Sign on Options
Theme:
To Dark

Phoenix Wright inks legal rep

  • By Walt Wyman, GameSpot
  • Posted Aug 1, 2006 3:43 pm PT

Real-life lawyer to star in Japanese promotional campaign for the Nintendo DS legal thriller.

The name Kazuya Maruyama may not ring a bell to most Western ears, but he's a household name in Japan. Maruyama, a celebrity lawyer, has been made famous thanks to popular talk shows, including one in which he helps the average citizen navigate the labyrinthine Japanese legal code.

It seems Capcom could hardly pick a better person to make the case for the Gyakuten Saiban series--the courtroom adventure franchise known as Phoenix Wright in North America and Europe--to Japanese customers. Maruyama will appear in advertisements this month for the Best Price! release of Gyakuten Saiban: Yomigaeru Gyakuten, according to Famitsu. Maruyama himself endorses the series.

"In Gyakuten Saiban, the player has to seek out the underlying psychology of the characters and find the inconsistencies in the witness's testimony," he said. "I think it's a very well-made game."

Indicating that Phoenix's case may not be closed, Maruyama is also under contract to promote other titles in the Phoenix Wright series, according to Famitsu.

45 Comments

  • Silver_Midnight

    Posted Sep 27, 2006 11:23 pm GMT

    ketsuatama said:
    "The poor Japanese still think lawyers are people you can trust!"

    The devil visited a lawyer's office and made him an offer. "I can arrange some things for you, " the devil said. "I'll increase your income five-fold. Your partners will love you; your clients will respect you; you'll have four months of vacation each year and live to be a hundred. All I require in return is that your wife's soul, your children's souls, and their children's souls rot in hell for eternity."

    The lawyer thought for a moment. "What's the catch?" he asked.
    ~~~~~~~
    Q: What do honest lawyers and UFO's have in common?

    A: You always hear about them, but you never see them. ~~~~
    go to http://www.power-of-attorneys.com for more!

  • alisk

    Posted Aug 3, 2006 7:24 am GMT

    "They shouldn't have put Japanese game news on an American/British site. This means nothing to most Americans. "

    Yeah, god forbid you might be interested in something happening outside of America........

  • agustin2489

    Posted Aug 2, 2006 5:15 pm GMT

    Interesting. I should buy one of these games soon.

  • MegaManX9101

    Posted Aug 2, 2006 11:59 am GMT

    So more pheonix wright games are probobly in developement too...
    That, is a beautiful thing.... and the japanese lawyer should help boost profit to get better advertizing in the US. Mabye we might even see a Pheonix Wright for the Wii?

  • alex_kid88

    Posted Aug 2, 2006 9:21 am GMT

    Well if Johnny Cochrain was still alive he'd nearly fit that mold, or if Phil Hartman was still alive we could have Lionel Hutz. Maybe they could get the guy who played the Jackie Chiles on Seinfeld.

    "This game is fantastic, outrageous...... contaigous!"

  • viewtiful_joe99

    Posted Aug 2, 2006 8:09 am GMT

    Wow, Maruyama sounds like a perfect fit for the games. Its too bad North America doesn't have any big celebrity lawyers such as him.

  • mr_squibble

    Posted Aug 2, 2006 7:47 am GMT

    Hopefully Capcom will do a better job promoting (and producing/distributing) the new Phoenix Wright game in the US than they did with the last one.

  • AlexandriaZ

    Posted Aug 2, 2006 7:45 am GMT

    Capcom are geniuses. They intentionally underprint Phoenix Wright in the USA to keep buzz going. In Japan they did essentially the same thing until phoneix wright became a series that sold over 150,000+ copies.

  • Jered_Cain

    Posted Aug 2, 2006 2:37 am GMT

    The only problem with this is that it's over in Japan, but Capcom's so far along the right path with promoting this game it's not even funny.

  • soul_motor

    Posted Aug 2, 2006 12:37 am GMT

    Johnny Cochran all the way in USA! (if he was still with us at least)

  • johnnyv2003

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 11:13 pm GMT

    i wanna do Phoenix Wright over here....i have the spiky hair

  • OldWiseBob

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 10:58 pm GMT

    I've never played Wright, but it got great reviews. From these replies I guess it's a pretty good game. I'll havta consider gettin that sequel.

  • Joemo

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 9:27 pm GMT

    that's crazy... crazy and awesome

  • Hello_HelloV1

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 9:25 pm GMT

    Phoenix Wright = Awesome. I'm glad Capcom is promoting this game.

  • ketsuatama

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 9:15 pm GMT

    The poor Japanese still think lawyers are people you can trust!

  • SnuffDaddyNZ

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 9:13 pm GMT

    (One of the) Best game on the DS and I am SOOO glad I have a copy.

  • GyRo567

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 8:50 pm GMT

    So is this the equivalent of Phoenix Wright: Justice For All in Japan (which is already released in GBA format over there) or is this the Phoenix Wright 4 equivalent?

  • StillWingless

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 8:49 pm GMT

    wow, i love how popular this game is in Japan, and how underappreciated it is in the US.

    johnny cochran doing PW2 ads would be hilarious. but probably not the press capcom would want, either. XD

  • megagohan

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 8:37 pm GMT

    As long as they make more than 10 copies of their game this time around, I'll be happy.

  • blackIceJoe

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 8:33 pm GMT

    I can't wait until the next Phoenix Wright game comes to the US.I loved the first one so I know I will love this one too.

  • Dekuxutu

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 8:28 pm GMT

    OBJECTION!

  • Reetesh

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 8:13 pm GMT

    WOw! Thats so cool.

  • cconerity01eb

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 8:03 pm GMT

    Lordofthenukes -- he's referring to Nip/Tuck, not Fantastic Four.

  • catsimboy

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 8:02 pm GMT

    So what, we're going to see Robert Vaughn and William Shatner hawking this game now? "Call D'Olivera and Morgan, RIGHT NOW! And buy this game!"

  • vaejas

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 7:51 pm GMT

    Sam Seaborn for Congress!

  • mclazyj

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 6:54 pm GMT

    Only one man could advertise for this game in the United States...

    "Hello, I'm Larry H. Parker and I am going to help Phoenix Wright fight for you!"

  • LordoftheNukes

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 6:42 pm GMT

    Lol. . .. Julian McMahon promoting Trauma Center. .. . still I don't think Doctor Doom was THAT kind of doctor. . . .

  • kinncolts

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 6:42 pm GMT

    hoepfully they'll make this game for the Wii

  • x-wing20

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 6:35 pm GMT

    I'd laugfh if jack thompson endrosed it

  • JavaMava

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 6:22 pm GMT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • Conanfan1

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 6:21 pm GMT

    That's great news. Next they should find a way to get Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon to promote the next trauma center games.

  • supercubedude64

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 6:19 pm GMT

    We need Sam Waterson endorsing it here.

  • LordoftheNukes

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 6:13 pm GMT

    This is cool only in that it hints at more Phoenix Wright to come. I hope it remains DS exclusive or at least Nintendo exclusive cause a Revolution game might be fun. Maybe they could find a famous Lawyer in the US to advertise the game. If not they should at least get William Shatner or James Spader to be in the commercials. . . . not lawyers but. . . . they play them on TV. . .

    Famous American Lawyers
    F. Lee Bailey
    Alan Dershowitz (misspelled)

    I wish I could think of one not associated with O.J.'s defense team. . . .

  • YoLaGringo

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 6:04 pm GMT

    quote:
    "They shouldn't have put Japanese game news on an American/British site. This means nothing to most Americans."

    "stupid thing to report on, stupid game. If i want to argue/debate, I'll go do it in real life."

    Having played the Phoenix Wright DS game, I highly disagree. I paid a bit of a premium to get a copy of the DS game and I do not regret it. My only real complaint was its length (and lack of availability at retail). Heh, in reference to the latter comment..."stupid thing to say, stupid comment". I took your advice to heart and now I refuse to play video games with activities that can be accomplished in real life. Narrative? More like whocareattive.

  • Devilshelper666

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 5:57 pm GMT

    Phoenix wright is an awesome series, I think it should stay true to the DS, because it's just a port of the GBA games, besides, this games are more fun when you are screaming objection, and I just don't think the Wii will do it as much justice as the DS does.

  • Fryboy11

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 5:40 pm GMT

    have you played pheonix wright it's actually really fun

  • lgoldberg

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 5:39 pm GMT

    They shouldn't have put Japanese game news on an American/British site. This means nothing to most Americans.

  • Vash67

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 5:26 pm GMT

    This doesn't affect us in any way possible... Blah.

  • assassinX01

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 4:17 pm GMT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • HyperMetaDragon

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 4:16 pm GMT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • mrgokugf

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 4:00 pm GMT

    cough make a wii game cough

  • bacomonk

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 3:56 pm GMT

    Cool?

  • spazzx625

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 3:55 pm GMT

    Phoenix Wright games need to keep on coming...In fact, Capcom should multiplatform the series.

  • mike_escajeda66

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 3:55 pm GMT

    sounds like fun :{

  • mike_escajeda66

    Posted Aug 1, 2006 3:52 pm GMT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

Subscribe to GameSpot's YouTube Channel

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!

Related Game

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Boxshot
Follow:
  1. Not Following
    Wii: Follow
  2. Not Following
    DS: Follow
  3. Not Following
    iPhone/iPod: Follow
Add to List
  1. Wii
  2. DS
  3. iPhone/iPod

Follow for the latest news, videos, & tips from experts & insiders

GameSpot Fuse
    Platforms:

    Related Games

    Site Blogs