Game localization into
Traditional Chinese
Interesting facts about Traditional Chinese
- Traditional Chinese is spoken primarily in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau
- The use of simplified characters in government documents and educational settings is discouraged by the government of Taiwan
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Traditional Chinese?
Traditional Chinese users all over the world
Traditional Chinese is spoken primarily in Taiwan (23 million people) Hong Kong and Macau. Additionally, there are significant populations of Chinese speakers in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe.
Traditional Chinese as a language
About 1.35 billion people (or approximately 16% of the world’s population) speak a variety of Chinese as their first language. However, Chinese is not a single language, but rather a number of related dialect groups. Currently, most classifications posit 7 to 13 main regional groups. These are united by a common writing system.
The are 2 different systems for writing Chinese characters: simplified and traditional. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.
The use of simplified characters in government documents and educational settings is discouraged by the government of Taiwan. Nevertheless, simplified characters might be understood by some Taiwanese people, as it could take little effort to learn them.
In Hong Kong and Macau, Simplified Chinese characters have been used in recent years to accommodate Mainland Chinese tourists and immigrants. Nonetheless, this has led to residents being concerned about protecting their local heritage.
Traditional Chinese in game localization
Traditional Chinese localization has been an important consideration for many game developers and publishers looking to release their games in markets such as Taiwan and Hong Kong. As of February 2023, Traditional Chinese users made up 1.12% of the Steam community. This puts Traditional Chinese 12th on the most used languages by players on Steam.
Moreover, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau have one of the biggest proportions of mobile game players. Their public are more likely to spend 7-14 hours a week gaming on their handheld devices, as reported to the latest data from YouGov Global Gaming Consumer. The most consumed genres in these regions are MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) games, FPS (first person shooter) games and hyper casual games.
Revenue and number of players
in the countries that use Traditional Chinese
According to Newzoo’s Global Games Market Report 2021, Taiwan was the 14th country by game revenue. Taiwan’s game revenue was estimated to be approximately $2.5 billion. Hong Kong came on 42nd place, with a game revenue of approximately $964 million. It is also important to consider thar these markets have been growing fast in the recent years.
Newzoo’s 2021 Global Games Market Report found that there are approximately 13.8 million video game players in Taiwan, which represents about 58% of the country’s population. In the case of Hong Kong, there are approximately 3.6 million video game players, which is about 50% of its population.
Localizing games into Traditional Chinese can give developers and publishers a competitive advantage in the Taiwanese and Hong Kong markets, where players are more likely to choose games that are available in their native language.
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Some interesting facts
about the Chinese game market
- As of February 2023, Traditional Chinese users made up 1.12% of the Steam community
- Traditional Chinese is on the12th place on the most used languages by players on Steam
- Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau have one of the biggest proportions of mobile game players which 7-14 hours a week gaming on their mobile device
- Most consumed genres in Chinese Traditional are MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) games, FPS (first person shooter) games and hyper casual games
- In 2021, Taiwan was the 14th country in the world by game revenue
- In Taiwan and Hong-Kong aproximately 50-60% of its population are gamers
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Spend a few thousand and gain several million new players.
