I also always turn on the subtitles in games (and movies when I watch alone). I am also not a native English speaker, so subtitles helps me not missing anything as it can at times be easier to read than to hear.

I also do not live alone, and I sometimes play with the sound low so I don't disturb. Games that have subtitles instantly gets a +1 from me.

I love subtitles, and bemoan that it took so damned long for subtitles to be common in games. Fact is that there's just going to be times when you're not in an ideal environment for hearing things, or a voice will be too soft, or whatever. Subs make a good supplement to make sure you get all the info/story the game's giving you.

Good to know I'm not the only one. Progressive metal is some of my favorite music but I'll be damned if I know the lyrics to much of it...

I watch movies with subtitles as often as I can and I love it when games include subtitles.

I always use subtitles in games, if they're available. I do this for a couple of reasons.

First of all, English isn't my first language, and so although I'm very very good at English, I don't have the instinctive "pattern recognition engine" for English words in my mind that native English speakers do. This means that I need to be able to hear words better in order to recognize them. Native speakers of a language can usually recognise words and sentences, even when the sounds are blurred or partially drowned out by other sounds. While I can do so to some degree, I can't do it as well as someone who grew up speaking English.

Secondly, I have had too many bad experiences with games where the sound mix is really horrible. This is especially bad in dramatic cutscenes, because here the music often swells suddenly, sometimes completely drowning out the words being spoken. Since this is also usually the time when games reveal key plot points, and that sort of cutscene can rarely be re-triggered, this means that without subtitles, I'm liable to miss key points.

And yes, I do it for movies too, and for the exact same reasons. Mind you, if I have the option, I use English subtitles (provided the movie is in English of course), since my problem isn't understanding the language, it's missing the odd word here and there. This also means that I don't have to deal with errors in translation (which usually annoy the hell out of me whenever I watch something in English with Danish subtitles.

I wonder if the fact I use headphones for gaming makes a difference.

I'm not a native English speaker, therefore I always use subtitles when watching a movie. Always. As for games, I don't always use them, but if a game has them on by default, I never turn them off.

Subtitles always on, where available. Movies and games. Me not native English speaker. Me not understand every word. Me also like it better with subtitles.

Me whatever, I'm going back to War 3 RoC.

Games: on Movies: off (unless it's not english!)

Several reasons, most of which have been mentioned:

* possibility to skip - I read fast and it makes things move fast
* poor VO - many games still have very poor voice over, if not for all characters, for some. combined with skipping, I don't have to hear them botch the line, and I can still get a flavor that the character has a voice.
* dynamic volume - due to the nature of games, sometimes you will not be as close to something you should be able to hear.
* poor sound mixing - a lot of games just get the mix wrong, with unneeded voice modulating effects etc, or too loud music
* history - I grew up with things like FF or King's Quest that were all reading. I am stuck in that mindset :) Feel out of control if I can't at least have subtitles.

Even a native english speaker need subtitles to understand some aussies.

+1
Well said, I am the exact same.

I always have subtitles on in games. Never in movies unless foreign language.

All the time. For games and movies. I'm more of a reading person. If I play/watch without subtitiles, my attention might drift off somewhere while the person if talking.

Movies especially, since sometimes I can't make out what they're saying, either their voices are too soft and the sound effects are too loud, can't make out their accent, etc.

I always use them, especially in games with bad voice acting. For example, this jrpg for the wii Arc Rise Fantasia has some pretty bad voice acting and I turn voice acting off and subs on. Sometimes when I am watching a cutscene I load the last save and rewatch it with the voices, gives me a good laugh.

Add me to the 'always on' group. I found that I missed a lot of dialogue for the reasons listed earlier, bad VO, poor location detection, buried under background noise, etc.

Also, as an avid RPG fan, I love the stories that are created. I hate missing any bit that will enhance or further that, so I am willing to forgo some immersion and realism for the sake of more completeness in the story. In the case of the characters with 'foreign languages' (Dwarves, Elves etc.) I look at it like I do a book, they have to give me something or I will be lost. Cujo would suck as a story if it was nothing but growls and whines, so I accept that for that story to work I have to understand 'dog'. :)