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[Tom Nook Sawyer]

From a GameInformer interview

GI: Why did everyone start calling Dr. Robotnik "Eggman"?

TI: When the game was originally developed in Japan, they called the character Eggman. That was the name of the character, but when the game got localized and ported into the Sonic the Hedgehog that we know in the West, they decided to, without confirming with the development team, change his name to Ivo Robotnik or just Robotnik. That's kind of when everyone first learned about the character. Of course, this was without consulting the people who made the game. They just kind of went off and did it. It became super popular and everyone in the West kind of learned about the character as Robotnik. That went on through the "classic" series in the Genesis/Mega Drive era, but as far as the developers are concerned - the ones who made the character and the leaders of what this character is doing next - we really didn't want to have anyone in the universe with two names. To us, he's Eggman, but in the rest of the world he's called Robotnik. We wanted to unify that into one name moving forward. This is something I actually did in the Sonic Adventure series. I made it so that we understand the character's name is Robotnik, but his nickname is Eggman, and as far as everyone is concerned in the world now, we're just going to call him Eggman as his official name.

Shame, I always much preferred Dr. Robotnik. At least I can go on pretending that's his real name.

Lots of other Sonic-related burning questions at the source, such as why do whales hate Sonic so much and if Sonic watches Dragonball Z?
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...ic-the-hedgehog-burning-questions-iizuka.aspx

 

[Stat Flow]

Eggman sounds really stupid.

Dr. Robotnik is, and has always been much better.

 

[mattp]

havent we always known this though?
also, robotnik is objectively the better name
fuck off, sega japan

 

[Zalman]

I get that they wanted to unify the name globally. I've never minded the Eggman name.

 

[dragonzdogma]

I don't remember this character having a name on the game.
When was the first time you saw his name on the game, until adventure, or the cartoons?
I guess the manuals count?

The only eggman I know is humpty dumpty

 

[Blues1990]

Eggman sounds really stupid.

Dr. Robotnik is, and has always been much better.

I always find the best balance is to use the Eggman name as a nickname. Two birds with one stone.

 

[SoulUnison]

We've known this for decades.

Go play Wing Fortress Zone in Sonic 2, there's "EGGMAN" decals all over the ship.

I much prefer Robotnik, though...

 

[Conan-san]

Yeah, "Eggman" has been assumed to be his Villan name since like SA2.

 

[Lupin the Third]

i wish Nintendo would unify Bowser to Koopa worldwide. I really dislike that Bowser name. He's not a dog!

 

[Trogdor1123]

Eggman sounds really stupid.

Dr. Robotnik is, and has always been much better.

.

 

[Kor of Memory]

But Eggman makes even less sense with his newest design where he no longer looks like an egg...

 

[themagicalkitsune]

His real name was Kintobor before he turned evil, I guess now it's Namgge.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

Was this known? 'Cause I always either assumed this was the case or read it somewhere else.

Eggman is Japanese as fuck, and not in an endearing way. Robotnik is way past cool. They should've let the localization team do their thing.

 

[FF Seraphim]

Sega of Japan making another bad decision by not sticking with Dr. Robotnik...
Of course I still want to know how he can out run the fastest thing alive! Always bothered me when I was a kid.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Eggman sounds really stupid.

Dr. Robotnik is, and has always been much better.

plus Sonic can call him Robuttnik

 

[Krejlooc]

This isn't exactly correct. Sonic team didn't name him eggman, actually. They referred to him as dr. Bad vibes.

Dean Sitton, who is also the person the kid chameleon box is modeled after, came up with the name. But it wasn't without consideration, they wrote an entire sonic Bible that was consciously western-only.

 

[Kid Ska]

Dr. Ivo Robotnik is one of my favorite villain names in gaming. I'm fine with Sonic&co. calling him Eggman to mock him, but I'm not a fan of when he refers to himself as such.

 

[DICKS AHOY]

I'd prefer it if there were more references to Eggman's real Robotonik name since it sounds so much better and drives home that Eggman is just the character's pet name for him, but at least both names are still canon.

Wasn't aware Robotonik was used for years without the Japanese teams knowledge however.

 

[Alienous]

It worked out in the end. Eggman works better as a nickname that Sonic would throw at Robotnik that just caught on.

 

[Flip4k]

I remember playing Mario 64 and being so confused as to why Toadstool was suddenly Peach. I had a similar reaction upon hearing the name Eggman.

 

[FHIZ]

my response: No.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Robotnik is a way better name, as it actually sounds imposing and threatening. Eggman sounds like a shitty one-off joke villain from a 1950s Batman comic or something.

 

[Octavianus]

They did the right thing, Eggman is the superior name.

 

[Menitta]

The best game that kinda addressed this was Sonic Adventure where when you first see him, he gets kinda upset that Sonic and Tails called him Eggman.

 

[Dirtyshubb]

Team Robotnik for life!

 

[Stevey]

Eggman sounds childish as fuck.

Robotnik for life.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

I love all the westernized Sonic names.

Dr. Robotnik
Caterkiller
Crabmeat
Buzz-bomber
Ball hog
Jaws
Motobug

and so on.

It all sounds so deliciously cheesy and video game-y. Love it. I don't even know what they call the bad guys in Japanese, and I really don't care.

 

[TheDinoman]

The best game that kinda addressed this was Sonic Adventure where when you first see him, he gets kinda upset that Sonic and Tails called him Eggman.

Yeah, it's unfortunate that afterwards they gave up on that and just 100% called him Eggman.

 

[Koh]

Eggman sounds really stupid.

Dr. Robotnik is, and has always been much better.

I have to agree. Changing names of an established character is a pet peeve of mine, even if localization was originally wrong.

 

[antitrop]

He'll always be Dr. Robotnik to me.

 

[Krejlooc]

To clarify, this guy:

The guy in the shades and jacket... came up with the name dr. Robotnik.

 

[Bizazedo]

I love how it's like "The majority of the world knew him as Robotnik, and only a small part knew him as Eggman.

I could not allow that to continue. The majority shall be taught a lesson!"

Should've just Capcom'd it.

 

[Poltergust]

I think the only time Japanese players ever got Eggman's "real" name was in Sonic Adventure 2, and that was only due to the presence of Gerald & Maria Robotnik.

"Eggman" has been shown to Western audiences since Sonic 2, where the Wing Fortress has the word "Eggman" plastered all over it.

 

[Kusagari]

It works when Sonic calls him Eggman and he gets pissed off.

Once he started calling himself it, the name became dumb as hell.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

Are they retconning Adventure's solution? I thought Robotnik referring to himself as such, and Sonic teasing him with Eggman worked fine. Although the Eggman naming convention is easier to create names for his robots (Egg Viper, Death Egg, Egg Dragoon)

 

[F0rneus]

His name is Robotnik. I hated every game where his name is Eggman. The best, classic ones everyone love are the ones where he's Robotnik. Coincidence? I think not. Drop the Eggman shit Sega.

 

[Maedhros]

Eggman sounds childish as fuck.

Robotnik for life.

In a game made for kids...

Yeah... makes a lot of sense...

 

[Krejlooc]

I love all the westernized Sonic names.

Dr. Robotnik
Caterkiller
Crabmeat
Buzz-bomber
Ball hog
Jaws
Motobug

and so on.

It all sounds so deliciously cheesy and video game-y. Love it. I don't even know what they call the bad guys in Japanese, and I really don't care.

Dean Sitton came up with those. According to the sonic Bible, sonic was born in hadly Nebraska.

 

[Sayers]

But Robotnik is the better name . . .

 

[TheDinoman]

His name is Robotnik. I hated every game where his name is Eggman. The best, classic ones everyone love are the ones where he's Robotnik. Coincidence? I think not. Drop the Eggman shit Sega.

To be fair...his name was ALWAYS Eggman if you were japanese.

 

[xevis]

havent we always known this though?
also, robotnik is objectively the better name
fuck off, sega japan

and we're done.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

Dean Sitton came up with those. According to the sonic Bible, sonic was born in hadly Nebraska.

Yup. Dean Sitton is a beautiful man.

 

[akidnamededdy]

havent we always known this though?
also, robotnik is objectively the better name
fuck off, sega japan

Sega of Japan ruining Sega of America's good work yet again.

 

[Ivan 3414]

His name is still Robotnik so w/e

Don't understand why people really care about this when they kept both names

Your childhood isn't ruined because he's called Eggman

 

[LelouchZero]

I thought both names applied, I had no idea that it was due to localisation.

 

[L Thammy]

If I remember correctly, in Sonic Adventure 2 there's a screen where Dr. Robotnik is giving an announcement which is seen on screens throughout the city. It clearly says Robotnik on the background of the screens, though the game otherwise keeps referring to him as Eggman. I thought that was a nice touch, like the game itself is rebelling against its evil name-changing overlords.

 

[Sumio Mondo]

His name is still Robotnik so w/e

Don't understand why people really care about this when they kept both names

Because Eggman is all he's referred to in-game nowadays? He even calls himself "Dr. Eggman".

 

[Menitta]

Yeah, it's unfortunate that afterwards they gave up on that and just 100% called him Eggman.

Though if they did have like a gimmick where every time Sonic calls him Eggman he gets upset, it would get old like Team Rocket. Though it is better than just settling on a worse name.

 

[Jeff Stephen]

Wrong thread.

 

[Ithil]

So is Dr. Kintobor's nickname Namgge?