Some video game names just aren’t meant to be. Take Puck-Man, the original, susceptible-to-vandalism name for Pac-Man. Or take today’s example, the iPhone game soon-to-be-formerly-known-as Pussy Flip
The Othello-style game will be updated later this month, its creators at U.K. development studio Kwalee, adding achievements, a new mode, a new board and a new name.
“With its new update Pussy Flip will be renamed as Flip the Cats, which will work better in global markets and better describes what the game is about.”
Well, yeah, that name might raise a few less eyebrows.
When I saw this morning’s name-change news, I wondered, on Twitter, if perhaps “pussy” didn’t have all the same connotations in the U.K. that it does in the U.S. Or if it’s only used in the U.K. for cat.
A few folks replied:
https://twitter.com/embed/status/289382010047303681
https://twitter.com/embed/status/289382208383377409
@stephentotilo its other meaning is very rare here, and only because of the cultural bleed-in from US sources.
— Pete Chapman āÆļø (@itspetechapman) January 10, 2013
And then some people at Kwalee started chiming in:
https://twitter.com/embed/status/289382987349504000
@BruceKwalee @stephentotilo me especially !
— Ankeina š¦š (@Ankeina83) January 10, 2013
The title is awkward enough that, when you log in to play it with a Facebook account, the game calls itself “Kitty Flip.”
Some think the rather saucy original name was intentional.
https://twitter.com/embed/status/289383613525536768
But our man at Kwalee notes that the studio now has a new problem.
https://twitter.com/embed/status/289384434627670017
Hey, at least the new name will “work better in international markets”!
And finally, for kicks, the clip from Are You Being Served that many people, including Kwalee people, shared with me:
