Here's the thing: Subtitles - I don't like 'em. They usually distract from the cutscenes, and sometimes they spoil things that the characters are about to say later on in the conversation. But those are my five cents. What's your opinion on subtitles in video games?

Do you turn them on, or off?

I find the subtitles useful, and I mostly activate them when I can. Most useful is when you can barely hear the characters talk, an example for this is Sonic Adventure 2.

Video games often use terminology which was invented by the developers, i.e., fictional words which you won't find in a normal dictionary. For example, Skyrim, where you here the Thu'um. It kinda takes you out of it when you can't understand things like that. Seeing it written can really help. 

Another thing is that with handheld consoles that have voice acting (like the PSP), it can be pretty hard to hear the characters and you miss half the story. The reason for that would be due to inferior sound technology seen in handheld systems and also, you may have a lot of noise and distractions around you. Being able to read the characters dialogue helps there too. I wonder if I'm the only guy who thinks this? I've never heard other people say so.

And finally, if a game has absolutely terrible sound and voice acting, it can be hard to hear, nor would you want to hear it. Sure, ya can crank up the volume...if ya want a headache. Subtitles always come in handy for those things. I wish Blood Omen had them. Couldn't hear a word in that game...nothing wrong with the voice acting, but the music and effects just obscured the voices.

I like having it as an option, if it's there I'll usually turn it on. It can be very helpful especially when characters talk during gameplay and it can be hard to hear what they're saying. Or just in games where it's hard to hear characters talking overall.

The part about subtitles possibly spoiling things ahead of time isn't something I've encountered  too much since it's kind of specific, but usually that would be a sign for me of them being poorly optimized for the game.

I like having the option of turning subtitles on and off
at times there will be a character talking and i have no idea what the heck they are saying. subtitles are very helpful

I always have the subtitles on. Yeah, it can be a little distracting, but if you can't hear something or miss a part of the dialogue, it's handy since there's no rewind for cut scenes. 

I find I always read subtitles in games if they are on, even if I don't need to. So I keep them off.

I usually have the sounds pretty loud, and am either using a surround sound for my consoles, or a 7.1 head-set for my PC, so the voices are always loud and clear, no need for subtitles.

plzinsertname : I agree completely, so no you aren't the only guy that feels that way. lol Also, great username. xD


I always turn subtitles on just in case I can't hear something that's said, or in case the voice actors pronounce something weird, because I hate (almost) nothing more than to miss the dialogue at any given point in a game.

The only downsides are that --like you said -- sometimes I read ahead of the audio and ruin the next bit of the scene, and that I tend to read the dialogue while they're talking and thus miss some of the actual scenes.

I like to have subtitles on whenever possible. They do kinda distract me a bit, since I focus on the text more, but the clarification you get from listening and reading a conversation far makes up for it.

I keep them off for the sake of immirsion. Unless it's a game like elder scrolls where people who talk from far away and you can't hear them. But in general I wont. But it depends on the audio quality and whatnot.

I would prefer subtitles on in case I don't hear something the game character says. It's very annoying if I can't hear something because it can pretty much mess up the entire story for me. Though it doesn't bother me if I read ahead in the audio.. I mean yeah you could see the next bit of the scene but it's not much of a problem for me sense I will see what happens anyways. Some games don't have subtitles though which is very bad for me because I can miss what the characters say sometimes which in return stinks. 

I honestly prefer subtitles on most of the time. Sometimes, it's because the characters are hard to hear, and sometimes it's because I need the sound muted for whatever reason. At that point I really need subtitles in order to follow what's going on.

Kingdom hearts would suck without subtitles.

I like subtitles.

I use subtitles.