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Article published In:
Localization around the globe
Edited by Minako O'Hagan and Julie McDonough Dolmaya
[The Journal of Internationalization and Localization 7:1/2] 2020
► pp. 49–68

Localizing Chinese games for Southeast Asian markets

A multidimensional perspective

| The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
| Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

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 locale. 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.

Keywords: video games, game localization, gamers, Chinese games, Southeast Asia
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Game localization for the global and SEA markets
    • 2.1Models, levels, and strategies of game localization
    • 2.2Participant-oriented research on game localization
    • 2.3Research on game localization for SEA markets
  • 3.Research design
    • 3.1Interview
    • 3.2Survey
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Insights from the practitioners
    • 4.2Insights from gamers
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1Models of localization
    • 5.2Levels of localization
    • 5.3Translation strategies
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 6 January 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.20003.wu
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Gameography

Game title (publisher, year of first release)

Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft 2007)

Ski Safari (Defiant Development 2012)

Super Smash Bros Brawl (Nintendo 2008)