As previously reported,Capcom USA senior vice-president Christian Svensson, explained on their community forums on the decision to release the latest entry of the Ace Attorney series, Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies only as digital download for western regions. The response was mixed, with both sides making their case in the argument.
It only got more heated on the community boards when a fan expressed some concern about limiting the game to the eShop. By releasing the title digitally, the thought was that its visibility and sales would be limited. This was something I personally saw a lot of, but it seems Svensson isn’t in the slightest bit concerned as he responded with this:
I think you’re selling yourself and the AA community short. I also think you underestimate our relationship with NOA and what I hope will be our ability to keep it surfaced for more than just a few weeks. NOA has been extremely supportive of MH3 Ultimate. I see no reason why they wouldn’t be equally supportive of AA:DD.
He also responded in earnest to other questions, like the fear that the game at one point in time will never be available, especially given Nintendo’s own current problems with their account system. He even explains why this decision correlates with the same decision for releasing such titles as Okami HD, Darkstalkers Resurrection, and Resident Evil 4 HD as digital downloads only, when they too had Japanese physical releases. Here is the list of his responses:
I understand the fear of not having access to content you’ve bought, some day. I do. However I have used the eShop extensively on 3DS (and on WiiU). In fact, I only make digital purchases these days on pretty much all systems, regardless of their individual foibles/flaws and potential weaknesses.
On 3DS I happily bought Fire Emblem at midnight when it launched, as a fairly recent example though I’ve got at least half of my 32GB card full of other stuff as well. Not everyone is as comfortable with that option, I do understand and everyone is certainly entitled to make their own judgements on the value/risks of going digital on a given platform.
I do understand the values of having a game box on a shelf or in a crates (as someone who still has had many, many crates full of them). There’s a feeling there. However, it is a sign of the times that increasingly our business is going digital and not everything is going to be in both formats.
Not every game is appropriate for both formats given the economics involved. This is similar to Darkstalkers Resurrection or RE4 HD or Okami HD being physical in Japan, but digital in the West. Their COGS (costs of goods sold) and retail margins and reserve issues are entirely different there given the market differences. It’s a sad fact, but it’s still a fact.
…Just keep in mind we haven’t shared full details yet. More details will become clear in a few weeks and hopefully the method to our madness will become more clear.
We worked very hard to ensure a Western release on this title. If we’d said “no, it’s not coming”, it would have triggered the inevitable “please bring it to eshop, at least” cries. Instead we shortcutted that and brought it straight to eShop.
The rest of his response stated that not all the details have been made clear and we will know them in due time. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies is a 3DS exclusive and will be heading to Nintendo eShop in western regions in the Fall of this year. Once again, if you’re interested in the series, but can’t find a copy of any particular installment, Amazon has you covered.
