At the beginning of the spread of video games in Saudi Arabia, a common question among gamers was: When do we see an Arabized game? With the release of the PlayStation 3 and the spread of the culture of buying the original version of the game, gaming companies began to support the region and released games, such as FIFA 12 in Arabic for the first time. We see companies creating Middle East support accounts and appointing Arab representatives for them in the region, and sometimes companies meet the requests of players in choosing dubbing and translation. Although we as players have come a long way in supporting the region. However, there is a problem that may take us back to the starting point: games that do not carry the Saudi classification. Buying original games is no longer enough to draw the attention of companies to the region. Rather, buying the Saudi version, which bears the classification of the Audiovisual Media Commission on its cover, has become very important, so that it is counted within Saudi sales. When purchasing games that do not bear the Saudi classification, they will be counted among the sales of other countries such as Turkey and Brazil, as a large percentage of the foreign copies provided by some suppliers belong to those countries. Thus, gaming companies will see that there is no point in supporting the Arab region and ignoring the Arab community of gamers.
The first in the Middle East
Game companies ignoring the gamers community in the Middle East due to Saudi sales is not an exaggeration. The Saudi market is the largest market in the Middle East, and comes second after Turkey if we add North Africa, bearing in mind that the numbers calculated in the statistics include sales of Saudi copies only. The surprising thing is that most of the games sold in the Kingdom are not Saudi copies! This arrangement gives an impression of the strength of the Saudi market and the great opportunities that will be available if players commit to buying the Saudi version.
Positives of “a million” .. Negative “one”
The pros of buying the Saudi version are not only Arabic language and dubbing, but it will open unlimited doors. When the Saudi market advanced as one of the largest gaming markets in the world, next to Europe and America. Companies will go beyond the stage of translation and dubbing to invest more, and support the industry in the region, represented by supporting independent developers, attracting talents, and even establishing studios, making Arab games with an Arab culture from an Arab studio. All we have to do to open these doors is to bypass one negative point: the 20 riyals you will save by purchasing the foreign version, invest it in a Saudi version and support the industry in the region. Most likely, these 20 riyals will end up in the “shawarma” meal.
Safe copy
The Saudi version bears the age classification issued by the Audiovisual Media Commission on its cover. The classification shows the appropriate age for the game in Arabic and in clear colors. The presence of the rating on the cover of the game means that it has been officially examined and cleared by the Commission that you can rely on when you buy a game that a child will play and you do not want him to be exposed to content older than his age. Where the classification divides the games into 5 sections: 3 years and above, 7 years and above, 12 years and above, 16 years and above, 18 years and above. As for the version that does not bear the Saudi age classification, this means that it has not been examined and has not been cleared by the Commission, whether for its content or for legal reasons.. It is better to adopt the Saudi version.
Abdullah Heneidy (Jeddah) @sen3bd