Why Is Resident Evil Called Biohazard In Japan?

Resident Evil is one of the most famous and long-running series in gaming. After all, it has been around since the ‘90s and has been very successful over those years in both the US and Japan. Yet, if you were to head to the Asian country and ask about Resident Evil, people may not know what you’re talking about. After all, the series isn’t, nor has ever been, called Resident Evil over there.

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In Japan and a few other countries, the series is called Biohazard. They’re still the same games in virtually every other aspect. They just don’t share the same name. Naturally, you may wonder why that is the case, as video game titles aren’t usually region-specific. Yet, there is a good reason why this situation is different. Find out here.

Why Is Resident Evil Called Biohazard In Japan?

Resident Evil is a series that was originally created in Japan. So, Biohazard is actually the series' original title, and it likely was supposed to be called that in every other country, too.

Yet, when Capcom was about to start working on marketing in the US, they realized they would struggle to get the rights for the name Biohazard. After all, there had already been a DOS-based game called Biohazard in the US, and an American rock band also used that name. Therefore, they had to call it something else.

According to Chris Kramer, the senior director of communications and community at Capcom, they did a company-wide contest to come up with a new name for the game in the West.

Someone suggested Resident Evil, as the original game took place in a mansion that was filled with evil creatures - or 'residents.' The marketing team loved it, and it beat out all the other ideas they came up with.

Therefore, Resident Evil became the official name for the series in the West, while Japan stuck with the original Biohazard title. Having two names certainly hasn’t hampered the popularity or success of the series, as it has become one of the biggest horror franchises in the world.

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