History ArtifactTitle / VideoGames

* The 2007 Wii entry in the ''VideoGame/Cruisn'' series published by Creator/MidwayGames is in fact a port of the 2004 ''Franchise/TheFastAndTheFurious'' arcade game released by Raw Thrills, a company founded by ex-Midway employees led by ''Cruis'n'' creator (and industry legend) Creator/EugeneJarvis after Midway dropped out of the arcade market in 2001. The ''F&F'' arcade game is very much a SpiritualSuccessor to the ''Cruis'n'' series, featuring much of the same gameplay mechanics and a similar look and feel, while the actual use of the ''F&F'' license outside the title (and the original arcade cabinet art having a pic of Vin Diesel and Paul Walker) is mostly limited to the car selection being heavy on the import tuner type of cars (and Dom's 1968 Dodge Charger) seen in the first two films and that one course is named after the climactic Race Wars event from the first movie. When Midway ported the game to the Wii, they couldn't use the ''F&F'' name (the console license rights were held by Namco, which had released a [=PS2=] game the year prior), so they used the ''Cruis'n'' name they co-owned with Nintendo, and all ''F&F''-specific elements were removed (though, as noted, there weren't many). The one exception is that the Race Wars track wasn't renamed, making the level title an artifact of the game's origins.

** Because the original title of ''Biohazard'' was considered too generic to be properly trademarked in the west, Capcom came up with the name ''Resident Evil'' after the mansion that [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil1 the first game]] was set in. Later games in the series are not set in residences (with the exceptions of the Ashfords' mansion and the replica of the Spencer mansion in ''Code: Veronica'' and the Umbrella Training Facility in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0''), although "Resident" can just mean "inhabitant", something that does not require a building to be - in fact, most of the games take place in open environments. The Japanese title, ''Biohazard'', references the viruses that drive the plot. Averted in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'', which takes place almost entirely in a mansion much like the first game.

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII: Shadows of Amn'' had nothing to do with the city of Baldur's Gate, though at least it did take place in and around Amn. Likewise, the expansion ''Throne of Bhaal'' takes place to the south of Amn, and thus even farther away from Baldur's Gate(which was at the north edge of the first game's map).

** ''Halo: The Master Chief Collection'' was originally a CompilationRerelease containing all of the ''Halo'' games that have Master Chief as a playable character, which changed when 343 added ''Halo 3: ODST'' (where you play as a squad of [[BadassNormal Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]] instead of the Chief) and ''Halo Reach'' (where you play as an entirely different squad of [=SPARTANs=]) to the collection as DLC. Amusingly {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the latter's case, as discovering Master Chief's extremely brief cameo in ''Reach'' unlocks an achievement called "Collection Eligibility Confirmed".

** ''Halo: The Master Chief Collection'' was originally a CompilationRerelease containing all of the ''Halo'' games that have Master Chief as a playable character, which changed when ''Halo 3: ODST'' (where you play as a squad of [[BadassNormal Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]] instead of the Chief) and ''Halo Reach'' (where you play as an entirely different squad of [=SPARTANs=]) were added to the collection as DLC. Amusingly {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the latter's case, as discovering Master Chief's extremely brief cameo in ''Reach'' unlocks an achievement called "Collection Eligibility Confirmed".

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' - the ''A'' stands for "Advance," as in the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, which is the platform the first title ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' was on. This was retained for the second game, which released on the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, to try and distinguish the two portable-only entries as a sub-series distinct from the first title, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''.

* The ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars]]'' series was no longer on the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance when the series moved on to the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS with its third and fourth installments, ''Advance Wars: Dual Strike'' and ''Advance Wars: Days of Ruin''. On the other hand, the Japanese version of the series reverted to the even more antiquated ''Famicom Wars'' name for its [=GameCube=] (''Battalion Wars''), Wii (''Battalion Wars II'') and DS installments.
* The [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] (short for Family Computer) itself was an example of this as well. As the name implies, Nintendo planned for the machine to be a multi-purpose personal computer rather than simply a game console, and released various PC-like peripherals over the course of its lifespan. This included a keyboard, a modem, a floppy drive, and a tape drive, all of which emphasized other types of applications for the Famicom besides games alone. However, the system's applications as a game console ended up receiving far more emphasis from the get-go, even from Nintendo themselves. Nevertheless, Nintendo ended up keeping the "Family Computer" moniker in Japan and even named its [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem direct successor]] the "Super Famicom" in Japan, despite that system having even ''less'' connections with actual [=PCs=].

** The meaning of the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'''s title is twofold: it was the third game in the series (following the UsefulNotes/{{MSX2}} games ''Metal Gear'' and ''Metal Gear 2'') and it was the first one developed in 3D (produced during the early days of 3D gaming). The former meaning is now rendered nonsensical in light of the numbered sequels released since, while the latter is redundant since 3D is now the norm. This artifact is especially apparent with ''VideoGame/MetalGearGhostBabel'', which was [[MarketBasedTitle retitled to]] "Metal Gear Solid" outside Japan despite being neither 3D (owing to being a UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor game) nor an alternate sequel to ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'' (it's actually an alternate sequel to the ''first'' game).

** ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'': The "3D" in the title refers to it being a sequel to ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'', despite this game not being in actual stereoscopic 3D, because only its predecessor had [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS such visuals]]. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Nintendo did consider adding support for 3D televisions to the game, but dropped it due to it conflicting with the game's emphasis on local multiplayer, since each player would have required a set of 3D glasses.]]

** ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' was named [[SuperTitle64Advance for its system]], just like [[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii its predecessor]]. Then it got an UpdatedRerelease on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in the form of ''New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe'', rendering the "U" rather meaningless.

** The DS remake of ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' is called ''Super Mario 64 DS'' despite not being a UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 game or coming out for a 64-bit system.

* ''Quartet'' was originally a four-player side-scrolling UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame released in the wake of ''VideoGame/{{Gauntlet}}''; a version titled ''Quartet 2'' was released as a conversion kit for two-player cabinets, but it still featured four selectable characters. The UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version, however, only has two playable characters: Mary and Edgar were kept, but Joe and Lee were removed. The Japanese Mark III version was retitled ''Double Target'' to reflect this change, but the overseas release kept the arcade game's original title.

* Nintendo's UsefulNotes/{{Mii}}s got their name as a pun on "Me" and "UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}," the console on which they made their debut. Half of that pun now makes little sense if you use them on the [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]], smartphones, and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch.
* Most unofficial fan sequels to the popular [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] game ''VideoGame/DuckHunt'' actually do not involve shooting any ducks at all, since there aren't any there -- you now instead shoot ''dogs'' (specifically the [[TheScrappy much-reviled]] cackling retriever from the original game).

* The Select button. It's named as such because it was originally intended to be used to select options in title screens, settings and similar along with the Start button. Back then, pressing Select would move the cursor the next option. However, developers later opted for letting players navigate with the directional button. Despite this, Select was kept with its name unchanged, even though it no longer serves the function said name refers to, similar to keyboard keys such as Scroll Lock and Pause. Modern consoles tend to keep the button but name it to something that makes better sense, such as "Back" on the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} console lineup.

* Averted with ''VideoGame/ZombiU''. Originally released as a launch title and exclusive for the then-new UsefulNotes/WiiU, the title was clearly meant to invoke SuperTitle64Advance. Three years later, Ubisoft decided to port the game to other platforms, renaming it ''Zombi'' in the process.

** ''Kingdom Hearts coded'' was retitled to ''Kingdom Hearts Re: coded'' due to being a UsefulNotes/NintendoDS remake of a game previously released on mobile phones. However, even when the game was released as a cutscene movie in II.5 [=ReMIX=], the "re" prefix is still present in the title of the game.

* The UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch gets its name for being able to "switch" between TV gaming and portable gaming, as well as switch its controllers on and off the system. While the Nintendo Switch Lite is lighter than the original, it now works exclusively as a handheld console and the controllers can't be removed.

* Xbox started out as the name for Microsoft's line of game consoles (the name coming from the system's WorkingTitle, the "[=DirectX=] Box") but Microsoft has since applied the brand to their gaming efforts as a whole, even where it doesn't make much sense. This includes Xbox Live, which started out as the online service for Xbox consoles but later became available on other platforms, such as Windows [=PCs=], and even on consoles competing with the Xbox in certain circumstances, such as in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' on UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch[[note]]Microsoft acquired ''Minecraft'' in 2014, but it remains MultiPlatform due to the GrandfatherClause.[[/note]]. In 2019 Microsoft chose to rename their game publishing branch from Microsoft Studios to "Xbox Game Studios" in spite of their increasingly cross-platform gaming efforts.

** UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade was originally called such because the games distributed through it were meant to invoke the pick-up-and-play qualities of classic arcade games. However, throughout the lifespan of the UsefulNotes/Xbox360, the scope of the service expanded to include a wider variety of games, such as rereleases of older games (not always from the arcade) and indie games, many of which didn't follow the arcade design philosophy. It was probably for this reason that Microsoft chose to retire the brand around the time the UsefulNotes/XboxOne released.

* Any game with a SuperTitle64Advance title that gets re-released on another platform without a title change generally counts. Examples include ''VideoGame/SonicCD'' and ''VideoGame/Doom64''.
** Special mention goes to ''VideoGame/ShantaeAdvanceRiskyRevolution'', which was never released on the Game Boy Advance to begin with. [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell At least, not originally.]]

** The DS remake of ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' is called ''VideoGame/SuperMario64DS'' despite not being a UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 game or coming out for a 64-bit system.

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOdyssey'' falls under this trope for the ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' franchise. ''Odyssey'' does not have any Assassins outside of the modern day portions while the Templars or more specifically the Order of the Ancients don't even appear in the game at all instead it's the Cult of Kosmos that fills out their role as the main antagonists. The ''Legacy of the First Blade'' DLC does somewhat avert this by having the actual Order show up as the villains of the story while Darius/Artabanus has the Assassin garb and Hidden Blade but even then he is not an actual member of the Brotherhood or their ancient precursors, the Hidden Ones.
* ''Videogame/AssassinsCreedValhalla'' also falls into this as the protagonist Eivor is at best a loose ally of the Hidden Ones. [[spoiler:They even end up explicitly rejecting an opportunity to join, citing their desire for personal glory contrasting with the Hidden One's MO of working from the shadows]].

* ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'' originally started as a ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' modification, but the name stuck even after Garry Newman turned it into a standalone release. Newman cited it as a mistake, stating that he should have called it "Garry's Sandbox" instead.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' is set in the Gulf of Melange, far away from the Tri-Island Area of the previous ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' games, and at no point do any of the characters set foot on Monkey Island, although it is referenced several times. The island also was not featured in ''VideoGame/{{Monkey Island 2|LeChucks Revenge}}'', although ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'' later {{retcon}}ned this. Only to be expected when the first game, ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'', neither mentioned nor revealed the title's secret, which is repeatedly lampshaded throughout the series.

* ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon Castlevania: Circle of the Moon]]'' and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' are set in castles alright -- just not Dracula's castle (which is referred to sometimes as Franchise/{{Castlevania}}). ''Circle of the Moon'' is set in Camilla's castle, while ''Dawn of Sorrow'' is set in the castle owned by Celia Fortner's cult. The ''Dawn of Sorrow'' castle is apparently an "exact replica," but this attempt to smooth out what is otherwise a minor piece of trivia [[VoodooShark creates serious confusion]] as the castle is the {{Trope Namer|s}} for ChaosArchitecture, making any "replica" impossible (unless it's an "exact replica" in that it mimics the castle's nature; either way, it's a bit confusing). In the latter case, it is zig-zagged: [[spoiler:in [[ArrangeMode Julius Mode]], [[RogueProtagonist ex-protagonist Soma Cruz]] becomes Dracula, kills off the cult, and takes over the castle, technically making it his]].

** ''Halo: The Master Chief Collection'' was originally a CompilationRerelease containing all of the ''Halo'' games that have Master Chief as a playable character, which changed when ''Halo 3: ODST'' (where you play as a squad of [[BadassNormal Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]] instead of the Chief) and ''Halo Reach'' (where you play as an entirely different squad of [=SPARTANs=]) were added to the collection as DLC. Amusingly {{Lampshaded}} in the latter's case, as discovering Master Chief's extremely brief cameo in ''Reach'' unlocks an acheievement called "Collection Eligibility Confirmed".

* ''VideoGame/GianaSisters'': The original ''VideoGame/TheGreatGianaSisters'' featured Giana and her green-haired twin sister Maria. ''VideoGame/GianaSistersDS'' does not contain Maria, so "Sisters" is no longer accurate.

* As a franchise that's been around since 1981, ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'' games tend to zigzag this trope, with just under half of all games having at least one level set in the titular castle. Of the Machine Games entries, only ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheOldBlood'' spends any time at all inside Castle Wolfenstein, though of all games in the series it does spend the most time there, devoting its entire first half to escaping from the castle.