Bill Gates proclaimed that his biggest regret was not uplifting Microsoft to the status of what Android was. This shows us the revolutionary potential the mobile industry possesses. Mobile phones are one of the most popular devices in the world right now. It has enabled communities to interact with one another like never before. 

The technology of mobile applications has diminished the gaps between first-world and third-world countries. This interconnectivity and interdependency have been further emboldened vis-a-vis mobile video games. Mobile games have one of the biggest audiences in the global markets. And the reason it has become so popular is that not everyone speaks a universal language. Hence, the need for localization emerges, and especially Chinese App Localization Services, which enables games to be translated into multiple languages. So that people worldwide can connect and enjoy.

English may be the lingua franca of the world, but not every region has fluency in this language.  Offering multiple languages with your mobile games will allow people around the world to relate to the experience in the same way. Nonetheless, if you want your game to be played around the world, then you have to localize your mobile game application. Preferably into some of the major languages spoken around the world. 

In this article, we will review some of the best options of languages that your mobile games must be localized into. So that you can expand your gaming business;

Chinese 

China is one of the largest countries in the world both population and economy-wise. Moreover, it has also one of the biggest mobile game industries in the region. For instance, back in 2019, the mobile gaming industry in China generated around $17billion in revenue. This number is automatically a huge attraction for mobile game developers who wish to penetrate foreign markets. 

Nonetheless, as far as game localization is concerned, the Chinese language is also a very difficult language to translate your game into. You have to take into consideration a lot of factors. First and foremost, it’s imperative to understand the cultural preferences, nuances, and intricacies of the Chinese language. Secondly, from a business point of view, you have to understand the distribution channels prevalent in the Chinese market. And thirdly, from a gaming perspective, ensure what gaming genres are popular among the Chinese youth, as localizing every game would not be the right approach. These measures will guarantee a safe entry into the market. 

One more important factor that you have to take into consideration is that localization into Chinese does not mean that you just simply translate the language. You have to create brand new characters of the game while recreating the plot as well so that it sits well within the Chinese cultural parameters. Thereby, taking help from Chinese App Localization Services would be the right thing to do. 

French

Accumulating a sum of 34 million gamers, France is one of the biggest gaming markets in the world right now. Statistically, the gaming industry was able to generate a revenue of $4-5 billion back in 2017 and 2018. Moreover, the French market does not only constitute gamers but rather is a huge producer of video games as well. This makes the gaming market accessible but at the same time difficult to penetrate as well. Because French gamers are very picky about their gaming experience. And do not accept every other foreign video game. 

This poses a challenge to video game developers who wish to localize their games in the French market. The challenge pertains to an in-depth study of the french culture and gaming industry. Thereby, you will probably need the help of a professional translation agency that can enable you to come up with an effective and efficient localization strategy to penetrate the foreign market.

Talking about the demographics of gamers in the French gaming industry, you will be amazed to see that it ranges from the age of 9 to 60 years. The diversity of games played among these different groups of ages is also quite staggering. They play games mostly on pcs, whereas teenagers mostly play games on their mobile phones and gaming consoles as well. Many people assume that English games are the most popular in the French gaming market. On the contrary, this narrative is far away from the truth. In reality, they prefer video games in their own languages and the ones that have been localized for the French market only. 

German 

If you ever wonder whether localizing your mobile game application into the German language is a good idea or not, just think about the fact that there are over 45 million gamers in Germany right now. Or the ones who speak the German language. This number indicates that the potential of translating in German is a profitable endeavor. Because if you look at some of the statistics that were published back in 2018, you will get to know that the German mobile gaming market was able to generate revenues of over $6 billion. Hence, your effort to approach the German market would not be wasted.

In order to fathom the potential of the gaming industry in the German market, you can visit Gamescom, an event that takes place in Germany every year. It is one of the biggest in the world, where thousands of gaming fanatics around the world visit every year to learn about the new games that are being developed in Germany. Such events create opportunities for people to penetrate the German market and also help the local industry to create their own games. 

One important thing for game localization companies is to understand the German market. German people prefer games that are fun in nature. They want an experience filled with joy and laughter. Hence some of the most popular games in Germany are the ones that are filled with an engaging storyline. Because you have to understand one thing, there are markets in which some people are passionate about the games that are played. For some, it might be a leisure activity, but for some, it is more than that. They fully immerse themselves in the games and become critical of everything involved with the games. Hence, localization companies have to be very careful if they want to translate their games into German.

Japanese  

Japan has always been a gaming hub of the world. Popular games like Tekken and Need for speed Tokyo originate from the Japanese gaming industry. If you compare its ranking, then it comes right after the Chinese and the United States gaming market. This shows that Japan has nurtured a deep love for gaming. In terms of generating revenue, the 70 million video gamers residing in Japan are able to generate around $20 billion annually. And this number is just an approximation since the revenue is increasing on a quarterly basis.

On the other hand, if you want to study the tenets of the gaming industry in Japan, you need to know about the peculiarities of the market. First of all, the Japanese have a deep interest in specified animated content. Hence, if companies want to localize their games into the Japanese market they have to inculcate animated and visually powerful content. So that it could be successful with the audience. Moreover, another positive aspect of the localization process for the Japanese market is that a large majority of the gamers in Japan are familiar with the English language. So, in the process of translating the content for software. You need not translate each and every word into the targeted language.

Japanese are aware of the characters and the context behind the dialogues.  thereby, you do not need to change the storylines for them. Moreover, the Japanese prefer both mobile applications, as well as PCs, and gaming consoles. Hence, you can localize video games for any medium and be successful in the Japanese gaming market. Moreover, the Japanese are very accepting of new games, and always love the idea of new content for video games. So, if you are deciding as to which market will maximize your chances for a successful localization, then the Japanese gaming market is the one to go for.

Conclusion 

The purpose of content translation or localization is to reach a broader audience. We live in a globalized world. Hence, interconnectivity between different states has become a norm. The consumer is more educated and informed than it was ever before. This rhetoric has increased customer purchasing power. Now a consumer has different options to go for. 

Similarly, in video games, people look for a better experience, since the internet has made it easy for everyone to go for the things that interest them. Hence, different regions call for different languages. And people love things that are in their own native tongue. So localizing games in the native language of the consumer will go a long way as far as the success and popularity of that particular video game are concerned. 

In this article, some of the best languages for video game localization are mentioned. Conclusively, it’s for you to decide which market you want to penetrate. However, one thing to mention here is that you should start small, i,e, go for one language at a time. We would advise you to go for the Chinese language, and for this purpose utilize Chinese App Localization Services.  And if you are successful in that endeavor, plan to go localizing into more languages. This approach will open new markets, opportunities to strengthen your brand image and ultimately increase profits. And that is something a video game developer should always strive for.