Markets

=Markets= Markets are regions of the Earth where you can sell games. At present, the three markets are North America, Europe and Japan. Japan may possibly be expanded to "Asia" in the future, as the current in-game date is in the 80s.

North America
The continent of North America contains two first world nations and one developing nation. It is currently a heavily crowded market.

United States of America
Abbreviated as "USA", America is one of the two most militarily powerful nations on Earth (The other being the USSR), and the richest.

As such, it is a very lucrative market and the first choice for game companies. The Gamewagon is the most popular console here, and both the GamerCon and Pixel Cube were exclusive to the USA and Canada.

Games published specifically for the USA only require English text and speech, but gain a slight bonus from Spanish text and speech.

Canada
Abbreviated as "CA", Canada is a more liberal nation than the USA, but is otherwise culturally similar despite the stereotypes. Though financially stable, it's dollar is about 1/3rd the value of the American dollar as of 1986.

Games published in the USA automatically gain Canadian publishing along with it unless otherwise stated, as the free trade and open border agreements between the two nations is such that the games will find their way north of the border one way or another.

Games published in Canada lose a small to mid-size chunk of sales if there is not a French language option or version of the game.

Mexico
A poor developing nation, Mexico is not a very lucrative nation and can be safely ignored by game developers and console manufacturers.

Mexico requires games be published in Spanish text and speech. English is optional.

Europe
The subcontinent of Europe contains a first world nation and a trade union that counts as a single nation. It is currently a lightly populated market dominated by the Gamewagon, which is distributed in Europe by LockNess Software on behalf of Horse-Drawn Games.

United Kingdom
The United Kingdom, abbreviated as "UK" is a first world nation that tended to favor PC games over console games before the Gamewagon arrived on the scene.

Games published specifically for the UK only require English text and speech.

European Union
The European Union, abbreviated to "EU", is a loose trade agreement between the Western European nations.

Games published specifically for the EU require extensive translation; games must be published with a single version containing English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese text and speech. This means RPGs cannot be published there until 1995.

USSR
The United Soviet Socialist Republic, sometimes referred to as the "Eastern Bloc" but usually abbreviated to "USSR", is a communist political union consisting of Russia, East Germany and several other nations.

The USSR lasts until 1991, where Germany replaces East and West Germany and becomes part of the EU, and Russia becomes its own nation in the European market. Until this disbandment in 1991, the USSR will not allow the distribution of any video games within its borders.

In addition, companies may not form with an HQ location in any part of what was East Germany or in Russia until the year 1991 has ended.

Japan
Japan, sometimes known as the "Land of the Risng Sun" but abbreviated to "JP", is a developing nation with a quickly expanding economy. It is also highly technophilic, making it a lucrative market for games and consoles.

The catch is two-fold. Firstly, Japanese culture is very different from American culture. Marketing will have to fit this perspective to be successful in the island nation.

Secondly, it is the only market that requires text and speech to be translated to Japanese. English provides no bonus and is completely unnecessary here.