Android Play Store Store Languages and Translations

RizbIT

Member
Do you get more installs if you publish the app to the stores for different countries?

If yes can you just use Google translate to translate the english description and paste it into the description for different countries?

Would that work?
 

FrostyCat

Redemption Seeker
Yes, but the choice of language matters and it's not always worth it. For example, you'll get more downloads and be more likely to recoup costs by translating to Spanish than to Dzongkha (unless your game is distinctly Bhutanese). You need to weigh the download gains against the costs of maintaining a new language --- the initial translation, ongoing support in that language, compliance with laws and customs of the country that speaks that language, etc.

As for relying on Google Translate to wing it with in-game text, anyone who has native fluency in a second language can tell you how stupid that can get.
 
My native tongue is german. On google play store I often read unfair comments like:
"Great game, really fun but not in german. So 1 star only. 5 once it gets translated"

I also very often read really bad translations. Obviously automatic translations. Those just look aweful.

I think if you got a game that has hardly any text at all, like in many pzuzzle games, you can away with a badly translated store description and maybe ask someone to translate the few in-game words. If your game has more than a few words or is even telling a story in words, then stick to the language you know best and clearly state that the game will be in that language only - unless you can afford preofessional translation.

However that's just my thoughts on this. I don't have any marketing insight or relevant experience on this topic.
 

RizbIT

Member
so youre saying that Google translate is useless?

I know that the console DOES allow you to manually add more languages and create those different language descriptions.

What I need to nknw is will Googl penalise for a bad translated text?

Also if you make the game available in those ohter stores do you then have to provide the in app text to match that lanaguage?
 

PNelly

Member
"Do you get more installs if you publish the app to the stores for different countries?"

Yes, naturally. But as Frosty says, choice matters and it's not always worth it. You have to consider the number of people worldwide that speak the language you're considering, and unfortunately how rich the target countries are. You might publish your game in Russian, which is spoken relatively widely, but they're generally not wealthy and aren't interested in IAP's or clicking through ads to products they can't afford.

I have a game on the App and Play stores that's available for free in 11 languages. That gives it a large potential audience. However 75% of its players over the game's lifetime are in English-speaking countries. Additionally 80% of the game's advertising revenue has come from English-speaking countries. So while I think it's cool that the game has been around the world in all sorts of languages I can't understand, financially speaking it wasn't a wise move (the money that's come back from non English speakers has not covered the cost of the translations).

"If yes can you just use Google translate to translate the english description and paste it into the description for different countries?"

A big resounding "no" here. Google translate is still very nascent, and it screws up a ton of stuff. It does a passable job (not "good") for languages that are somewhat related and have similar grammar (English to Spanish, for example). Forget anything like English to German and certainly anything like English to Japanese (even people that speak both of these languages natively sometimes have trouble relating concepts from one to the other). If you're serious about doing it though I'd recommend finding a paid service of some kind that has actual humans involved in the work.

"What I need to nknw is will Googl penalise for a bad translated text?"

I have no idea. I work in SEO and I can tell you that Google is not in the habit of sharing it's decision making processes for rankings.

"Also if you make the game available in those ohter stores do you then have to provide the in app text to match that lanaguage?"

I don't think so, but it'll certainly help appeal to Korean speakers if they can actually read the app description.
 

RizbIT

Member
yeah i think that even be the safe option then.

its just the one google offers seems a bit expensive.
 
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