Naming, "Bomber Man" vs "Bomberman"

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Stifu
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Joined: 02 Jan 2017 15:15

Naming, "Bomber Man" vs "Bomberman"

Post by Stifu »

Hello. I'm not sure whether this is useful or not, but just in case, I thought I'd bring it up.
On the SNES, the naming of "Bomber Man" is not consistent.

Sometimes it's "Bomber Man":
  • Bomber Man B-Daman (Japan)
  • Super Bomber Man (Japan)
  • Super Bomber Man - Panic Bomber W (Japan)
  • Super Bomber Man 2 (Japan) (En)
  • Super Bomber Man 2 (Japan) (Caravan You Taikenban)
  • Super Bomber Man 3 (Japan)
  • Super Bomber Man 3 (Europe) (Beta)
  • Super Bomber Man 4 (Japan)
  • Super Bomber Man 5 (Japan)
  • Super Bomber Man 5 (Japan) (Caravan Event Ban)
And sometimes it's "Bomberman":
  • Super Bomberman (Europe)
  • Super Bomberman (USA)
  • Super Bomberman (USA) (Beta) (1993-05-11)
  • Super Bomberman 2 (Europe)
  • Super Bomberman 2 (USA)
  • Super Bomberman 2 (USA) (Beta)
  • Super Bomberman 3 (Europe)
From what I gathered, "Bomber Man" is the preferred spelling.
omonim2007
Datter
Posts: 437
Joined: 20 Jul 2016 12:20

Re: Naming, "Bomber Man" vs "Bomberman"

Post by omonim2007 »

Hi and thank you for asking such questions.

In fact, the common rule is very simple: you just need to look at the box with the game (and/or cartridge in some cased) and you see the title there, which should be in the database.

Therefore, the same game for different platforms has different names in the corresponding database (NES, SNES, Genesis and so on).
Hiccup
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Joined: 09 Oct 2015 11:29

Re: Naming, "Bomber Man" vs "Bomberman"

Post by Hiccup »

That's sometimes the case, but its also the case that the common/official title is often chosen instead, if its ambitious from looking at the boxart, which it does seem to be in this case - there is no space between "Bomber" and "Man" - sometimes there is a newline, but that may just be so it doesn't take up too much horizontal space.

So in my opinion they should all be "Bomberman".
Stifu
Posts: 3
Joined: 02 Jan 2017 15:15

Re: Naming, "Bomber Man" vs "Bomberman"

Post by Stifu »

Hey. Thanks for your answers.
Hiccup wrote: 20 Oct 2020 15:11 there is no space between "Bomber" and "Man" - sometimes there is a newline, but that may just be so it doesn't take up too much horizontal space.
Or maybe it's the opposite: the Japanese boxes are vertical, and the US and European boxes are horizontal. On the US / Euro boxes, they may just have decided to put it all on one line to make better use of the space. But in game, the title is written just the same as on the Japanese boxes.

Also, a third spelling is possible: "BomberMan". That's how it's written in the English manuals I've found:
- Super BomberMan PAL: https://www.retrogames.cz/manualy/SNES/ ... Manual.pdf
- Super BomberMan 2 USA: https://snolli.fr/dwl/gamelist/docs/Sup ... an%202.pdf

Anyway, I believe it makes sense to homogenize the spellings across regions, because I don't think they intended the title to be different from one country to another.

Edit: it is written as "Bomberman" in the English manual of Super Bomberman 3: http://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com ... 3/ref.html
So manuals are not consistent from one game to another.
Hiccup
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Re: Naming, "Bomber Man" vs "Bomberman"

Post by Hiccup »

Looking at western press releases for some post-2000 games, it seems like the official rendering of the title is "Bomberman".
Stifu
Posts: 3
Joined: 02 Jan 2017 15:15

Re: Naming, "Bomber Man" vs "Bomberman"

Post by Stifu »

Not an official source, but this self-proclaimed "ultimate" Bomberman wiki also uses this spelling: https://bomberman.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page

So yeah, I agree with you. My vote is also to adopt the "Bomberman" spelling for all Bomberman games. Thanks for your time!
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BigFred
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Joined: 22 May 2008 22:42

Re: Naming, "Bomber Man" vs "Bomberman"

Post by BigFred »

In the manuals they thank you for choosing "SUPER BOMBERMAN (2) tm" so the trademark appears to be BOMBERMAN unless they registered different versions.

Just a sidenote: A spelling like BomberMan is called Camel Case and it has become a very widespread practice to spell company or product names.
Hiccup
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Joined: 09 Oct 2015 11:29

Re: Naming, "Bomber Man" vs "Bomberman"

Post by Hiccup »

I've changed all "Bomber Man" titles in the dat to "Bomberman".
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