Reach New Audience: Tips on Mobile Game Localization

Mobile game localization is not just about translating from one language to another. It is the process of adapting a game to a different language and culture so it appeals to audiences in specific regions. This process takes more than translating dialogues in the game. It is about adjusting and modifying gameplay to meet the local standards. It is an important process that will help reach a greater audience.

Why a mobile game?

Mobile games have become the new lead in the worldwide sector of gaming industries. By the end of 2024, mobile games are projected to generate approximately $92.6 billion, capturing around 49% of total gaming market revenue. This number is significantly higher than that of other gaming platforms.

The growth of mobile games has increased the need for mobile game localization. This is due to reaching a new market other than English speaking countries.

Non-English language markets present a significant opportunity to attract new audiences. China itself is packed with more than 700 million mobile gamers. Southeast Asia has also become a major gaming hub, with Indonesia and Vietnam emerging as significant player bases.

A simple translation of the game will not yield the desired results. Gaming companies need to invest in much better translation that includes localization. Hence, mobile game localization is needed. Reaching new audiences without any sign of localization efforts is like entering a new Asian neighborhood house with your shoes on. Everyone will surely give attention to you but not in a motherly way. Understanding the culture and habits of the target audience is key to winning new players.

Why is mobile game localization important?

Expand to new markets.

Localization is important because it significantly expands market reach. This is done by making the mobile games more accessible and appealing to the culture of the player worldwide.

Mobile game localization is offering content in a wide range of languages and in a format that is more culturally relevant to them. This way, the game company can help ensure the success of reaching new markets.

Reach global audiences.

Games that are localized are more likely to be downloaded by users from those regions. It is because the users will play a game that actually speaks and respects their cultural nuances. Moreover, culturally relevant games are more comfortable for certain regions to play. Reaching global audiences will lead to a high success rate in retention and user satisfaction.

Increase the potential revenue.

Localization is indeed a big effort to win an audience. However, this effort is completely needed to reach bigger revenue for the games. Localization can significantly boost a game's revenue by improving user experience and increasing in-app purchases. Localization can significantly increase in-game purchases by making content more relatable and engaging for players. Players will likely perform in-app purchases if they feel the game will satisfy them in terms of familiarity with the languages and culturally relevant content.

Read more: Localization Strategy: How to Plan Business Industry

Tips to do mobile game localization

There are key elements of mobile game localization that a company should know. These key elements will provide a way to reach new audiences more significantly.

Accurate language translation

Language translation is the foundation of mobile game localization. Using the right and accurate translation will ensure the success of the game. It will help the player to understand the user interfaces, dialogues and instructions more easily in their own language. Using the right translation for the user interface is important. That is because it affects the usability of games in a new language. The wrong choice of words could lead to misinterpretation, which can confuse the player.

While dialogues and instructions must keep the original intent and tone, it also needs to be relevant to the culture of the new regions. Accurate localization ensures the game’s story remains intact and that players fully understand the storyline and objectives. Poor content translation will break the player's immersion and in the end give bad reviews for the game. This is a no-no situation that needs to be prevented.

There are some challenges in translating game content into new languages. The first is to maintain the context of the story. The translators need to understand the context of the game to keep the game engaging for the players.

Translators also need to highlight the importance of using idioms and slang. Some idioms may lose their meaning if they are translated literally. Therefore, they must express some idioms with the right translation that speaks for the player. Using idioms from the target languages is preferable.

Another challenge comes from technical aspects, which is text expansion. Some languages will need more space since they use a lot more words to translate content of the game. This can disrupt the design, therefore a change is needed.

Adapting game content for the local preferences

This involves changing the game elements to meet the cultural expectations of the new audiences. This process will help to make sure that game players will be comfortable with the game and can enjoy it.

This aspect involves changing the elements of the game to suit the target region's culture and habits. For example, dragons are often referred to as monstrous creatures that will break anything in front of them. While in some countries, it could symbolize luck and success.

Changing the elements of the game will ensure players do not feel weirded out by the different culture applied to the game. It will help them understand the game more significantly and eventually result in success for the game.

Visual localization

This key element involved in modifying the game graphics, icons, and other visual elements to meet the cultural expectations of the target regions. The success of a game often depends on effective visual localization.

For example, a character's clothing and appearance must need some adjustment to ensure it respects the norms of the target audiences. A character design that suits western audiences will need adjustment when it enters the middle east market. Not just the characters, specific fonts are also required to meet the standard of some target audiences. Like Arabic and Chinese that use different typography.

Conclusion

Mobile game localization is a highway in reaching new audiences, especially in non English speaking countries. These countries have a lot of opportunities for mobile game development in the future. Therefore, gaming companies should consider the right localization services that will offer the best results.

If you are looking for a company to help the localization process of your business reach across Asia, consider using Digital Trans Asia’s services. Digital Trans Asia is an experienced company that deals with translation and localization with specialized experts. Digital Trans Asia's team will help your business successfully enter the Asian market. To help you understand the importance of localization, kindly check out our blog for more articles about game localization, novel localization, voice-over services, and many more.