Call of Duty: Black Ops (Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii)/Regional Differences

This is a sub-page of Call of Duty: Black Ops (Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii).

Call of Duty: Black Ops underwent some changes when it was localized for other languages. While some of these differences were sensible, like other games, there are a fair share of somewhat strange localization decisions.

To do: Cover the censorship differences, including the official censorship found in the game with the Graphic Content option.

Multiple Versions

• In North America only, specially marked copies of the game were released that came with a download code for the First Strike DLC.
• In the Spanish version the names of Pro Perks are rendered as "<perk name> (Pro)".
• The Second Chance "REVIVE" graphic was not translated in the Italian and Spanish version.
• Gore is removed in the German and Japanese versions.

(Source: Call of Duty Wiki, Kotaku, Destructoid)

Weapons

Several weapon names were changed in different language versions.

• The CZ75's name is different in some language versions.
  • In the German version, it is called CZ 75.
  • In the Japanese version, it is called Cz75, the pistol's Japanese name.
• In the Spanish version, the AK74u is called AK-74u.
• The AK47 is called AK-47 in the German, Russian, and Spanish versions.
• The Famas is called FAMAS in the German and Russian versions. In the Russian version, this is also the name the gun had in Modern Warfare 2.
• The HS-10 is called HS10 in the Japanese and Russian versions.
• When stuck with a Crossbow bolt, an icon of the bolt is displayed along with the word "Stuck". No word is present in the French and German versions.

Campaign

• The following scenes are censored in the German, Australian, and Japanese versions:
  • In "S.O.G.", during the scene where Mason is tackled by an NVA soldier, when Mason pulls the pin of the grenade on the soldier's belt there is much less blood, violence, and the soldier is no decapitated. A comparison between the normal and censored versions can be seen here.
  • In "Numbers", the blood and violence in the torture cutscene with Clarke is removed. A comparison between the normal and censored versions can be seen here.
• In the opening of "The Defector", the sound balance of the news announcer, the music, the interrogator, and Mason is different in some versions of the game. In most versions, the news announcer and the music can barely be heard, but this is not the case for the following versions:
  • Japanese: The music is louder and can be heard.
  • Italian: The news announcer can be heard.
• In the Russian and Japanese version of Numbers, there is a slow-motion effect upon entering Clarke's first armory. This can be seen here at 5:00.
• In the Spanish version and Japanese dubbed version of "Victor Charlie", the line "Dragovich, Kravchenko, Steiner" heard when Mason is swimming early in the level lacks the dramatic echo effect.
• During the briefing for "WMD" in the Japanese (dubbed), Italian, and French versions, when Steiner's photo appears a beep sound effect is played that is absent from the English version.
• On "S.O.G." and "Crash Site", the dialogue of the radio announcer right before the start of "Fortunate Son" and "Sympathy for the Devil" is not translated in the Japanese and Russian version. Like the English version, it also does not have any accompanying subtitles.

Spanish Version

• The HUD name and pick-up text for the Kiparis with Red Dot Sight incorrectly identifies the weapon as being an HK21 with Red Dot Sight.
• During Reznov's monologue in Vorkuta at the very start of "Project Nova", there are some moderately long instances where Reznov's mouth moves but there is no dialogue. This is due to some of the Spanish lines being shorter than their equivalents in English.

Italian Version

• On "WMD", when Captain Mosely enters the Blackbird, his dialogue has static which is not present in the English version. This is also the case for some of Neitsch's lines during the level but not all of them.

German Version

• The German version toned down several instances of graphic violence and removed Nazi symbols. German law prohibits the usage of imagery representing "unconstitutional" groups (such as the Nazi party), and games depicting graphic violence are often censored in Germany to avoid being banned from sale.
• On the Zombies menu, Dead Ops Arcade is called "DEAD OPS".
• The Makarov is called Makarow, its German name.

(Source: Schnittberichte)

French Version

• The third intel document in Redemption refers to a character called Jonathan that is assigned to Operation: Charybdis. While his last name is censored in the English version and is not revealed anywhere else in the game, in one sentence the French version accidentally reveals his last name to be "Price".
• The string "[gun name] with [attachment]" is rendered in the French version "[gun name] + [attachment]".
• When the Dual Wield attachment is equipped, weapons with this attachment are called "[weapon] Dual Wield". In the French version, they are called "[weapon] x2".
• The following attachments have different names.

English	French	Translation
Extended Mags	chargeur amélioré	Improved Magazine
Red Dot Sight	Viseur laser	Laser Sight
Reflex Sight	Viseur holographique	Holographic Sight

• The Hardened perk is called "Deep Impact" (Impact lourd), the name of the increased penetration perk from Modern Warfare and World at War.
• The Camera Spike is just called "Camera" (Caméra).
• EXP rewards for completing Pro Perk challenges are listed as "[number] (EXP)" instead of "[number] EXP".

(Source: Call of Duty Wiki)

Russian Version

• Several weapon names are different.

English	Russian	Translation	Notes
Makarov	ПМ	PM	ПМ PM is an acronym for "Пистолет Макарова" Pistolet Makarova (Makarov's Pistol).
PM63	ПМ-63	PM-63
Mosin-Nagant	Винтовка Мосина	Mosin's Rifle	Russian name of the weapon.
Stakeout	Итака-37	Ithaca-37
Dragunov	CBД	SVD
RPG	РПГ-7	RPG-7

• On "Operation 40", the name of the M16 Mason receives at the start of the level is "M16 Multiple Attachments". In the Russian version, the name of the gun is erroneously rendered as "M16 Dual Mags".
• On "Project Nova", the line in the level briefing "Transmission # 23-8-15. Designate: X-RAY" was accidentally rendered as "Transmission # 23-8-15. Designate: # 23-8-15" (Передача #23-8-15. Код #23-8-15).
• On "WMD", no character lines in the level that normally come over radio have any processing to sound as if they are coming over radio. The following characters have these lines: Command, Mosely, Neitsch during some scenes, and Hudson during the Blackbird segment.
• The name of the AUG with ACOG Scope displayed in the HUD and when picking the gun up off the ground is "AUG Red Dot Sight".
• The Pack-a-Punched Dragunov is called D115 Disassembler. In the Russian version, it is called D115 "Деструктор" D115 "Destructor".

Japanese Version

• The game was released in two versions: one dubbed in Japanese, and one with English voices and Japanese subtitles, but no subtitles in the campaign. The subtitled version was released on November 18th, 2010, while the dubbed version was released on December 16th.
• The Xbox 360 disk is in black and white. It isn't apparent why this decision was made considering the PlayStation 3 disk is in color.
• On PlayStation 3 the buttons used to select an option and the button to go back are swapped, with select being X and back being O. This difference is present throughout the entire game.
• The title screen prompt is "Press START button" instead of "Press START".
• The single-player menu on the TV screen on the main menu has the three options placed further down.
• When completing a contract in multiplayer, a checkmark is placed over the screen notification instead of the word "completed" or its Japanese equivalent.
• The CZ75's Silencer attachment is bugged in the Create-a-Class setup in that it does not appear green when not purchased.
• The text level briefings that appear at the start of a level are not redacted properly and the top of the Japanese characters can still be seen.
• On "Operation 40", on PlayStation 3 the button to garrote the Cuban soldier near the radio is Circle instead of R3.
• On "The Defector", the door labelled "BREACH" is instead labelled "Charge".
• On "Crash Site" during the interrogation segment at the start of the level, the picture of Reznov on the TVs is of him from the Vorkuta escape instead of from the cave in Vorkuta seen in "Project Nova".
• WMD:
  • The labels during the Blackbird segment on PlayStation 3 are extremely large.
  • The button used to have Kilo 1 stop movement is Circle on PlayStation 3 instead of R3.

(Source: Kotaku, VG24/7)