Cover not available
Article published In:
The Journal of Internationalization and Localization
Vol. 8:1 (2021) ► pp.26–47

An overview of the localisation of video games into Arabic

| Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University | University of Leeds
| Taif University

With the emergence of video game localisation studies in the last decade, scholarly interest in translation studies in this young discipline has increased. Although globalisation has encouraged video game companies to offer their products in as many languages and markets as feasible, this academic discipline is still an under-researched area, especially in the Arab context. This article presents an overview to engender a better understanding of the nature of video games and their localisation in the Arab market. This market is distinct due to its culture, politics and language. In addition to the translational challenges related to the Arabic language, this study deals with the specificities of video game localisation from political, cultural and linguistic perspectives. This research offers a historical overview of the localisation of video games into Arabic since the inception of the practice, including an outline of the main localisation milestones in this field.

Keywords: Arabic localization, video games, historical trajectory of localization, censorship, cultural adaptation
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Contextualising localisation in the Arab world
    • 2.1Defining the term localisation
    • 2.2Arabising the term localisation
    • 2.3History of localisation in the Arab world
  • 3.Video game localisation
    • 3.1Video games in the Arab world
    • 3.2Video game regulations in the Arab world
  • 4.Challenges to video game localisation in the Arab world
    • 4.1Political challenges
    • 4.2Cultural challenges
    • 4.3Linguistic issues
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • References
  • Gameography
Published online: 13 September 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.20008.goa
References
Abufardeh, Sameer, and Kenneth Magel
2008 “Software localization: the challenging aspects of Arabic to the localization process (Arabization).” IASTED Proceeding of the Software Engineering SE:. 275–279.Google Scholar
Ahmed, Mohammed
1996 اللغة العربية والنظم الحاسوبية والبرمجيات [Arabic language, computer systems and software]. In استخدام اللغة العربية في المعلوماتية [The use of the Arabic language in informatics]. 118–149. Tunis: Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization.Google Scholar
Al-Amoudi, Omar
2013 الألعاب المنسوخة “وش كانوا يفكرون بالضبط!” نظرة تحليلية عميقة [Copied Games “What exactly were they thinking!” Deep Analytical View]. True Gaming. Accessed October, 2020. [URL]
2018 “لنستمع لشخصية سبايدرمان وهو يتحدث بالعربية بمغامرته القادمة بلعبة Marvel’s Spider-Man” [Let’s listen to Spiderman speaking Arabic on his upcoming Marvel’s Spider-Man adventure]. True Gaming. Accessed August, 2020. [URL]
Aldossary, Hassan
2015 “Video Games Translation and Localisation in Arabic: Issues and Challenges.” Master’s Thesis, University of Sheffield.
Alexander, Leigh
2008 “LittleBigPlanet Delayed Worldwide Due to Qur’An-Sampling Audio”. Gamasutra. Accessed October, 2020. [URL]
Al-Hamdi, Omar
2015 بمناسبة مرور 40 عام على إنتاجها ، حواسيب شخصية قديمة أثرت على حياتنا التقنية [To mark its 40th anniversary, old personal computers that have influenced our technology lives] Accessed November, 2020. [URL]
Aljazeera
2017 ديزني تعود للدبلجة باللهجة المصرية بدلا من الفصحى [Disney returns to dubbing the Egyptian dialect instead of the classical Arabic]. Accessed August, 2020. [URL]
Al-Mazrooa, Nada
2018 “Arabic localisation: key case studies for translation studies.” PhD diss, Cardiff University.Google Scholar
Almowanes, A.
2017 “History of Computing in Saudi Arabia: A Cultural Perspective.” International Journal of Social Science and Humanity 7 (7): 437–441.Google Scholar
Al-Obaidi, Adel
2007 التعريب وإشكاليات التكنولوجيا الرقمية : دراسة نموذج للمحتوى وأسماء النطاقات [Arabization and Problems of Digital Technology: A Study of a Content Model and Domain Names]. The fifteenth conference of libraries and information facilities and their role in establishing the knowledge society: the Arab Federation of Libraries and Information. 325–340. Accessed July, 2020. [URL]
Al Otaibi, Walid
2020 “A Console You’ve Never Heard of Kickstarted Gaming in the Middle East”. Medium. Accessed August, 2020. [URL]
Alpert, Frank
2007 “Entertainment software: Suddenly huge, little understood.” Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Al-Qurashi, Khalid
2015 “ Rise of the Tomb Raider in Saudi Arabia officially banned religious offence ”. Arab Hardware. Accessed November, 2020. [URL]
Al-Rawi, Ahmed
2008 “Iraqi stereotypes in American culture: The case of video games and films.” International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies 2 (2): 225–249. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Altagram
2018 “Games Localization for Arabic Cultures: Interview with Malek Teffaha, Head of Localization and Communication at Ubisoft Middle East – Part II.” Accessed November, 2020. [URL]
Anastasiou, Dimitra, and Reinhard Schäler
2010 “Translating vital information: Localisation, internationalisation, and globalisation.” Syn-thèses journal 3 (11): 11–25.Google Scholar
Balela, Majed S., and Darren Mundy
2015 “Analysing Cultural Heritage and its Representation in Video Games.” In DiGRA Conference. 1–16.Google Scholar
2016 “Exploring approaches to the generation and representation of heritage artefacts in video game contexts.” Asia Pacific media educator 26 (1): 99–112. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bazara, Saleh
. Saudi Gamer 2018 رأينا بتعريب Detroit: نحو الإنسانية بعد تجربة اللغة الأصلية والدبلجة المصرية [Our opinion about Detroit: Become Human after playing it in original and Egyptian dubbings] Saudi Gamer. Accessed June, 2020. [URL]
Bernal-Merino, Miguel Á
2014 Translation and localisation in video games: making entertainment software global. London and New York: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bilarabiya
2020 شركة “صخر” العربية للبرمجيات … حقيقة تم تحويلُها إلى حُلم. [The Arabic company, Sakhr Software…a reality converted into a dream]. Accessed July, 2020. [URL]
Bouabdellah, Omar
2020 “Transferencia de los referentes culturales en las películas de Shrek: Un estudio de caso sobre las versiones subtituladas y dobladas del inglés al español, francés e árabe”. PhD diss, Universidad de Alicante.
Bouzifie, Wahibah
2017 واقع اللغة العربية علي شبكة الإنترنت [The Reality of the Arabic Language on the Internet]. Cairo: Elmaktb Elarabe Llmaref.Google Scholar
Braun, Andrew
2015a “Video games in the Middle East (part 1): The road to 2015”. IDG Connect. Accessed May 2020. [URL]
2015b “Video games in the Middle East (part 2): Local talent”. IDG Connect. Accessed March 2020. [URL]
Byrne, Jody
2009 “Localisation-when language, culture and technology join forces.” Language at Work 3(5). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Caoili, Eric
2012 “What You Need to Know About Breaking into the Arab Market”. Gamasutra. Accessed December, 2020. [URL]
Carlsson, Anders
2012 “Al Warka and the Iraqi Home Computer Scene”, chipflip. Accessed May, 2020, [URL]
Cermak, Radim, and Zdenek Smutny
2018 “A framework for cultural localization of websites and for improving their commercial utilization.” In Global observations of the influence of culture on consumer buying behaviour, edited by Sarmistha Sarma. 206–232. Pennsylvania: IGI Global. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chandler, Heather Maxwell
2020 The Game Production Toolbox. Boca Raton: CRC Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chandler, Heather Maxwell, and Deming, Stephanie O’Malley
2012 The Game Localization Handbook. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.Google Scholar
Cronin, Michael
2003 Translation and globalization. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
De la Cova, Elena
2016 “Translation challenges in the localization of web applications.” Sendebar 27 (1): 235–266.Google Scholar
Di Giovanni, Elena
2016 “Dubbing and Redubbing Animation: Disney in the Arab World.” Altre Modernità: 92–106.Google Scholar
Dranch, Konstantin
2019 “Considering video game languages.” Multilingual 30 (3): 52–55.Google Scholar
Edwards, Kate
2014 “Beyond localization: An overview of game culturalization.” In Fun for all: Translation and Accessibility Practices in Video Game. Edited by Mangiron, Carmen, O’Hagan, Minako and Orero, Pilar. 287–303. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
2019 “The future of game content.” Multilingual 30 (3): 18–19.Google Scholar
El Sayed, Ali
2015 “Fallout 4 officially banned in Saudi Arabia.” IGN Middle East. Accessed November, 2020. [URL]
Feijoo, Claudio, José-Luis Gómez-Barroso, Juan-Miguel Aguado, and Sergio Ramos
2012 “Mobile gaming: Industry challenges and policy implications.” Telecommunications Policy 36 (3): 212–221. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, Charles A.
1959 “Diglossia.” Word 15 (2): 325–340. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fernández Costales, Alberto
2012 “Exploring translation strategies in video game localization.” MonTI. Monografías de Traducción e Interpretación 41: 385–408. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Folaron, Debbie
2020 “Technology, Technical Translation and Localization.” In The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Technology, edited by Minako O’Hagan. 203–219. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
GCAM (General Commission for Audiovisual Media)
n.d. Accessed April, 2021. [URL]
Grubb, Jeff
2016 “Saudi Arabia’s mobile-gaming whales want what’s hot  – even if it’s in another language.” VentureBeat. Accessed February, 2020. [URL]
Hensley, Jake
2014 “Playing the Middle East: An Examination of the Arab Gaming Market.” Pangaea Journal 5 (11). [URL]
Hofheinz, Albrecht
2005 “The Internet in the Arab world: Playground for political liberalization.” International Politics and Society 3 (1): 78–96.Google Scholar
Ibahrine, Mohammed
2015 “Video Games as Civilizational Configurations: US-Arab Encounters.” In Islamism and Cultural Expression in the Arab World, edited by Abir Hamdar and Lindsey Moore. 206–21. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Jiser, Lynn
2016 “GCAM implements new rating system in Saudi Arabia.” IGN Middle East. Accessed August, 2020. [URL]
KAFD (King Abdullah II Fund for Development)
n.d. Jordan Gaming Lab. Accessed September, 2020. [URL]
Kasmiya, Radawan
2015 “Arab World”. In Video games around the world, edited by Mark J. P. Wolf. 29–35. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Kerboua, Salim
2016 “From Orientalism to neo-Orientalism: Early and contemporary constructions of Islam and the Muslim world.” Intellectual Discourse 24 (1): 7–34.Google Scholar
Khasawneh, Mahmoud Ali
2011 “Quirkat CEO Speaks About the State of Gaming in the Middle East” Interview by Paul Tassi. Forbes, Accessed February, 2021. [URL]
Kwong, Matt
2010 “Electronic Arts bans its own game in Middle East”. The National. Accessed April 2021 [URL]
LAI Global Game Services
2018 “Middle East-North Africa-Turkey: An Overview of the MENA Game Market.” Accessed October, 2020. [URL]
Lowood, Henry
2009 “Videogames in computer space: The complex history of pong”. IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. 31 (3): 5–19. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mahasneh, Anjad A. and Abu Kishek, Maysa Taher
2018 “Arabic Localization of Video Games “Tomb Raider™ (2013)”: A Start or A Failure.” Lebende Sprachen 63 (1): 47–62. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mangiron, Carmen
2016 “Games without borders: The cultural dimension of game localisation.” Hermeneus: Revista de la Facultad de Traducción e Interpretación de Soria 181: 187–208Google Scholar
2018 “Game on! Burning issues in game localisation.” Journal of Audiovisual Translation 1 (1): 122–138. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Martin, Justin D., Ralph J. Martins, and Wood, Robb
2016 “Desire for cultural preservation as a predictor of support for entertainment media censorship in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.” International Journal of Communication 101: 3400–3422.Google Scholar
National Media Council
2018 “Age Classification System.” Accessed February, 2020. [URL]
Newzoo
2018 “2018 Global Games Market Report: Trends, Insights, and Projections Toward 2021.” Accessed August, 2020. [URL]
Noclip
2017 “Translating & Adapting The Witcher” October 11, 2017. YouTube Video, 13:08. [URL]
Palmer, Jeremy
2008 “Arabic diglossia: Student perceptions of spoken Arabic after living in the Arabic-speaking world.” Journal of Second Language Acquisition and Teaching 151: 81–95.Google Scholar
Said, Edward
1978 Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books.Google Scholar
1981 Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World. New York: Pantheon.Google Scholar
Said, Leen
2018 “The issue with Arabic Localization. How are Arabic Localizations of video games being taken by players in the Gulf?” Medium. Accessed May, 2020. [URL]
Sakr, Naomi
2012 “Placing political economy in relation to cultural studies: reflections on the case of cinema in Saudi Arabia.” In Arab Cultural Studies: Mapping the Field, edited by Tarik Sabry. 214–233. London: IB Tauris. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sandrini, Peter
2008 “Localization and translation.” MuTra Journal 21: 167–191.Google Scholar
Sasikumar, Maniyar, and Jayprasad J. Hegde
2004 “Software localisation: some issues and challenges.” In SCALLA conference, Kathmandu available from CDAC, Mumbai (formerly NCST).Google Scholar
Saudi Gamer
2018 “القائمة الرسمية للألعاب الممنوعة في السعودية و God of War حصرية بلايستيشن ٤ ليست ضمنها.” [The official list of games banned in Saudi Arabia and the Play Station 4 exclusive God of War is not included]. Accessed June, 2020. [URL]
Schäler, Reinhard
2007 “Translators and localization: Education and training in the context of the Global Initiative for Local Computing (GILC).” The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 1 (1): 119–135. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shafik, Viola
2007 Arab cinema: History and cultural identity. Cairo and New York: American University in Cairo Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shaheen, Jack
2009 Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. Massachusetts: Olive Branch Press.Google Scholar
Sisler, Vít
2008 “Digital Arabs: Representation in video games.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 11 (2): 203–220. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2013 “Video game development in the Middle East: Iran, the Arab world, and beyond.” In Gaming Globally, edited by Nina Huntemann and Ben Aslinger. 251–271. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2018 “Virtual Worlds, Digital Dreams: Imaginary Spaces of Middle Eastern Video Games.” In Digital Middle East: State and Society in the Information Age, edited by Mohamed Zayani. 59–84. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Steam Spy
2021 “Games with Arabic Support.” Accessed February, 2021. [URL]
T3 Middle East
2012 “Spec Ops: The Line game banned in UAE, GCC and the region.” Accessed June, 2020. [URL]
Taher, Mohammed
2013 “Game Gulf Arabic Gaming Remained on Pause for Nearly Two Decades Due to A Popular Platform’S Demise  – and War.” The Magazine. Accessed June, 2020. [URL]
Thicke, Lori
2012 “Twitter’s 400,000 Translators.” Multilingual 23 (8): 12–13Google Scholar
Tishin, Demid
2014 “A quest for quality in video game localization.” Multilingual 25 (4): 25–38.Google Scholar
True Gaming
2017 “سوني أوروبا: التعريب ينجح و حطمنا أرقام المبيعات في السعودية” [Sony Europe: Arabisation is working and we broke sales records in Saudi Arabia]. Accessed June, 2020. [URL]
Venuti, Lawrence
2008 The translator’s invisibility: A history of translation. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
WhP
2015 “Challenges of Arabic Localization.” WhP International SAS. Accessed June, 2020. [URL]
Wijman, Tom
2020 “Three Billion Players by 2023: Engagement and Revenues Continue to Thrive Across the Global Games Market” Newzoo. Accessed June, 2020. [URL]
WIPO
2018 The Global Digital Content Market organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Accessed June, 2020. [URL]
Wooten, Adam
2017 “Six reasons to pseudo-localize every project.” Multilingual 28 (8): 24–27.Google Scholar
Zaki, Amr
2012 Right-to-left localization for mobile devices. Multilingual 23 (8): 34–38.Google Scholar
Zhang, Xiaochun
2012 “Censorship and digital games localisation in China.” Meta: journal des traducteurs/Meta: Translators’ Journal 57 (2): 338–350. DOI logoGoogle Scholar

Gameography

Arabian Lords
. (Quirkat 2006)Google Scholar
Assassin’s Creed
(Ubisoft 2007)Google Scholar
Assassin’s Creed Origins
(Ubisoft 2017)Google Scholar
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
(Activision 2007)Google Scholar
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
(Activision 2009)Google Scholar
Dante Inferno
(EA 2010)Google Scholar
Detroit: Become Human
(Sony Interactive Entertainment 2018)Google Scholar
God of War
. (Sony Interactive Entertainment 2005–2018)Google Scholar
Injustice: Gods Among Us
(Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment 2013).Google Scholar
Kakuto Chojin
(Microsoft Games Studio 2002)Google Scholar
Knack 2
(Sony Interactive Entertainment 2017)Google Scholar
Little Big Planet
(Sony Interactive Entertainment 2008)Google Scholar
Marvel’s Spider-Man
(Sony Interactive Entertainment 2018)Google Scholar
One Piece: Burning Blood
(Bandai Namco 2016)Google Scholar
Pac-Man
(Namco 1980)Google Scholar
Pong
(Atari 1972)Google Scholar
Rappelz
(nFlavor 2006)Google Scholar
Red Dead Redemption 2
(Rockstar 2018)Google Scholar
Rise of the Tomb Raider
(Square Enix 2015)Google Scholar
Spec Ops: The Line
(2K Games 2012)Google Scholar
Special Force
(Hezbollah 2003)Google Scholar
Street Fighter V
(Capcom 2015)Google Scholar
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
(CD Projekt RED 2015)Google Scholar
This Is Football
(Sony Interactive Entertainment 2004)Google Scholar
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
(Ubisoft 2019)Google Scholar
Tomb Raider
(Square Enix 2013)Google Scholar
Uncharted
(Sony Interactive Entertainment 2007–2016)Google Scholar
Under Ash
(Afkar Media 2001)Google Scholar
Unearthed: Trail of Ibn Battuta
(Semaphore 2013)Google Scholar
WALL-E
(THQ 2008)Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 4 other publications

Al-Ajarmeh, Osama & Amer Al-Adwan
2022. Insights into blending game localisation in the Arab world. The Journal of Internationalization and Localization 9:1 ► pp. 61 ff. DOI logo
Al-Batineh, Mohammed
2023. The localization of food- and drink-related items in video games. Digital Translation 10:1 ► pp. 37 ff. DOI logo
Omar, Abdulfattah, Waheed M. A. Altohami, Hamza Ethelb, Bahramuddin Hamidi & Mehdi Nasri
2022. Localization Quality Assessment for More Reliable E-Commerce Applications in Arabic. Education Research International 2022 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
O’Hagan, Minako & Julie McDonough Dolmaya
2023. Introduction to Digital Translation: International Journal of Translation and Localization . Digital Translation 10:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 20 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.