History MarketBasedTitle / VideoGames

* The original arcade version of ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' was released as ''Top Secret'' in Japanese, while the Famicom version is known as ''Top Secret: Hitler no Fukkatsu'' ("The Resurrection of Hitler"). The series then changed to the international title of ''Bionic Commando'' in Japanese, beginning with the Platform/GameBoy version.

** ''VideoGame/FatalFury''[='s=] name in Japanese is "''Garou Densetsu''" ("The Legend of the Hungry Wolf"), referring to series face Terry Bogard's [[RedBaron nickname]]. The Japanese title is alluded to in, ''VideoGame/GarouMarkOfTheWolves'', in all regions (although "Garou" was made into "Fatal Fury" for the Dreamcast release but kept the subtitle intact).

** ''Dracula no Densetsu'' (''The Legend of Dracula'') was localized as ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaTheAdventure''. Its direct sequel recieved the same treatment, as ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIBelmontsRevenge''.

** Europe [[NoExportForYou missed the]] ''Dragon Warrior'' era entirely and only started to recieve games after the rebranding with ''VIII''; but the releases in the first few years (''VIII'' and remakes of ''IV'' and ''V'') dropped numbers from the titles, probably to avoid the [[SequelFirst "some titles were never released there"]] problem. These three releases also had a "The" added to the beginning of the American subtitles. The numbers were eventually reinstated (and the "The"s removed) starting with ''IX'' in 2010. In addition, the subtitle of ''VI'' was changed from "Realms of Revelation" to "Realms of Reverie".

* ''VideoGame/{{Blackthorne}}'' was renamed ''Blackhawk'' in certain European countries. One possible explanation was due to sharing a name similar to a brand of British cider, Blackthorn; though this is unlikely [[ForWantOfANail for want of an 'E']]. The GBA rerelease retained the original ''Blackthorne'' title.

* ''VideoGame/{{Onmyoji|2016}}'' is known by this title in all localizations except Japanese, where it's titled ''Onmyōji Honkaku Gensō RPG'' because of trademark issues.

** The UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem (NES) was originally released as the Family Computer (FC) or [[PortmanteauSeriesNickname Famicom]] for short, with the hardware itself being completely redesigned from the more toy-like top-loading design used by the Famicom with the permanently-wired controllers to the more VCR-looking front-loading design used by the NES with its detachable controllers. The differences are not just cosmetic. The different pin size of the cartridges themselves meant that certain Famicom games, most notably ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse'', would employ additional sound channels that cannot be heard on an actual NES console, even when played with a converter, without some modding. Moreover, the Famicom has a dedicated expansion port for additional peripherals, whereas the NES uses controller port#2 for the same purposes, rendering peripherals for both consoles mutually incompatible with each other as well (although, the Famicom AV would switch to using NES-style controller ports while still keeping dedicated ports for peripherals). Also notable is that the Famicom lacked any UsefulNotes/RegionCoding whatsoever (with the exception of an unintended lockout from the Japanese version of NTSC having a frequency range unique to Japan) while the NES has region coding in the form of the [=NES10=] chip. On the flipside, NES units has a hidden expansion slot on it's underside, while Famicoms lack that amenity.

** In South Korea, Hyundai Electronics (now Hynix) officially distributed Nintendo consoles under the Comboy line. The NES became the Comboy, the SNES became the Super Comboy, the Game Boy became the Mini Comboy, and the N64 became the Comboy 64. Starting with the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube, Nintendo's consoles kept their original name in Korea, although the [=GameCube=] was distributed by Daewon, with Nintendo finally distributing its consoles themselves starting with the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} and DS.

*** The company's Sega Mark III console (so named as it succeeded the SG-1000 and SG-1000 II consoles) was released as the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem overseas (a name later used in Japanese for a revised version of the Mark III, known as the Mark IV internally). In Korean, it was called the Gam*Boy. Yes, really.
*** The Mark III's successor, the Mega Drive, was released as the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis in North America and the Super Gam*Boy in Korea (but was still called the Mega Drive everywhere else). The rename for the North American market was usually attributed to a trademark dispute, but it was actually because Sega co-founder David Rosen did not like the term "Mega Drive" and wanted the name to reflect that it was a "new beginning" for Sega. Either way, as a result, the Mega CD add-on became known as the Sega CD in America, while the American-created Genesis [=32X=] was known as the Super [=32X=] in Japanese and as the Mega [=32X=] in Europe.

** The PC Engine became the UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16, with the PC Engine Duo (combining the PC Engine with the Super CD-ROM[[superscript:2]] add-on) becoming the Turbo Duo. In Britain, it had a limited release just as the [=TurboGrafx=] with no number; France, on the other hand, released the original, un-remodeled PC Engine.
** The UsefulNotes/PC98 became the APC (Advanced Personal Computer) outside of Japan. Granted, it lost the ability to display Japanese text, but gained CGA compatibility to be more in line with western [=PCs=] and clones. Unfortunately, it still had issues with certain PC software, the biggest being that it required it’s own specialized version of MS-DOS, which means western “booter” games won’t start on the machine. Likewise, games that did undocumented things and accessed hardware directly that was expected to work on a western PC or compatible would not work on a PC-98 due to slight differences in the memory layout. This eventually caused NEC to stop exporting the platform and creating proper PC clones for the western market.

* A few of Creator/{{Compile}}'s {{Casual Video Game}}s were also subjected to this trope, with ''VideoGame/LunarBall'' becoming ''Lunar Pool'' and ''Party Games'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem becoming ''Parlour Games''.
* Creator/ElectronicArts produced the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis versions of several British UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} games from Creator/{{Psygnosis}}, retitling two of the conversions: ''VideoGame/TheKillingGameShow'' became ''Fatal Rewind'', and ''Leander'' became ''Galahad''. EA also published ''Galahad'' as ''The Legend of Galahad'' in Europe; the Genesis/Mega Drive version of ''The Killing Game Show'' was published under its original title in Japanese, but not European languages. (''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheBeast'', a Psygnosis game with better recognition and wider distribution to begin with, was not retitled by EA for the Genesis.)
* When Mattel Electronics began porting their UsefulNotes/{{Intellivision}} games to the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}}, they marketed them under the "M Network" label, with different packaging and mostly different names (non-sports {{Licensed Game}}s and arcade ports were exempt):

* Sinclair Research changed the titles of several early Creator/HudsonSoft games when publishing them for the UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum: ''VideoGame/BomberMan'' became ''Eric and the Floaters'', ''Cannon Ball'' became ''Bubble Buster'', and ''Itasundorious'' became ''Driller Tanks''.

** The UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} game was brought to Europe as ''Vampire Killer''.

** The [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] game was localized as ''VideoGame/SuperCastlevaniaIV''.

* The UsefulNotes/NintendoDS game titled ''VideoGame/AnotherCode: Two Memories'' in Japan and Europe was renamed ''Trace Memory'' in North America, which extended to renaming the in-game device resembling a DS from Dual Another System (DAS) to Dual Trace System (DTS). Averted with the remake that uses the Japanese/European title internationally as part of being in a collection titled ''Another Code: Recollection'', which also includes the second game (''R - Journey into Lost Memories'') that never released in America.

* The UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem game ''[=TransBot=]'' was titled ''Astro Flash'' in Japanese. Creator/{{Sega}} also created as an UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame which had the same title in Japanese but was titled ''Transformer'' internationally.
* ''VideoGame/AtomicRunnerChelnov'', as an UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame, had the same title in all regions. The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis port was released as just ''Chelnov'' in Japanese and as ''Atomic Runner'' in English, even though the altered ExcusePlot of this version made ''Atomic Runner'' an ArtifactTitle.

* ''Bomber King'' was localized as ''VideoGame/RoboWarrior'' on the NES. ''Bomber King: Scenario 2'' on the UsefulNotes/GameBoy was localized as ''VideoGame/BlasterMaster Boy'' in America, and ''Blaster Master Jr.'' in Europe.
* Early ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}'' games were released in Europe as ''Dynablaster'', sometimes written as two words (''Dyna Blaster''). There were a few ''Bomberman'' games from this era (''Bomber Boy'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy and the Creator/{{Irem}} arcade games) that were retitled ''Atomic Punk'' for the U.S. market. The UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem game ''Bomberman II'' also used the ''Dynablaster'' name in Europe, but it used the original name in North America (the first NES game was not released in Europe). This ended in 1993 with ''Super Bomberman'' using the same title worldwide.

* ''Masters of Combat'', a FightingGame for the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, was released for the UsefulNotes/GameGear in Japanese as ''Buster Fight''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Castlequest}}'' for the NES was originally released as ''Castle Excellent'' in Japanese. This raises the question of what the international title of ''Castle Quest'', an unrelated StrategyRPG for the Famicom, would have been. Answer: a translated version of ''Castle Quest'' for the NES was previewed under the title ''Triumph'', but only the UsefulNotes/GameBoy version was released overseas in Europe, under the ''Castle Quest'' title.
* ''VideoGame/CastleOfIllusion Starring Mickey Mouse'' is known in Japan as ''I Love Mickey Mouse: Fushigi no Oshiro Daibōken'' (I Love Mickey Mouse: Mysterious Castle Great Adventure). The UsefulNotes/GameGear version is known in Japan as ''Mickey Mouse no Castle Illusion''.

* ''VideoGame/TheChaosEngine'' was released in English on the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem and UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis as ''Soldiers of Fortune'' (not to be confused with ''VideoGame/SoldierOfFortune'').
* ''VideoGame/ChikiChikiBoys'' was retitled ''Mega Twins'' outside Japan in all versions except the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis[=/=]Mega Drive version which used the original title in all territories.

** ''Operation C'' was also included in the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor Main/CompilationRerelease ''Konami GB Collection: Vol. 1'', a compilation that [[Main/NoExportForYou never reached North America]]. Weirdly, the European version used the Probotector name, but featured human characters.

** ''Mickey Mouse II'' was released as ''The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2'' in the US. In Europe, the game was released as ''Mickey Mouse'', and also as ''Hugo'', to tie into the ''[[Franchise/HugoTheTVTroll Hugo]]'' series, followed by the sequel ''Hugo 2'', based on another ''Hugo 2'' game on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation.

* Creator/DataEast USA retitled ''VideoGame/CrudeBuster'' to ''Two Crude'' in arcades; the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis port was retitled ''Two Crude Dudes'' in North America and Europe.

* The sequel to Level-5's UsefulNotes/Playstation2 action-RPG ''VideoGame/DarkCloud'' is known as ''Dark Cloud 2'' in North America...and ''Dark Chronicle'' everywhere else.

* The PuzzleGame ''Diablo'' (not to be confused with ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'') had some Japanese-made ports retitled ''Blodia'', and the UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 version of ''Blodia'' was retitled ''Timeball'' in English.

* The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis version of Creator/{{Taito}}'s UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''Final Blow'' was released outside Japan as ''James "Buster" Douglas Knockout Boxing'', a title also used for an altogether different UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem game.

* ''Flipull'' was known as ''Plotting'' outside Japan, until Taito America released the UsefulNotes/GameBoy version under the original title.

* The arcade version of the original ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'', as well as the three {{UsefulNotes/MSX}} games in the series, were released under the ''Nemesis'' title outside Japan. In a form of RecursiveImport, the ''Nemesis'' name was used in Japanese and European languages for the two UsefulNotes/GameBoy games (the first of which used the Nemesis title in North America, and the second of which came out as ''Gradius: The Interstellar Assault'' in North American English) and ''Nemesis '90 Kai'' for the UsefulNotes/SharpX68000 (an enhanced remake of the {{UsefulNotes/MSX}} version of ''Gradius 2''). The arcade version of ''Gradius II'' was also released as ''Vulcan Venture'' in European languages. And ''Salamander'' became ''Life Force'' in North American English, though the arcade versions differed a bit more than in name. On the UsefulNotes/{{NES}}, ''Life Force'' was called ''Life Force Salamander'' in European languages, ''Salamander'' being the name of the arcade version outside of North America.

* ''VideoGame/GravityRush'', a KillerApp for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita, is called ''Gravity Daze'' in Japanese.

* ''VideoGame/TheGuardianLegend'' was originally ''Guardic Gaiden'', a spin-off of the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} game ''Guardic''.

* The first ''VideoGame/{{Langrisser}}'' game was released on the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis as ''Warsong''.

* The PuzzleGame ''Mindbender'', which went by the title ''Brainbender'' on the UsefulNotes/GameBoy, was released by Creator/{{Acclaim}}'s Japanese division under the title ''Migrain''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Nebulus}}'' was released in North American English as ''Tower Toppler''. However, the {{UsefulNotes/NES}} and UsefulNotes/GameBoy versions were ''Castelian'' in both territories.

* Creator/HudsonSoft released ''VideoGame/{{Nectaris}}'' for the UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 as ''Military Madness'' in America. Later remakes of the game were released internationally with both titles combined.
* A really bizarre example was an UsefulNotes/Atari2600 game released in North America as ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_This_Game#cite_note-4 Name This Game and Win $10,000]]'', which in fact [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin had a contest after release to name the game for a $10,000 reward]] (though the developer went bankrupt before the contest could even be completed). In Europe, it was simply titled ''Octopus'', as they had no intentions of holding a contest there.

** ''V-Rally'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation was originally released by Infogrames. However, when Electronic Arts purchased the publishing rights to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation version, they retconned it into a ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' game, marking one of few times when a game has actually jumped across franchises for marketing purposes. The N64 version was released under it's original name.
*** The sequel was also retconned as a ''Need for Speed'' title on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation in North America as EA purchased the publishing rights to that one too, but the Dreamcast version was instead published by Infogrames themselves, who released it as a ''Test Drive'' title, as Infogrames had obtained the franchise when they acquired Accolade earlier in 1999. Therefore, in North America, ''Need for Speed: V-Rally 2'' for the [=PlayStation=] and ''Test Drive V-Rally'' for the Dreamcast are the same [=game/port=].
* The UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem version of ''VideoGame/TheNewZealandStory'' was for some reason released in the U.S. as ''Kiwi Kraze: A Bird-Brained Adventure!''.

* The French computer game ''Opération Jupiter'' was released in other European countries as ''Hostages'' and in the US as ''Hostage: Rescue Mission'' (note the singularization). The UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem port, however, was released as ''Hostages: The Embassy Mission'' in Japanese and as ''Rescue: The Embassy Mission'' in English.

* ''VideoGame/{{Phantasmagoria}}'' was renamed ''Phantasm'' in the Japan-only UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn release.

* The FightingGame ''Power Athlete'' was released in North American English under two different titles: ''Deadly Moves'' on the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, and ''Power Moves'' on the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem.

* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' has been distributed internationally under the name ''Puyo Pop'' since the UsefulNotes/NeoGeoPocket Color version. The only previous releases outside Japan had been some quite strangely {{Dolled Up Installment}}s of the first game. Strangely enough, Creator/{{Sega}} also completed a straight translation of the original game, and American or European players who imported ''Puyo Puyo'' for the UsefulNotes/GameGear would be greeted with ''Puzlow Kids'' on the title screen. While the main series went back to the ''Puyo Puyo'' name after ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoTetris'', the game known as ''Puyo Puyo [=eSports=]'' in Japanese was released as ''Puyo Puyo Champions'' internationally.

* Creator/{{Taito}} America shortened the title of ''Rastan Saga'' to ''VideoGame/{{Rastan}}'', but then released its sequel under the title of ''[[SdrawkcabName Nastar]] Warrior''. The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis port averted this, being titled ''Rastan Saga II'' in both U.S. and Japan.

* ''VideoGame/RoadBlaster'' by Creator/DataEast was published as ''Road Prosecutor'' on the Pioneer [=LaserActive=], ''Road Avenger'' on the UsefulNotes/SegaCD, and ''Road Blaster FX'' in Japanese, probably to avoid confusion with [=RoadBlasters=] by Creator/{{Atari}}.

*** The UsefulNotes/PSVita re-release of ''Persona 4'' is called ''Persona 4 Golden'' in English and ''Persona 4: '''The''' Golden'' in Japanese. There are still some parts with the Japanese name however. Likewise, ''VideoGame/Persona5: The Royal'' was changed to ''Persona 5 Royal''.

* ''The Super Shinobi'', the first ''VideoGame/{{Shinobi}}'' game for the [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Mega Drive]], is known as ''VideoGame/TheRevengeOfShinobi'' outside Japan, while its sequel, ''The Super Shinobi II'', was retitled ''Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master'' for its overseas release. Meanwhile, ''Shin Shinobi Den'' is known as ''Shinobi Legions'' in America and ''Shinobi X'' in Europe.

* The UsefulNotes/GameGear version of ''Skweek'' was retitled ''Slider'' in English, even though it was originally a European game and all previous versions had been released as ''Skweek''.

* The UsefulNotes/PC98 and UsefulNotes/SharpX68000 versions of ''[[VideoGame/{{Spindizzy}} Spindizzy Worlds]]'' were released in Japanese under the game's WorkingTitle, ''Spindizzy II''. This choice of numbering is a bit odd, considering that the original ''Spindizzy'' only appeared on Western 8-bit computers.

** The very first ''VideoGame/StreetFighterI'' was released for the [[UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 Turbografx CD]] as ''Fighting Street''.

** The original Japanese version of ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' is known as ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels'' overseas due to the unrelated version of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' (a [[DolledUpInstallment modified localization]] of ''VideoGame/DokiDokiPanic'') that was released in its place. The UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor remake featured in ''Super Mario Bros. DX'', known as ''Super Mario Bros. For Super Players'', is actually an amalgam between the original ''Super Mario'' and the Japanese ''Super Mario 2'', as it uses the game system and graphics from the former and the stages from the latter.

** One [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland Yoshi-themed]] puzzle game for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem and the original UsefulNotes/GameBoy was titled ''Yoshi's Egg'' in Japanese, ''Mario & Yoshi'' in European languages, and simply ''Yoshi'' in American languages. Similarly, [[VideoGame/YoshisUniversalGravitation the gyroscopic game]] for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance was titled ''Yoshi Topsy-Turvy'' in American languages and ''Yoshi's Universal Gravitation'' in all the other translations.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' was given the subtitle ''Legend of the Seven Stars'' for its release in North America. The UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch remake averts this by removing the subtitle, making its title the same across all regions.

* The original arcade version of ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' was released as ''Top Secret'' in Japanese, while the Famicom version is known as ''Top Secret: Hitler no Fukkatsu'' ("The Resurrection of Hitler"). The series then changed to the international title of ''Bionic Commando'' in Japanese, beginning with the UsefulNotes/GameBoy version.

* ''[[VideoGame/MasterOfDarkness Vampire: Master of Darkness]]'' was titled ''In the Wake of Vampire'' in Japanese; the Europe-exclusive UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version was just ''Master of Darkness''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Siren}}'' is ''Siren'', ''Siren 2'' and ''Siren: New Translation'' in Japanese, ''Siren'' in the US, and ''Forbidden Siren'', ''Forbidden Siren 2'' and ''Siren: Blood Curse'' in Europe.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'': ''Nintendo All-Star! Dairantō Smash Brothers'' became ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', ''Dairantō Smash Brothers DX'' became ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'', ''Dairantō Smash Brothers X'' became ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' and ''Dairantō Smash Bros. Special'' became ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'': ''Dairantō Smash Brothers'' became ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', ''Dairantō Smash Brothers DX'' became ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'', ''Dairantō Smash Brothers X'' became ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' and ''Dairantō Smash Bros. Special'' became ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.

** Japan's ''Dragon Ball Z: Sparking!'' is localized as ''VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokaiTenkaichi'' in English -- essentially trading in GratuitousEnglish for GratuitousJapanese.

* The UsefulNotes/NintendoDS game titled ''VideoGame/AnotherCode: Two Memories'' in Japanese and European languages was renamed ''Trace Memory'' in American languages. It even went so far as to rename the in-game device resembling a DS from Dual Another System (DAS) to Dual Trace System (DTS).

** The ''Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection'' is known as ''Metal Gear Solid: HD Edition'' in Japanese, a somewhat misleading title, as it implies that it's a stand-alone remaster of the first ''Metal Gear Solid'' when it's actually a compilation of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' and ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater 3]]'' with a voucher code to download the first game if you bought the [=PS3=] version (which is ironically the only title in the collection not remastered in HD, being instead a straightforward emulation of the [=PS1=] version). Unlike the North American and European versions, the Japanese compilations did not come with the ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' remaster, which was instead given a separate stand-alone disc release.

* ''[[VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvoltSeries Azure Striker Gunvolt]]'' is titled ''Armed Blue; Gunvolt'' in Japanese. The titular character's title is also changed as such.

** ''Contra III: The Alien Wars'' is known as ''Contra Spirits'' in Japanese and ''Super Probotector: Alien Rebels'' in European languages at least for the Super NES version. The Game Boy version was simply titled ''Contra: The Alien Wars'' (without a numeral) in American languages and ''Probotector 2'' in European languages (it was still called ''Contra Spirits'' in Japanese).

*** '''Dragon Quest Monsters 3: The Demon Prince and the Elf's Journey'' was simplifed to just ''Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince''. The removal of the "3" probably has to do with the fact that [[SequelNumberSnarl it's actually the seventh]] ''Monsters'' game, and two of the four that were skipped over [[NoExportForYou were never released internationally]].