Localize Your Mobile Apps – The CFO Says So
On FierceDeveloper, David Marino, the CFO and co-founder of Hidden Variable Studios, has written an article on localizing mobile apps.
It’s not the same kettle of fish as localizing a console game, let alone a software package, as David describes:
Coming from a console background, localizing games was the norm, but even a cursory glance at the App Store and Android Markets will tell you that this isn’t the case on mobile platforms. Only the giant companies of the world– Disney, Electronic Arts and Zynga–bother to localize their games significantly.
Still, there are good reasons for localizing any app, and David would be a lousy CFO if he hadn’t researched them:
According to the U.S. State Department, [localization] does [lead to increased sales]. They estimate that U.S. firms alone lose $50 billion in potential sales each year because of problems with translation and localization. If you want your game or company to move beyond being a local product, you need to think global, and if you want your product to compete successfully with other native products, you need to localize it.
We certainly are pleased when people in the C-suite – especially in the CF-suite – think and write things like that.
Have a look at the rest of David’s article on localizing mobile apps, and use it to bolster that localization business case you’re making.
John White of venTAJA Marketing is a localization project manager and consultant. He is also a marketing communications writer for technology and language companies.