Many game companies focus on the Western markets. While doing so, they miss out on a massive and highly potential market called the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC. These markets are expected to grow at a robust rate of 7.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to generate $3.24 billion in revenue.
The GCC presents fantastic potential for investors and game developers due to the region’s youthful enthusiasm for gaming for esports competitions. There are almost 420 million Arabic speakers worldwide, and 3 out of 4 gamers in the GCC prefer to play games that offer Arabic text and voice localizations. So, gaming companies that are interested in reaching GCC markets such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, and Oman must collaborate with the best game localization services to provide gamers with what they prefer.
Let us explore the tastes of local gamers, the reasons why the Gulf is a crucial growing market for the gaming industry, and the best techniques for localization.
The Rising Potential of the GCC Market
While most of the global gaming companies hesitate to reach Arab markets, they might find it surprising that Saudi Arabia ranks 22nd in the world for gaming revenue and is the most profitable gaming market among Arabic-speaking countries. Arab gamers prefer mobile games, puzzle games, to be precise.
Mobile gaming is very popular in the UAE, with 39% of players spending money on it. As compared to that, console games come in second and PC games in third. In Saudi Arabia, the mobile game penetration is steadily increasing from 13.4%.
Smartphones are popular in both countries. Over 15.5 million people, 46% of Saudi Arabia’s population, spend most of their time using mobile phones. In the UAE, the figure is even higher at 80.6%.
Understanding the GCC Audience
As of now you are convinced that GCC is a potential market and you can have a positive response from the gamers, you might want to understand their preferences. It is highly important to find out both the likes, dislikes, and preferences of the target audiences. This helps in adapting your strategy accordingly. So, before reaching the Arab-speaking audience, gaming companies must have a better understanding of:
1) Cultural Sensitivities
Saudi or Arab culture is completely different from Western. Well, there is no comparison between them, but it is crucial to point out while dealing with odds. It is understood that Gulf countries follow Islamic practices. So, the cover pages with extra exposure and inappropriate content like GTA: Vice City is absolutely not a choice. Appropriate dialogues, modest character designs, and the absence of content that contradicts Arab gamers’ religious practices are the elements that can make your game in the Gulf market, a hit. Make sure that your game has a good theme, such as honor, family, and community. Indeed, it is a difficult task, so you can get help from a localization and translation services company. They are the native experts of the target language, are well aware of the cultural beliefs, and will localize your game exactly according to your audience’s preferences.
2) Language Preferences
As mentioned earlier, Arab gamers prefer games that are available in their local language or dialect, to be precise. Well, this won’t be an easy task. Because Arabic is a language with a right-to-left structure. If you try to translate your current version of the game into Arabic, be mindful that it will disturb the whole formatting and layout thing. This brings in the need for desktop publishing so that all the versions of the game look consistent in different languages.
Why Localization Increases Engagement
Localization is the process of adapting the game’s content, such as design, theme, descriptions, imagery, and other elements that resonate with the target audience’s preferences. Localizing a game for GCC means providing Gulf gamers with a localized experience. This is the technique to boost the user base of any game and ensure brand success in the global market.
Adapting Game Content for Legal Compliance
Games contain most of the things that can be the reason for a dispute, such as the design, characters, layout, text, and many other things. Actually, gamers buy the legal rights of their creations and register them as intellectual property. Adapting these IPs is crucial for the security of legal rights in the Arab market.
Leveraging Cultural Holidays and Events
This is the ultimate technique to boost sales of in-game properties and generate more revenue. Arab countries are fond of celebrating religious and cultural festivals. This brings in the opportunity for gaming companies to come up with offers using local nuances and references to trigger gamers to make in-game purchases.
Don’t Miss Out on the GCC Opportunity
Now you know everything crucial for expanding into the Arabic-speaking regions. Also, the availability of gaming or best software localization services ensures successful reach to the global market. Whether you are targeting GCC or any other country in the world, adapting your game is a critical part of the procedure.