4 tips for Chinese mobile game developers entering the Western market

China has a huge domestic market that is growing rapidly. According to GMGC, the Chinese mobile games market grew 156 percent in 2013 to $2.2 billion and is projected to nearly double in 2014 to $3.8 billion.

However nearly all of the hit games in China are made by local developers. While a few hits from outside of China have found success in the Chinese market, we have yet to see the reverse. To date, successful games built in China have not become wildly successful in the West.

We believe this will happen—it’s only a question of when.

(See: Chinese censorship and its inevitable impact on gaming)

Just as Chinese expansion can be a daunting task for Western gamemakers, the West can be a tricky market for new mobile developers. From art localization to paid marketing, here are four suggestions for Chinese developers thinking about entering the Western mobile market.

1. Art

Localization means a lot more than just translation. Making a game appealing to its intended audience means having them enjoy its look and feel. Art is the first barrier to overcome when winning over a Western audience. If a potential player feels that the art is subpar or last-gen, a developer can lose them. The hits in the West suggest that the polish for user interface, as well as 2D and 3D art styles, are very important.

Chinese developers entering the West should also take notice of color palettes and animation styles that are currently popular in the market. Everything from the shapes of characters’ faces to the style of their hair can be subtle but powerful detractors if done incorrectly.

Similarly, it’s important to keep historical context in mind. Where a game with fiction about the Three Kingdoms can be very popular in China, Western players have a harder time relating. The Western historical equivalent to Three Kingdoms is a European medieval style.

2. Pacing

Western audiences tolerate a slower game pace and consume less content than their Chinese counterparts in similar time periods. We will see how both markets evolve over time, but it’s worth testing if pacing from China is optimal in the West.