.

On a positive note, the notice does confirm that the game's online servers are global, so Japanese players will be able to face off against players throughout the world.

Now you'll have a topic with which to break the ice should you encounter a Japanese player.