As announced in late 2023, our premier audio provider SIDE recently opened a new studio in Tokyo – bringing our world-class game audio brand to the country where PTW was originally founded over 30 years ago.

But just what makes SIDE Tokyo so special, and what does it take to deliver high-quality original Japanese voice production for games? We sat down with our team to find out, with contributions from our SVP of Audio & Speech Tech Olivier Deslandes and Studio Head Hiroshi Takao.

What was the reason for opening a new studio in Tokyo?  

Olivier: With established hubs in Europe and North America, we felt it was time we had studios closer to some of our biggest clients. SIDE has been working on Japanese IP for more than 20 years and we wanted to be at the heart of the Japanese gaming industry.  

What kind of audio services does SIDE Tokyo offer?  

Hiroshi: SIDE’s usual roster of voice production services is available – including talent negotiation, casting, directing, recording, and post-production – with a focus on original Japanese dialogue for games.  

What sets SIDE apart from other audio providers, and in what ways does SIDE Tokyo excel along these lines?  

Olivier: Being an all-in-one service provider, our audio and even our wider PTW business is designed from the ground up to lighten the load on development. That's everything from dialogue, music, sound design, mixing, integration but also art, QA, localization, and player support amongst others. We are a boutique with scale services provider; our strength comes from our ability to personalize our offering for every client, but still work on projects of any size or complexity.  

As with all SIDE sites, Tokyo thrives on the same ethos of high-quality character performance and bespoke services.   

Hiroshi: Our facilities also set us apart, as they were designed to be as versatile as possible. SIDE Tokyo has spacious booths and can accommodate various recording formats, such as large group recordings; surround sound is also available for dubbing. 

When it comes to game VO production, how does it differ between Japan and Europe/North America?  

Hiroshi: The voice acting industry in Japan boasts a diverse talent pool, with many actors attaining celebrity status through their work in anime, games, and other media. Japan's unique approach to voice acting emphasizes versatility and emotional range, while the industry maintains close ties to other entertainment forms such as manga and anime. With limited roles and opportunities available, competition among aspiring voice actors is fierce.  

In contrast to English voice acting, Japanese voice acting leans towards expressiveness and emotion, prioritizing conveying the complexity of characters. English voice acting, on the other hand, tends to be more natural, focusing on authentic and realistic dialogue and performance. Both styles reflect different cultural and artistic sensibilities, without either being superior to the other. 

Olivier: Yes – Japan is very specific in its approach to casting, characterization, and performance. It is conservative and innovative at the same time. We aim to leverage our experience across all regions to offer expertise, choice, and expose our clients to new approaches.  

Can you tell us more about the casting process – where and how do you select suitable actors and actresses for games? How does it differ from casting for anime? 

Hiroshi: We employ a variety of casting methods to find suitable voice actors, according to our clients’ needs. These methods include database casting, self-tape auditions, and studio auditions.   

In the database casting method, actors are auditioned based on their existing voice clips, which are stored in a database. This allows us to quickly assess an actor's vocal range and suitability for a particular role without having to schedule a dedicated audition session.   

For the self-tape audition method, actors are provided with the actual script used in the game and asked to record themselves reading the lines. These recordings are then evaluated by us (and the client) to determine the actor's suitability for the role.   

Finally, in the studio audition method, actors are invited to the studio to read the script with a voice director's guidance. This allows us to assess the actor’s performance in real-time and provide immediate feedback to steer their performance towards the client’s intentions. 

What are some of the key differences in recording for games, anime, or streaming content – and are they significant? 

Olivier: For each of these types of content, there is a historical fragmentation by platform, format, and even viewer type that has led to fairly different business models, budgets, and processes. Companies have tended to specialize in one or another – but ultimately the fundamentals of story and performance, and the common end goal of bringing quality content together are similar. We feel that there is a strong commonality between all these verticals and convergence is happening.  

Hiroshi: One of the main differences is that linear video content, including anime, tends to be priced on a per-episode or run-time basis. Whereas for non-linear media such as games budgeting is very much a reflection of the word count, line count, character count...and therefore much more complex.  

While group recordings are common in traditional media dubbing, for interactive media voice actors tend to perform individually. That’s mostly due to the non-linearity of games but also because of the volume of words. This has an impact on the scheduling and the recording process. Group recordings have the advantage of allowing actors to establish a scene’s dynamic, understanding the scenario, tone and intensity of the dialogue together as a group from the beginning, and develop a flow more easily. The challenge for game audio is to maintain consistency across individual recordings, which requires expert guidance from voice directors, as well active asset management tools throughout the process. 

What might be some of the reasons studios in Japan would want to work with a service provider based in Tokyo, like SIDE, as opposed to taking care of recordings in-house? 

Hiroshi: Although some companies have their own recording studios, it would be difficult to cover the recordings of all their titles in their own studios alone. The advantage of working with us is not only our studio space and availability, but also that the Japanese assets we record can be deployed directly to our overseas studios if localization is required in other languages, which reduces time and effort for the client. 

What are your expectations for SIDE Tokyo in order for SIDE to grow even further in the future?  

Olivier: As our Tokyo studio establishes itself, we aim to stay true to our promise of delivering our renowned SIDE quality and services. Ultimately our goal remains to help create great games and character performances – we believe the work we do speaks for itself. The PTW global network is stronger with SIDE Tokyo, and that will contribute to growth for the overall business and benefit our partners in the region.  

To find out more about how SIDE Tokyo can support your game audio production needs, contact us today.