History Trivia / SaintsRow2

* DevelopmentGag: There is a jewelry shop in this game named "Bling Bling", which is a reference to the original project title of the first ''VideoGame/SaintsRow1'', while its TotallyRadical [[https://saintsrow.fandom.com/wiki/File:MUS_SHARED_00049_Bling_Bling.ogg radio ad]] may well be an artistic reinterpretation of trying to sell the concept such as ''Saints Row'' to the corporate suits at THQ. It even ends with a claim that marketing research said the name "Bling Bling" was cool.[[note]]In reality, of course, it wasn't, which is why we got the new title.[[/note]]

** Shogo and Kazuo Akuji are both played by Creator/YuriLowenthal and Creator/SteveBlum (who are both of Jewish Decent) respectively, likely due to them being prominent anime [=VA=]s who are fluent in Japanese. Averted by Jyunichi, who's voiced by Creator/BrianTee (who is part Japanese).
** Americans Creator/GregEagles and Phil Morris as Caribbean gangsters the General and Mr. Sunshine.
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Not the game itself, but apparently this happened to the developers; when asked about a 10th anniversary UpdatedRerelease, a forum moderator revealed that while giving ''2'' a facelift isn't a bad idea, they've lost the source code - so a potential remaster would have to be started from zero. The source code was found around 2020 and a two-man team began working on PC patches on the side, only for the death of Mike "[=IdolNinja=]" Watson in 2021 and Volition's closure in 2023 to stop these plans.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: A re-port of the infamous PC port of the game was in the works at Volition by a two-man team lead Mike "[=IdolNinja=]" Watson with the game's original source code that was found in 2020. Unfortunately, his death from cancer in 2021 complicated things, and Volition's shutdown in 2023 meant this wasn't happening anymore.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Not the game itself, but apparently this happened to the developers; when asked about a 10th anniversary UpdatedRerelease, a forum moderator revealed that while giving ''2'' a facelift isn't a bad idea, they've lost the source code - so a potential remaster would have to be started from zero. The source code was found around 2020 and a two-man team began working on PC patches on the side, only for death of Mike "[=IdolNinja=]" Watson in 2021 and Volition's closure in 2023 stopped these plans.

* DiedDuringProduction: Mike "[=IdolNinja=]" Watson passed away on August 25th, 2021. He had been diagnosed with a form of cancer in the past and, when it returned and became terminal, spent his remaining days working on the patch for the PC port.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Not the game itself, but apparently this happened to the developers; when asked about a 10th anniversary UpdatedRerelease, a forum moderator revealed that while giving ''2'' a facelift isn't a bad idea, they've lost the source code - so a potential remaster would have to be started from zero. The source code was found around 2020 and a two-man team began working on PC patches on the side, only for the the death of Mike "[=IdolNinja=]" Watson in 2021 and Volition's closure in 2023 to put an end to these plans.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: A re-port of the infamous PC port of the game was in the works at Voalition by a two-man team including Mike "[=IdolNinja=]" Watson with the game's original source code that was found in 2020. Unfortunately, his death in 2021 complicated things, and Voalition closing down in 2023 meant this project was ultimately scrapped.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Not the game itself, but apparently this happened to the developers; when asked about a 10th anniversary UpdatedRerelease, a forum moderator revealed that while giving ''2'' a facelift isn't a bad idea, they've lost the source code - so a potential remaster would have to be started from zero. The source code was found around 2020 and a two-man team began working on PC patches on the side, although the death of Mike "[=IdolNinja=]" Watson in 2021 and Volition's closure in 2023 have delayed it.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Not the game itself, but apparently this happened to the developers; when asked about a 10th anniversary UpdatedRerelease, a forum moderator revealed that while giving ''2'' a facelift isn't a bad idea, they've lost the source code - so a potential remaster would have to be started from zero, which in turn would drain resources and workforce away from new projects. As of 2020, a remaster of ''The Third'' has been announced and the source code has apparently been found (a two-man team is working on PC patches on the side, although no-one knows if they'll ever see the light of day; the declining health and death of [[PromotedFanboy Mike "IdolNinja" Watson]] complicates matters) so there being one of ''2'' isn't impossible.
* SerendipityWritesThePlot: [[spoiler:Julius being the one who planted the bomb on Hughes' yacht]] wasn't originally intended to be how ''VideoGame/SaintsRow1'' ended, as the credits scene intended to show him being cornered in an alley. The scene ended up being poorly animated, so the developers simply reused Aisha's animation from the same cutscene and wrote in [[spoiler:Julius' betrayal]], paving the way for the plot of this game.

* NamesTheSame: The Boss, same as [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater The Boss]]. Now that would be a cool fight, especially set to music by [[Music/BruceSpringsteen the Boss]].

** Shogo and Kazuo Akuji are both played by Creator/YuriLowenthal and Creator/SteveBlum (Who are both of Jewish Decent) respectively, likely due to them being prominent anime [=VA=]s who are fluent in Japanese. Averted by Jyunichi, who's voiced by Creator/BrianTee (Who is part Japanese).

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: [[spoiler:Julius being the one who planted the bomb on Hughes' yacht]] wasn't originally intended to be how ''VideoGame/SaintsRow1'' ended, as the credits scene intended to show him being cornered in an alley. However, the scene coming out poorly when animated resulted in the developers writing [[spoiler:Julius' betrayal]], paving the way for the plot of this game.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: [[spoiler:Julius being the one who planted the bomb on Hughes' yacht]] wasn't originally intended to be how ''VideoGame/SaintsRow1'' ended, where he was supposed to be being chased. However, the scene coming out poorly when animated resulted in the developers writing [[spoiler:Julius' betrayal]], paving the way for the plot of this game.

* QuoteSource: TotallyRadical

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece:
** Despite the game taking place in [[NextSundayAD 2011]] (five years after ''VideoGame/SaintsRow1''), the setting just screams [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2007-2008]], especially with the fashion, music and cultural references.
*** The inclusion of emos, [[HollywoodNerd Hollywood Nerds]], and scene-esque punks as random pedestrians around Stilwater.
*** In-game music is bought from a record store chain that appears to be battling against illegal downloading, and civilians can be heard commenting about new cars having CD players.
*** 89.0 Generation X's playlist is mostly [[EmoMusic emo rock]], a genre that heavily fell out of favor in the public eye in the early stages of TheNewTens. Several of the bands featured on the station, such as Music/MyChemicalRomance, Music/HotHotHeat, and Minus The Bear have split up over the years, although the first reunited in 2020.
*** One of the artists featured on The Krunch 106.66 is Music/AsILayDying, a band who would eventually wind up in controversy six years later and break up for a few years as a result; had that happened before the game came out, it would have been impossible, especially for a game like this, to include one of their songs without the controversy getting at least a mention.
*** The technology as well fits the mid-2000s. The Boss owns a blocky, first-generation smartphone with limited internet access (with a Goldenpages {{Expy}} being featured as a way of contacting businesses, and the only other extra use they get for it is as a GPS), while other characters, including Shaundi, are seen holding flip phones. Blocky laptops and computers are also seen around Stilwater. One sidequest also has the Boss enter an internet café, which were already on their way out by 2008.
*** UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror is referenced various times in weapon stores, with the Brass Knuckles commercial making a reference to freedom fries and post-9/11 patriotism.
*** The mere presence of the AR-50 XMAC can be seen as a dated aspect, as the [[RareGuns/AssaultRifles XM8]] was ubiquitous in games (and occasionally movies) made between the mid-2000s and early-2010s.
** The Company of Gyros restaurants, as ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'' and ''Saints Row'' are no longer under the same publisher following THQ's bankruptcy (Relic going to Creator/{{Sega}} while Volition was acquired by Creator/DeepSilver).
** Tera Patrick's inclusion in the ''Ultor Exposed'' DLC and promotions for the game. Patrick retired from porn shoots later the same year. It's especially apparent for PC players, as the DLC was unavailable on PC for well over a decade.
** One of the sidequests involves the Boss impersonating a police officer for a parody of ''Series/{{COPS}}'', a show whose popularity was waning during the time period. In one case, the Boss does it to highlight PoliceBrutality for a lawyer, before the 2010s would see several high-profile cases of police brutality and 2020 would see the cancellation of the show for this very reason.
** An UpdatedRerelease for Saints Row 2 was worked on, but is now in limbo due to the [[DiedDuringProduction death of Idolninja]], a PromotedFanboy who also worked on the popular "Gentlemen of the Row" mod for the original PC version.

** Shogo and Kazuo Akuji are both played by Creator/YuriLowenthal and Creator/SteveBlum respectively, likely due to them being prominent anime [=VA=]s who are fluent in Japanese. Averted by Jyunichi, who's voiced by Creator/BrianTee.

!! Index: [[Trivia/SaintsRow All Games]] | ''Trivia/SaintsRow1'' | ''Saints Row 2'' | ''Trivia/SaintsRowTheThird'' | ''Trivia/SaintsRowIV'' | ''Trivia/SaintsRowGatOutOfHell'' | ''Trivia/AgentsOfMayhem''

* DevelopmentGag: There is a jewelry shop in this game named "Bling Bling", which is a reference to the original project title of the first ''VideoGame/SaintsRow1'', while its TotallyRadical [[https://saintsrow.fandom.com/wiki/File:MUS_SHARED_00049_Bling_Bling.ogg radio ad]] may well be an artistic reinterpretation of trying to sell the concept such as ''Saints Row'' to the corporate suits at THQ. It even ends with a claim that marketing research said the name "Bling Bling" was cool.[[note]]In reality, of course, it wasn't, which is why we got the new title.[[/note]]

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Not the game itself, but apparently this happened to the developers; when asked about a 10th anniversary UpdatedRerelease, a forum moderator revealed that while giving ''2'' a facelift isn't a bad idea, they've lost the source code - so a potential remaster would have to be started from zero, which in turn would drain resources and workforce away from new projects. As of 2020, a remaster of ''The Third'' has been announced and the source code has apparently been found (a two-man team is working on PC patches on the side, although no-one knows if they'll ever see the light of day; the declining health of [[PromotedFanboy Mike "IdolNinja" Watson]] complicates matters) so there being one of ''2'' isn't impossible.

* FakeNationality: Shogo and Kazuo Akuji are both played by Creator/YuriLowenthal and Creator/SteveBlum respectively, likely due to them being prominent anime [=VA=]s who are fluent in Japanese.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Not the game itself, but apparently this happened to the developers; when asked about a 10th anniversary UpdatedRerelease, a forum moderator revealed that while giving 2 a facelift isn't a bad idea, they've lost the source code - so a potential remaster would have to be started from zero, which in turn would drain resources and workforce away from new projects. As of 2020, a remaster of ''The Third'' has been announced and the source code has apparently been found (a 2-man team is working on PC patches on the side, although no-one knows if they'll ever see the light of day) so there being one of 2 isn't impossible.

* TheOtherDarrin: Dex was voiced by Pierce's VA (Arif S. Kinchen), as Volition was unable to locate Jeffery Allen Qaiyum during development.

*** The fact that in-game music is bought from a record store chain that appears to be battling against illegal downloading and occasional civilian comments about new cars having CD players.
*** 89.0 Generation X's playlist is mostly [[EmoMusic emo rock]], a genre that heavily fell out of favor in the public eye in the early stages of TheNewTens. Even more so now that many of the bands featured on the station, such as Music/MyChemicalRomance, Music/HotHotHeat, and Minus The Bear have split up over the years, although the first reunited in 2020.
*** One of the artists featured on The Krunch 106.66 is Music/AsILayDying, a band who would eventually wind up in controversy a few years later and break up for a few years as a result; had that happened before the game came out, it would have been impossible, especially for a game like this, to include one of their songs without the controversy getting at least a mention.
*** The technology as well fits the mid-2000s. The Boss owns a blocky, first-generation smartphone with limited internet access (with a Goldenpages {{Expy}} being featured as a way of contacting businesses, and the only other extra use they get for it is as a GPS), while other characters, including Shaundi, are seen holding flip phones. Blocky laptops and computers are also seen around Stilwater.

** One of the sidequests involves the Boss impersonating a police officer for a parody of ''Series/{{COPS}}'', a show whose popularity was waning during the time period. In one case, the Boss does it to highlight PoliceBrutality for a lawyer, before the 2010s would see several high-profile cases of police brutality and 2020 would see the cancellation of the show.