So I suggest you look at similar cases with other racing games.
In this blog you will learn:
TOCA/Grid
In 1997, British developers Codemasters, with the support of TOCA, released a licensed game based on the 1997 BTCC championship. In Europe this game was sold under the name TOCA Touring Car Championship, and in 1998 it came to North America under the name TOCA Championship Racing.
From left to right – European and North American covers TOCA Touring Car Championship
Noticed that on the North American cover the original title of the game is written on the wall?
The second part was based on the 1998 BTCC Championship and was released in Europe in 1998 under the title TOCA 2: Touring Cars, and in North America in 1999 under the name TOCA 2: Touring Car Challenge.
In the third part, the developers decide to move away from the BTCC championship and add other world championships for passenger cars. The game was released in 2000 in Europe under the title TOCA World Touring Cars, in North America – Jarrett & Labonte Stock Car Racing , and in Japan – WTC: World Touring Car Championship.
In the next part, the developers decide to add a plot. The game was released on Playstation 2 in 2002 in Europe under the title ToCA Race Driver, in North America – Pro Race Driver, in Germany – DTM Race Driver , and in Australia – V8 Supercars Australia: Race Driver . In 2003, this game was ported to Windows and Xbox.
The next part is published in 2004 in Europe and North America under the title ToCA Race Driver 2, in Germany – DTM Race Driver 2, and in Australia – V8 Supercars Australia 2.
The next part is published in 2006 in Europe and North America under the title ToCA Race Driver 3, in Germany – DTM Race Driver 3, and in Australia – V8 Supercars Australia 3.
By the way, as you may have noticed, on the game covers the TOCA logo looks like “ToCA”. How to write the names of these games correctly??
The answer to this question can be found in the manuals
Moreover, the modern TOCA logo is written entirely in capital letters
In 2007, the developers decide to separate asphalt racing and off-road racing into two different series. Because of this rally and rallycross, which were in ToCA Race Driver 2 And ToCA Race Driver 3, sent to Colin McRae: DiRT, and only asphalt racing remains in the series, and TOCA also disappears from the name. A new game in the series is released in 2008 in Europe called Race Driver: GRID, and in North America – GRID.
And starting from GRID 2 and Race Driver is being removed from the European title of the game.
Possibly Race Driver from GRID 2 was removed due to the fact that after Colin McRae: DiRT 2 from the title DiRT 3 removed Colin McRae. Colin McRae’s name was removed from the title after the death of the racer.
But in general Colin McRae DiRT And Colin McRae DiRT 2 in North America they were previously published under short titles DiRT And DiRT 2 accordingly, so in North America, most likely, they did not notice this renaming.
From left to right – European and North American covers Colin McRae DiRT
From left to right – European and North American covers Colin McRae DiRT 2
By the way, since we were talking about TOCA—ToCA, it is worth noting that in the title GRID all letters are capitalized..
…, and in the title DiRT only the second letter is lowercase..
…but then he left DIRT 5, and the name was written in all capital letters.
The Need For Speed
In 1989, Canadian developer Distinctive Software released The Duel: Test Drive II, continuation Test Drive 1987. But immediately after the game’s release, the relationship between the developer and the publisher deteriorates (Accolade’s unsuccessful attempt to sue Distinctive Software for using part of the code The Duel: Test Drive II in third-party projects most likely contributed to this), and Distinctive Software leaves Accolade. But the rights to the name Test Drive remain with the publisher. Well, the publisher went to do it on his own Test Drive III: The Passion, which will be released in 1990.
At 2:14 video with an opponent. At 22:40 video with cars.
Later, a decision is made to remake the game and release it on DOS (most likely due to poor sales of 3DO consoles). They cut out the video with the opponent, increased the number of opponents from 1 to 7, threw out the life system, added ring tracks to the sprints, etc. A new game is released in 1995 in North America and Europe called Road & Track presents The Need For Speed. And in 1996, the same version was ported to PS1 and Sega Saturn. In Japan, the PlayStation version is released under the name Road & Track presents Over Drivin’ DX.
From left to right – North American and European covers Road & Track presents The Need For Speed for PlayStation
We noticed how Porsche was replaced with Lamborghini on the new cover?
Also specially for Japan in 1996 for the Sega Saturn released Nissan presents Over Drivin’ GT-R, and in 1997 for Sony PlayStation – Nissan presents Over Drivin’ GT-R. In these versions, traffic and police were cut out, and all cars were replaced with Nissan cars. Moreover, the list of cars in these two versions is different.
From left to right – Japanese covers Nissan presents Over Drivin’ GT-R And Nissan presents Over Drivin’ GT-R
Videos with cars from Nissan presents Over Drivin’ GT-R
Videos with cars from Nissan presents Over Drivin’ Skyline Memorial
Name Over Drivin’ like the Japanese title of the episode Need For Speed used until the fourth part.
V-Rally
First V-Rally for PlayStation was released in 1997 in Europe under the title V-Rally: 97 Championship Edition, in Japan – V-Rally: Championship Edition, and in North America (where it arrived six months after release) – Need for Speed: V-Rally. This happened because each region had its own publisher. In Europe the game was published by Infogrames, in Japan by Spike Co., and in North America – Electronic Arts. Well, to increase sales in North America, EA decided to attribute this game to the series Need For Speed.
A version was released https://paris-casino.co.uk/games/ in 1998 V-Rally for Nintendo 64, but this time Infogrames gets the rights to publish the game not only in Europe, but also in the USA. In all regions the game was released under the name V-Rally: Edition 99.
In 1999, the N64 version was ported to PC. The game is released under the name V-Rally: Multiplayer Championship Edition.
When the second part was released in 1999 on PlayStation, the publishing rights were again received by Infogrames in Europe, Spike Co. in Japan, and Electronic Arts in North America. But this time in Europe and Japan the game is released with the same name V-Rally 2: Championship Edition, and in North America it gets the name V-Rally 2: Need for Speed.
In 2000 a version was released V-Rally 2 for Dreamcast. And Infogrames again receives the rights to publish the game in Europe and North America. The game comes out in Europe under the name V-Rally 2: Expert Edition, and in North America – Test Drive: V-Rally. The fact is that in 1999 Infogrames bought Accolade, and with it the rights to the series Test Drive. Well, to increase sales in North America, Infogrames decided to assign this game to the series Test Drive.
Test Drive, but not quite
In November 1999, Eutechnyx studio released a game for PS1 Le Mans 24 Hours in Europe, and this game comes to North America six months later in March 2000 under the name Test Drive: Le Mans.
In 2000, this game was released on PC in Europe under the name Le Mans 24 Hours, and in North America – Test Drive: Le Mans.
In 1999, Infogrames bought Beam Software Melbourne House, renamed it Infogrames Melbourne House, and sent it to make a game for the Sega DreamCast. A new game comes out in November 2000 in North America called Test Drive: Le Mans, and a week later in Europe called Le Mans 24 Hours.
In 2001, a version of this game was released for PS2 in North America and Europe under the name Le Mans 24 Hours.
In 2002, a PC version of this game was released in North America and Europe called Le Mans 24 Hours.
In 2004, Monster Games, published by Atari, released a new game. This game is released in North America under the title Test Drive: Eve of Destruction , and in Europe – Driven To Destruction.
Need For Speed or something Edition
In 1996, the year after release Road & Track Presents The Need For Speed released on DOS Road & Track Presents The Need For Speed Special Edition. The main reason for the release of this version was the addition of support for Windows 95 in the game, but in addition to this, two tracks and some additional race settings were added to the game.
From left to right – North American and European covers Road & Track Presents The Need For Speed Special Edition
In 1996 in Japan before the release Road & Track presents Over Drivin’ DX a demo version of it was released on PS1 called Road & Track presents Over Drivin’ DX Rally Edition.
In 1997, six months after release Need For Speed II released Need For Speed II Special Edition . The main reason for the release of this version was the addition of support for 3Dfx graphics accelerators to the game, but in addition to this, one track, several cars and some additional race settings were added to the game.
In 2004, EA, together with the Japanese design studio Art Factory Graphics, will release Need For Speed: Underground J (which is sometimes called on the Internet NFS Underground J-tune). This version differed from the original game in Japanese localization and unique vinyls from Art Factory Graphics.
Japanese cover Need For Speed: Underground J
Skyline from the cover NFS Underground J Borrowed Team Weld’s Toyota Mark II wrap from the 2001 D1 Grand Prix drift championship
In 2005, with the participation of the artist Sha_Do from Art Factory Graphics, they will release Need For Speed: Underground 2 Sha_Do. This version differed from the original game in Japanese localization, unique vinyls from Art Factory Graphics and replacement of vinyls on Rachel’s car from the beginning of the game.
Japanese cover Need For Speed: Underground 2 Sha_Do
On the cover NFS Underground 2 Sha_Do a specially made Toyota Celica (T230) was pictured
It was from this Celica that Rachel borrowed the 350z wrap
Goes on sale in 2005 NFS: Most Wanted , and at the same time goes on sale NFS: Most Wanted Black Edition. IN NFS: Most Wanted Black Edition included several bonus cars, several tracks and one exclusive challenge. The publication also included a disc with videos about the creation NFS: Most Wanted. And that’s all, plus the fact that the first NFS came out in 1994, and Most Wanted in 2005, led people to think that this was a publication in honor of the 10th anniversary of the series… Don’t believe it? Ask the Internet.
Cover Need For Speed: Most Wanted Black Edition
I honestly don’t understand this..
And then almost all subsequent NFS had similar editions, but they were called differently.
U NFS Carbon it was called Collector’s Edition.
U NFS Shift — Special Edition.
U NFS Rivals — Limited Edition, but it wasn’t written on the box.
U NFS Unbound — Palace Edition, where Palace is a clothing brand
U NFS ProStreet And NFS Undercover there were also Collector’s Edition, but they were not released on physical media. Upgrading the regular version to Collector’s Edition could only be purchased digitally.
Improvement trailer NFS ProStreet to Collector’s Edition.
Also for some games there were editions with a set of DLC.
U NFS Rivals it was called Complete Edition
U NFS Unbound — Ultimate Collection
Collector’s editions of some games in the series were also released.
U NFS ProStreet there was a publication Limited Edition for Xbox 360, which was only sold in Japan.
U NFS Heat was Collector’s Edition.
And NFS Unbound was Creative Subversion Kit.
U NFS Hot Pursuit (2010) there was another special edition Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit EA Crew Edition, which EA management gave to the game developers.
In 2013 Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2012) released on the Nintedo WiiU console under the title Need For Speed: Most Wanted U.
Shutokō Battle
Japanese racing game series Shutokō Battle got its name from Shuto. This is the name given to the network of toll expressways in Japan. The first game in the series to be released outside of Japan was released on PlayStation in Japan in 1996 under the title Drift King Shutoko Battle , in North America in 1996 and in Europe in 1997 under the title Tokyo Highway Battle.
The next game to be released outside of Japan was released on the Dreamcast in 1999 in Japan under the title Shutokō Battle, in North America – Tokyo Xtreme Racer, and in Europe – Tokyo Highway Challenge.
The next part was released on Dreamcast in 2000 in Japan under the title Shutokō Battle 2, in North America – Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2, and in Europe – Tokyo Highway Challenge 2.
The next part was released on PlayStation 2 in 2001 in Japan under the title Shutokō Battle 0, in North America – Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero, and in Europe – Tokyo Xtreme Racer.
The next part was released on PlayStation 2 in 2003 in Japan under the title Shutokō Battle 01, in North America – Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3, but it was not released in Europe.
The next part of the series was released on Xbox 360 in 2006 in Japan under the title Shutokō Battle X, and in North America and Europe – Import Tunner Challenge.
Shutokō Battle X became the last game in the series for large platforms, then there were only mobile games. But 18 years later, in 2024, a new game is announced with the help of a teaser. In this teaser, the camera flies along Japanese highways through game titles and lands on the title of a game in development. There are two versions of this teaser. In the Japanese version, the camera flies through Shutokō Battle, Shutokō Battle 2, Shutokō Battle 0 And Shutokō Battle 01 then flies to the title Shutokō Battle, and in the English version the camera flies through Tokyo Xtreme Racer, Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2, Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero And Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3, then flies to the title Tokyo Xtreme Racer .
Japanese version of the teaser
English version of the teaser
And then, with the creation of teasers, they stopped trying so hard and began to simply show at the beginning what it was Tokyo Xtreme Racer, then what is this Shutokō Battle, and only then they show the contents of the teaser, in the corner of which it is written that this is Tokyo Xtreme Racer, and next to it what is it Shutokō Battle. But at the same time, the license plates only say Tokyo Xtreme Racer.
Teaser with Nissan Skyline GT-R
Still from the teaser for those who have problems with Youtube. You can see the logo in the bottom right corner Tokyo Xtreme Racer, and next to it the logo Shutokō Battle. The logo is also visible Tokyo Xtreme Racer on the license plate
Kaido Battle
Also in the series Shutokō Battle there was a branch called Kaido Battle. The games in this subseries were dedicated not to highways, as in the main series, but to mountain roads. First part Kaido Battle was released in Japan in 2003 under the title Kaido Battle: Nikko, Haruna, Rokko, Hakone . And this game reached North America only in 2006 under the name Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift, but it was not released in Europe.
The next part was released in 2004 in Japan under the title Kaido Battle 2: Chain Reaction, in 2005 in Europe under the name Kaido Racer, but it was not released in North America.
Truckers, Hard Truck and 18 Steel Wheels
In 1998, the Russian company SoftLab-NSK released the game Truckers: Path to Victory. When this game enters the international market, it is released under the names Hard Truck, Hard Truck: Road to Victory or LKW-Raser: Hard Truck depending on region.
From left to right – Russian, North American, Polish and German game covers Truckers: Path to Victory
The sequel was released in Russia under the title Truckers 2, and abroad called Hard Truck II.
The second edition of the second part was published in Russia under the title Truckers 2. Second edition, expanded, and abroad called King Of The Road (later digitally released as Hard Tuck 2: King Of The Road).
After finishing work on the game Truckers 2 developer SoftLab-NSK went to make the third part, which will be released only in 2009 in Russia under the name Truckers 3: Conquest of America, and abroad called Rig’n’roll.
In 2002, SCS Software together with Sunstorm Interactive under the publishing house ValuSoft released Hard Truck: 18 Wheels of Steel. In Russia this game was sold as Hard Truck: 18 Steel Wheels. This game becomes the first game in a new series called 18 Wheels of Steel.
In 2005, the Russian company Targem Games releases the game Ex Machina. A year later, this game begins to be sold in the USA under the name Hard Truck: Apocalypse.
A year later a sequel was released Ex Machina: Meridian 113, which in the USA was sold as Hard Truck Apocalypse: Rise of the Clans.
Released in 2008 GTR Evolution , dedicated to GT racing. Also published in 2008 STCC – The Game , dedicated to the 2008 STCC Championship. Released in 2009 Race On , dedicated to the WTCC 2008 championship. Released in 2011 STCC – The Game 2 , dedicated to the 2010 STCC Championship. And everything listed in this paragraph is an addition to Race 07, that don’t work without the base game.
Moreover, even in the Steam library, these add-ons will be shown as independent games, but upon launch they will require installation Race 07.
In this screenshot: GT Legends, GTR – FIA GT Racing Game And GTR 2 – FIA GT Racing Game – these are stand-alone games, and GT Power Expansion And GTR Evolution are additions to Race 07.
DRIFT19 and EA SPORTS WRC
In 2019, ECC Games releases a new game into early access called DRIFT19. In 2020 the game will be renamed to DRIFT21. And in 2021 it leaves early access. In May 2023, a port of this game will be released on consoles called DRIFTCE (where CE stood for Console Edition). In October 2023, the PC version will be renamed DRIFTCE.