History Main / DitchingTheDubNames

** The first appearance of Skull Kid in a game translated in Italian was ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', and it was translated as "Bimbo perduto" ("Lost Boy"). Starting from the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS remake of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', the English name was used instead. Curiously, the Italian translation of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' initially used the former name, but it was switched to the latter after an update in early 2015.

** The original release of ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'' on the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS is known as ''[[NumberedSequels Luigi's Mansion 2]]'' in the Japanese, European and Chinese versions. While it's unclear which name came first, considering the game was developed by the Canadian Next Level Games, the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port is known as ''Luigi's Mansion 2 HD'' even in the North American and Korean versions.

* When ''Anime/SmilePrecure'' and ''Anime/DokiDokiPrecure'' were dubbed by Creator/SabanBrands into ''Glitter Force'' and ''Glitter Force Doki Doki'', everyone was given English names. When the main leads for those two shows appeared in ''Anime/SoaringSkyPrecure'', they used their Japanese names instead.

** When ''Sailor Moon'' was first brought over to English-speaking audiences through the DIC dub of the 1992 anime, the Sailor Senshi turned into "Sailor Scouts" and all human characters were given Western names, with some changes (e.g. Usagi, a play on the Japanese legend of the rabbit in the moon, was changed to "Serena" to better foreshadow her as Princess Serenity) bigger than others (Ami changed to "Amy" and Rei to "Ray"). [[note]] Cloverway kept the names when they took over dubbing for seasons 3 and 4.[[/note]] When the original anime was redubbed in 2014 by the same team doing the English dub for the anniversary reboot ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal'', they reverted back to the original names, along with being a TruerToTheText dub of the Japanese script.

* When ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'' and ''Anime/DokiDokiPrettyCure'' were dubbed by Creator/SabanBrands into ''Glitter Force'' and ''Glitter Force Doki Doki'', everyone was given English names. When the main leads for those two shows appeared in ''Anime/HirogaruSkyPrettyCure'', they used their Japanese names instead.

Oftentimes, localizers decide to change certain names when translating a work for a different region. This can include the [[MarketBasedTitle name of the work itself]], [[DubNameChange or certain characters or things within it]]. The reasons for this vary, but ultimately it's driven by the desire to ensure that the work becomes as popular as possible with its new audience. However, sometimes, after a series has been around for some time, the localizer may decide to revert these changes and start using the same names as the original. This could be for a variety of reasons: the series might already be successful, and the localizers feel that changing the names is no longer necessary, the creators might want to keep the names the same in all regions for consistency's sake, the altered name may have been the result of a mistranslation or other mistake, or the original creator of the work might not like the localizers' changes and request that it be changed back. Globalization also plays a role. The Internet has given fans in different countries the ability to engage with one another online, so companies may want to make things consistent across the world to avoid the confusion that comes with having different names in different regions. Having the same names across all countries also simplifies the production of merchandise and marketing materials.