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Happy 20th Anniversary Side Shanghai

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2002 – 2012: The Establishment of Side Shanghai

In 2002, Side’s Shanghai studio was established under the name “Shenfa Software”.

At that time, China was undergoing a transition from the foundries for Nokia and Motorola devices to the consumer market for mobile phones. By November 2002, the total number of mobile users in China exceeded 200 million.

Riding on the wave of the booming mobile market, Shenfa Software’s game development team began creating Java-based mobile games. These game-loving developers, artists, and designers have created a variety of games in different genres, from RPG to racing.

At the same time, a separate team was in full swing with game localization and QA. Shenfa Software formed partnerships with top game console manufacturers from both Japan and Europe, assisting the localization and testing of Japanese, English, and Chinese games.

Thereafter, the QA and Game Development teams worked together, developing and testing their own mobile games in Java and later for smartphones like Android and iPhones.

 

2012 – 2022: Side Shanghai Becomes the Gateway to China with offerings in Localization, QA, Player Support, and Audio

In 2012, PTW International (now Side) was officially established. Leveraging its studios worldwide, Side became a one-stop service provider delivering multi-lingual localization, QA, and player support services to the gaming industry.

Shenfa Software joined Side in the same year, renamed as Side Shanghai. Serving as the gateway to China, it dedicated its resources to game localization and QA services and terminated the self-developed games.

The console ban finally came to an end in 2015. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo entered the Chinese market with their own consoles. Side Shanghai supported localization and QA for the debut games of both the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch, giving Chinese gamers the authentic experience of world-class AAA games.

The Localization team in Shanghai worked on a large number of projects every year. In addition to authentic translation, the team members also worked hard on cultural adaptation to ensure gamers could enjoy games without any cultural barriers. The high quality of their work has been recognized by clients across the world, and the team translates over 10 million words and characters every year.

Since 2015, Side Shanghai has supported QA for 250+ games on different platforms, across console, arcade, and mobile games.

With the acquisition of game art, development, and audio studios, Side offers a truly global one-stop game development solution to partners. Side Shanghai has also expanded their business offerings: In 2016, Side Shanghai offered player support services. In 2018, Side’s top game audio specialists, set up a state-of-the-art studio in Shanghai to produce localized audio in Mandarin Chinese. Working with an array of voice talent and audio directors, Side Shanghai delivered exceptional performances for various titles across genres, including the FPS game Call of Duty: Online, the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV Online, and the sports game Nintendo Ring Fit Adventure.

This June, Side Shanghai celebrates its 20th birthday. We couldn’t have accomplished this milestone without the efforts of our team members.

Here’s what they love about working at Side:

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“I like the work culture at Side. I get along with my colleagues easily, so I can focus my energy on the work I love. There’s a lot of freedom when doing my work, and I choose my own pace. More importantly, I know all the effort I put into my work is recognized.”

— Jiaru Gu, Localization Project Manager, joined in March 2018

They also shared their most memorable moments at Side Shanghai:

“When the pandemic first broke out in early 2020, the Shanghai office faced a lot of difficulties maintaining its operation. It was very touching that other Side studios sent a lot of masks, hand-sanitizers, and other things that were in short supply in Shanghai at the time.”

— Jeff Zheng, IT & Admin Manager, joined in April 2003

 

“The most memorable thing was the restructuring of Side in 2012. With the launch of PS4 and XBOX One in China, Shanghai studio had a rebirth.”

— Xing Zhang, QA/LQA Department Head, joined in June 2003

 

“When I first got onboard, I was the only one in Audio at Shanghai and I had to handle a pretty big project, which was quite challenging. Luckily, I got support from both my colleagues at Side Shanghai, and colleagues from the UK, and I completed the project successfully. I felt so grateful to have such nice teammates!”

— Ruiting Dong, Production Manager, joined in November 2011

 

“I am so happy that the data analysis reports I created for the Compliance department in the US and Malaysia got some positive feedback, and such collaboration encouraged me to keep learning.”

— Garfield Yao, L&D specialist, joined in September 2021

 

“For me, every project and every day is memorable. I’m so glad to stay at Side, because I love games, so everything I do feels meaningful, challenging, happy, and fulfilling.”

— Jingjing Li, QA/LQA Project Manager, joined in 2016