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January 31, 2025
Welcome to another episode of SideQuest Sessions! In this session, we dive into the fascinating process of packaging localization and design for video games. Here's an inside look at how WAYPOINT ensures games are distributed seamlessly across global markets. The world of game packaging might seem straightforward, but it’s an intricate process that requires attention to detail, creativity, and technical expertise. As a leading video game creative agency, WAYPOINT specializes in ensuring that every game we work on is tailored for a global audience. Watch the Episode 04 here.
Packaging localization adapts game packaging to comply with regional standards, languages, and first-party guidelines (like those from Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo). This involves:
Localization starts with a "lock sheet" or "localization sheet," which contains all necessary text elements, translated by experts for accuracy and cultural relevance. These translations are carefully applied to design layouts while accounting for variables like line breaks and differing text lengths.
It’s not just about translating words—it’s about making sure every piece of text fits perfectly and resonates with the target audience. For example, box art in North America may feature different language combinations compared to packaging in Europe or Asia. Each region’s specific needs must be met while ensuring the final product remains visually appealing and functional.
At WAYPOINT, we’re more than just a video game creative agency—we’re a trusted partner in navigating the complexities of video game marketing campaigns and packaging localization.
Once translations are complete, the next step involves adapting key art. Key art—provided by developers, publishers, or created in-house—is the foundation for packaging design. Designers at WAYPOINT:
This step is critical for ensuring that all packaging elements work together seamlessly. Key art must not only look visually stunning but also accommodate all necessary elements like screenshots, game summaries, and legal disclaimers. As a video game marketing agency based in California, we’re skilled at striking the perfect balance between functionality and aesthetic appeal.
A "SKU" (Stock Keeping Unit) is a unique identifier for physical products. SKUs, along with barcodes (EAN-13 for Europe, UPC-12 for North America), are vital for tracking and distributing game copies worldwide. WAYPOINT often manages multiple SKUs for localization projects, ensuring each is correctly tailored to its region.
For instance, large-scale projects like The Callisto Protocol required over 40 SKUs to accommodate multilingual packs and diverse regional standards. Each SKU represents a specific version of a game tailored for a particular market, and every detail—from language to platform—must be perfectly aligned. This process ensures that distributors can easily track and manage inventory across global territories. As one of the top video game marketing companies, we bring precision to this process.
WAYPOINT doesn’t stop at localization. We also design and produce custom packaging for collector’s editions and influencer kits. These projects often involve:
Collector’s editions often feature intricate designs and additional components, like art books, figurines, or exclusive game content. These packages must not only look impressive but also adhere to strict guidelines for durability and usability. For example, using O-sleeves allows WAYPOINT to create uniform boxes while differentiating platform-specific editions, ensuring cost efficiency and visual consistency.
As a video game creative agency in Los Angeles, we take pride in our ability to elevate these special editions while maintaining our commitment to quality.
Producing game packaging comes with its challenges, especially in the printing world. Some common hurdles include:
One of the most fascinating aspects of the production process is color management. Each region and platform may have unique color specifications, requiring precise calibration to achieve consistent results. Additionally, elements like barcodes and rating badges must meet specific size and placement requirements to comply with regional laws and guidelines.
WAYPOINT’s expertise as a gaming marketing agency ensures these challenges are met with creative and technical solutions, allowing us to deliver exceptional results.
WAYPOINT has worked on some incredible titles, including:
Each project highlights our expertise in delivering tailored packaging solutions for global audiences. Whether it’s creating multilingual packs for complex markets or designing stunning collector’s editions, our team takes pride in ensuring every detail is handled with care. As a top creative agency in California, we’ve partnered with some of the most respected names in the gaming industry.
Packaging localization is a meticulous process that blends creativity, technical expertise, and cultural awareness. By handling everything from translations to assembly, WAYPOINT ensures that game publishers can reach players worldwide with ease. Each project is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and skill of the WAYPOINT team.
Whether you’re looking for a game marketing agency in California or a trusted video game ad agency, WAYPOINT is here to help you bring your vision to life. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of SideQuest Sessions! If you found this content helpful, feel free to leave feedback or drop a comment. Don’t forget to like and subscribe for more behind-the-scenes insights into the gaming industry. See you next time!
If you prefer reading here is a full transcription of the episode:
Sean:
Hey everybody, welcome back to another SideQuest Sessions. I'm here once again with our faithful and talented creative director, Joe McGrath. What's up, Joe?
Joe:
What's up, everyone? What's up, Sean?
Sean:
Before we get started, a little bit about Waypoint and what it is we do and what we're about. So we're a company that's been around for over 15 years. There's just over 50 full-time people working for us. And we have two offices, one in Los Angeles and one in Buenos Aires, and we work on three different things.And in no particular order, those are creative, which is making the marketing art assets for game companies, e-commerce, for example, running in a white-label capacity, an e-shop for a video game company. What's up, Konami? And third, but not least, collectibles.This could be making a collector's edition for a video game company.It could be making an influencer kit, something that's tangible and exists in the real physical realm. We're going to talk about a few things today, notably packaging localization for video games. So Joe, we're going to talk about packaging.
Joe:
Great. All right.Talk to me.
Sean:
So when a game is sold, it needs to go in a box, unless, of course, it's a digital distribution. In order to get the game into our lovely country of the United States, the packaging's in English, easy peasy. What about when we have to get games in other parts of the world?
Joe:
Sure.So yeah, what you're talking about is the wonderful world of localization. And this is a pretty critical step of the process when distributing a game. And so during this time, this is when we work with publishers to help localize their games to whichever market they're planning to distribute to.
Sean:
Can you walk us through the basics of packaging localization? We know that it's to put the games out in other countries, but what exactly does that mean?
Joe:
Sure. Yeah. So normally, a publisher comes to us, the agency, with a laid out distribution plan.So they have an idea of what territories they want to sell physical copies of the game in. And this ranges from, you have North America, which is US and Canada. You have Latin America, or LATAM as we call it.You have EMEA, which is Europe. And you have Asia-Pacific. There's a bunch of different territories all around the globe.And so they'll come to us and they'll say, hey, this is where we want these games to be sold. Can you adapt our packaging according to first party guidelines, meaning guidelines from Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, in order to get the packaging fit for distribution and sale in these regions?
Sean:
All right. And so when we localize packaging, the things that come to my mind are the box art, which has a front, has a back, and it has a spine.And it also has a cartridge or a disc label. And so correct me if I'm wrong, we need to localize all of those parts.
Joe:
Yeah.So those components that you just talked about are all a piece of the puzzle. And I guess the first place we start is with language, right? Language translation. That's sort of the biggest key component of localization.So we'll take the contents from the disc label, from the back of the box, sometimes the front of the box, but usually the cover art remains untouched, like the original version. And we will get expert translations of what they're trying to communicate through this marketing art and adapt the boxes accordingly.
Sean:
All right. We don't translate the words ourselves. We're not a translation company, but we work with one, notably, translation or localization company, and their job is to take what we call the lock sheet or the localization sheet. We'll have the lead language, which is oftentimes English.And those sentences will all be in Excel cells, and then we'll translate each sentence sentence by sentence in all the different languages, right?
Joe:
Yeah, we break it down into phrases, headlines, subtext under those headlines, maybe text that's associated with a screenshot. And we break that down into small manageable sentences or phrases, so we can get back a direct translation. And they do it right down to the line breaks and punctuation.
Sean:
And some languages take up more room than others. Sometimes we have to do a multi-language skew, which means we have to put two languages or more on the same box, right?
Joe:
Yep, that's becoming common practice in a lot of different areas. North America, for example, does French, Canadian French, and English on the same box.And you see it kind of depending on what territory you're working in. In Europe, a lot of times, they'll do English, Spanish, Italian, for example, or combine different languages on a single game pack.
Sean:
In Canada, where I'm from, it's the law to sell products or advertise them in both French and English, in Quebec, specifically, where I'm from.And a lot of companies sometimes don't distribute their games in that territory because it's expensive to have another skew for a territory that might not be as big as United States or might not be worth it.
Joe:
Yeah, they're killing a couple birds with one stone there. So they're able to still capture the market, but have it all on a single sleeve.
Sean:
And so we talked about cover art, you said, and so where that comes from is a marketing asset that we often refer to as key art. And so the key art gets designed, it could be by us, or in some cases, it could have been designed by another agency or by the developer or the publisher or who knows, and that's provided to us. Isn't that right?
Joe:
Yeah, a lot of the time, a basis for the key art is provided to us.So this is sort of taking us into the next step or stage of localization as a whole. So translation being the first one, and then you have the design layout is sort of the second part of the process that we move to. So we're provided that key art.We make that key art sometimes, and it requires sometimes some adapting or finessing in order to get the back of box screenshots to work perfectly with the accompanying text. We also have to account for the space that the back of the Xbox game case legal information takes up, things like that. The rating badge is another thing that varies in size per region.So we may need to adapt the game title or the key art image in order to work well in a design layout as a whole.
Sean:
And where do those templates you mentioned earlier come from? Those first party templates.
Joe:
Yep.So those, when you're a game publisher, you have access to sort of a publisher portal. And so you get the latest version of the template. So if you're doing physical distribution, they'll provide you with a giant PDF basically that has an example layout of how the box should look, where the rating badge goes and how big it should be, all of the legal information for you to fill out or that is provided as part of like the legal information that goes along with the software.You also have system requirements like the game size, how many players, all of those sort of components that you see on the back of a PlayStation Switch or Xbox game are provided in the template. And then we take the information from the devs or from the publisher and incorporate that all into the layout.
Sean:
All right.We mentioned something earlier called a SKU. S-K-U. What does that stand for?
Joe:
It stands for stock keeping unit to my knowledge.
Sean:
And what does that term get used for in our business? Why do we talk about SKU?
Joe:
So it's a way to differentiate physical products. For example, if they're in a distribution warehouse or they're being shipped around, we need a digital way to identify that physical product with a unique marking and number. Basically this number that you're given for any of the territories, this number is also correlates to the barcode that's found on the game box.And so there are two common types of barcodes that we come across, right? There's a EAN13, which is for Europe, it's 13 digits and there's a UPC12. And so those digits help us make a digital barcode that can then be scanned by a warehouse and we keep track of where this box is and what product it is.
Sean:
So EAN is the European version of our UPC.
Joe:
Correct. Is that it?
Sean:
Who provides that code or that barcoder?
Joe:
That is generated by the publisher.
Sean:
So he's got a barcode generator and he sends you the image?
Joe:
Essentially, yes.And there's like an official, some official behind the scenes there. But yes, more or less.
Sean:
What's the average number of SKUs on a localization project?
Joe:
So I would say per platform, maybe ranges from like four to eight.And then you have that four to eight for each platform. It's sort of a standard range.
Sean:
So 12 to 24, if there's three, the three platforms involved.What's the project we've done the most unique SKUs for, with the multilingual packs and all the languages? What's the largest number of SKUs that we've done?
Joe:
I think we did 30 or 40 something total for the Callisto protocol.
Sean:
Great game.
Joe:
Incredible game.
Sean:
All right. As we said, we're an agency and we receive what are called briefs all the time. And not all briefs are created equal.
Joe:
That's right. Yeah.
Sean:
And so what exactly does a brief for a packaging localization project look like?
Joe:
So we, I guess for a packaging localization project, the brief usually comes in the form of a SKU sheet is what it's called.So you were talking about localization sheets earlier. There's also a SKU sheet, which is more or less a spreadsheet that tells us what the platform is, what the SKU number is, what the region is, where specific part numbers like the disk number and the wrap number and the rating. And so that information is applied to each SKU that we're working on.And we use that as a master checklist when we're designing all of the layouts and the doing the mechanical layout of the wrap.
Sean:
Very good. And so all that information will hopefully be provided to you in one concise email with nothing missing.
Joe:
Yep.
Sean:
If you had any tips to give game publishers out there on how to prepare a good brief, what do you like to receive so that things are efficient and clear?
Joe:
So yeah, a lot of it is just having things ahead of time. I know a lot of times the rating for a game won't come in until a little bit later.So sometimes we have to use placeholders there. But just otherwise the basics, knowing your address, maybe the address, the copyright for the developer and the publisher, those kinds of things factor in to being able to fill out the template accurately. And from the devs, you have to get all of the system requirements.So knowing is it multiplayer, is there online play, are there any sort of core requirements there that would trigger us to use an alternative form of the template.
Sean:
So getting all that information together in one go and sending it off as soon as possible. Is there anything else that we need there? For example, we need a timeline, wouldn't it be nice to know when everybody needs their stuff by?
Joe:
Yeah, definitely.So we have target dates in mind, which are provided by the client. But then we also take into account a little bit of time required for getting feedback on these from the first parties themselves who review every single wrap and let you know if anything's out of place or maybe something's been updated in the template that you don't yet to know. They're really helpful in providing feedback about that.And then also building in time for feedback from the printer as well. So when this process is all said and done, we send a packaged print file, which comes from InDesign or a similar program that is four color process. So CMYK and sometimes there are spot colors in certain areas and the printer will review and do what's called a pre-flight check to sort of analyze and see if everything's been set up correctly.And when they run a print, they won't know errors will be returned.
Sean:
All right, so we've got a brief, a timeline, hopefully we've already talked about the budget and that part's out of the way. We've got all the information, the guys and girls at Waypoint are going to get to work.How long does this kind of project go on for? Let's say 12 SKUs, how long does that usually take?
Joe:
Yeah, usually I would say three to five weeks on average. We can definitely turn it around pretty fast. But the main thing to keep in mind is the time for back and forth and feedback, which from the first party sometimes can take several days.And so that's one of the parts of the process we sort of have to wait for and see what they come back with.
Sean:
All right, cool.
Joe:
We've been through a bunch now, so we're usually able to turn things around quickly.Very good.
Sean:
All right, let's do a little segue here. We do a lot of packaging design, not just localization.Design being we get a brief, there's nothing and we have to make the entire box for whatever it is we're doing from scratch. And so the first thing that comes to mind for me is when we do collector's editions, like we've talked about in a previous video, but we also do influencer kits and all kinds of unique custom packaging projects. So my first question for you is, do we have to localize those?
Joe:
Yeah, in some way or another, usually as a jumping point, just to connect it to the game pack localization, those types of packagings that we're talking about are like the Blu-ray disc case that your game comes in, like a Switch or Xbox game.But beyond that, when you get into more interesting versions of the game, the packaging is adapted accordingly. So for example, they have a retail special edition. That's one example of a little one-up version of the game that you can buy at retail.And a lot of times those come with additional components, like an O-sleeve, which is an extra sleeve that fits around the box. Maybe the box is a little bit thicker to account for a pack-in. And so those still, the same template rules still apply, but we need to make sure that we're looking at the size and adapting the artwork accordingly, because there are some kind of specialty outside of the normal zone areas that we go into.And then collector's edition is another example of that, where we more or less take the same system requirements and the same sort of ratings badge and first-party branding, like for Sony or Microsoft, and adapt that, but the box is sort of TBD and make it could be any size as we develop it.
Sean:
We're working on a really cool collector's edition now that hasn't been announced. We're not going to talk about it, but one of the things that we're doing is an O-sleeve.You mentioned that that's just a sleeve without a top or a bottom that goes around the box. And there is a reason for doing that, is that we want, let's say we're making 10,000 units of a collector's edition, we want to make all the boxes the same for cost reasons. And so we can differentiate by platform, by using an O-sleeve.So we could have an Xbox O-sleeve, a PlayStation O-sleeve, and so on.
Joe:
Exactly. And so we take the core collector's edition and we'll put in an Xbox game or put in a PlayStation game, and then slide over the corresponding O-sleeve to signify what platform it's for.
Sean:
That's right. So when we do collector's editions, we don't just design them and manufacture them, ship them. We also oftentimes handle the assembly, no kidding.And so our job is to take the game itself and put it into the CE that we've designed, and also do the final assembly, including the O-sleeve and even packing it into a shipper and maybe even mailing it out to the customer who just bought it.
Joe:
Yep, exactly.
Sean:
Very good.All right, Joe, let's go behind the scenes a bit. What kind of technical challenges does a production artist on our team sometimes get confronted with?
Joe:
Yeah. So there's always something.It's tricky, especially in the world of printing, which is not as common practice these days. And so a lot of digital designers are new to this world and they haven't experienced this kind of thing before. So just let me think of a few that come to mind.So one of them is just sort of knowing about the world of InDesign and Adobe Illustrator and how to set something up for a print, right? So making sure you're in the right color space, CMYK, for example. But within CMYK, I think a lot of people might be familiar with that, CMYK and RGB, RGB being digital and CMYK being for the physical world. There's something called a color profile, which is basically like a way that the printer interprets your colors and then it calibrates for that specific kind of printer.So there are certain ones for Sony, for example, and we need to make sure that our print-ready PDF is in the right color space. Also checking for things like if any spot colors are used, right? There's Pantone colors. I think some people might be familiar with that.That is like a specialty single placement of a special ink that might be used or a special color. So for example, the Nintendo badge that's shown on the back of the switch box is its own color. It's so there's CMYK is four colors, plus there's this specialty color that they use just on their packaging.So making sure that our file is showing the right number of colors. Another important thing is 100% black. This is what the K in CMYK stands for.And so things like a barcode, for example, need to be 100% black, all black ink in order to function properly. So we go in, we do our own pre-flight check before sending this to the printer. And that's where we sort of look for all these little nuances.And I keep learning things every day about why we get kickback errors. And it's definitely a deep rabbit hole. Some people find it interesting, like myself, I don't know, that might be putting you to sleep a little bit, Sean.
Sean:
Still here.
Joe:
Yeah, it's been really cool to sort of learn through online forums and learn about the ancient practice of print production in this way. And this is a great application for it in the real world.So we try to be as prepared as we can and keep on learning. But those are a few things that we could get snags along the way with.
Sean:
Excellent tips.Thank you. All right, Joe. So I'm going to scroll through our website and we're going to rattle off a few of our past packaging localization projects.
And this is going to give the viewers a good idea what we're talking about in a more visual manner.
Joe:
Yeah.
Sean:
And so we already talked about the Callisto protocol.Great project. Great game. Yep.Next that I can see here.
Joe:
That one covered more territories than usual. So pretty expansive project and big release.Great.
Sean:
And next I see is Cuphead.
Joe:
Cuphead.
Yep. Great game. Great game.
We did all three platforms, I believe. And there was also a special edition box that we worked on as well. It was a little bit bigger and had an item packed in.
Sean:
Oh, yeah. Very good. I remember.
The next one I see is Psychonauts 2. And then we've also got Stray.
Joe:
Stray. Yes.
Really cool. Really cool game.
Sean:
Death's Gambit.
Joe:
Death's Gambit. That was one of the first ones that we worked on with Skybound. Really awesome art style on that game.
Pretty sweet.
Sean:
Neon White.
Joe:
Neon White.
Also another kind of cool game mechanic game. Really interesting. Definitely go check it out if you're not familiar.
Sean:
Eastward.
Joe:
Eastward. Very cool indie title.
Definitely vibes, nostalgic sort of vibes in that vein, but amazing art style as well. And then Disco Elysium. Nice.
Banger. Really well-known title. The Pathless.
Sean:
Pathless. Yeah. Spiritfarer.
Joe:
Spiritfarer. Sayonara, Wild Hearts. Awesome music.
Really cool. And yeah, great kind of examples of this whole process and what we go through to help assist a great publisher with a great game launch.
Sean:
Very good.Joe, my friend, I thank you once again. Thank you. You're welcome.SideQuest Sessions 4, I believe, is completed. Awesome. And thanks for everybody for watching.And we hope that this content is valuable to you, that you get some kind of lessons or teachings out of it, and that you can benefit from it. If you have any feedback for us, please let us know in the comments. And if you like this video, give us a like and subscribe too while you're at it.See you, everybody.
