As the digital revolution takes over the world, businesses are no longer confined to their native markets. Today, globalization is a concept that is being embraced by every enterprise, big or small. Globalization has enabled these businesses to step out of their current markets and explore new ones. Mobile game is just one of the many means by which global markets are captured.

Tapping into the global market with your mobile game app means you will have to adapt your games to the preferences of the target markets. Mobile game translation ensures these international markets are captured seamlessly. However, translation of mobile game apps may be tricky, especially if you are a new mobile game developer.

Here are a few challenges a mobile game app developer may face when stepping into the global waters.

Challenges of Mobile Game Translation

Challenge #1: Identifying the Target Languages

According to research, the most lucrative language for mobile games is Japanese, followed closely by English and Korean. These languages account for generating approximately 75%of profits on Google Play. Other languages that are on the list of top 10 mobile app translation are Chinese, Russian, Italian, German, French, and Spanish.

Choosing the right language to localize your mobile game app is a challenge since it will determine your company’s future course of action. For overcoming this challenge, you need to ask yourself which markets are most profitable. Consider researching before taking a decision and entering the market with less competition. Here, you may also need the help of a mobile app translation service to make this task of choosing the target languages easier.

Challenge #2: Choosing who will do the translation

Once you have selected the target languages to translate your mobile game app into, the next task is to search for some agency that will get the job done. An experienced, trustworthy, and reliable language service provider can accurately provide mobile app translation services while ensuring quality is not compromised. Moreover, the right localization team will ensure your games correctly conveys your brand message to the target customer, while preserving the original style and tone.

You can search for a reliable and professional video game translation services by considering some of the factors. These factors are the experience of the translators, the history of translation projects, and the quality certifications that the agency holds.

Challenge #3: Lending the Right User Experience

While a reliable translation agency is capable of delivering quality translations of your games, it is equally important that the agency has ample knowledge of the gaming universe. Although you can still get a translation without this knowledge, there is a risk of getting a translation without any gaming appeal.

The main purpose of translating your mobile game app is to build an attractive gaming world for the player. For lending the right user experience that is both immersive and entertaining, it is important to consider all the nuances of the global markets. If the animating effect of a mobile game is not aligned with the literal translation, the results may be disappointing.

You can handle this problem by making sure your translation team is aware of your game history and characters. Having complete knowledge of your game can enable them to come up with the right words and expressions for translation.

Challenge #4: Consider the Timing

Localizing a game for global markets can be an arduous task and time-consuming process. From identifying which language to translate into to adapting your apps to fit the cultural mould, the whole localization task can take a lot of time. Usually, the time allotted for localization is not enough to translate and proofread the content once. For getting an accurate translation, proofreading it 5-6 times is ideal.

To manage the time constraints, it is recommended to start the localization process as early as possible. However, researchers recommend doing this when the app is still in the development phase. This allows translators and developers to work together in order to deliver a quality translation. Nevertheless, it is important to keep in consideration that if you start the localization process too early, it will be difficult to keep your best translators engaged throughout the process.

To deal with this challenge, make sure your localization team provides translations in quick turnaround times. Whether it is a website localization agency or an app translation partner, it should not spend too much time reviewing the game material. You need to provide your translators with game concepts and important material beforehand to avoid any delays.

Challenge #5: Keep your apps culturally relevant

Considering culture in the localization process is probably one of the most important elements. There are many instances when a company did not consider the culture of the target market in its localization process. This led to mistranslations.

A basic understanding of the country and the culture you aim to localize into can help you to avoid any localization missteps. Make sure to take the help of your native speaker translators and get assistance on the culture that you want. You can also allow them to make useful comments throughout the localization process to avoid any cultural failures. Lastly, make sure your chosen translation partner is able to localize your game apps without losing the originality of your mobile game.

Key Takeaway

Mobile game app localization is an important endeavor that many companies undertake in order to step outside their native markets. However, during this localization effort, certain challenges can arise, which can only be solved with the help of two things. Firstly, proper planning and research of the target market, and secondly, the support of a reliable translation agency can make the localization of your games easier, making global acclaim possible.