Arabic, ranked as the fifth most spoken language globally, commands a significant presence in the gaming community. The Arabic-speaking gaming market is not one to overlook when considering market expansion and localization strategies. However, the Arabic language presents distinct linguistic, cultural, and technical challenges that must be addressed to foster a genuine and enduring connection with the target audience. This blog discusses Arabic game localization: why it matters and how to get it right.
The Arabic gaming market spans 22 territories where Arabic is the official language. Among these, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt stand out as leaders in gaming revenue. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which encompasses 18 countries, is dominated by Arabic, although Farsi, Urdu, Turkish, and Hebrew are also spoken.
Despite Arabic being the most widely spoken language in the MENA region, local app stores offer only 1% of content in Arabic. This presents a substantial opportunity for games in the Arabic language to become market leaders. Arabic is also the fastest-growing online language, having expanded by 9,348% from 2000 to 2020, outpacing all other languages in the top ten online. This growth is mirrored in the gaming industry, increasing the demand for high-quality localization services.
The Arabic language has its peculiarities, such as gender specifications. The main linguistic challenges are the spoken versus formal written language and regional dialects. For neutral and professional content, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is suitable, but for creative content, hiring a linguist with regional expertise is crucial. For instance, "FIFA 2012" was localized for Tunisia using MSA, with native Tunisian commentators providing voice-overs to emulate authentic football commentary.
Arabic dialects are complex, often not mutually intelligible, necessitating multiple translations to connect personally with each region.
Games should honor the cultural values and norms of the target locale. For example, "Happy Farm" was successful in Arabic-speaking countries because its localized version respected local customs by not featuring pigs, which aligns with Muslim practices.
Arabic, an RTL language, poses technical challenges for visual translations related to layout and user interface. Localization engineers must find customized coding solutions to address these issues.
Arabic text often requires 25% more space, and when translating to English, it can contract by 20-25%. Language Service Providers (LSPs) should utilize Translation (CAT) Tools to manage text expansion and prevent related errors.
A comprehensive QA process is crucial for optimizing a game for its audience. This includes linguistic QA for grammar, spelling, and cultural appropriateness; visual QA for UI/UX issues and graphics; and functional QA for overall game performance and coding issues.
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