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Verdict delivered on Phoenix Wright 3 European release

Posted Sep 10th 2008 4:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News

Nintendo has confirmed a super official European release date for Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, and it's soon: October 3rd. With any luck, the game will arrive before we're all sucked into the Swiss countryside (if there's anything that really gets our goat, it's our Trials and Tribulations play time being interrupted by the cessation of the universe as we know it).

This announcement comes after months of fretting over whether the third Phoenix Wright game would ever come out in Europe. At one point, we had serious reasons to doubt it would, but recent ratings and a confirmation from series producer Minae Matsukawa have since prevented us from egging Capcom Europe's windows. Even if the series is now out of order, we'll take October 3rd.

Gallery: Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney 3: Trials and Tribulations

Show and Tell: Recipes for awesome

Posted Aug 12th 2008 3:00PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Show and Tell

Good news -- we're expanding Show and Tell a little to include not only your personal creations (though these are, of course, our favorites), but all sorts of interesting fan-created things we find in the wide world of the internet. Each week, we'll show off a new set of Nintendo-inspired projects, and this week, we're starting with the basics: recipes and ingredients. Every creation has to begin somewhere, after all. Your journey can start right here.

Gallery: Show and Tell: 'Recipe' Edition

Show and Tell is all about fan stuff, so long as it's Nintendo-related. We love to see your collections, your crafts, your frosted creations, your t-shirts and swag of all sorts.Just snap a few pictures, tell us what's up, and send it all to showmeit [at] dsfanboy [dot] com. We'll take care of the rest. Not a handy type, but found something neat? Send us a link instead.

Are games with puzzles a dying breed?

Posted Jul 29th 2008 7:30PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: News, Fan stuff

The Brainy Gamer has an interesting op/ed piece, in which the author states that youths of today aren't interested in the puzzles that come along with adventure games. While crotchety old veterans like ourselves (who were actually alive when games like Monkey Island flooded shelves) still enjoy the genre, younger gamers don't have the patience and just don't see the point.

We're inclined to agree a bit, as adventure gaming has become a lot more niche than it was in the past. We would argue, however, that the DS has been doing a good job of reviving such puzzlers, even for younger fans craving more action. With the touchscreen making point-and-click (or point-and-touch, if you will) much more accessible, not to mention the added bonus of portability, we think adventure games reach more than just a veteran gamer demographic. Maybe that's just wishful thinking on our part, but we wouldn't be surprised to see young teens popping in a copy of Phoenix Wright or Professor Layton.

What do you think, though? Are we just too oldschool and stubborn to let the genre lay to rest? Maybe those of you with younger siblings might have more insight when it comes to the patience of the younger set of gamers.

[Via DCEmu]

Games to help curb your addictions

Posted Jun 24th 2008 10:15AM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Features

The "self-help" era is upon us, even finding its way into the video game industry as of late. Aside from the obvious fitness awareness game on Nintendo's other system (we mean Wii Fit, of course), there have been quite a few attempts to help gamers improve their lifestyles and habits. Take, for example, the upcoming My Weight Loss Coach and Ubisoft's "Easyway" title to help people quit smoking.

Our favorite approach so far, though, was when DS Fanboy reader Dan used Pokémon to quit smoking. If there's anything we've learned from Dan's inspiring story, it's that the best way to curb an addiction is to replace it with another. We then decided that we wanted to help more of our fine readers that are suffering from such torments day in and day out. Pokémon may cure smoking, but what about other plaguing ailments? We're happy to say that after months of testing on monkeys and small children, we've finally come up with a few perfect video game cures.

So, look no further than Dr. DS Fanboy, and check out our ultimate self-help guide to find the fixes for your addictions.

---

		Master that addiction!

Third time is finally a charm

Posted Jun 2nd 2008 11:45AM by Phil Larsen
Filed under: News, Imports

We've got our hands on some kind of confirmation (after a scare) that Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations is actually coming to Europe. Despite bunging it up just a little bit, fans of the series still wanted to wait around for the conclusion of the original trilogy -- before enjoying the adventures of a new young hotshot attorney with everything to prove.

In an official Nintendo interview, producer Minae Matsukawa stated outright that the team is "in the middle of localizing it right now." It's playable, and they just need to make some final adjustments on the text. After that, it should be all systems go for Europe, in multiple languages.

The only problem? Still no release date, which is all kinds of suck. Non-English-speaking fans will have to put up with the wait just a little longer, while all others might be better off shopping around online. Then again, if you go through those channels, you've probably done it already. Good for you!

Gallery: Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney 3: Trials and Tribulations

[Via Aussie-Nintendo]

Germany summons Phoenix Wright 3 from the ashes

Posted May 23rd 2008 10:30PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: News

There's a light at the end of the tunnel in the ongoing European Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations saga. The good news is that those of you in Europe might be getting the game after all. While we're sure many of you English speakers have already imported Phoenix's final foray into law, people without English proficiency (and folks who just hate importing) have been unfairly deprived of this gem. Not only that, but some gamers are waiting to buy Apollo Justice until they get to play the third title in the series.

The German version of the ESRB (known as the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle) has recently rated the game for a multi-language release, though, meaning that Capcom hasn't forgotten about your poor little Europeans. So, just hold tight -- you won't have to endure these trials and tribulations much longer, we hope.

Gallery: Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney 3: Trials and Tribulations

[Via Siliconera]

Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 5/12-5/18

Posted May 23rd 2008 10:15AM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Another Week in ...

The spotlight this week is on Luminous Arc 2: Will, a game that has yet to be confirmed for English language localization. While we're forced to sit and wait jealously, though, forty thousand Japanese gamers ran out and bought the title. Only falling behind the juggernauts Monster Hunter and Mario Kart Wii (and almost squeezing past Nintendo's racer), Image Epoch's SRPG debuted pretty impressively.

In other sales news, the announcement for another Professor Layton game in Japan managed to push the first title in the series back into the top thirty. Aside from that, there weren't any differences in DS software worth mentioning.

In terms of hardware, the numbers for the DS weren't so hot. In fact, we don't remember the sales numbers for Nintendo's handheld ever being this low in Japan. With everyone and their mother already owning a DS in the country, does the system still have room for growth? We won't know for sure until the next big software push, but for now it looks like the dual-screened handheld should get comfy in that third place spot.

• PSP: 70,536 (19,348)
  
• Wii: 41,572 (25,736)
• Nintendo DS: 34,905 (16,323)
• PlayStation 3: 7,701 (353)
• PlayStation 2: 7,022 (442)
• Xbox 360: 1,474 (176)

The software numbers are located after the break, so go on and take a look. They won't bite!*

*DS Fanboy claims no responsibility for those who get bitten by our sales figures.

Continue reading Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 5/12-5/18

Has Phoenix Wright 3 been removed from the docket in Europe?

Posted May 13th 2008 5:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Rumors, Imports

Capcom released Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney in Europe last week despite the fact that its predecessor, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations has yet to come out. We thought it was bad enough when the games were being released out of order, but now two pieces of tenuous evidence suggest that Phoenix Wright 3 may not see a European release at all.

The first (less convincing) sign is that Apollo Justice's (loud) Nintendo Europe webpage has the string "AceAttorney3" in its URL. That doesn't really mean that the third Ace Attorney game isn't happening, rather that Apollo Justice is the third Ace Attorney game to be released, and that whoever created the URL didn't save a space for the real AA3.

More troubling is the fact that there is a site for Trials and Tribulations, but there are no longer any links to it. Could this point to a cancellation? Court Records members speculate that T&T would get a higher PEGI content rating than the other Ace Attorney games, and because of that, Capcom wouldn't benefit from releasing it. In any case, both the U.S. and Japan have cheap and plentiful Trials and Tribulationses. Feel free to partake!

[Thanks, Maz!]

Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 4/28-5/4

Posted May 9th 2008 5:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Another Week in ...

We realized today that we don't know Japan as well as we thought we did. With our reasoning, a new Gundam game + the popularity of the DS = cha-ching. While the debuting Emblem of Gundam had decent sales for its first week, though, taking the twelfth spot isn't all that impressive -- especially since there was only one new release cluttering up the top ten.

On the other hand, We're Fossil Diggers, Pokemon Ranger, and the Taiko Drum Master DS sequel continued to shine, giving the DS a nice piece of top ten representation. Batonnage managed to reach the half-million mark, while the other two games neared 100,000 copies sold.

For hardware, DS numbers went up since last week, but the handheld is still convincingly behind the PSP and Wii in recent sales. If you want to see the numbers, though, just click past the break. You can check out the software listings there, too.

Continue reading Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 4/28-5/4

Phoenix Wright: Asset Attorney

Posted May 6th 2008 12:45PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Fan stuff

We couldn't help but laugh at VG Cats' recent tribute to the Ace Attorney series. Those of you who've never played a Phoenix Wright game will find this strip confusing (and downright scary), but those of you who are fans of Capcom's lawyering franchise will certainly enjoy it. That is, once you recover from seeing Edgeworth and the Judge in a way that might traumatize you.

Just click on the image above to see the strip in full. Also, check here to see an alternate version of the comic (it's the same strip, but with a different final frame).

Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 4/14-4/20

Posted Apr 25th 2008 3:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Another Week in ...

Something caused a Phoenix Wright sales revival, and we suspect it was the Gyakuten Meets Orchestra concert (which was also a Gyakuten Kenji hype event). Both the first and second Gyakuten Saiban games for the DS ended up in the top thirty this week.

Newcomer We're Fossil Diggers (a second-party effort by RED Entertainment that actually sounds really fun, at least to the dinosaur lovers in us) deserves all the glory, though. Debuting at third place, this unique piece of software did rather well for itself in its first week.

Besides the same old games that have been showing up in the charts for the past few weeks, the other notable is Square-Enix's dull-sounding bookkeeping game. It seems like a rather niche title to end up in the top thirty, but who knows -- maybe a lot of Japanese folks are getting ready to take the Level 3 Bookkeeping exam. Or, maybe they just can't resist a game by the beloved Squeenix.

To see all the placings and numbers for yourselves, just click on past the break.

Continue reading Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 4/14-4/20

Ace Attorney orchestra awesomeness meets Gyakuten Kenji trailer

Posted Apr 20th 2008 6:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: News, Video, Imports

The Ace Attorney series is dear to our hearts, so when any information crosses the intertubes regarding Capcom's lawyering games, we foam at the mouth like rabid raccoons. Today's tidings regard both the Gyakuten Meets Orchestra concert, which took place in Tokyo, and the upcoming spin-off title starring Miles Edgeworth.

As much as we love Gyakuten Saiban and its music, we obviously weren't able to able to drag ourselves to Japan for what we're sure was an awesome concert. From what we understand, though, the CDs that you see so deliciously stacked in the video above will be made available for purchase on July 16th. Do want.

Also in the video (around the 4:00 minute mark) is a trailer for Edgeworth's game, called Gyakuten Kenji in case you haven't been keeping up (for shame!). The trailer is mostly just moving versions of screens we've already seen, but it also features a new character that will be showing up

Check after the break to see some promotional photos for Gyakuten Kenji, some artwork from the event (want!), and some Gyakuten Saiban swag, including an orchestra-themed tumbler (want want!) and even Snackoos (want want want!).

Gallery: Gyakuten Kenji

Continue reading Ace Attorney orchestra awesomeness meets Gyakuten Kenji trailer

Capcom Europe objects to sequential order

Posted Mar 29th 2008 1:30PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Imports

This thread on Capcom Europe's forums is from earlier in the month, but the info contained within is still worth noting. There's still no European release date for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, but a forum administrator has confirmed that it will be out after the May 9th release of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.

As "Chompman" explains, "There's no spoilers in Apollo Justice that would stop you enjoying Trials and Tribulations if you played it afterwards though." Well, that makes it okay. European gamers are certainly used to later game releases by now, but out of sequence? That's a new and special way to irritate a fanbase.

Oh, by the way, the U.S. version of Trials and Tribulations is $18.99 at Amazon.

[Via NeoGAF]

Phoenix Wright: Ace Strategic Planner

Posted Mar 26th 2008 6:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: News

As consumers, we hardly look into the business side of gaming. That doesn't mean we don't take a look at stocks and sales numbers, because we like to play the part of video game analyst at times. Yet, we usually don't think about the behind-the-scenes decisions that publishers have to make.

When we want games, we just want them, publishers be damned. Games like Electroplankton bother us because they're so hard to find, and even when Electroplankton was available way back when, it was only available online and at the Nintendo World Store. We never stopped to think that maybe retailers refused to put the game on their shelves. (Note: We're not saying that this was the case with Electroplankton, only that it may have factored into Nintendo's decision).

MTV Multiplayer's interview with Christian Svensson, the Senior Director of Strategic Planning & Research for Capcom, brings some of these issues to light. Svensson talks a lot about the first Phoenix Wright game specifically, and how it was difficult to convince retailers to stock the title despite fan interest.

There are also many other issues that come into play, like first week sales and production speeds. If companies can't provide retailers with games almost immediately after orders are placed, stores will just move on to the next hot title on the market. This makes proper estimates for DS games especially important, since they take about two months to manufacture. No pressure.

The article is definitely worth a read, and the next time you find yourself irritated because so-and-so game is impossible to find, you might be a little less quick to yell out objections.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for Even Less

Posted Mar 24th 2008 9:45AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Sales

We've featured sale prices for the second entry in the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney series before, but of all the markdowns, this is among the marked-downiest (on a new copy, anyway). For only $10.99, you can pick up one of the best games on the DS about lawyers solving murder cases with the help of teenagers who can summon the dead.

Even if you haven't bought the first game yet, you should get this one now, because this is the cheapest you'll see it ... until Amazon marks it down again! If you do already have the first game but stopped there for whatever reason, it's a good time to get back into it, because you can also get the third game, Trials and Tribulations, for a nice $18.99.

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