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China Daily Website

Chinese-made video games appeal to international players

Updated: 2013-04-22 10:07
By Eric Jou ( China Daily)

China's domestic online video gaming market reached record highs in 2012, earning $9.7 billion in revenue according to a report published by the Chinese Video Game Industry. That's a 35.1 percent increase from 2011.

While the domestic market is still growing and is expected to reach even higher levels of revenue, Chinese companies are looking to expand their audience by bringing the same games that the Chinese enjoy to the wider world. They are doing this in the same way Chinese movies were brought to the West - localization and translation.

Localization is the process of taking a work, be it film, book or video game, and translating it in a way that makes sense for a region.

"Any good localization or translation in general has to be smooth in the country it's in, the exception would be something that was meant or intended to be bizarre or weird," says Joshua Dyer, a translator who specializes in localization in China. "Most of the time, you don't want any barrier to play."

Dyer, from the US, has been working in the Chinese game industry since early 2009. He says his job is primarily translation, translating the Chinese in domestically created games into English.

Over the course of the last four years Dyer has seen an increase in the number of Chinese developed online video games heading out West. According to Dyer, the majority of the games he's seen "leaving" China are massively multi-player online role playing games and simulation type games. Dyer says Chinese developers are aiming to bring in more players and extend their reach.