Ever wonder why some games go through an identity crisis when they ship outside of Japan? More often than not, there are any number of storyline tweaks, control changes and even a revision of the title. This was the case with Biohazard, know in North America as Resident Evil.

Capcom's Chris Kramer gives us some insight, revealing that Biohazard was a DOS based game.

“As an example, I pointed out that a crappy DOS-based game had just come out in the US called ‘Biohazard’ (not to mention the New York hardcore band of the same name) and that we’d never be able to secure the mark," he explains

“As a result, the head of marketing held a company-wide contest to come up with a new name for the game." Oddly enough, Kramer initially demurred the idea renaming the game Resident Evil, admitting he found the idea “super-cheesy.”

"I voted against the name – I thought it was super-cheesy; can’t remember what I felt was a better alternative, probably something stupid about zombies – but the rest of the marketing crew loved it and were ultimately able to convince Capcom Japan and Mikami-san that the name fit,” he added.

Source: Playstation Universe