Multilingual Mobile Game Monetization: Monetize, Localize And Conquer | Laoret
Mobile Gaming Apps are changing. The gaming world values User Experience (UX) and immersive qualities over anything else. So, when it comes to mobile game monetization and ways to make money from your game, the ad strategies will have to comply with what users are looking for in a game instead of being the intrusive nuisance ads tend to be.
But there is another part to revenue creation that will prove essential to tapping into those markets that have a growing gaming community even more lucrative than the U.S. And this is something you will achieve through effective multilingual strategies. Let us expand on the trends most likely to comply with the UX and immersive qualities, and the localization & translation services that will take your monetization goals to the next level.
Mobile Game Monetization Trends That Support A Multilingual Model
The In-Game Ad Space: Rewarded Ads & Playable Ads
Ads are a constant in the digital world. Most people have developed an aversion to the traditional form of ads that intrude on their online experience. That is why the biggest 2021 mobile game monetization trends will revolve around rewarded & playable ads, designed to morph into the gamer’s world by adding a level of gamification to it.
Rewarded Ads deliver exactly what they promise. You watch an ad, you get a reward. This can be in the form of points, supplies, additional features, in-game currencies, or anything else that will help in building a richer gaming experience.
According to a 2019 report by eMarketer, rewarded videos are considered the most commonly used in-game advertising technique. One of the features that make them appreciated even by gamers, is that rewarded ads are often optional, meaning that the gamer will not be forced to engage with ads unless they choose to receive the reward.
Playable Ads take the level of gamification a step further. The ads themselves become part of the game, and the users can play parts of your game prior to installation. While an excellent “try before you buy” model, playable ads have also developed a stellar reputation as the most profitable in-app ad on the market today.
Finding The Ad-UX Balance: 100 PICS’ Strategies And Pricing Models
The significance of adapting ad space to gaming behavior and UX finds a practical application in Julian Stocker’s revival of the popular trivia game, 100 PICS. In a 2018 interview, Stocker expanded on the use of a Freemium pricing model. Rewarded ads are consistently used as a way for the gamer to earn coins to move ahead in the game, so that they become part of the experience rather than opting for intrusive ads or pricey games.
“We decided not to follow the trend of chasing paying players” he stated, “and instead chose to make all features of the game accessible to anyone through ads.”
While Freemium has proven to be a highly profitable strategy for 100 PICS, some other businesses still hesitate and stick to more traditional methods or offer an option for the user to go ad-free with a paid subscription. A report by Sensor Tower confirms that the US revenue for the 100 most popular subscription apps, increased by 21 percent in 2019 alone. By offering a free taste of a product that could be enjoyed without ads or interruptions, the user is motivated to take their experience to the next level. Spotify is undoubtedly the most famous example proving the model’s effectiveness. Users can listen to music for free with ads, or upgrade to a monthly subscription which they can sample for free in the first month.
Virtual And Augmented Reality Meets Revenue Creation
Virtual Reality (VR) recreates a real-life environment while Augmented Reality (AR) overlays a gamer’s existing environment with new objects.
And while popular console and desktop games such as The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim VR” and “Fallout 4 in VR” have been tapping into the VR market with astonishing results, mobile games are the next big market looking to expand in this trending tech craze. And in-game as well as off-game buying habits are bound to go with it.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cooke sees real value in AR and VR, stating that “You rarely have a new technology where business and consumer both see it as key to them. That’s the reason I think [augmented reality] is going to pervade your life.”
It is this mutual value for users as well as businesses that turned the AR-fueled Pokémon Go into a global phenomenon. By their example, it has been proven that AR-enriched apps can also effectively create revenue when coupled with an active in-app game shop using the “PokéCoins”.
The connection between AR and online purchasing is already well explored by the eCommerce industry, where revenue potential has skyrocketed with the implementation of AR. IKEA Place is a leading example with their free app allowing shoppers to virtually integrate products into their household. This nifty little trick is not unlike playable ads that gives clients a real experience of the product before considering a purchase.
A Multilingual Business Model: How Localization Fits In
Localization is all about connecting with your audience in a genuine way. And if you think about it, games and even ads are trying to do the exact same thing. So, monetizing your mobile game should be part of a larger multilingual strategy if you are hoping to gain revenue from more than just one market.
Let’s expand on localization in the context of Payable Ads and AR vs VR.
Mobile Game Monetization & Localization: Show A Culturally And Linguistically Adapted Playable Ad
With playable ads on the rise across the board, your game’s download potential will rise significantly if you adapt the gaming experience to each locale interacting with your ad and, if all goes according to plan, the store. So, which parts of your game are you actually supposed to localize?
- The In-Game Content includes all the resource files where most of the strings will be located. The strings will be extracted from the files, translated, and reinserted back into the system.
- While strings consist of text, non-textual content, or non-string content, includes multimedia (images, characters, sound), as well as numbers, currencies, and so on.
- Finally, the in-store content is, in case of the playable ad, the second contact your potential new user has with your game. Make sure you don’t neglect this part. Badly translated screenshots, previews, videos, and so on, can still make or break a sale.
Here, it is essential that your game content will be exposed to the main translation phases of Translation, Editing, and Proofreading (TEP), so that linguistic standards can be. In order to confirm the game functions have been implemented correctly and performance is maintained when running the game in the newly added languages, we highly recommend that you perform rigorous testing (both smoke and beta tests) and QA before you can publish and release your game.
Of course, games go beyond mere translation. like we said, localization makes sure that the language as well as the culture is respected. Take the popular mobile game Happy Farm, for example. Happy Farm boosted its number of players in Arabic-speaking countries significantly because the localized Arabic version doesn’t feature pigs, since Muslims do not raise them.
What’s more, the Arabic market, and more specifically the MENA Region, is one of the fastest online gaming communities with mobile app games being the single most popular game format. So, a playable ad that hasn’t been properly localized could cost you a lot of sales.
AR and VR Localization
AR and VR have set in our minds as the next big technical frontier that will forever alter our gaming and buying experiences. So, how do you make this experience uniquely available for different cultures?
Images, colors, and characters will be taken under the loop and tweaked in order to meet local expectations. Even payment preferences will be altered in order to make buying a comfortable rather than arduous experience.
But another crucial service in the VR realm specifically, is voice-over. Technical, linguistic, and cultural considerations will need to be considered during the voice-over localization process which includes the determination of:
- Age, gender and nationality of the voice-over artist(s).
- A Glossary the client will offer the vendor. This glossary will include technical and product-related terms with their respective translations that cannot be altered.
- A Style Guide with any Brand-Specific instructions should also be provided so that brand consistency will not be compromised even with cultural adaptations.
- A linguist who is native to the targeted area and know which cultural and linguistic aspects to take into account
- An engineer who can iron out any technical issues and apply a thorough QA.
Pro Tip! This list goes on! Check out our blog on How To Get Voice-Over Localization Loudly Right and get to know every detail involved in the Multilingual Voice-over Process.Also note that the ideal Voice-Over Localization process is collaborative. Read our blog on Multilingual Voice-Over: Get In On the Action and discover how you can help achieve the most cost-effective and streamlined Voice-Over Localization. You will also get an overview of the costs tied to each service!
Conclusion
Mobile Game Monetization can be an effective revenue strategy when it complies to the habits and desires of the gaming community. With games becoming more immersive and the UX being of vital importance, only the types of ads that are non-intrusive and can blend into the gaming experience will do. This is why rewarded ads and especially playable ads, will benefit from a multilingual implementation when expanding into new markets.
At Laoret, we rely on gaming experts who are in-country natives to handle all gaming-related translation & localization projects. With our high-end translation tools and localization engineers, we are fit to provide linguistic as well as technical expertise to launch your game in the international gaming market.
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Originally published at https://laoret.com on December 18, 2020.
