Game Localization
Tailoring the content to the “local”
culture of the game’s players
Players all over the world love games that have engaging stories in richly developed settings. Rather than a word for word translation, an understanding of the target audience’s culture and history is needed to convey these stories in different languages. Localizing game content in a way that’s familiar with the target audience’s customs, habits, and trends is essential for users to feel more familiar with the content.
Active Gaming Media's
Game Localization
Spreading the colorful world of games to all players
Since being founded as Japan’s first company to specialize in game translation and localization, we have worked on over 3,000 titles. Our bilingual staff of native speakers work directly on the games to provide translations and localizations where the characters’ manner of speaking, style of humor, and worlds of the games are preserved in a way that clicks with the players.
On the same page with game developers and publishers
Because we are also involved in game publishing, we understand the difficulties that come with game development and value the opinions of all those involved in the development and publishing of games. Our passion for game creation goes into every text file we work with, every deadline, every emergency that pops up, the use of designated tools, and more to meet your needs to the best of our abilities.
Localized content made by game fans, for game fans
One of our company’s strengths lies in our game fans from around the world, allowing us to tailor our teams to each project’s genre and target users. We see things from the viewpoint of fans and players and create high-quality, natural sounding translations and localizations.
Our mission as Japan’s first company to specialize in game localization
In recent years we’ve seen an increase in requests for retranslations. We feel that putting out a product that doesn’t meet the end user’s needs and only results in extra costs is a disservice to the customers. Since our company was founded, we have endeavored to use our accumulated and shared knowledge and individual know-how to take on the challenge of offering the lowest possible prices through quick work with an eye on quality control.
Game Localization Steps
Consultation With the Client
A consultation is performed in which we will learn about the game, confirm if there are any glossaries or supplementary materials, and do what we can to ensure that we can provide quality work that meets the client's needs. We will also establish what method of communication is easiest for the client to provide flexible support. 
Preparing Materials
Our resident multilingual project managers prepare all the required materials for translation and localization, such as in-game text, character details, screenshots, glossaries, and more. 
Selecting the Localization Team
The best-suited people for the game's genre and target user base are chosen from a pool of over 4,000 freelance translators registered with our company to ensure optimal quality. In addition, when requested to work on the continuation of a series, we employ the same team to ensure that there are no inconsistencies in the localization between titles. 
Familiarization
The relevant materials are shared with every member of the team, and any demos or past titles are also played so that everyone has thorough knowledge of the project. The entire team takes the standpoint of fans of the game to experience the end users' viewpoint, making them better able to deliver a product familiar to core gamers and fans of the series around the world. 
Starting the Localization
Translation/localization begins on the files received from the client. Any questions or points that require clarification are added to a QA sheet shared with everyone involved. At any time if something feels as though it might not be quite correct, it can be handled through reporting, communication, and consulting on both sides to ensure the resulting multilingual translation or localization has no ambiguity. 
Checking the Localization
A separate proofreader will check the translation, and as with the translation stage, any questions or points that require clarification are added to a QA sheet shared with everyone involved. By having two or more native speakers check the translation or localization, we are able to provide a more natural and unbiased finished product. 
Final Check
Any remaining items on the QA sheet are checked against the glossary and provided materials by the team. Any answers that we are unable to confirm will be passed on to the client. After that, all languages will undergo an overall check to look for any inconsistencies. 
Delivery
After all the work has been checked, the files will be delivered to the client. We are also available to confirm any inquiries following delivery. Additionally, we will quickly respond to any omissions or issues found with the finished product. 
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50+ languages are readily available.
Asia: Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified/Traditional), Thai, Indonesian, Hindi / North America: English (American/Canadian), French (Canadian) / Central and South America: Spanish (Central/South American), Portuguese (Brazilian) / Europe: English (UK), German, French, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Spanish (European), Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, Czech, Russian / Middle East: Arabic, Turkish / Africa: Portuguese (African), Arabic (Egyptian), French (African) / etc…
There is no limit to what platforms we can support.
As the localization of games is based on text files, we are able to work with any gaming platform, from single-sale consumer products to continuously updating mobile games. In addition, we are able to handle any type of file as well.
All costs are included in the unit price. There are no additional fees.
If the translation/localization is made from Japanese, payment is calculated as character count x rate, if it’s from English, then it’s word count x rate. Our project managers will do the calculations, so a quote can be made available once you have provided the files or text data. The rates may vary depending on language pairs, volume, and deadlines. Depending on the volume, a free trial may also be provided. Feel free to make an inquiry.
One-stop Solutions
Active Gaming Media’s mission is to overcome language barriers to deliver content across the world. In addition to our game translation/localization services, we also provide the multilingual support involved in publishing internationally.
Development Support
When in-house engineers are unavailable, we are able to provide short-notice, multiple-language implementations and translations to ensure a smooth release. In addition, we also develop ports so that the game can be sold on the most appropriate platform for release anywhere in the world. We can also submit games on clients’ behalf to rating committees in different countries.
Quality Assurance
Our company also provides quality assurance services. We provide LQA where, following localization, native speakers play the game to ensure that the text displays properly, there are no misprints, that the language used in the game is suitable for the target audience, etc. Our experienced testers will work to ensure quality control from the user’s perspective.
Audio Localization
We have partnerships with voiceover recording studios around the world, where we provide multilingual voice recordings for in-game character voices, movies that play during the story, and other voice recordings required for that particular content. We are also able to provide voices for short content such as store page movies and trailers that are an essential part of advertising. We can also provide subtitles for such content.
Advertising and Corporate Branding
We handle banners, trailers, posters, special webpages, and other images involved in advertising. If we are involved from the production stage, we are able to quickly deliver localized designs that are tailor-made for the target audience. Already produced Japanese advertisements can also be localized into multiple languages.
Community Management
We provide multilingual customer support, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We respond to inquiries, monitor social media posts to immediately report outages or rumors, collect user feedback, and manage social media accounts to post announcements or respond to DMs, as well as monitor video streaming and hosting services.
Marketing Support
We offer both domestic and international promotional services. Press releases proofread by native speakers can be sent directly to writers overseas through our network, and we are also able to request promotions with local influencers on behalf of clients. Promotional articles and banners can also be posted on our own gaming news website, AUTOMATON.
