Back in the nascent days of gaming, the gaming industry was often considered by investors as a niche sector with little to no hope for growth. This mentality has changed.
To put things into perspective, back in 2018, the global market size of the gaming industry stood at US$134.9 billion. This was an immense growth, especially when compared to the global market size of the gaming industry back in 2007 which stood at $9.5 billion. Fast forward to 2022, according to a report by the ESA, the current global market share of the gaming industry stands at $188 billion.
It is evident from the above section that the growth rate of the global gaming industry isn’t going to stall any time soon. But, since the industry is highly competitive, game development studios have to make the best use of available promotional practices such as social media marketing, content marketing and localization.
Back in the day, most consumers of gaming titles were located in Western nations. This has changed. Currently, gaming titles need to be promoted in a manner that would make them a global product. To do that, game development studios work in tandem with video game localization agencies.
With the help of professional localization services, game development studios can avail a boatload of benefits that starts with targeting gamers located in non-English-speaking nations. The process is simple. A game localization company will carry out a torrent of processes in a bid to make a game title localized.
What is game localization?
A detailed definition of game localization is mentioned below.
A game title will be –
- Translated
- Internationalized and
- Subjected to linguistic Quality Assurance.
Game localization is not similar to other means of localization processes. The reason is simple. Every element of a game title is subjected to adaptations, translations and Quality Assurance protocols in a bid to make the title suitable for the intended target market segment. For example, in-game –
- Text
- Character dialogues
- UI elements
- Metrics
- Story elements
- Cultural references
- Socio-political references, etc. are subjected to rigorous scrutiny as well as adjustments.
Why Should You Localize Your Game?
There are many reasons why should you localize your game. Some of those reasons are mentioned in the sections below.
Game localization drives global, local and national sales
Almost all game titles are released in English as the default in-game language. These titles reach a mere 27% of the global gaming target market segment. To reach the booming gaming target market segments of –
- India
- Thailand
- Philippines
- Japan
- China
- France
- Italy
- Germany and
- Spain – which is home to more than 90 million active leisure and competitive gamers, game development studios need to partner up with a game localization agency. It is as simple as that.
Game localization increases the rate of downloads
Gamers prefer game titles that target the language they are familiar with. A localized game will be downloaded more times than a non-localized game. Gamers gravitate towards localized games as they feel the game development studio is prioritizing the needs of the end-users over their capitalistic objectives.
Game localization hones the User Experience factor of the game
A localized game title allows gamers to immerse themselves in the in-game story as well as the in-game characters. Game development studios who implement game localization strategies in the promotional processes of their latest project tend to witness more engagement from their customers (gamers) as establishing an emotional connection between a gamer and the characters within a game is an essential aspect of making a game successful, period!
Conclusion
Game localization is instrumental in making a game title successful. However, the process of game localization services demands finesse and industry-specific knowledge. We have a dedicated team of game localization experts under our payroll who are veterans of the sector. In short, hiring us as your go-to game localization agency will allow your projects to witness immense growth and long-term success. Are you ready to adapting game localization to attract the global attention. Contact us https://www.beyondwordz.com/contact.php