Why Game Companies Are Localizing Their Games in Indonesia
Why are big game companies localizing their games to Indonesia? What is the exact reason behind them doing that? Don't worry, because in this article we will explain several reasons why big game companies localize their games in Indonesia. Game localization is simply the process of adapting a game to fit the language, culture, and preferences of the local market. This includes text translation, sound adjustments, and visual changes to make the game fully enjoyable for users in the target market. One common reason for game localization is that it allows games to reach a wider audience and enhance the user experience with more relevant and familiar content.
Game Market Potential in Indonesia
Indonesia has become one of the fast-moving and rapidly-growing markets in gaming worldwide. Indonesia's growth in the gaming industry is driven several factors, including increased access to the internet, wide coverage in smartphone adoption, and a large youth population. As per the Indonesian Game Association, the gaming industry has been growing by a high double-digit rate every year for the last couple of years. The value of the game market in Indonesia in 2020 is more than 2 trillion rupiah, and projected growth is yet to increase along with technological development and better purchasing power among people.
The gamer demographic is very heterogeneous, covering different age groups and socio-economic backgrounds. Most of the gamers in Indonesia come from teenagers and young adults in the age range of 15-35 years. Even so, it is not uncommon to find gamers starting from children to adults over 35 years of age. Gamers from Indonesia not only include men but also women, who have increasingly taken part in various kinds of games, be it through mobile, PC, or console games. Besides, the trend of gamer behavior in Indonesia also shows a tendency: the strong inclination toward online multiplayer games allows social interaction and collaboration between players.
According to the latest statistics and data, the number of game users in Indonesia still has great growth potential. As of now, a Newzoo report indicates that by 2023, active gamers will have grown to cross over the 100 million milestone, thus becoming the largest market for mobile games in the world. The report also mentioned that, on average, gamers in Indonesia spend approximately 4-5 hours a week playing games, and their favorite platform for playing these games is mobile. Additional Google and Temasek data emphasize that revenue from mobile games in Indonesia is likely to reach as high as USD 600 million by 2023, which is an illustration of the huge economic potential this industry holds.
Benefits of Game Localization for Companies
Game localization is often a move gaming companies do to tap into markets and gain recognition in different countries. One major benefit that companies can reap from game localization lies in the expansion of users. Making games available in local languages and customs, companies connect with a broader audience and enhance player accessibility across the world. For example, customizing game content to match cultures attracts gamers since gameplay becomes more relatable. This greatly assists companies in increasing their market presence.
Market reach extension enables companies to generate more revenues from the in-game purchase of accessories and other related items. This also creates brand loyalty and engagement in that the players have a sense of association, with the game that values and represents their culture thus sparking attachment. This creates user loyalty, an interactive gaming community.
Effective Strategies in Game Localization
This involves translation and adaptation of the content at the very basic level in game localization. It has a much larger scope than what is actually understood by the term meaning translation of texts from one language to another. The process also adapts the gaming elements for the local culture. Attention paid to nuances of language, sense of humor, and specific cultural references is essential for the Indonesian video games market. For example, incorporating local idioms or adjusting character dialogues to make it familiar to Indonesian players, which raises the level of engagement and satisfaction of players. Besides, adaptation to visual and audio elements is also necessary, such as music or background sounds relevant to Indonesian culture.
Appropriated tools and technology in localization will speed up and simplify the adaptation process of the game. Other technologies that can further make the translation and management of game content easier to handle include Translation Management Systems and computer-assisted translation tools. Analytics tools can also help reveal player behaviors and preferences of players in Indonesia. Firms use this data to adjust the game content in order to suit the needs and desires of the local markets. It will, for example, be indicated by analytics which levels or features are the most popular among Indonesian players, so that the company can subsequently concentrate on the development and promotion of those aspects. Advanced technologies in game localization serve not only to enhance the quality of adaptation; they also enable the company to monitor and improve the user experience over time.
Potential & Futures of Game Industry in Indonesia
Localization of the game in Indonesia is gaining momentum. This trend is expected to grow with the huge amount of players increasing day by day. In 2020, the Indonesian mobile gaming market was valued at USD 1.29 billion, and it is predicted that by 2025, this will rise to USD 2.15 billion. As more advanced technology and further localized games are adopted, players will get a more personalized game experience relevant to the local culture. Further in this line, games containing content featuring folklore or characters from Indonesian culture would represent a rising trend.
Huge opportunities open up to gaming companies able to deliver well-localized content. Game localization does not refer to translation from languages but also adaptation to the local culture, customs, and preferences. This allows developers to create more engaging experiences for players, to present them with a more immersive experience in a game. Among the biggest challenges is understanding and executing the localization process effectively. Mistakes in localization lead to user dissatisfaction and a decrease in the popularity of a game. Other than this, the cost and resources to conduct full localization is itself a challenge.
The scope of cooperation between local and international game developers in the Game Localization industry is immense. It would mean sharing knowledge, technology, and resources for developing games that are both pleasing to the eye and culturally relevant. Another major role will be innovations in translation technology and content adaptation. One of the main trends of the future is going to be AI and machine learning being used to learn from user preferences and automatically customize the content of games. It is also possible to enhance the quality of localization through collaboration with local communities in order to get direct input.
Localization within Indonesia's game market is not just one of the marketing strategies but one of the key steps towards winning the competition in such a competitive market. In a move to ensure fast growth in Indonesia's game localization industry and creation of unique satisfying gaming experience for players, it has to gain leverage from trends, opportunities, and collaboration.
Ultimately, many large companies have chosen to localize their video games in Indonesia. This is largely due to Indonesia’s enormous market potential and has shown strong growth statistics in recent years, and is predicted to continue to explode in the next few years. By taking advantage of massive technological developments, the game localization process will certainly become smoother and produce maximum output.
Talking about the localization process, the team from Digital Trans Asia is ready to help with your game localization needs. Digital Trans Asia provides services ranging from translation to comprehensive localization services for video games and films. Digital Trans Asia is staffed by professionals with expertise in their fields so they can help your localization process optimally.