The gaming
industry has developed significantly in recent years. What started as Nintendo
and Atari, pixelated screens, and limited sounds have all dramatically evolved,
becoming more lifelike than ever. Alongside the technological advancements, the
gaming industry has also spread like wildfire from several developed to
emerging economies, causing the global gaming industry to amount to  178 billion U.S. dollars in 2021.  Thanks to this rapid growth, the need for language service providers to bridge the language and culture
gaps has never been more urgent.

An
Overview of The Gaming Industry

The gaming
industry is one of the most innovative sectors in tech today. It’s no longer
limited to a particular age group or customer segment. Instead, it has become a
valid form of entertainment for players of all backgrounds and ages.

In 2020, the
worldwide PC gaming
market’s revenue
was estimated at $37 billion, while the mobile gaming market generated over $77 billion. The 5
biggest gaming markets include  China, America,
Italy, Japan, and South Korea.

Game
localization; What Is It?

As stated
earlier, the gaming industry has gone global, and as such, game developers are
looking to internationalize their products from as early as the
conceptualization and development stage in order to deliver faster product
releases, stay agile and create a wider product appeal. For a game to be
accepted wholeheartedly, players in that region must be able to identify and
relate to the gaming experience. Hence, the need for localization.

Localization is essentially the adaptation of
its hardware and software to a foreign country’s language and cultural
preferences. Contrary to popular belief, game localization exceeds just
translating the game’s language. The process often includes altering art
assets, creating new packaging, translating manuals, transforming hardware,
censoring the game to meet cultural sensitivities and local legal regulations,
and of course, translating in-game audio (Dubbing).

Localization
aims to make the game enjoyable to players in the new region. You achieve this
by taking cognizance of target consumer-specific cultural tendencies and preferences without losing the
distinctive essence of the source material.

Benefits
of Game localization

Localization
helps game developers to:

Expand their Target Market  

Game
localization is a great way to reach new markets and break into foreign
regions. Localization doesn’t only bridge the language barrier it also bridges
the cultural barrier. Take, for example, a game that’s initially programmed in
English. Although English is one of the most popular languages, it will be
understandable to only a small fraction of the world’s population. Adapting it
to more countries will expose it to more users, inadvertently boosting sales
and downloads.

Increase Sales

A larger
market means an increase in downloads, and an increase in downloads implies an
increase in sales. The more individuals a game can reach, the more downloads
and sales it will experience.

Amplify Customer Satisfaction

Localization
is a great way to boost customer satisfaction. People appreciate having
experiences in their languages. Experiencing the game in their language reduces
in-game distractions and offers the player a holistic gaming experience.

Improve User Reviews

Gamers
measure how enjoyable a game is by its reviews. A game’s review can positively
or negatively affect its popularity. When presented with quality localization,
players tend to give better reviews and higher ratings.

Stay Ahead Of The Competition

The gaming
industry is fiercely competitive. 
Research shows that gamers are more inclined to download a localized
game. Also, localized games make for a better gaming experience. And Localizing
gaming titles automatically puts game developers ahead of the competition since
it grants them access to different global markets.

Why
Hire A Language Service Provider (LSP)?

Localization
goes way beyond translating the game to another language. It also involves
adapting the game to that region’s cultural preferences. To do this
effectively, it’s best to hire a professional language service provider— one
who knows their onions and is experienced in this segment.

Hiring an
LSP to localize your game will help you avoid sub-standard translations and
improve time-to-market as these entities have very robust quality assurance
regimens. Errors and controversies in gaming content are common with games that
are globally popular but unlocalized. 
These errors often negatively impact the player’s experience.

Hiring a
professional will save you the risk of public embarrassment, financial and
reputational damages from incorrect translations, improper cultural adaptation,
or non-compliance with government regulations.

Conclusion

The gaming
industry has come a long way to reach a global audience with many of the
industry leaders now dedicating a sizable portion of their budget towards game
localization.

Game
localization is a great idea for game developers looking to expand their
audience and take advantage of the booming global gaming industry. However, it
is vital that stakeholders procure the services of a professional language
service provider, as improper localization can cause more harm than good.

TranslationsInLondon is the ideal partner to help take
your game title to the global scene with our professional
translation and localization services. Give us a call or send a message to get started now.