If you’ve ever wondered why it took so long for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney to come to the West, we’ve now got a mostly definitive answer on the question. In a new interview/retrospective on the 20th anniversary of the DS port of the first Ace Attorney game, Time Extension spoke with two of the translators responsible for localizing Phoenix Wright in the West. The project wound up under the direction of Bowne Global Solutions’ former project manager Steve Anderson, and veteran games translator Alexander O. Smith who both relayed the same message: Capcom did not initially believe the game would sell well enough to warrant a translation effort.
As Anderson recalled to the outlet, Capcom had asked for a sample translation around September 2004 to gauge whether it would go ahead with the project. “We provided the sample, but Capcom was initially uncertain about whether they would move forward with a global release,” Anderson said. “With several staff there championing the project, though, we eventually got the greenlight to start working on the full localization around mid-November that same year.” He then explains a bit of how the process worked and what was needed to coordinate with Capcom Japan.
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As for Smith, he was subcontracted by Bowne to provide assistance due to his reputation. Having previously worked on the localizations for Vagrant Story, Fire Emblem, and a few Final Fantasy titles, Anderson believed he would be a great fit for the Phoenix Wright project. “I had done work for Bowne Global years earlier,” Smith recalled, “And I knew people there like Steve Anderson. So I think I was on their list. At the time, I remember Phoenix Wright being described to me as kind of a throwaway game for Capcom because they were pretty sure it was not going to do well. I know they only did a limited run of units for the first run.”
The rest of the article gets into the specifics of what the translation entailed, but it’s fascinating to think there was a period where Capcom had no faith in the series reaching other markets. That seems so alien considering the HD Trilogy collection is about to get extra language support in a new update. Funny how things work out like that.
Catch up on Ace Attorney news
The Ace Attorney Trilogy is getting a free title update with new features and language options
Wonder Fest reveals new figures – including Byleth (female) figma and Ace Attorney Nendoroids
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
