Poll: Dr. Robotnik or Eggman

[Kimarous]

I love that casual piece of racism.

Megalomaniac mastermind hellbent on ruling the world (and turning everyone into robots no less), with a Russian sounding name? Seems legit.

The "Ivo" in his name is actually a nod to his "Eggman" alias... inverted, it becomes "Ovi", Latin for "egg".

Robotnik sounds cheesey, but it fits Sonic.

Believe it or not, "Robotnik" is a Czech/Polish/Slovak word for "worker."

So yeah... meaningful name and not sounding stupid? You bet I call him Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Also, I grew up with the TV shows that really hammered that name into my psyche. "Eggman", to me, is more of a code name; as far as I'm concerned, Robotnik is his "real" name.

 

[Charli]

I know he's always been Eggman in Japan... but darn it... Robotnik just sounds more menacing.

Who DOESN'T prefer Robotnik... (Sega Japan obviously but still...)

 

[-Samurai-]

He's Dr.Robotnik. And he has a Mean Bean Machine.

 

[Xonlic]

In the comic, didn't Robotnik die and get replaced by a alternate reality super-robot version called 'Eggman'?
Then got made human by aliens?
Can't remember rightly, that comic was weird.

Yeah, I remember that actually.
I started my decent into geekdom with the Sonic comics actually and I always remember him being called Robotnik- and in the earlier comics had him with his "Badniks" (Cause Poor Literacy is Kewl).
Somewhere in 1998-2000 they had it so that Robotnik went insane- or maybe he died actually- and his alternate future self who was actually a cyborg- or maybe a robot- replaced him in our universe, using the name "Doctor Eggman" to separate himself from the Robotnik of our universe.

Again, as you said, the comics were weird.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

Robotnik sounds more sinister, and I like that. I mean come on, they guy turns bunnies and shit into cyborgs, he needs something a little more twisted than Eggman.

 

[dalek sec]

For me it's always was Robotnik and always will be that name. Anything else is vile heresy to me. I mean, Robotnik just sounds way more sinister than bloody Eggman ever will be unless they make pull some really evil, I mean like "Criminal Minds" kind of evil.

 

[Olas]

To me he'll always be Dr. Julian Kintobor of the house of Ivo.

Which was not an option in this poll. ಠ_ಠ

 

[Nooners]

It's been Dr. Robotnik since I got my first Sonic game for the Mega Drive, and that's how it remains.

Amen, brutha. Childhood memories will, for me, always trump localizations/whatever. Screw all of you who say that just because Eggman was first, that's correct. We don't call Power Rangers by their Japanese name Super Sentai, do we?

 

[Fleetfiend]

I first heard him called Eggman, but I voted Robotnik because I find it much less silly.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Robotnik. Because Jim Cummings.
<youtube=NUa8DLg1TCE>

That is all.

I swear, he's up there with David Kaye's Megatron and Vincent Price's Ratigan for the title of Sexiest Animated Voice Ever, also known as the "That Guy Needs a Late-Night Hotline all His Own" Prize.

With all due respect, Eggman commands as much respect as a chihuahua on Crystal Meth. SatAM's Robotnik, though, certainly does know how to bring the pain.

 

[Owen Robertson]

I always thought the name change was a PR move designed to play on old Cold War stereotypes and latent hostility... guess it was just a fuck up.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Robotnik. It has to be Robotnik.

Just because of the two sonic cartoons in the 90s I watched growing up. And Sonic eats chilli dogs.

 

[Owen Robertson]

Amen, brutha. Childhood memories will, for me, always trump localizations/whatever. Screw all of you who say that just because Eggman was first, that's correct. We don't call Power Rangers by their Japanese name Super Sentai, do we?

No we don't, but original does equal correct. "U.K." spellings of english words are the correct ones (England, the English, etc...). America just has (or had?) more sway.
The original way to spell nerd is knerd. It's "drunk" backwards.
Originally this - V - was what - U - is now (a vowel). That's why this - W - is called a double "u". Observe: VV - Vs. - UU

 

[Owen Robertson]

Eggman sounds like the kind of superhero even Aquaman would be ashamed to be seen with. Dr Robotnik sounds much cooler.

<youtube=ouibvKI2uGw>
EGGMAN START!

 

[lunavixen]

i've always been more partial to Dr Robotnik, but i do know that Sonic used to taunt Dr Robotnik by calling him the "eggman" and "Dr. Egghead" in the comics and cartoons that were on in the morning (i loved those cartoons). I think that the name eggman doesn't really suit him that well, but then again, i am quite biased

 

[Lady Larunai]

It's been Dr. Robotnik since I got my first Sonic game for the Mega Drive, and that's how it remains.

Amen, brutha. Childhood memories will, for me, always trump localizations/whatever. Screw all of you who say that just because Eggman was first, that's correct. We don't call Power Rangers by their Japanese name Super Sentai, do we?

Seconded, it was robotnik in the manual for sonic 1 and the book series... Robotnik forever!

 

[Lugbzurg]

This is much with how it took so much longer for America to catch up with Digimon, which came out before Pokémon, and yet, Americans still insisted it was a rip-off, just because Pokémon got translated first.

Pokemon did come first, the first Pokemon game was release in 1996 and Digimon was released a year later. If you're talking about the anime Pokemon aired in 1997 in Japan and came to America in 1998, the Digimon anime didn't even come out in Japan til 1999. Either way, Pokemon was first.

OT: I thought Eggman was his nickname and Robotnik was his real name. I call him both, it doesn't really matter to me.

Dead, dead, dead wrong. Did you read what I just said? Digimon" was created first. Pokémon just got to America before Digimon did.

To me he'll always be Dr. Julian Kintobor of the house of Ivo.

Which was not an option in this poll. &#3232;_&#3232;

Excuse me, but, that was just something a bunch of people made up, who never even worked on the games, in the first place.

Robotnik. Because Jim Cummings.
<youtube=NUa8DLg1TCE>

That is all.

I swear, he's up there with David Kaye's Megatron and Vincent Price's Ratigan for the title of Sexiest Animated Voice Ever, also known as the "That Guy Needs a Late-Night Hotline all His Own" Prize.

With all due respect, Eggman commands as much respect as a chihuahua on Crystal Meth. SatAM's Robotnik, though, certainly does know how to bring the pain.

Wait... seriously!? Jim Cummings voiced Dr. Robotnik!? That's awesome! I've just known the guy as the voice of Sargent Hawke!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbqX0s30M9o
And, as for David Kaye... Well, has anyone heard of Clank?

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

it's been eggman for me forever...not to mention all the little "eggs" that pop out when beating him and the fact he is usually in egg shaped robots?

idk, seemed logical to me at age 3-4, and it's been that way forever..i heard robotnik maybe once or twice my whole life outside of game manuals spelling out his full name.

 

[TehCookie]

This is much with how it took so much longer for America to catch up with Digimon, which came out before Pokémon, and yet, Americans still insisted it was a rip-off, just because Pokémon got translated first.

Pokemon did come first, the first Pokemon game was release in 1996 and Digimon was released a year later. If you're talking about the anime Pokemon aired in 1997 in Japan and came to America in 1998, the Digimon anime didn't even come out in Japan til 1999. Either way, Pokemon was first.

Dead, dead, dead wrong. Did you read what I just said? Digimon" was created first. Pokémon just got to America before Digimon did.

I read what you said and provided facts that showed the contrary. So how is 1999 before 1997? And in case you didn't read those are the Japanese airing dates.

 

[Nuku]

Miscellaneous

~snip~

While Dr. Eggman has always been the name of the character in Japan, in localization for western markets it was decided to name the character Dr. Ivo Robotnik. The name was conceived by Dean Sitton, who was working for Sega of America's helpline at the time. Once development for Sonic Adventure was well underway, the three main branches of Sega decided to discontinue the western story involving Kintobor, focusing solely on the Japanese story now that the game relied heavily on plot, allowing the localization process to be easier. Instead of casting aside his western name, the Robotnik name was incorporated into the game canon, with Eggman's grandfather Professor Gerald Robotnik having the same last name in all versions of the game, making it the first time a Sonic Team production used the surname in Japan. Even so, most modern games have exclusively stuck to the Dr. Eggman name, entries such as Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood and Sonic Generations being rare exceptions.

(see also concept art from sonic the hedgehog 1)

source: http://info.sonicretro.org/Dr._Eggman (near the bottom of the page)