Why the heck is Resident Evil called Biohazard in Japan?
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I was a bit curious about that as well.
As for unlucky numbers, in the west 13 is considered unlucky, which is commonly traced to the arrest of the leaders of the Knights Templar on trumped up charges of heresy. 666 is a cursed number because it is used to represent Satan, most notably in the book of Revelation. 4 is considered unlucky in Japan because its kanji (shi) is also the word for death. For a horror game that works though, so not skipping it was definitely the way to go.
As for unlucky numbers, in the west 13 is considered unlucky, which is commonly traced to the arrest of the leaders of the Knights Templar on trumped up charges of heresy. 666 is a cursed number because it is used to represent Satan, most notably in the book of Revelation. 4 is considered unlucky in Japan because its kanji (shi) is also the word for death. For a horror game that works though, so not skipping it was definitely the way to go.
Because the Japanese think we are idiots, thats why. So they have to change the names of things. No, seriously, they think we are as thick as our inflated pride. So an american reading Resident Evil as he shops for a game, will be like " Evil Resident? wuuuut?" picks it up and sees its about zombies and buys it...
One thing thats overlooked.....
context
context between the languages are very different..
Resident Evil.. well okay aside from having several hundred phrases for both words in japanese lets go generic...
Zaijiyū ( resident)Aku ( evil) so Aku no zaijiyū when combined would take on a context alittle different, more or less well incorrect structure, and refer more to say the dirty old man down the street in a typical neighborhood...
its a big thing when doing anything from one language to another to remember direct translations sometimes dont work at all as the context between one culture to another will have completely different meanings.
it's funny.. when Im speaking in japanese I don't think about it, but when I'm at work and I'm translating back and forth on paper ( translating the 2039 hani series)it's almost like working off two different scripts just to try to get the things said to match up the same in context.
context
context between the languages are very different..
Resident Evil.. well okay aside from having several hundred phrases for both words in japanese lets go generic...
Zaijiyū ( resident)Aku ( evil) so Aku no zaijiyū when combined would take on a context alittle different, more or less well incorrect structure, and refer more to say the dirty old man down the street in a typical neighborhood...
its a big thing when doing anything from one language to another to remember direct translations sometimes dont work at all as the context between one culture to another will have completely different meanings.
it's funny.. when Im speaking in japanese I don't think about it, but when I'm at work and I'm translating back and forth on paper ( translating the 2039 hani series)it's almost like working off two different scripts just to try to get the things said to match up the same in context.
Don't forget about Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film) and book of the same name published 1953.Theo Samaritan said:
On TOPIC:
Name changes are common with multinational products. Personally I like RE over Bio.
It's a complicated business world.
The number itself is stigmatized the shared sound is just the root. Even though hospitals use the Arabic numbers instead of kanji there is never a room 4. Again though, some horror franchises go out of their way to include stigmatized numbers so if anything it's good marketing not to skip straight to 5.JediMB said:
This is one of 3 perfectly valid reasons I've seen in this thread. All of which are oddly being ignored in favour of more pointless conjecture.Matronadena said:
Yes I belive that they banned the episode of pokemon because the episode title "tower of terror" was nearly a reference to the twin towers incident.batti said:
I realise that it was one of the most serious disasters to happen to America but isn't that a lttle too far
It is considering there's a ride in Disneyland called the Tower of Terror >.>ohellynot said:
I think it is 4. Japanese people have no reason to find 13 unlucky. 13 is unlucky because all of the Knight's Templar were executed on Friday the 13th. Had nothing to do with Japan.
I heard they called the first game 'Resident Evil' because it was set in a mansion, 'residential'
That's what a friend randomly told me anyway... interesting conversation it was.
And yeah, it's Biohazard in Japan because it says, "A biohazard of zombies" or something in the description.
That's what a friend randomly told me anyway... interesting conversation it was.
And yeah, it's Biohazard in Japan because it says, "A biohazard of zombies" or something in the description.
If you're like us (lucky!), at times you've wondered while munching on green herbs why Capcom opted to rename Resident Evil from its original, if not equally silly sounding Japanese title, Biohazard. It turns out this is one scheme that can't be pinned on Albert Wesker. Capcom's Chris Kramer explained to GamesRadar that, as with so many conspiracies, it all came down to marketing.
"In late 1994, Capcom Entertainment in the US was starting to ramp up marketing plans for the game," explained Kramer, who pointed out that while the company had settled on the name Biohazard for Japan, "it would be next to impossible for Capcom to register the name in the US." He called out a "crappy DOS-based game" and a New York-based punk band, both named 'Biohazard,' as potential hurdles to securing the title. "As a result," recalled Kramer, "the head of marketing held a company-wide contest to come up with a new name for the game."
The winner, of course, was 'Resident Evil,' a groan-worthy pun given that the first game took place in a mansion. It's a title that Kramer himself voted against, calling it "super-cheesy." And now you know. And knowing is half the ... OH CRAP, BEHIND YOU!
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/10/history-lesson-why-biohazard-is-resident-evil-out-west/
Probably that's the reason why !
"In late 1994, Capcom Entertainment in the US was starting to ramp up marketing plans for the game," explained Kramer, who pointed out that while the company had settled on the name Biohazard for Japan, "it would be next to impossible for Capcom to register the name in the US." He called out a "crappy DOS-based game" and a New York-based punk band, both named 'Biohazard,' as potential hurdles to securing the title. "As a result," recalled Kramer, "the head of marketing held a company-wide contest to come up with a new name for the game."
The winner, of course, was 'Resident Evil,' a groan-worthy pun given that the first game took place in a mansion. It's a title that Kramer himself voted against, calling it "super-cheesy." And now you know. And knowing is half the ... OH CRAP, BEHIND YOU!
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/10/history-lesson-why-biohazard-is-resident-evil-out-west/
Probably that's the reason why !
Easier: Americans would have thought the game disc would have actually been biohazardous, so they had to change the name for the dumb folks.Velocirapture07 said:
Yeah, I can get xenophobic, too. :]
Really, is that true? Oo They could've just changed the episodes name, there should be no problem in that, should it?ohellynot said: