Hint of a Dual Destinies Retail Release?

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies was an amazing game. Although the gameplay was a bit too easy, the story, characters, and humor more than made up for it. One thing that disappointed many fans, however, was its digital-only status in the West.

The only way to play an actual physical copy of Dual Destinies is to import the Japanese version, and due to the region-lock, you’d need a Japanese 3DS to play it on (unlike Ace Attorney Investigations 2, where you’d just need to know Japanese).

Fans begged, complained, and occasionally engaged in illogical boycotts to try to get a retail release in the West, but it didn’t work.

Probably.

Yesterday, I was thrilled to learn that the Ace Attorney 3DS themes released in Japan are now available in North America, with the European release to follow.

There are four. Two for the Phoenix Wright Trilogy, which also saw a digital-only localization, and two for Dual Destinies. They look and sound fantastic, but one oddity in the theme showcase videos stands out.

In the two videos for the Trilogy collection, you can see the icon for the Phoenix Wright Trilogy as it scrolls through. Since this is the Western version, it’s clearly for the digital game, as a square icon.

Likewise, the Dual Destinies theme videos show the icon for Dual Destinies… except it’s the cartridge-shaped icon used for a physical game inserted in the 3DS.

These videos are announcing the English release of the themes (available for $2 each, if you want them) and the interface is clearly English? So why show a version of Dual Destinies that isn’t available in English?

It could just be an oversight on Capcom’s part when making the videos. On the other hand, it could be a hint that we’ll see a Dual Destinies retail release in the West! And if that happens, maybe things bode well for the upcoming Dai Gyakuten Saiban and our much-awaited Ace Attorney Investigations 2!