There are different levels of game localization, determined by marketing strategies and usually prioritized by the size of the market – the bigger the market, the more chance of full localization. Sometimes, however, format holders decide to localize their games into the languages of smaller markets in order to boost hardware sales and increase their presence in those new emerging markets, as in the case of Sony with the Portuguese-speaking market (Ranyard and Wood 2009). Chandler (2005, 12-14) categorizes localization approaches on four main possible levels:

- No localization: some budget titles are not localized and are sold in the original language in other countries. This provides the opportunity to sell some extra copies without having to invest in the localization process. 

- Box and docs localization: this refers to the translation of the packaging and the manual of the game. The game code and language remain in the original language. This is usually done for games that include little text (e.g., platform, sports, and arcade games), games not expected to sell more than a few thousand copies, and games developed in English to be sold in countries where players have a good level of English, such as Scandinavian countries. This was also the common option for games developed in the early days such as Pong (1972).