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[FTLRalph]

Hey guys.

So I have a pretty decent game/app that does very well on iOS and Android, both through sales and ads. It's a creative sort of app with a lot of UI.

I've localized it to some European/South American languages, can't say I noticed anything or than a minor bump in sales/downloads from those countries.

I'd like to move onto Asian markets now, but I'm just weighing the pros and cons for the work/cost involved.

Anybody that has experience with this I'd really appreciate input!

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1) What are your results with Asian markets? Chinese/Japense/Korean/Philippines/Russia? Worth it? China seems to be the most "controversial", anything specific about the Chinese market to know?

2a) Right now I only bother with Google Play, Amazon, and the App Store. If I move into the Asain market, are there new stores I should upload to?

2b) Same goes for ads. Right now I use Admob on the free version of my app which brings in a good chunk of the revenue. Do I need to (should I?) use a different ad service for Asian markets? Just China?

3) How would you recommend getting these translations? Right now I'm lucky enough to have some users of my app that have done the work for me for very little money that I forced them to take. It's about 5000 words and as the app still receives monthly updates, I'll need a few paragraphs localized every month or so.

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Just trying to feel out the waters before jumping in, thanks for any advice/input.

[eaglegamma]

For translations, there are tons of sites from general classifieds to translation-specific services that you can search for. You can also post on social networks etc.

[emmagreen]

Hello interesting topic! I am an ex-architect who now working in the game industry in Asia. Can you share me the link of your game? I may able to help you market to the asian market.

[allthegoodideas]

1. It's great you are thinking of how to expand your game into more markets. Asian markets are a completely different animal and the payouts for ads are not generally as high as other American or European countries. Russia I think is somewhat of an exception (I work with all Russians so I know).

2. You could get into the Samsung store or a few others but I don't think it's necessary.

2b. What ad formats are you serving? That will be the main piece of data that will help you determine whether or not you should use a different ad network. I know there are networks that are local in China/Japan/and those countries but I don't know about integration or their payouts. Admob does fine in all those countries but again it depends on the ad formats.

3. Use the internet or hire a translator

Now that I've touch on all those points here is my feedback, DONT DO IT! The opportunity cost to break into Asian markets greatly outweighs growing in the markets that you are already in. The amount of work and time you'd have to put in to doing that doesn't make any sense. Focus on your current markets, do marketing or UA, and absolutely target the US if you haven't. That's where the highest paying ads are.

[AncientGamesDS]

Like the poster above me said, Asian markets are completely different and have a steep opportunity cost to break into. That being said, there's money to be made there.

Regarding your ad structure, you'll have to check that AdMob has a decent fill rate over there. If not, it may be better to add an additional provider which fixes that problem for you.

You'll need good translations, there's a few good websites around that do it for a reasonable amount.

There are tons of extra stores in these markets that have a high number of users but they're extremely difficult to penetrate. Stuff like the Kakao store and Tencent's app store have huge numbers but good luck getting through to them.

I'd suggest looking into getting a publisher for those markets. If your game has had success in the west it should be fairly easy to score. The standard Chinese publishers usually do is a 50% revenue split. It could potentially boost your profits for minimal effort on your part.

[Chris Koźmik]

One important thing, there is no such thing as Asian market (at least that's what I have heard from rather reliable sources). There is a separate Chinese, Japanese and Korean markets. Western market (Europe + North America + South America) is a unique thing that does not apply to other regions. You can sell more or less the same game in Europe and US, but it won't work in China and Japan combo. And the localization to those markets seems to be more complex than just translation.

A can of worms as I have heard.

[TheClintHennesy]

I can't say much for the other markets but I can tell you abit about the Philippines since I'm from here.

I talk to a bunch of devs here and there about their mobile games made. The good thing about the Philippines is there are heaps of people- meaning- your Download number and ratings can go up. People here are incredibly active~ish on the mobile game stuff too since PCs and Consoles are too expensive for the majority.

The problem though is no one actually spends for the games here. I've asked 2-3 different dev groups who've had decently successful releases on the Mobile Platform- and they all consistently say that noone- if not, only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction are willing to pay.

Just my two cents. ^_^