<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by chainsawyak:
Well, technically it's "Spirits" not "Showdown" or "Shodown". I wonder who sat down and decided to call it Shodown in the U.S., and I wonder what the significance of the missing 'w' is... It can't be to sound cool, because it sounds the same either way... That's something I've always wondered. Does "sho" mean something in Japanese? That would make too much sense for an American renaming though....
The reason for the change of the name from "Spirits" is merely typical game "hardening" for the American market. It happens very often to game titles, the USA is a more violent society and violence appeals to us. Which sounds more violent, a "Spirits" or a "Shodown"? Since I'm into drifting cars, I'm really familiar with Japanese car crew names, too. Often they signify grace (animals, nature, dancers), innocence, and sometimes royalty. But in the USA car crews for Japanese cars almost infallably have names that suggest pure superiorty, dominance, outlaws, and even violence. The fact is, Japan is a more innocent society. But I love my country -- God bless the USA!
As far as the missing "W", it was probably a typo or it was left out originally to make "Spirits" and "Shodown" have the same number of letters (also same a "Samurai").
