| page.title=Developer Stories: Localization in Google Play |
| meta.tags="google play, developer story, localization, global" |
| page.tags="stories", "video", "case study" |
| page.image=/images/distribute/zombie-ragdoll-n5-land.jpg |
| page.metaDescription=Hear from Android developers who have successfully used the Google Play App Translation Service. |
| |
| @jd:body |
| |
| <p> |
| As you build your app and distribute it across the world through Google Play, |
| localization becomes an increasingly important tool to reach more users. |
| Localization involves a <a href= |
| "{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/publish/localizing.html">variety of tasks</a>, but |
| most important is creating quality translations of your app's UI strings and |
| marketing materials. |
| </p> |
| |
| <p> |
| Managing the translation process across multiple languages can be a |
| challenge, especially if you need to locate translators on your own. That’s |
| why Google Play offers the App Translation Service right from the Developer |
| Console. It's a single place where you can go to source professional |
| translators, get cost estimates, and then send your strings and other |
| materials for translation. |
| </p> |
| |
| <p> |
| Here are some stories from developers who have used Google Play's App Translation |
| Service to localize their apps and the results they've seen as they've |
| expand their offerings beyond a single language. |
| </p> |
| |
| <!-- START STORY --> |
| |
| <div style="margin-bottom:2em;padding-top:10px;" id="zombieragdoll"> |
| |
| <h3 style="line-height:1.25em">Zombie Ragdoll: Improved user engagement<br /> with localized versions</h3> |
| |
| <img alt="" class="screenshot thumbnail" style="-webkit-border-radius: 5px; |
| -moz-border-radius: 5px; |
| border-radius: 5px height:78px; |
| width: 78px; |
| float: left; |
| margin: 12px 20px 9px 20px;" src= |
| "https://lh4.ggpht.com/m-Ew8c8C_nGctbP6PSPGOaVNnGFryReOE2yHXJ9Z6Prk1nsDyx5w5TmWfg-P5N3HypA=w124"> |
| |
| <div style="list-style: none;height:100%; |
| float: right; |
| border-top: 1px solid #9C0; |
| width: 220px; |
| margin: 4px 20px;padding: .5em;"> |
| |
| <h5>About the app</h5> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rvappstudios.zombieragdoll">Zombie Ragdoll</a></li> |
| <li>A fun zombie-based physics game</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <h5>Localization Results</h5> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li>Increased engagement because of appeal of the localized version</li> |
| <li>80% of installs came from users of non-English languages</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <div style="padding:.5em 0 0 1em;"> |
| <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rvappstudios.zombieragdoll"> |
| <img alt="Android app on Google Play" |
| src="{@docRoot}images/brand/en_generic_rgb_wo_45.png" /> |
| </a> |
| |
| </div> |
| </div> |
| |
| <div style="line-height:1.4em;"> |
| |
| <p> |
| The 2013 Google I/O talks about <a href= |
| "https://developers.google.com/events/io/sessions/326345917">Building Android |
| Apps for a Global Audience</a> and <a href= |
| "https://developers.google.com/events/io/sessions/326455375">What’s New for |
| Developers in Google Play</a> inspired developers at RV AppStudios to go global |
| from very beginning for their new game, Zombie Ragdoll. They launched Zombie |
| Ragdoll in August 2013, localized into 20 languages. |
| </p> |
| |
| <p> |
| They quickly saw the impact of their decision to ship simultaneously in |
| multiple languages through increased non-English installs and improved |
| engagement with users worldwide. In addition, they started getting |
| significant usage in countries where their apps had not been as popular |
| before. They are seeing great traction in countries like Vietnam, Russia, |
| Philippines and Thailand. |
| </p> |
| |
| <p> |
| Vivek Dave, founder of RV AppStudios, credits the success of Zombie Ragdoll |
| to localization: |
| </p> |
| |
| <p> |
| "The value of localization is clear, it helps discoverability and helps |
| connect with the users in other countries. So when the localization |
| opportunity arose, we immediately jumped on it. Android is worldwide, and we |
| would be severely limiting ourselves if we focused on English as the only |
| language. |
| </p> |
| |
| <p> |
| "The App Translation Service offered in the Google Play Developer Console is |
| extremely easy to use and the pricing is very attractive. Developers with |
| limited localization experience can easily create, upload, and translate |
| their app." |
| </p> |
| |
| |
| <p> |
| RV AppStudios not only localizes the text within the game, but also localizes |
| the game assets to a specific country/culture. Dave says, “Users want a |
| personalized experience, and by offering a localized game with translation of |
| text and graphic assets, we believe users will connect at a much deeper level |
| with the game.” |
| </p> |
| |
| |
| <div style="margin-top:8px;float:left;margin-right:24px;"> |
| <img src="{@docRoot}images/distribute/zombie-ragdoll-n5-land.jpg" style="width:470px;"> |
| </div> |
| |
| |
| <div style="margin-top:128px;"> |
| <p class="img-caption"><strong>Hindi version of Zombie Ragdoll</strong>: |
| Localized screenshots and videos in the app's Google Play listing go a |
| long way toward increasing the number of installs.</p> |
| </div> |
| |
| </div> |
| |
| </div> <!-- END STORY --> |
| |
| <!-- START STORY --> |
| |
| <div style="margin-bottom:2em;padding-top:18px;clear:both;" id="sayhichat"> |
| |
| <h3>SayHi Chat: Install growth and user engagement<br /> |
| from professional translations</h3> |
| |
| <img alt="" class="screenshot thumbnail" style="-webkit-border-radius: 5px; |
| -moz-border-radius: 5px; |
| border-radius: 5px height:78px; |
| width: 78px; |
| float: left; |
| margin: 12px 20px 9px 20px;" src= |
| "https://lh5.ggpht.com/qiL6CF1Hktz618T3mbGrxvm_OoeheQ78FgG7zr90C2MCRiz4IDQsbKuHT4xQGiWEU8o=w124"> |
| |
| <div style="list-style: none;height:100%; |
| float: right; |
| border-top: 1px solid #9C0; |
| width: 220px; |
| margin: 4px 20px;padding: .5em;"> |
| |
| <h5>About the app</h5> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.unearby.sayhi">SayHi Chat, |
| Love, Meet, Dating</a></li> |
| <li>A social app to help you find people nearby</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <h5>Localization Results</h5> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li>120% growth in language installs for new languages added</li> |
| <li>~20% increase in revenue and ~50% increase in User Reviews in the new |
| languages</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <div style="padding:.5em 0 0 1em;"> |
| <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.unearby.sayhi"> |
| <img alt="Android app on Google Play" |
| src="{@docRoot}images/brand/en_generic_rgb_wo_45.png" /> |
| </a> |
| |
| </div> |
| </div> |
| |
| <div style="line-height:1.4em;"> |
| |
| <p> |
| The SayHi Chat app started out only in Japanese, Chinese and English. It soon |
| became one of the most popular apps in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The |
| SayHi team realized it was time to launch in more languages, as the language |
| barrier was restricting how fast SayHi could grow globally. </p> |
| |
| <p>Yan Shi, senior |
| developer at SayHi, says: "We checked Google Analytics for our DAU and user |
| growth numbers in each country, we also looked at total Android and iOS users |
| in those markets before finalizing our next set of languages. |
| </p> |
| |
| <div style="margin-top:8px;float:left;width:270px;"> |
| <img src="{@docRoot}images/distribute/hichat-n5-port.jpg" style="width:240px;margin-right:48px;"> |
| </div> |
| |
| <p> |
| SayHi used the App Translation Service to launch in 13 additional languages |
| in August 2013 and immediately saw 120% increase in install rates. In |
| addition, they are seeing their app ranked in Top 10 apps in countries like |
| Poland and Italy. |
| </p> |
| |
| <p>Notably, they saw steady growth in Spain after replacing their previous |
| non-professional Spanish translation with a professional one produced through |
| the App Translation Service.</p> |
| |
| <p> |
| Yan Shi adds, “The App Translation Service is really easy to use and |
| the completion time for translation requests is very good.” |
| </p> |
| |
| <div style="width:600px;margin-top:98px;padding:0;"> |
| <p class="img-caption"><strong>Arabic version of SayHi Chat</strong>: |
| User engagement increased significantly with |
| the localized version.</p> |
| </div> |
| |
| </div> |
| </div> <!-- END STORY --> |
| |
| |
| <div style="margin-bottom:2em;clear:both;padding-top:18px;" id="g4a"><!-- START STORY --> |
| |
| <h3 style="line-spacing:1.25em;">G4A Indian Rummy: Benefitting from ease-of-use and<br /> fast turnaround time</h3> |
| |
| <img alt="" class="screenshot thumbnail" style="-webkit-border-radius: 5px; |
| -moz-border-radius: 5px; |
| border-radius: 5px height:78px; |
| width: 78px; |
| float: left; |
| margin: 12px 20px 9px 20px;" src= |
| "https://lh4.ggpht.com/IxSyQgO0LWzPRoLfCrER06-0kr6aMAa2azF7eNYB30EBZAGOLYJUZulknPockbTlDYU=w124"> |
| |
| <div style="list-style: none;height:100%; |
| float: right; |
| border-top: 1px solid #9C0; |
| width: 220px; |
| margin: 4px 20px;padding: .5em;"> |
| |
| <h5>About the app</h5> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.games4all.android.games.indianrummy.prod">G4A Indian Rummy</a></li> |
| <li>A card game in which the players try to form sets and sequences of cards</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <h5>Localization Results</h5> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li>Double the number of users in French and German languages</li> |
| <li>300% increase in user engagement with localized version</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <div style="padding:.5em 0 0 1em;"> |
| <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rvappstudios.zombieragdoll"> |
| <img alt="Android app on Google Play" |
| src="{@docRoot}images/brand/en_generic_rgb_wo_45.png" /> |
| </a> |
| </div> |
| </div> |
| |
| <div style="line-height:1.4em;"> |
| |
| <p> |
| Games4All (G4A) is the developer of Indian Rummy and a variety of games that |
| they distribute broadly to users around the world. After noticing that |
| certain apps had become especially popular in specific countries, they |
| decided to localize those apps. Initially they used a local agency to do |
| the translation and got great results — the number of users in |
| that language increased tremendously when they released the localized |
| version. |
| </p> |
| |
| <p> |
| Building on that success, G4A expanded their localization goals but |
| found that translation quality varied across their vendors and costs limited the |
| language/game combinations they could try. That's when G4A decided to try the |
| App Translation Service. |
| </p> |
| |
| <p> |
| Founder Pieter Olivier says, "When we heard that the App Translation |
| Service was available in the Developer Console, we jumped at the opportunity. |
| We've now been using the App Translation Service for several months and found |
| that the cost per translation is much lower than with local companies and the |
| process is much easier." |
| </p> |
| |
| <p>So far, G4A has translated the game Indian Rummy into five languages through |
| the App Translation Service.</p> |
| |
| <p> |
| Olivier continues, "The first thing we did was convert all of our texts into |
| the strings.xml format. After that using the service was extremely easy and |
| straightforward. In contrast, our previous experiences with translation |
| agencies were much more difficult: files often required extensive conversion |
| operations to make them usable, and turnaround times varied wildly. |
| </p> |
| |
| <p> |
| "With the App Translation Service, the turnaround time is usually measured in |
| days instead of weeks that we were used to with traditional translation |
| agencies." |
| </p> |
| |
| <div style="margin-top:14px;float:left;margin-right:24px;"> |
| <img src="{@docRoot}images/distribute/indian-rummy-n4-land.jpg" style="width:470px;"> |
| </div> |
| |
| <div style="margin-top:158px;"> |
| <p class="img-caption"><strong>Dutch |
| version of Indian Rummy</strong>: Making slight changes to games rules based on |
| local nuances was key to success of the game.</p> |
| </div> |
| |
| </div> |
| |
| |
| |
| </div> <!-- END STORY --> |