At the recent Comic-Con International event in San Diego, California, Gameworld Network managed to snag a few minutes with the producer of the upcoming Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations for the Nintendo DS. Minae Matsukawa chatted about the game in general, the possibility of a console title featuring everyone’s favourite spiky-haired lawyer and lots more.

Matsukawa explained that nothing much has changed between the Japanese and American localisation of this, the third Phoenix Wright title, although a lot of work has gone into making it just right for a Western audience:

The third game in the series, Trials and Tribulations, is coming out very soon in America. Are there any new added features, such as the bonus case at the end of the first Phoenix Wright?

Although we were able to add some more stuff to the first game when we brought it here, that was kind of a bonus because we wanted to draw new players in. With the third game, it’s a very complete, polished story and it’s a very complete package. We didn’t want to detract from the game itself. But, you know, the fourth game just came out in Japan, and we want to localize that very soon. So once you play three and get into four, the story goes on, and it will be very exciting I think for the fans.

(Insert joke about having no objections to the new Phoenix Wright title).

The long time games industry insider said that she was surprised by the success of Phoenix Wright in America, particularly after it had such a slow start in the territory:

Phoenix Wright has gained a cult status of sorts in America. Did you ever expect the series to become this popular when you decided to bring it to the United States?

Actually, I had no idea that it would become the kind of hit that it has. We were here a couple of years ago showing it off - the first one, before it actually came out - and we were worried: are people actually going to stop and check it out? At first it was very slow. The game eventually came out and sales were slow, but the fans who tried it out got it and really liked it and started to spread the word and I think word of mouth is what helped it to become what it has. I really had no idea when we released the first game here.

On the subject of a console version of Phoenix Wright, Matsukawa stated that it was an unlikely prospect at present, much down to the amount of reading necessary:

Do you feel that this pick-up-and-play aspect is very important to the game, or would you ever consider a console version of Phoenix Wright?

Because of the gameplay style, we really wanted to have it on the Game Boy or DS, and that really determined what kind of game turned out. For us, the portable game system is something that is great because you can just pick it up and play on your way home from work on the train. And in your home, it’s a much better environment for reading rather than sitting on your couch and reading - people don’t like to read games usually. Because we had the portable system, that allowed the game to evolve in that direction. So right now we don’t have any plans to put it on a console. I don’t know if it would fit on a console in the same format it is now.

Phoenix Wright; Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations will be released for the Nintendo DS on October 23.

Head over to GWN for the full interview.