6th Gen What's In A Game Name?

[fenyx4]

So, amidst my various travels on the interwebs, it seems that there have been a few issues with the names of the videogames Pokémon OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire...?

The flipping of the prefixes/modifiers of "Alpha" and "Omega"
-Although this is highly subjective, I'm guessing that most people read the pairs as "Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire" and "Alpha-Omega", so it's a bit jarring to have one of them flipped. There have been a few things to support the "reversed" pairing, with Kyogre being positioned before Groudon in regional (based on the Hoenn Dex) and National Pokédex order, as well as the "alpha" Greek symbol being visible to some people in Kyogre's Volcanic Veins/markings and Team Aqua's logo, plus the "omega" Greek symbol being visible to some people in Groudon's Volcanic Veins/markings and Team Magma's logo. This reversal personally bothered me at first, but I'm gradually getting used to it.

The presence of a space:
-I haven't seen anyone comment on this quirk specifically, but unlike Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen and Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver, the Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire remakes, for some strange reason, have a random space inserted between the terms - officially resulting in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. I first noticed this on the Bulbapedia color templates for the games, of all things. XD I personally prefer the CamelCase formatting of the 2 aforementioned remake pairs (particularly for consistency).. I doubt I'll ever insert the space properly; it's pretty much going to be Pokemon OmegaRuby and Pokemon AlphaSapphire sans space from here on out, at least for me. {XD}

The absence of the "Version" suffix:
-So far, the official English Pokemon site has not used the term "Version" in regards to the Ruby/Sapphire remakes (although the term is still present for Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire themselves). Although Pokemon X and Y set precedence, this instance would be the first time that a remake (as well as a game with a precious gemstone in its title) would be omitting the term "Version" (at least for English releases/Latin-based language releases). This occurrence was a bit disappointing for me; I've loved the fonts that have been used on the box art/logos for the term "Version" ever since Generation 3 (in particularly, Ruby and Sapphire themselves introduced the "Futura XP" font, which would go on to get used for Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum), so it's a bit weird to see that it might be phased out beginning with Pokemon OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire.. Even if I tend to refer to most of the core series games in shorthand without the "Version" part, it still feels like a type of tradition that may be lost.. :(

So, do you have an issue with any of the above nomenclature issues (or other ones not mentioned here?), or do you just not care! Discuss!

EDIT: In retrospect, the poll would probably be better as a multiple-option style poll, but I'm unsure of how to edit it... >.<

 

[Rivvon]

I'm actually glad we're dropping the "Version" from the titles--Crystal is the only Japanese game to include the term, so it's nice to see our titles closer to the originals.

The space is definitely interesting, but then again, FRLG and HGSS had Pokémon's names in all caps, so I guess the text formatting overall is just improving, ha ha!

Having Omega being on the first game did throw me off at first, but then I realized, life comes from the sea. That is the Alpha--so I quickly dismissed my confusion.

The only thing I will say is that the titles are kind of long, so I usually just refer to them as either "Ruby and Sapphire," or "Hoenn Confirmed" in speech!

 

[Salzorrah]

I'm actually glad we're dropping the "Version" from the titles--Crystal is the only Japanese game to include the term, so it's nice to see our titles closer to the originals.

The space is definitely interesting, but then again, FRLG and HGSS had Pokémon's names in all caps, so I guess the text formatting overall is just improving, ha ha!

Having Omega being on the first game did throw me off at first, but then I realized, life comes from the sea. That is the Alpha--so I quickly dismissed my confusion.

The only thing I will say is that the titles are kind of long, so I usually just refer to them as either "Ruby and Sapphire," or "Hoenn Confirmed" in speech!

I'm glad they added the space in between the names. Also I found this fun quirk that Generation 6 has both the shortest AND longest main game names in history (X, Y, Alpha Sapphire respectively)

And having the Omega and Alpha thing seems interesting so I'm kinda stoked on how GF will pull that off haha!

 

[KeyDrop]

I don't really care for any of those differences, and I actually never used the "version" suffix myself, I'm just happy that hoenn is confirmed xD

 

[XtinaIsMeLuvinWWE]

When I first heard the names my initial thought was the whole "shouldn't Alpha go with the first version and Omega with the second?" as well as the fact that I thought each respective version actually sounded better that way but after reading a lot of the speculation as to why this was the case I didn't mind as much - and plus I think I prefer the term Omega and as I'm planning on getting Ruby it's all worked out haha :)

 

[Princess Diana]

I don't really care for any of those differences, and I actually never used the "version" suffix myself, I'm just happy that hoenn is confirmed xD

I never even noticed it was a thing! Just presumed it was one of those branding things, but not anything significant or noticeable.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

I find that it fits with XY. As Omega in English will be Z, and Alpha A. It feels like it bridges Xy with the hypothesized 'Z'. As Omega means last which in the english Alphabet is Z, and Alpha is A which is the opposite of Z. In a way it's going pen-penultimate, penultimate, last, first, last (if Z is used) for this generation ^_^.

 

[XtinaIsMeLuvinWWE]

I find that it fits with XY. As Omega in English will be Z, and Alpha A. It feels like it bridges Xy with the hypothesized 'Z'. As Omega means last which in the english Alphabet is Z, and Alpha is A which is the opposite of Z. In a way it's going pen-penultimate, penultimate, last, first, last (if Z is used) for this generation ^_^.

My mind = blown haha I never thought about it like that, I'm even happier with the names now :)

 

[Sabrewulf238]

I think the reason the names were flipped make sense if you pronounce the names:

Omega Ruby (Harsh sounding, bumpy, rough)
Alpha Sapphire (Soft sounding, smooth, elegant)

Just something I noticed. They're probably trying to get favour with two different kinds of players.

Granted this probably wasn't the primary reason, but I bet they kept it in mind.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

My mind = blown haha I never thought about it like that, I'm even happier with the names now :)

Over night I realized that the names of the games of the series can all flow... Red, Green (Jp only), Blue, Green, Gold, Silver those are all colors, next is crystal which is used to refer to lack of color and is also a kind of stone, next are Ruby and Sapphire which are stones and colors too, next came Firered and Leafgreen which are shades of colors, next came Emerald another shade (and is a stone), we go back to gems with Diamond (the fourth precious stone along with RSE) and Pearl which also happen to be precious things. Next is Platinum which is another precious thing also it's a metal, and we go back to metals with HeartGold, and SoulSilver, note that they are also colors/shades. And with Black and White we get shades/colors, their sequels are obvious. Now how does White transition into XY? Well W in the english alphabet comes before XY... and now just add in what I said about OmegaRuby, AlphaSapphire, and the theorized 'Z' and you get the whole sequence of themes! They all seem to lead to one another like a rainbow's colors.

 

[Pepperton]

Couldn't care less, haha, but if I had too choose, I think OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire look better than with a space in between, and it would be consistent with past remakes, but I digress. Never noticed that the English versions used the 'Version' suffix, to be honest! Doubt there's any reason behind why they did, though, except maybe to remain constant with X and Y's dropping of the term.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

Couldn't care less, haha, but if I had too choose, I think OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire look better than with a space in between, and it would be consistent with past remakes, but I digress. Never noticed that the English versions used the 'Version' suffix, to be honest! Doubt there's any reason behind why they did, though, except maybe to remain constant with X and Y's dropping of the term.

I agree, it looks better without the space. I didn't even noticed it had one until later tbh xD (Hence why my changed name lacks the spaces...)

 

[Itcheeee]

I perfer the games without the "version" included in the title. Except for Crystal and Yellow :P