Poll: Do you turn on the subtitles?

[Programmed_For_Damage]

Yes, because the only time I really get to play games is either really late at night or really early in the morning when the rest of my family is asleep. As such out of courtesy I have the sound right down and I need the subtitles to check if I'm missing out on any important dialog.

 

[Leg End]

Yes, always, because I have a mild psychosomatic hearing accuracy problem and I need to know what is said.

 

[Fijiman]

I usually have them on because I like being able to know what someone said, especially if I can barely hear them.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

I do if characters speak other languages (Assassin's Creed, Bayonetta) or if the story is influenced by my choices or otherwise has dialogue options, I want to be absolutely sure of what I'm responding to, you know?

 

[infohippie]

I often turn it on for dialogue, because in all honesty I sometimes find American accents a little difficult to understand. Not always, but it's not uncommon for me to be unable to make out a word or two in a sentence spoken by an American.

 

[Bernzz]

I used to, but these days I don't. I read faster than they talk and I get impatient, particularly in games like Skyrim. With them off I listen more. I only like them if the characters are speaking a different language, and most games will put those subs in by default.

 

[bauke67]

I always turn on the subtitles in case one of the characters starts mumbling and I'd miss it. Also it ensures Iunderstand what was meant better, since I can see the spelling.

 

[Wrex Brogan]

Yes, because I've got terrible hearing, and turning up the volume to the point where I can actually hear what people are saying typically causes my windows to start vibrating.

Also I've found a lot of games have background music playing while people are talking, and because my ears just don't like to work right it gets SUPER hard to split the two. Subtitles make that whole mess a lot easier to figure out.

 

[Wintermute_v1legacy]

English isn't my first language, so yeah I turn them on just in case.

 

[Timothy Yardvale]

English isn't my first language, so yeah I turn them on just in case.

Plus, it's cold, and you have the volume off.[footnote]Kidding, I love Gibson[/footnote]

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Always. English isn't my first language and I can miss out on some stuff if the voice doesn't have a pristine, clean-cut diction.

 

[FalloutJack]

Only on the occasion of having trouble understanding things. That's what they're there for.

 

[Kotaro]

I've found in a lot of games it can be hard to make out what characters are saying over the sounds of gameplay, so having subtitles on makes it a lot easier to make sure I get everything that's being said.

 

[Windcaler]

I almost always turn them on because there are times I dont catch what a character says and if I dont have subtitles on I can be missing out on an important story aspect, clue, or something else. Plus I read pretty fast so that helps

 

[wings012]

There always comes a time where I miss a word or there happens to be shit happening in the background being noisy(in the game or real life).

And I don't wanna miss a thing.

So I leave them on. Also allows me to speed read and get on with my life.

 

[PsiMatrix]

Yes. Developers have no grasp on sound mixing, and I keep my volume at levels that don't destroy my eardrums. I like being able to read dialogue I wouldn't necessarily hear.

Also bugs like the one in Samara's loyalty mission in ME2 where the audio just cuts out. It gets loud and then complete loss of dialogue right before making the choice which thankfully pops up the Biowheel.

So yes both reasons (also applies in movies where explosions are OP and then talking is subdued).

 

[Michel Henzel]

Even though English is not my native language, I can comprehend it well enough not to need subtitles most of the time. The only time I would turn it on is with overly thick accents or massive amounts of slang (I'm looking at you GTA). Other than that, don't need them.

And it helps that I can read fairly fast due to years and years of watching English subbed Anime XD.

 

[Wakey87]

I have no problem understanding what people are saying most of the time. Unless its a game where the voice actors have or put on a strong accent I prefere my screen to be subtitle free. Dark Souls and Bloodborn are examples where I have left them on, the Uncharted series not so much.

 

[omega 616]

I'm not deaf, so no.

If I am bothered about the story I will just have that going on but if I don't care, the game gets muted and a podcast goes on. And as somebody else said, I can read faster than people can talk ... so I get ahead and then wait for the VA to catch up, one of the reasons I can't stand sub anime.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Yes, because English is not my first language and I sometimes have trouble understanding everything if it's pronounced very quickly or in some particular accents.