1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. The Journal of Internationalization and Localization
  4. Volume 7, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 7, Issue 1-2
  • ISSN 2032-6904
  • E-ISSN: 2032-6912
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

This article explores how Chinese games are localized for Southeast Asia (SEA) markets. Based on the synthesized insights from practitioners and gamers, we identify gaps between localization in theory and in practice. The post-gold model is popular with Chinese game companies that usually do not consider localizing a game until it has attained domestic success. They tend to opt for full localization rather than “deep localization” (Bernal-Merino 2011) because adapting visuals and game mechanics is considered “icing on the cake”. Additionally, in our data, gamers seem to prefer foreignization over domestication, while practitioners combine both strategies to create a defamiliarizing gaming experience. Finally, the language diversity in SEA and the lingua franca status of English call for a nuanced understanding of . Hence, we suggest to differentiate three types of locales (presumed, practiced, and preferred) as a possible analytical framework to further theorize game localization from multiple perspectives of stakeholders.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/jial.20003.wu
2021-01-06
2024-10-05

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/jial.20003.wu
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Bernal-Merino, Miguel Ángel
    2011 “A Brief History of Game Localisation”. TRANS. Revista de Traductología15. Special issue on games localization, 11–17. www.trans.uma.es/pdf/Trans_15/11-17.pdf
     [Google Scholar]
  2. 2015 Translation and Localisation in Video Games: Making Entertainment Software Global. New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Carlson, Rebecca , and Jonathan Corliss
    2011 “Imagined Commodities: Video Game Localization and Mythologies of Cultural Difference.” Games and Culture6 (1): 61–82. doi:  10.1177/1555412010377322
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412010377322 [Google Scholar]
  4. Chandler, Heather M.
    2008 “Localization as a Core Game Development.” Presentation given at theLocalization Summit at the International Game Developers Conference 2008, San Francisco, February 20, 2008.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Chandler, Heather M. , and Stephanie O’Malley Deming
    2012 The Game Localization Handbook (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. CNG
    CNG 2019a 中国移动游戏海外市场发展报告 [Report on Chinese Video Games in Overseas Markets]. AccessedSeptember 13, 2020. www.joynews.cn/jiaodianpic/201903/2032333.html
  7. CNG
    CNG 2019b 2019 中国游戏产业年度报告 [Report on Game Industry in China 2019]. AccessedSeptember 13, 2020. www.joynews.cn/jiaodianpic/202001/0332402.html
  8. Computer Entertainment Suppliers’ Association (CESA)
    Computer Entertainment Suppliers’ Association (CESA) 2019 2019 CESA Games White Paper. AccessedSeptember 13, 2020. https://www.cesa.or.jp/survey/book/hakusho/detail001_2019.html
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Crystal, David
    1997 English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Dietz, Frank
    1999 “Beyond PacMan: Translating for the Computer Game Industry.” ATA Chronicle28 (9): 57.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Dodaro, Ettore
    2015 “The localization of video games: a study on the practical applications and their linguistic challenges.” Master’s thesis. Università Ca’Foscari Venezia.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Dong, Luo and Carme Mangiron
    2018 “Journey to the East: Cultural Adaptation of Video Games for the Chinese Market”. JoSTrans: The Journal of Specialised Translation29: 149–168. www.jostrans.org/issue29/art_dong.php
     [Google Scholar]
  13. ESA
    ESA 2020 2020 Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry. AccessedSeptember 24, 2020. https://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Final-Edited-2020-ESA_Essential_facts.pdf
  14. Ellefsen, Ugo , and Miguel Á. Bernal-Merino
    2018 “Harnessing the Roar of the Crowd: A Quantitative Study of Language Preferences in Video Games of French Players of the Northern Hemisphere.” The Journal of Internationalization and Localization5 (1): 21–48. doi:  10.1075/jial.00009.ell
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.00009.ell [Google Scholar]
  15. Fernández-Costales, Alberto
    2012 “Exploring Translation Strategies in Video Game Localization.” Monographs in Translation and Interpreting (MONTI)4: 385–408. https://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/26956/1/MonTI_04_17.pdf
     [Google Scholar]
  16. 2016 “Analyzing Player’s Perception on the Translation of Video Games.” InMedia Across Borders: Localizing TV, Film, and Video Games, by Iain Robert Smith , Andrea Esser and Miguel Ángel Bernal-Merino (eds.), 183–201. New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. 2017 “On the Sociolinguistics of Video Game Locasilation: Localising Games into Minority Languages in Spain.” Journal of Internationalisation and Localisation4 (2): 120–140. doi:  10.1075/jial.00001.fer
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.00001.fer [Google Scholar]
  18. Fernandes, Guilherme
    2019 Games Market Trends and Publishers to Watch in Southeast Asia: The World’s Fastest-Growing Mobile Games Market. AccessedSeptember 13, 2020. https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/games-market-trends-and-publishers-to-watch-in-southeast-asia-the-worlds-fastest-growing-mobile-games-market/
  19. Fong, Henry
    2013 The Western games that conquered China. AccessedSeptember 13, 2020. https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1017999/The-Western-Games-That-Conquered
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Geurts, Francine
    2015 “What Do You Want to Play? The Desirability of Video Game Translations from English into Dutch according to Dutch Gamers and Non-Gamers.” Master’s thesis. University of Leiden.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Gil Puerto, M.
    2017 “La localización de videojuegos hecha por aficionados: el caso de Undertale” [Video Game Translation by Amateurs: The Case of Undertale ]. BA thesis. Universitat Jaume I. hdl.handle.net/10234/166992
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Kent, Steven L.
    2001 The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World. New York: Three Rivers Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Khoshsaligheh, Masood , and Saeed Ameri
    2020 “Video Game Localisation in Iran: A Survey of Users’ Profile, Gaming Habits and Preferences.” The Translator26: 1–19. doi:  10.1080/13556509.2020.1724046
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2020.1724046 [Google Scholar]
  24. Kim, W Chan , and Renée Mauborgne
    2004 Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make The Competition Irrelevant. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Larson-Hall, Jenifer
    2010 A Guide to Doing Statistics in Second Language Research Using SPSS. New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Loh, Benjamin Y.
    2013 “Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) in Malaysia: The Global-Local Nexus.” Master’s thesis. Ohio University.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Mandiberg, Stephen
    2017 “Fallacies of Game Localization: Censorship and #TorrentialDownpour.” The Journal of Internationalization and Localization4 (2): 162–182. doi:  10.1075/jial.00002.man
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.00002.man [Google Scholar]
  28. Mangiron, Carme
    2017 “Research in Game Localization: An Overview.” The Journal of Internationalization and Localization4 (2): 74–99. doi:  10.1075/jial.00003.man
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.00003.man [Google Scholar]
  29. Mangiron, Carmen , and Minako O’Hagan
    2006 “Game Localization: Unleashing Imagination with ‘Restricted’ Translation.” JoSTrans: The Journal of Specialised Translation6: 10–21. www.jostrans.org/issue06/art_ohagan.php
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Newzoo
    Newzoo 2019 Global Games Market Report 2019. AccessedSeptember 13, 2020. https://newzoo.com/insights/trend-reports/newzoo-global-games-market-report-2019-light-version/
  31. O’Hagan, Minako , and Heather Chandler
    2016 “Game localization research and translation studies: Loss and gain under an interdisciplinary lens.” InBorder Crossings: Translation Studies and other disciplines, by Yves Gambier and Luc van Doorslaer , 309–330. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/btl.126.15oha
     https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.126.15oha [Google Scholar]
  32. O’Hagan, Minako , and Carmen Mangiron
    2013 Game Localization: Translating for the Global Digital Entertainment Industry. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi:  10.1075/btl.106
     https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.106 [Google Scholar]
  33. Saldanha, Gabriela , and Sharon O’Brien
    2014 Research Methodologies in Translation Studies. New York: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315760100
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315760100 [Google Scholar]
  34. Scholand, Michael
    2002 “Localización de videojuegos” [Game Localisation]. Tradumàtica1. www.fti.uab.es/tradumatica/revista/articles/mscholand/mscholand.PDF
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Statista
    Statista 2020a Mobile Games: Southeast Asia. AccessedSeptember 13, 2020. https://www.statista.com/outlook/211/643/mobile-games/southeast-asia
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Statista
    Statista 2020b Mobile Games: Indonesia. AccessedSeptember 13, 2020. https://www.statista.com/outlook/211/120/mobile-games/indonesia
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Syafa’ati, Etty , and Umi Pujiyanti
    2017 “Game Localization: Loss and Gain in Visual Novel Subtitles.” Register Journal10 (2): 185–199. doi:  10.18326/rgt.v10i2.185‑199
     https://doi.org/10.18326/rgt.v10i2.185-199 [Google Scholar]
  38. Venuti, Lawrence
    1995 The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation. London and New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Weststar, Johanna , Eva Kwan , and Shruti Kumar
    2019 Developer Satisfaction Survey 2019 Summary Report. AssessedSeptember 13, 2020. https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/igda-website/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/29093706/IGDA-DSS-2019_Summary-Report_Nov-20-2019.pdf
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/jial.20003.wu
Loading
Localizing Chinese games for Southeast Asian markets
The Journal of Internationalization and Localization 7, 49 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.20003.wu
/content/journals/10.1075/jial.20003.wu
/content/journals/10.1075/jial.20003.wu
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Chinese games; game localization; gamers; Southeast Asia; video games

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error