Find success for apps and games in Thailand
8 tips to guide your localization and culturalization strategy
This article is based on material first published on the Think with Google website as part of the Market Finder series.
69 million people live in Thailand, making it the 20th most populated country in the world. Fueled by a rise in middle class incomes, GDP per capita reached USD$17,000 — measured as purchasing power parity (PPP) — in 2017. This has led to rapid smartphone adoption. In fact, over 54 million Thais now own a smartphone, and they rank among the world’s most prolific users of social media.
While credit card penetration is still low in Thailand, Google Play offers alternative forms of payment such as gift cards and carrier billing — making it easy for users to purchase in-app content. Thailand also offers a favorable commercial environment, ranking 27th globally for ease of conducting business and 6th within Asia, according to the World Bank.
Let’s take a closer look at 8 key factors that can help your app or game find success in Thailand.
1. Launch in popular game and app categories
Games
Competitive multiplayer games — specifically massive online battle arena (MOBA), battle royale, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), action role-playing games (ARPG), and strategy — generate the highest revenue in Thailand. Some popular PC gaming IPs that also perform well on mobile in Thailand include Ragnarok M, MU Origins and PUBG.
Increasingly, these top games drive user engagement and revenue through frequent game updates, new content, and in-game events targeted to Thai users. It’s also worth noting that many of these games have an Asian art style, with influence from North Asian markets.
Apps
Social, dating, and entertainment apps tend to perform well financially in Thailand. For example, although Line is a messaging app, it also enables users to buy stickers. In the entertainment app genre, music, live streaming, and funny content monetize well. As a business model, subscriptions are a relatively new concept for most people. As such, many apps offer a one-time in-app purchase, but have subscriptions available. Many developers offer shorter duration subscriptions (for example, weekly) to make the price point more affordable and encourage people to try.
2. Optimize apps and games for mid-tier devices
Smartphone users in Thailand have been upgrading to better phone specs in recent years, but many still own models with lower memory or storage. While 3G/4G coverage is relatively strong in Thailand, the cost of data is still a big consideration for many people. It is therefore worth optimizing your app or game to ensure the broadest reach.
For example, keep both your initial APK size and total app size manageable. If your game has high-quality graphics, aim to keep the total app size after download to below 1GB. Making sure your app or game works on a smartphone with smaller memory is also important as this will help avoid crashes, freezing, poor rendering, and a poor user experience.
Consider giving users the option of either high-quality or low-quality graphics or animations based on the capabilities of their device. Also, be sure to test your app on various devices, particularly those with older operating system versions.
3. Localize your pricing
Consumers in Thailand have lower disposable incomes compared to more developed markets, so it’s important to allow for this when setting prices.
For games, it’s common for developers to offer a starter pack with attractive prices, often USD$1 or less. In fact, sub-dollar pricing could be a useful strategy to help you find new users in Thailand, especially when you consider the minimum price for apps and games starts at around THB฿10 (USD$0.33). You’ll find more details on your pricing options in the Minimum purchase price for apps and in-app products reduced on Google Play blog post.
With more expensive packages, it’s not unusual for prices to be 30–40% lower than in more developed markets, such as Korea and Taiwan, although this varies depending on the app or game.
Although subscriptions are a relatively new model in Thailand, they’re starting to gain traction. To encourage people to try your app, why not consider offering them a free trial for a weekly subscription.
Remember it’s common for price points to end with 0, 5, or 9 (for example, 10, 15, or 19).
Avoid prices with decimals.
4. Allow for changes in language and tone
In Thailand, it’s okay to keep certain names or words in their English form especially if they’re new to Thai culture, there’s no direct translation, or the translation is too long. For example, “Ragnarok”, “Hogwarts” or even “AI Artificial Intelligence”. Part of the reason for this is that English is taught as a foreign language requirement in all Thai secondary schools, and most Thai users are familiar with the English alphabet.
Example: Some names, including character names, can be shown in English alongside other text that’s been translated into Thai.
Example: It’s acceptable for names, such as items in a store to be displayed in English alongside Thai translations.
Thai users prefer to read short, concise text, especially on mobile. As such, it’s fine — and even encouraged — to use informal, spoken-style language for text translation, rather than formal, written language. Where possible, it’s better to use symbols or pictures to convey meaning instead of a translation, especially if the translation is long.
Example: The message is translated into spoken language that’s concise and easy to understand.
Don’t use word-for-word and machine translations. While these are often fast, you’ll still need a native speaker to check everything and ensure the context is correct. You might also need to rewrite phrases to convey the correct meaning.
5. Consider font, layout, and user Interface
When translating to Thai, be aware of new text string lengths affecting your design and display. Make sure the translated content still fits within the UI and has a clean layout. Avoid reducing the font size to make the text fit, as it could become illegible. Also, consider using shorter words or images or symbols for a more concise translation. For example, instead of writing “Rewind” or “ย้อนกลับไป” in Thai, you could use an icons such as “<<”.
Example: Font style and size are easily readable and fit the layout.
One of the most common issues with font types for the Thai language is leaving insufficient space to display ‘accent’ characters that are above and below letters. For example, วันพรุ่งนี้ (tomorrow) rendered without the accents, as วนพรงน, is incomprehensible.
6. Adapt to cultural nuances
Thai users are much more likely to engage with your game or app if the content fits with local culture and sounds as though it was made for them. As such, developers often include elements — such as characters or costumes — that resonate with local cultures and gain appeal with users. Another approach is to create events that reflect local celebrations, like Songkran (Thai New Year). For example, you might include a water cannon fighting mode in a game to reflect the contemporary take on the Songkran tradition of sprinkling water to signify the washing away of bad thoughts and actions.
Example: The character wears a Thai-style costume to make the game feel more familiar to local users
Example: Text fonts are localized, but in a way that fits the game and feels appealing and easy for users to understand.
7. Adapt your community management and customer support
Thai users expect personalized customer support, and many offline and online businesses offer customer hotlines. If that’s not possible, make sure users can reach you on the main social media platforms and clearly signpost this option for them. Many local businesses communicate with users through their Facebook pages or official accounts on messaging platform such as Line.
Online channels are also a good place to build strong user communities. Many Thai businesses have active social media pages or groups that post regular updates and information that encourage active discussion and user involvement.
It’s worth setting up local social media channels in addition to your global ones so Thai speakers will easily be able to get in touch and communicate with your team.
Final words
With rapid smartphone adoption and prolific social media use, we can recognize Thailand as a significant opportunity for developers wishing to enter their game or app if correct culturalization and localization strategies are implemented.
Namely, success can be achieved by adapting your pricing, language, and interface to suit Thai attitudes while also considering choosing categories that most appeal to Thai users, the size of your app to the most used devices, familiar cultural elements, and personalized customer service experiences.
For some interesting facts and figures about the Thai market, check out the World Bank website.
What do you think?
Do you have thoughts on launching apps or games in Thailand? Let us know in the comments below or tweet using #AskPlayDev and we’ll reply from @GooglePlayDev, where we regularly share news and tips on how to be successful on Google Play.
