SG ESPECIAL| ¿Cómo impacta la localización de los videojuegos al español? Con Carlos Gonzalez Tardon
Episode notes
Carlos González Tardón presents a study by Observatorio Nebrija on the relationship between localization and video game sales on Steam. The research analyzes around 560 games released in Spain and Latin America and uses the languages shown on store pages and in comments to estimate the weight of each audience. The discussion frames localization as a matter of cognitive accessibility and recognition for the communities a release is aimed at.
The data discussed point to a Spanish-speaking audience larger than expected from the geographic weight of Spain and Latin America. The episode also addresses the differences between Spanish from Spain and Latin American Spanish, dubbing costs, and preferences for different variants. It argues that the impact may be particularly relevant for small, narrative, and adventure games, and reviews associations between subtitles or full localization and higher sales or downloads.
It also looks at the growth of Spanish localization and co-official languages, the role of grants and incubators, studios' commercial visibility, and the historical evolution of Spanish texts and dubbing. The study is announced as a future free, open publication.
Chapters
- 1:33 Study on the economic impact of localization
- 9:58 Spanish from Spain and Latin American Spanish
- 15:10 Impact by video game size and genre
- 20:59 Evolution of Spanish localization
- 25:00 Commercial impact of Spanish
- 39:49 Localization and commercial visibility
- 44:03 Growth of co-official languages
- 57:07 Historical evolution of Spanish localization
- 1:00:10 Open publication of the study