The Different Names of the Sea Dogs Games
The Sea Dogs franchise of games has gone through multiple renamings over the years. This wealth of different names can make it difficult for fans to track down all of the games of the franchise, or keep up with news and new games. As the name of a franchise is one of the biggest powers that an intellectual property can have in the culture, a renaming, or a name change, doesn't come without reasons, and doesn't come without consequences.
This article is an attempt at gathering all of the names that the Sea Dogs games and franchise have had over the years, including their different variations. This is valuable information for Sea Dogs games fans that want to learn about all of the games in their favorite video game series, and maybe even discovering some games that were previously unheard of.
Other Famous Franchises That Changed Their Name
There are other franchises that have changed their names over the years or that have adopted different names according to the location. For example, Resident Evil is a famous franchise of survivor horror games in the West, whereas it is known as Biohazard in Japan. Another example, maybe not as famous, is the case of The Final Fantasy Legend, which in Japan was known as SaGa. Later on, The Final Fantasy Legend game had its name changed to SaGa in Western countries as well. As these examples show, name changes are not unheard of, and sometimes they are a necessity, for a variety of reasons.
The Problems of Changing the Name of a Franchise or Intellectual Property
Unfortunately, everytime a drastic name change ocurrs, it becomes increasingly difficult for fans to keep track of their favorite franchise. This may not be the case nowadays, with the advent of the Internet, however, years ago, when the information wasn't so readily available, fans would rely on word of mouth in order to discover new games and intellectual properties. If a franchise changed name, and everyone wasn't aware of this change, it could mean that this franchise would be interpreted as something entirely new, and the original franchise could be considered abandoned, as its previous name would no longer be in use.
Why Does a Company Change the Name of a Franchise or Intellectual Property?
The most common reasons for a renaming, or name change, of a franchise or intellectual property are intellectual rights and trademark. Not everyone is aware of this, but in many cases, a name is already trademarked in certain countries. Trademarks usually apply to certain businesses. What usually happens is that a company trademarks either the company name or a product name (or both) for a selected business, and then this company has the exclusive right to use that name in that business for some years, and can later renew this trademark to keep the exclusive right for longer periods. This is a widespread business practice.
The point where it gets complicated is when there is international law involved. Trademarks vary in a country-per-country basis. This means that a certain name that may be trademarked in a certain country in a certain business area, may not be trademarked in another country in the same business area. This may seem unimportant, but it becomes very important when the company that has the trademark in a certain country decides to go international, and expand their business to other countries.
The Specific Case of the Sea Dogs Games
To understand what happened in the case of Sea Dogs, let's look at the context. In Russia, the Sea Dogs games are not called Sea Dogs. Rather, they are called Corsairs (in Russian, Корсары). While in Russia the Sea Dogs games are known as Corsairs, outside of Russia there is another games franchise called Corsairs, which is not related in any way (bussiness-wise) to the Sea Dogs games. This is the 1999 game Corsairs: Conquest at Sea.
The first Sea Dogs game was released in 2000. Corsairs: The Conquest at Sea was released in 1999, so it was released before the first Sea Dogs game. In trademarks and name use in businesses, time is very important, and in most countries, the company that uses a name first is the one who has the "most" right to use that name, at least in regards to trademarks. Unfortunately in the case of Sea Dogs, even if the game was widely known as Corsairs in Russia, there was already a Corsairs game in many Western countries, so this made it difficult for Sea Dogs to use the "Corsairs" name outside of Russia. Thus, the first name change was necessary.
The first Sea Dogs game, released in 2000, was called Sea Dogs in most Western countries, and Corsairs (Корсары) in Russia. Years later, the following game of the series, Pirates of the Caribbean, would be released in 2003. Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) was initially developed to be a sequel to the first Sea Dogs game, but later the decision was made to change its name to Pirates of the Caribbean to match the name of the movie. Despite the change, in Russia the game was known as Corsairs II (Корсары II). Remember that the first Sea Dogs game was known in Russia as Corsairs (Корсары).
After the Pirates of the Caribbean 2003 game, another game was developed in the Sea Dogs franchise. However, due to legal reasons, the game was not able to retain the "Sea Dogs" name, and the new name "Age of Pirates" was chosen instead. Thus, this game became known in Western countries as Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales, and in Russia as Corsairs III (Корсары III). Technically speaking, this is the first Age of Pirates game in Western countries and the third Corsairs (Корсары) game in Russia. At the time of release, this game was not called Sea Dogs: Caribbean Tales, but rather, Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales.
After Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales, another game was developed, belonging to this same series of games. This game was not translated for Western countries. In Russian, this game was known as Corsairs: The Return of the Legend. Since this game was not translated or adapted to languages or countries outside of Russia, I cannot know what its name would be, but a reasonable guess could be Sea Dogs: The Return of the Legend. However, by the time this article was written, this game had not yet left Russia and was still unknown to most Western audiences. In Russia, this game was known as Corsairs III - The Return of the Legend (Корсары III - Возвращение легенды).
After Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales and after The Return of the Legend, a new game was developed, continuing the Age of Pirates name. This game was called Age of Pirates II: City of Abandoned Ships. This game was the sequel to Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales in Western countries, and in Russia it was called Corsairs IV (Корсары IV).
In 2016, Sea Dogs: To Each His Own was released. In 2017, earlier Sea Dogs games (which until then had been called as Age of Pirates) were released as Sea Dogs games. This mark the series' return to its original Western name, Sea Dogs. After this, all previous games, with the exception of Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) and The Return of the Legend, adopted the Sea Dogs franchise name, effectively reuniting most of the games under a single name.
The Different Names of the Sea Dogs Games
The many different names that the Sea Dogs games have been known for can be quite confusing. In order to make it clearer, I've written a list of each game and its different names. The names by which each game was known for have changed over time and depending on the country, as explained in this article.
Sea Dogs - Age of Pirates I - Corsairs I (Корсары I)
Pirates of the Caribbean - Corsairs II (Корсары II)
Sea Dogs: Caribbean Tales - Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales - Corsairs III (Корсары III)
Unknown name in Western countries - Age of Pirates: Return of the Legend - Corsairs: The Return of the Legend (Корсары III - Возвращение легенды)
Sea Dogs: City of Abandoned Ships - Age of Pirates II: City of Abandoned Ships - Corsairs IV (Корсары IV)
Sea Dogs: To Each His Own (also called Sea Dogs: Legendary Edition) - No other known names
Sea Dogs: City of Abandoned Ships is in some cases also known as Sea Dogs: City of Lost Ships.
Sea Dogs: Caribbean Tales is known as Corsairs III (Корсары III) in Russia, while The Return of the Legend is known as Corsairs III - The Return of the Legend (Корсары III - Возвращение легенды) in Russia. Although they may have similar names, they are different games.
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