Asking someone if they play a “Massively Multiplayer Online Game,” or MMO/MMOG as they are commonly known, may elicit a strange look. However, if you ask the same person if they play a game like World of Warcraft, RuneScape, or even FarmVille and Candy Crush, their response will most likely be yes. The global explosion of social media sites and services has also triggered a rapid increase in the popularity of MMOs. Just saying that one feeds the other is a rather simplistic explanation of the relationship between MMOs and social media. But both independent market reports and individual company statistics chronicle the meteoric rise of MMOs.
From humble origins and initially considered little more than a virtual outpost of a gaming system (like Nintendo or Sega), MMOs currently generate revenue in excess of $14 billion annually, more than the motion picture industry. Traditional MMO games, such as DarkSpace or World of Tanks, currently capture the attention of more than 400 million players globally. What is more, when adding in more casual games, such as those offered via Zenga and Facebook, the number of active MMO players easily exceeds 600 million. Interestingly only less than half of MMO users pay for their habit, which means that the average paying user spends approximately $70 annually on MMO gaming.
MMO users, both the paying and non-paying kind, are as diverse as the games they play. While it may seem as if these games are marketed primarily to audiences in United States, Asia and Western Europe, North American and EU countries account for less than 30% of the market. Two of the biggest growth markets of the industry are the BRIC economies of Brazil and Russia. They account for a combined 40 million gamers, or 10% of the market.
As the examples of Russia and Brazil show, the MMO market is no longer dominated by English-speaking consumers or games. Competition is becoming more diverse and localized in this growing market. The key to success is based on speed of innovation and communication. Gaming development companies cannot afford to lose touch with the pulse of the market and the languages it speaks.
Obviously, the trend towards diversification is set to increase. To compete effectively with other MMO providers, it is essential that MMO developers bridge the language gap between its gamers and developers. With the entire focus being game development and improvement – not translation- many game development companies may see more risk than reward if they attempt to delve into large-scale, multi-lingual translation.
EVS Translations is the ideal localization expert for the gaming industry. Based in Atlanta (USA) and Nottingham (UK), our game translators, designers and IT specialists can offer you the technical expertise required for multi-language video game translations projects. We help video game developers to expand into new markets by providing quality multilingual translations and marketing localization services.
EVS Translations operates 7 offices in 5 countries with teams of multi-lingual engineering translators and an in-house IT team, which comprises of software experts who can work with any platform including PC, Mac, Nintendo Wii, Xbox, PSP and all handheld devices.
Call our Atlanta office today at +1 404-523-5560 or send us an email: quoteusa(at)evs-translations.com.
Call our Nottingham office today at Tel.: +44-115-9 64 42 88 or send us an email: quoteuk(at)evs-translations.com.
