May 10

Localizing Adult Content

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Adult content – these two short words carry a lot of impact. On hearing this phrase, most people will immediately associate a product with sexual or violent themes. It is certainly something of a taboo topic, but it needn’t result in all mention of ‘adult content’ being relegated to the top shelves, or dark corners in video stores.

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Most gamers will have encountered titles that feature physical violence, swear words, or sexual references. There is an enormous market for these types of products, and approaching each target audience in a tone that is the most appealing to them is vitally important.

 

 

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Apr 26

Video Game Community Management, by Gamers, for Gamers

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The intricacies of the Internet are plenty – from inside jokes, to popular memes, to trolling, to the darkest alleys of the web. These complexities are often foreign to most people but as gamers you grow up in and live these stories, legends, and myths. So what’s the benefit of having people who were raised in the digital sandbox managing your online video game communities?
From a marketing point of view, providing community management services is something that most people in the communication industry could do. That might be true for most communities, but then we all know that some groups of people have these bizarre quirks and habits. Gamers are definitely one of those communities, so if you’re planning on outsourcing your community management, it’s important to select a company with proven gaming expertise.

What are the Benefits of Using Gamers?
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Apr 18

The German Gaming Market: Why Localization is Important for the German Speaking Market

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CosplayMore than 275,000 visitors immersed themselves in the gaming world at Cologne’s gamescom fair in 2012. In terms of the number of visitors, gamescom is the largest trade fair in the world for video games and takes place every year with the number of attendees and exhibitors increasing annually. It seems that in Germany gaming is becoming more and more popular and the attitude towards video games is generally very positive.

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Apr 05

Games Community Management – Star Wars: The Neglected Republic

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There are a few things in life that you can’t go wrong with: pizza, beer, and Star Wars. Yet somehow, BioWare and Lucas Arts, the creators of the popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Star Wars: The Old Republic, have managed to get it all wrong.

Released in 2011, the game itself has been a massive success, achieving consistently high review scores across the board. At its peak it had over 1.6 million players and in 2011 received GameSpy’s Best MMO of the Year award. Clearly they’re doing something right. But it’s their lackluster community management service that’s causing them problems. Game community management involves online customer service support and engagement, allowing companies to manage and monitor their online communities while expanding their networks and maintaining their brand name. One of the most popular channels for this is Facebook.

Let’s take a look at Star Wars: The Old Republic’s Facebook page…

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Mar 28

The Importance of the Polish Gaming Market

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Changing Times…

During his visit to Poland in May 2011 the American President Barack Obama was offered a Collector’s Edition copy of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings by the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, as one of the country’s flagship products. Four months later, Waldemar Pawlak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, declared during a press conference that the Polish IT market was estimated at 9 billion USD and that although its major role was in the production of hardware, gaming deserved special attention and that games were among the best Polish export products. We could easily dismiss those two facts as trivia, but the recognition of the gaming industry by high-ranking Polish officials marks the growing importance of electronic games in Poland.

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Video games are now a common pastime in Poland. Games industry market research firm Newzoo included Poland in their 2012 MMO Games Market Report. Along with Turkey, they were the only new countries to be included in this year’s report. Thus Poland was listed among such important markets as the US, UK, Germany, France, Netherlands and Belgium.

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Mar 18

Facebook and the Importance of Localized Community Management

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Ever heard of SongPop, The Ville, The Sims Social or Bubble Safari?

These are some of the trending game apps on Facebook. cm_cosplay

The social gaming industry is taking more than the lion’s share in the game market, with more and more players switching to online gaming to snatch a moment of fun during their busy lifestyles.

Facebook is one of the many social gaming platforms and, thanks to its in-built social features (sharing with friends, ‘liking’ comments, giving gifts, etc.), has become a first choice for community interaction in the gaming industry.

 

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Feb 27

From Gaming to Gambling: The Evolution of Social Games

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iGamblingOnline gambling, also known as Internet gambling and iGambling, is a general term for playing games using – and with the objective of gaining – real money. Recent years have seen a steep increase in the popularity of social games and browser games, with social media providing a convenient distribution platform for such games but, given the stigma and legal restrictions imposed in some countries, will this pattern be mirrored in the popularity of online gambling?

The company 888 Holdings operates an online portal, offering real-money games such as poker, bingo and sports betting in markets where online gambling is regulated. Thanks to their recent acquisition of Mytopia from Real Dice, 888.com was also able to join the social and mobile gaming markets.

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Feb 20

Localizing Games for France – Video Game Age Ratings

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A Major Player in the Video Game Industry

Arch de TriumphLet’s be honest; when one hears mention of the subject of video games, France isn’t the first country to spring to mind. That would be Japan, or perhaps even the U.S.A. Something you may not know, however, is that the French market is one of the largest consumers of video games in the world, surpassed only in Europe by Britain and Germany. Video game publishing giant Ubisoft is a French company, with its headquarters in Montreuil, while last year’s Paris Games Week played host to over 212,000 visitors, demonstrating just how prevalent video gaming is in France.

Find out more about French video game age rating.

Feb 13

Localizing Games for Germany – Video Game Age Ratings

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The Strictest Rating System in the World?

GermanyThe website of the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK), Germany’s official games rating board, proudly proclaims that Germany has the strictest statutory rules in the world for the classification and sale of computer games’. Contrary to other European countries, the issues surrounding age ratings for video games in Germany have much deeper, political roots, made evident by the fact that it has its own rating board independent of the Pan European Game Information (PEGI). Age ratings for video games in Germany are based on the German Children and Young Persons Protection Act (JuSchG) and are agreed upon by an Advisory Council of 16 representatives from various official groups, associations, and boards within Germany.

Find out more about German video game age rating.

Feb 07

Localizing Games for Brazil – Video Game Age Ratings

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Video gaming has steadily grown as a past-time in Brazil. With an emerging economy, the country’s young professionals have begun taking advantage of the growing video games market in Latin America and the number of video game players in Brazil has been steadily increasing. Of further interest is the fact that a large number (27%) of Internet users communicate using Portuguese as their first language (and these are predominantly from Brazil), but what does this mean for game developers? Essentially it means that if game developers want to take advantage of this increasing audience for online games, they need to be aware of Brazilian age restrictions with regards to gaming. Localization and Translation firm MO Group International is aware of this emerging market and the importance of the Brazilian-Portuguese gaming sector.

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