Newsbrief: Capcom has made the decision to release the upcoming Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies, the latest in the popular court-room adventure game, as a download-only title for Nintendo 3DS.
The game, previously known as Phoenix Wright 5, will be released this fall in the U.S. and Europe, and will only be available to download from the Nintendo eShop with no retail release planned.
"Historically it's been tough to attract long term retail support for Ace Attorney titles," explained Christian Svensson, Capcom's senior vice president. "With the release of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies we wanted as many people as possible to be able to enjoy the game for as long as possible."
He continued, "With that in mind we have opted for a digital only release via the Nintendo 3DS eShop." Svensson added that, while he was aware this may upset some fans, "we believe this direction is the best to take."
" Some people don't want to spend money on rentals. "
While I understand, that people prefer physical media, I don't understand, why a download from the eShop should be considered as a "rental". The game runs offline, is stored on the SD card and can be transfered to another 3DS system with the available transfer software.
Yeah, it's not a rental. I don't understand this kneejerk reaction at all.
You have the game as long as you have the device or the card. If you want to keep it forever, keep the card or the 3DS. No one forces you to sell it or trade it in. Life is tough sometimes and we can't have everything.
I have to agree with Edge and Christian. While I personally prefer to buy a physical copy of a game, I realized weeks ago that the eShop may actually be a trump card for Nintendo and Japanese 3rd-party companies on getting Japanese game titles that are considered niche titles outside of Japan. Tecmo used the same strategy to bring the second Fist of the North Star game to the Wii U. Only Japan has the physical copy and digital copy of the game, but outside of Japan, the game is digital only and that's a good thing as the risk of Tecmo losing money on the game is minimal (the company can still lose money for selling physical copies of the game for Xbox 360 and PS3 due to Fist of the North Star being a niche game title outside of Japan). Like Edge said, it's either digital or nothing, and like I often say, take what you can get. After all, the Phoenix Wright series is a popular series, but in comparison to other titles, it tends to be a niche game series, so it is not a huge seller outside of Japan and digital sale is the best course of action for Capcom to bring the title outside of Japan. Besides, you can save the title into a SD Card, so one can still have a physical copy of the game through that method, technically speaking.
@All - Digital Downloads with DRM are rentals. You guys must not have been around when MS shut down Xbox Live on the original Xbox? I'm not willing to spend more than $10 (or $5 on a handheld) for a Digital Only item.
My discs and carts will still work on any system long after I die. Not so with your SD cards filled with DRM. Unless you all want to crack & pirate the games you've already paid for in the future?
I bought the Xbox 360 disc for Fist Of The North Star and was pretty bummed that I couldn't get the Wii U version. I would have skipped it all together if it didn't release on disc. Which is sad because I'm the target audience for that game.
I agree with Ujn. There are a number of issues with DRM laden digital content. The primary being that as soon as the DRM management company doesn't want to support it any more, you are out of luck.
Christian, Edge, What are you to do when your system breaks after Nintendo ends support for the 3DS eShop? You won't be able to transfer your 100s of dollars worth of games to a new system.
Another example would be Steam. Valve has shown that it is willing to close your account at the drop of a hat. While they have typically only used such measures against people who try to resell their account, what is to stop them from doing something similar for lesser infractions.
Another example. EA. EA has not only banned people from their forums but from all the Origin based games tied to that forums account. All for violating a forum rule.
Digital Only has a lot of problems, but the biggest problem is that of DRM. Any digital service that has DRM in the mix will never allow anything other than temporary access to your purchases.
“Why would this upset anyone? It's either digital or nothing. I don't get people.”
Your comment comes off as arrogant and narrow-minded. Saying that you don’t understand why people would be upset by this makes you seem ignorant of the issues surrounding digital downloads. You can’t just force people to go to a digital download medium and expect them to not be upset when they like to buy a physical product. It is also a false dichotomy to state that it is digital or nothing. There is this third choice called complaining to the company about it. Sure it might not work, but it's better than just accepting it. No one has to deal with it.
I realize there are benefits to a digital download medium. You can download a game directly to your console or handheld without having to go to the store and buy a copy. Also you don’t have to worry about the store running out of copies since the download service has an infinite supply. Plus, you don’t have to swap the game out with another since it is installed on the system.
Regardless, the digital download medium isn’t without its faults, and it has some major flaws. One of the biggest problems is that many digitally downloaded games cost the same as their retail counterpart. To the consumer, you get less for what you pay for. A digital copy is usually just the game, however, a physical copy comes with a case, a manual, and the media the game is on.
Second, if you don’t like the game or you are finished with it, you can’t trade it in. This means that less people are likely to risk buying the game if they don’t know if they will like it or not, since it costs around the same price as the retail product. This also equates to not being able to buy a used copy of the game, and I believe this is an important issue. Most people do not have a lot of spendable money, so they have to pick and choose the games they buy. Used games are typically cheaper and more enticing to get a new player to try a game. There might not be any tangible benefits from used game sales; however, there are intangible benefits to be reaped from them. It’s called building a customer base. The player might like the game enough that they purchase the next game in the series brand new.
Third, with a digitally downloaded game, the player must provide the storage space. With a physical copy, the game is stored on a cart or a disc. This is not a problem with some consoles; however, other ones such as the 3DS have a maximum limited amount of space. It cost extra to increase the storage capacity of your system, and yet you may still pay the same amount as the retail copy.
Lastly, you do not feel like you truly own the game. There is something indescribable holding a physical copy of a game in your hand and being able to see it on your shelf.
"My discs and carts will still work on any system long after I die. Not so with your SD cards filled with DRM. Unless you all want to crack & pirate the games you've already paid for in the future?"
Your discs and cartridges also come with a copy protection, where's the difference to a game from the eShop? The game runs offline, it doesn't need any internet connection to work, so it will work fine, even if Nintendo shuts down all it's digital services. After downloaded to your system the only difference to a cart or disc based game is, that it is tied to a specific system. This is clearly a disadvantage, but the term "rental" is simply wrong.
Besides, a few weeks ago, I set up my Atari Jaguar again to play Tempest 2000 and I learned, that the battery in the cartridge died over the years, a quick google search showed me this is a common problem with every battery powered cartridge, so don't tell me the cartridges will still work "long after you die".
I prefer physical media over digital myself, but the idea, that physical media, that comes with a copy protection and is made to run on a dedicated system is anything that will last is an illusion. Consoles from the 80s will fail, because the components were never built to work to 30+ years, magnetic media from the 80s is already vanishing as we speak and the web is full of stories of dead NES cartridges.
@ Christian Keichel - There are also games and systems that have region lock, so including the information that you just gave about console games, copy protection on console games is nothing new and predates DRM. Some portable systems (namely, the Gameboy systems) are the exception to the rule, but console systems will have some type of copy protection in place and the different game formats are one of the proofs of that.
Comments like "we can't have everything" is just that. That you are missing out on something that was once there. It's the same as saying "shit happens" to someone after being robbed. C'mon. Digital versions of games go offline and are never seen again due to contract, or license expiration issues i.e. XBLA Outrun Online Arcade
Its understandable from a business perspective due to JPN games (with great exceptions of course i.e. Pokemon- continued best selling RPG of all time) not having as much of an impact as before (no thanks to Western media/Xbox 360 2 Hit combo). However this may in the future actually lead to a further push to pursuit of piracy in the platform since its Digital, it has no real value. Just like how at one time people valued music, or movies.
How many of you have a physical copy of Braid? Journey? Super Meat Boy? Skull Girls? Mega Man 9? Minecraft?
Yea, you don't, because every one of those projects only exists because of digital store fronts. Just like an English release of a game that barely cracked 70,000 sales in its last iteration in the English marketplace. Seriously, we lost an Ace Attorney game because the retail market doesn't exist anymore. It's not coming back either.
Crying about digital store fronts in 2013 is just a form of Luddism at this point and it's largely scare-mongering at that.
Wouldn't go so far as to call it Luddism as concerns about losing your stuff once companies decide they don't wanna support it is legit.
That said, I have no problem with this as, unlike some other digital schemes where the user is reliant on a server somewhere, these games exist on a non-proprietary SD card that one can take wherever. And that means it's only a matter of time before there's an emulator for it. So even in Ephraim's worst-case scenario where 3DS breaks and Nintendo doesn't support it, there are still options for playing the game.
@ Rebecca Richards - You can also include the Virtual Console games, the WiiWare games and the digital games on different digital game websites (like Big Fish) into the mix (not to mention, mobile games).
I have a physical copy of Braid. The rest of the games you mentioned I don't own. I am considering buying Journey now that it is at retail.
I typically do not buy downloadable games, for all of the reasons mentioned. If Capcom doesn't want to release Phoenix Wright as a boxed copy, no problem. I just won't play it. I have plenty of other games to play.
However, I would buy a physical copy. I have all the other games in the series. I would not be surprised if a decent percentage of their target audience wants physical copies.
I can understand not going to retail, but I can't think of any good reason not to sell physical copies from an online store for people who want those.
"Wouldn't go so far as to call it Luddism as concerns about losing your stuff once companies decide they don't wanna support it is legit. "
Yea, but I can't play a legally purchased copy of Full Throttle without an emulator and if my SNES breaks, my stack of cherished childhood memories is now a stack of useless plastic. Permanence is a concept that relies on a lot of factors staying consistent and gaming technology evolves rather rapidly.
It's a legit concern to some extent, but it seems to be expressed with a lot of scare-mongering and a not a lot of recognition that the alternative to digital releases has its own downsides. Furthermore, it's being expressed in what everyone on this site recognizes to be a high-risk, low-reward retail market for titles with smaller install bases. Ace Attorney has never managed to grow its fanbase outside Japan. We are definitely lucky that Capcom still wants to support the localization of this title even knowing that they probably won't see a huge return aside from player good will.
While I understand, that people prefer physical media, I don't understand, why a download from the eShop should be considered as a "rental". The game runs offline, is stored on the SD card and can be transfered to another 3DS system with the available transfer software.
You have the game as long as you have the device or the card. If you want to keep it forever, keep the card or the 3DS. No one forces you to sell it or trade it in. Life is tough sometimes and we can't have everything.
My discs and carts will still work on any system long after I die. Not so with your SD cards filled with DRM. Unless you all want to crack & pirate the games you've already paid for in the future?
I bought the Xbox 360 disc for Fist Of The North Star and was pretty bummed that I couldn't get the Wii U version. I would have skipped it all together if it didn't release on disc. Which is sad because I'm the target audience for that game.
Christian, Edge, What are you to do when your system breaks after Nintendo ends support for the 3DS eShop? You won't be able to transfer your 100s of dollars worth of games to a new system.
Another example would be Steam. Valve has shown that it is willing to close your account at the drop of a hat. While they have typically only used such measures against people who try to resell their account, what is to stop them from doing something similar for lesser infractions.
Another example. EA. EA has not only banned people from their forums but from all the Origin based games tied to that forums account. All for violating a forum rule.
Digital Only has a lot of problems, but the biggest problem is that of DRM. Any digital service that has DRM in the mix will never allow anything other than temporary access to your purchases.
Your comment comes off as arrogant and narrow-minded. Saying that you don’t understand why people would be upset by this makes you seem ignorant of the issues surrounding digital downloads. You can’t just force people to go to a digital download medium and expect them to not be upset when they like to buy a physical product. It is also a false dichotomy to state that it is digital or nothing. There is this third choice called complaining to the company about it. Sure it might not work, but it's better than just accepting it. No one has to deal with it.
I realize there are benefits to a digital download medium. You can download a game directly to your console or handheld without having to go to the store and buy a copy. Also you don’t have to worry about the store running out of copies since the download service has an infinite supply. Plus, you don’t have to swap the game out with another since it is installed on the system.
Regardless, the digital download medium isn’t without its faults, and it has some major flaws. One of the biggest problems is that many digitally downloaded games cost the same as their retail counterpart. To the consumer, you get less for what you pay for. A digital copy is usually just the game, however, a physical copy comes with a case, a manual, and the media the game is on.
Second, if you don’t like the game or you are finished with it, you can’t trade it in. This means that less people are likely to risk buying the game if they don’t know if they will like it or not, since it costs around the same price as the retail product. This also equates to not being able to buy a used copy of the game, and I believe this is an important issue. Most people do not have a lot of spendable money, so they have to pick and choose the games they buy. Used games are typically cheaper and more enticing to get a new player to try a game. There might not be any tangible benefits from used game sales; however, there are intangible benefits to be reaped from them. It’s called building a customer base. The player might like the game enough that they purchase the next game in the series brand new.
Third, with a digitally downloaded game, the player must provide the storage space. With a physical copy, the game is stored on a cart or a disc. This is not a problem with some consoles; however, other ones such as the 3DS have a maximum limited amount of space. It cost extra to increase the storage capacity of your system, and yet you may still pay the same amount as the retail copy.
Lastly, you do not feel like you truly own the game. There is something indescribable holding a physical copy of a game in your hand and being able to see it on your shelf.
I myself prefer physical media over digital. I know all the reasons people dislike digital. I agree with many of them.
But if it a choice of digital or no game at all, that's not a difficult choice to make.
So no, I don't understand people.
Your discs and cartridges also come with a copy protection, where's the difference to a game from the eShop? The game runs offline, it doesn't need any internet connection to work, so it will work fine, even if Nintendo shuts down all it's digital services. After downloaded to your system the only difference to a cart or disc based game is, that it is tied to a specific system. This is clearly a disadvantage, but the term "rental" is simply wrong.
Besides, a few weeks ago, I set up my Atari Jaguar again to play Tempest 2000 and I learned, that the battery in the cartridge died over the years, a quick google search showed me this is a common problem with every battery powered cartridge, so don't tell me the cartridges will still work "long after you die".
I prefer physical media over digital myself, but the idea, that physical media, that comes with a copy protection and is made to run on a dedicated system is anything that will last is an illusion. Consoles from the 80s will fail, because the components were never built to work to 30+ years, magnetic media from the 80s is already vanishing as we speak and the web is full of stories of dead NES cartridges.
Its understandable from a business perspective due to JPN games (with great exceptions of course i.e. Pokemon- continued best selling RPG of all time) not having as much of an impact as before (no thanks to Western media/Xbox 360 2 Hit combo). However this may in the future actually lead to a further push to pursuit of piracy in the platform since its Digital, it has no real value. Just like how at one time people valued music, or movies.
Robbery is not a choice for the victim. You have a choice here if digital bothers you that much.
How many of you have a physical copy of Braid? Journey? Super Meat Boy? Skull Girls? Mega Man 9? Minecraft?
Yea, you don't, because every one of those projects only exists because of digital store fronts. Just like an English release of a game that barely cracked 70,000 sales in its last iteration in the English marketplace. Seriously, we lost an Ace Attorney game because the retail market doesn't exist anymore. It's not coming back either.
Crying about digital store fronts in 2013 is just a form of Luddism at this point and it's largely scare-mongering at that.
That said, I have no problem with this as, unlike some other digital schemes where the user is reliant on a server somewhere, these games exist on a non-proprietary SD card that one can take wherever. And that means it's only a matter of time before there's an emulator for it. So even in Ephraim's worst-case scenario where 3DS breaks and Nintendo doesn't support it, there are still options for playing the game.
I typically do not buy downloadable games, for all of the reasons mentioned. If Capcom doesn't want to release Phoenix Wright as a boxed copy, no problem. I just won't play it. I have plenty of other games to play.
However, I would buy a physical copy. I have all the other games in the series. I would not be surprised if a decent percentage of their target audience wants physical copies.
I can understand not going to retail, but I can't think of any good reason not to sell physical copies from an online store for people who want those.
Yea, but I can't play a legally purchased copy of Full Throttle without an emulator and if my SNES breaks, my stack of cherished childhood memories is now a stack of useless plastic. Permanence is a concept that relies on a lot of factors staying consistent and gaming technology evolves rather rapidly.
It's a legit concern to some extent, but it seems to be expressed with a lot of scare-mongering and a not a lot of recognition that the alternative to digital releases has its own downsides. Furthermore, it's being expressed in what everyone on this site recognizes to be a high-risk, low-reward retail market for titles with smaller install bases. Ace Attorney has never managed to grow its fanbase outside Japan. We are definitely lucky that Capcom still wants to support the localization of this title even knowing that they probably won't see a huge return aside from player good will.