LAI SPECIAL BLOG POST

"Insights Learned from Indie Game Developers in Latin America & the Middle East"

LAI covers an overview of the video game markets in Latin America and the Middle East. (For an in depth look at the video game market in Latin America, read our regional and country-specific pages.)

LAI PRESENTATION

"Market Opportunity in the Middle East"

Read the full transcript of Game Localization Specialist & Consultant Karin Skoog's presentation at the Arabic Game Jam, which covers topics such as:

• An introduction to video game translation and localization
• Cultural game trends and global examples
• Advantages of creating games for the MENA market
• Linguistic considerations (Arabic dialects)
• Picking the right market and creating a game for the Middle East
• Developing a game for MENA gamers - Embedding culture into your game

LAI EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

MENA Market Discussion with Lebanese-Based Indie Developer

DID YOU KNOW?

• Ubisoft opened the first game studio in the MENA region in Morocco back in 1998! Morocco was seen as an ideal entry point, as it is French-speaking.
• Massive mobile gaming publisher, Gameloft, has long been localizing "all new games" into Arabic.
• During 2017, the best performing mobile game in the Arab market was from China (Revenge of Sultans - انتقام السلاطين) but was a fully localized into culturally immersive experience across Arab history, customs and the Arabic language.
• Chinese game companies are increasingly targeting gamers in the Middle East with their games.

Top Ways to Reach Gamers in the Middle East (MENA)

• Localize into Arabic, Turkish (Turkey) and French (Egypt) - but don't just localize Arabic if you localize. Consider which type of Arabic would be best suited for your game. (LAI's game localization experts can help you with this.) 

• ▷ Modern Standard Arabic sounds stiff and formal to Arab gamers. It's mostly used for radio, newspapers and lectures.
   
• ▷ The Syrian dialect is perceived to be more serious and therefore, well-suited for drama. Teletubbies was originally dubbed into Syrian Arabic and wasn't well-received until it was changed to classical Arabic.
   
• ▷ The Egyptian dialect is well-suited for comedy. Law & Order was first dubbed into Egyptian Arabic, to which viewers couldn't take the show seriously.
   
• ▷ The Lebanese dialect is well-suited for sitcoms. When Law & Order was instead dubbed into Lebanese Arabic, viewers lost interest. It wasn't until Syrian Arabic was used that the show resonated with viewers.
   
• ▷ Read more about Arabic linguistic variations on LAI's blog.
   

• Make sure your game is reviewed by local experts.

• ▷ Some game content that conflicts with local beliefs (i.e. alcohol references, sexual scenes, clothing, religious references and some violence) may result in your game not entering the Middle Eastern market. (Featured below is South Korean studio Netmarble's localized game Traveling Millionaire.)

• Adapt game art and the UI, so each aspect of your game retains elements that resonate with local gamers. (Read Game Art Internationalization to learn more.)

• ▷ UI localization is especially important in Arabic due to the right-to-left nature of the language. Subsequently, gamers expect buttons to be placed differently than Western gamers do.
   
• ▷ In most cases, the UI should be entirely redesigned for game menus in Arabic. (The below image is from EA's Arabic localized, FIFA 2015.)
   

• Work with specialists knowledgeable in regional tastes. (Pictured below is Lumba's Tribal Rivals.)

• Focus on local marketing/ad efforts.

 

Key Local Conferences & Events 

• Digital Games Conference (DGC Games) Dubai
• Tehran Game Convention (TGC)
• Dubai World Game Expo (DWGE)
• Gaming Istanbul
• GAMESARABIA