Localisation in the Games Industry
Robert Lu Bue, Managing Director and Anthony Ash, Director of Training at Applingua, discussed numerous key features in regards to localization for games. They described localization and how to localize a game, how the different platforms need a different approach and how a developer should choose what languages to translate to. Per languageknowledge.eu the top five native languages in Europe are English, French, Italian, German and Spanish, this could be related to the top five game markets in Europe being the same countries in 2015 (Statista). Because of this, developers localizing for Europe would naturally prioritize localizing to these countries first rather than others. Originally, I was under the impression that localization would be costly, but some paid sites cost around £40 for multiple languages. “Even using paid sites are cheaper than you think - I initially looked into the cost of translation and for all of the text in my game 14 languages of localisation it averaged around £50.”(Johansson, 2017).
A lot of developers wait till they’ve finished a large chunk of their game before they incorporate localization, which in some cases isn’t an issue if it’s a small title or if it’s only the language that needs translating, but sometimes localizing a game can mean changing visuals. Realizing these issues later into development can lead to further problems like additional cost. “on Assassin's Creed, we had cameras that needed to move to avoid showing some nudity that would be a problem in some countries. Being able to identify that early in the process is very precious.”(Donovan, 2012).
Choosing the right translation provider is something a lot of developers worry about. When a strict budget is involved in the equation, the cheapest option is often the only one. However, the cheapest option is generally not the best, as cheap providers can often lead to mistakes and errors in spelling and grammar. “Spelling and grammar mistakes are common in low-quality translations, but so are actual errors in meaning. In general, the lower the rate of translation, the higher the risk of poor quality.”(Kooten, 2014)
Johansson, A. (2017) Localisation 101 - How we can use language to make our games more inclusive. Gamasutra. [Online] Available from: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AlexJohansson/20170216/291660/Localisation_101__How_we_can_use_language_to_make_our_games_more_inclusive.php. [Accessed 12 February 2017]
Donovan, T. (2012) 10 Tips: Localization. Gamasutra. [Online] Available from: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/175367/10_tips_localization.php. [Accessed 11 February 2017]
Kooten, L. (2014) Getting Started with Gaming Localization. Smartling, inc. [Online] Available from: https://www.smartling.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/Smartling_eBook_GettingStartedWithGamingLocalization.pdf [Accessed 11 February 2017]