In video games, an international version is a relocalized version of a previously released title in its native territory that has gained additional features and contents in foreign releases. While the concept of "international versions" in North American and European games is very rare (and virtually non-existent), it is quite popular in Japanese games, where games are often given additional features by the developers when they are exported to the Western market. Computer and video games A screenshot of Tetris for the Nintendo Game Boy A console game (better known as a video game) is a form of interactive multimedia used for entertainment, which consists of a moveable image displayed on a screen that is usually controlled and manipulated using a handheld... Software localization is a process of translating software user interfaces from one language to another and adapting it to suit a foreign culture. ... Jump to: navigation, search World map showing North America (geographically) A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and... World map showing Europe (geographically) When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ...

Many, if not most, developers are content with simply adapting the foreign version domestically (even if the only difference is relatively superficial, such as translating text and voice dialogue into a local language).

History

The earliest known "International Version" of a game in Japan was the arcade title Mikie: High School Graffiti (released in 1984), which was a relocalized version of a game released in the Mikie, which in turn was an Americanized version of a previously released Konami game titled Shinnyûshain Tôru-kun (新入社員とおるくん, "Freshman Employee Tôru"). Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Konami Corporation (コナミ) (TYO: 9766) (NYSE: KNM) is a leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling computer and video games. ...

Konami conducted a similar practice in 1987 with the rerelease of the Arcade title Salamander in Japan under the title of Life Force (the title previously used by the North American version of the same game). While the Japanese version of Life Force featured a similar premise and included voice samples like the American version, it also featured different graphics and the inclusion of the "power selection" bar from Gradius. Jump to: navigation, search 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Salamander is a scrolling shooter video games developed by Konami. ... Dodging lava flares. ... Gradius is a horizontally-scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Konami in 1985. ...

In 1992, Nintendo released the Western version of Super Mario Bros. 2 (a localized version of Doki Doki Panic) under the title of Super Mario USA in Japan for the Family Computer. This might be the first instance where a home console game was rereleased in Japan with the changes from the foreign version. Jump to: navigation, search 1992 was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Jump to: navigation, search Nintendo (Japanese: 任天堂; (NASDAQ: NTDOY), (TYO: 7974)) is Japanese company originally founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards, for use in a Japanese playing card game of the same name. ... This article is about the American version of Super Mario Bros. ... Doki Doki Panic is a Japanese video game released for the Famicom Disk System about a family who plans to rescue two children. ... The Nintendo Entertainment System (U.S., Europe, and Australia) NES redirects here. ...

International version has become commonplace in the Japanese video game market during the 32-bit era, when voice acting became commonplace in the game, resulting in developers having to compose a different language track for the Western versions. Ridge Racer was one of Sonys launch titles for the PlayStation; it was a port of the Namco-made arcade game. ...

List of International versions of games in Japan

• Animal Crossing
• Biohazard 2: Dual Shock Ver. - contained "USA Version mode" as a new difficulty setting.
• Final Fantasy VII International
• Final Fantasy X International
• Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission
• Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix
• Life Force - Arcade rerelease of Salamander using North American title.
• Metal Gear Solid: Integral
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance
• Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
• Mikie: High School Graffiti - Arcade rerelease of Shinyûshain Tôru-kun based on American version.
• US Shenmue
• Sonic Adventure International
• Super Mario USA