Video Game Localization Experts

Video Game Localization Services for Developers

When you’re ready to launch your computer game - whether it’s an indie and AAA game - into the global market, video game localization services become essential. As you introduce it to a foreign-speaking audience, your game must deliver an engaging user experience. When its interface is tailored to the players’ native language, complete with necessary cultural, linguistic, and other adaptations, you’ll create a “winner” for that audience.

So, how do you find a service that gets all of this right? Your presence here suggests you’re considering TheWordPoint. Our services are designed to assure you that choosing us is the best decision. And we’re about to explain why.

Choosing Video Game Localization Company

The first step is to understand what video game localization entails. If you think it’s simply a matter of translating language and conversations and inserting them into your game, you’re mistaken. For instance, imagine a character uses the English expression “When pigs fly!”—how would someone in China, Spain, Germany, or any African country interpret that phrase? They’d likely be baffled. Similarly, consider a scenario in your video game where a younger character’s comments to an older person come across as disrespectful. How would that be received in Japan? Not favorably. At the same time, the original intent of the game author must be preserved. It’s not just about finding a video game translator; it’s about partnering with an agency that employs native-speaking professionals and programming specialists who collaborate to deliver a product that offers an exceptional user experience for foreign audiences.

Hundreds of agencies offer video game translation, but many rely on amateur linguists who, while fluent in a target language, are not native speakers of it. They may translate text and audio/video materials, but there’s no true localization of language, dialogue, or cultural norms. When evaluating any service, ask plenty of questions: Do they employ native language specialists? Do their translators meet international standards? How much experience do they have in translation and localization? What does their localization process entail? You deserve detailed answers to these questions. At TheWordPoint, we encourage such inquiries and are eager to discuss all aspects of your game and our localization process in depth.

How Video Games Localization Works at TheWordPoint

If you’ve developed a video game, you’re familiar with the work involved. However, you might not fully grasp the effort required for games localization when it’s done properly. At TheWordPoint, we ensure it’s done right. Here are the steps involved when you choose our services:

Language and Cultural Adaptation

A native-speaking video game translator pours through the game, reviewing all of its language and cultural aspects. He identifies the cultural context, the dialogue, and the multimedia and UI elements that would confuse or offend the target audience so that they can be altered. A listing is prepared and presented to the client for explanation and approval. These changes will likely involve some coding changes, but our services have the experts to accomplish this too.

Translation of Manuals and Guides

Quality manual translation improves the gaming experience by helping players worldwide fully understand gameplay systems, achievements, and narrative elements. This attention to documentation localization ensures international players receive the same comprehensive experience as those in the original market, ultimately expanding a game's global appeal and accessibility. All this documentation has to be translated by an experienced game localization company.

Voice-Overs

We are among the few services offering voice-over options. You’ll appreciate this because the characters’ voices—conveying emotions like sarcasm, joy, sadness, or anger—stay faithful to the storyline. We also synchronize the dubbing so that they match the characters’ speech in the original version precisely.

Quality Control and Testing

Once the project is finished, the video game translator thoroughly reviews it, ensuring there are no bugs or other issues. Next, our team conducts sample testing with a few members of the target audience and collects their feedback. We then relay this feedback to the customer, along with suggestions for improvements based on those insights.

Localization of Website for Global Audience

TheWordPoint also provides website localization if your game is played online or your product is presented on an official web platform; we adapt it for the target language and audience.

As you can see, there’s much to consider when selecting a video game localization service, and these examples are just the “tip of the iceberg,” to use an American expression. When a game is localized for a foreign audience, every aspect, element, and feature must be analyzed, evaluated, and then tailored to suit that audience.