localization - Is it worth doing?

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by metalbean, Mar 18, 2012.

  1. metalbean

    metalbean Well-Known Member

    Mar 18, 2012
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    Hi there,

    We are new in iOS dev and have just finished out first game.

    Since we plan to release the app worldwide, localization comes to mind.

    From the data gathered from applingua, the top most translated language by order is

    French
    German
    Japanese
    Spanish
    Italian

    Apart from that, we are also thinking

    Thai
    Chinese

    We also plan to target Scandinavia but I'd imagine English is widely used there.

    I'd say a natural thing is to have translated version but I am just wondering if english apps would easily find success in those markets too.
     
  2. Silver Josh

    Silver Josh Well-Known Member

    Oct 12, 2008
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    Almost four years have passed, but this topic about localization services remains interesting: Localizations.

    If you want an advice, there's really no point to translate into Thai.

    At least you should consider Korean, Russian, Portuguese and Swedish first.
     
  3. Echoseven

    Echoseven Moderator
    Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze

    Jul 19, 2011
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    The red Skittle
    I'm merely a user - but as one who is multilingual, I would say there is nothing worse than a badly localized description / game.

    Please, whatever you do, don't use Google Translate.


    A good localization couldn't hurt - and I'm sure if you ask around you'll be able to find someone willing to do it for you for cheap, or even free. The most important question is to ask whether the audience using the App Store is used to the language in question or not.

    Browse the country's store first - are the majority of their apps/games in English or the local language? I'm sure in some cases it would be pointless to localize at all.
     
  4. metalbean

    metalbean Well-Known Member

    Mar 18, 2012
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    I agree. The thing about Thai is that people have mentioned that it's a very social country and have heard about social games coming up big in Thailand.

    Korean. Is this worth it? Most smartphone users are Android.

    As for Swedish. Having lived in Scandinavia for five years. I am not sure if it's all that necessary at all.

    Portugese. I agree. But is Brazil + Portugal a very big market? Wondering about iOS usage here.

    Russia makes sense. I guess.
     
  5. metalbean

    metalbean Well-Known Member

    Mar 18, 2012
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    Thanks. I realized that you are offering pro bono help. That's really nice. I am also multilingual myself. Native language being Mandarin Chinese. But near native in Cantonese and Bahasa Indonesia.

    So hit me up if you manage to think of something interesting ! :)
     
  6. Silver Josh

    Silver Josh Well-Known Member

    Oct 12, 2008
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    I certainly agree with the top 5 languages you listed before.
    The reason I mentioned about Korean, Portuguese, Swedish and Russian is because, despite of how English is widely used and market size, they're certainly bigger markets than Thailand.

    Of course this is not the same for all the apps.
    We must think individually; for instance, one of my apps had a great success in Sweden, so I had to translate it into Swedish just to satisfy some of my clients.
    The translation then paid for itself soon.

    It's hard to estimate whether the localization of the app is worth or not. It's about 4 years I keep translating every single app. In some cases I had an amazing increase of sales, while in other cases it didn't affect at all. To be honest, I have no idea why Japanese love my money manager and hate my diary app.

    I think I wrote it dozens of times, but I highly recommend dys translations and mygengo. Reasonable price, turnarnaround time and professional support (dys better than mygengo in this case).
     
  7. metalbean

    metalbean Well-Known Member

    Mar 18, 2012
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    This is interesting. Thanks~!

    Considering giving them a try.
     
  8. tpsolutions

    tpsolutions New Member

    Mar 22, 2012
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    Metalbean,

    Where are you located?

    Ellie
     
  9. metalbean

    metalbean Well-Known Member

    Mar 18, 2012
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    I am now living in Beijing
     
  10. Endair

    Endair Active Member

    Mar 23, 2012
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    How do you know those countries are important?
     

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