So THAT’S Why Phoenix Wright Was So Hard to Find

I’d been wondering about this in the back of my mind for quite a while; I remember trying for months to pick up Phoenix Wright anywhere I could find it, only to be disappointed time and again everywhere I looked. Sold out online, in stores… it was nearly impossible to find. And then I remembered when I was “lucky” enough to find it, my friends – who were all helping me hunt the game down – started pointing out that they were finding it everywhere. I know I wasn’t the only one who found themselves in this position.

As it turns out, this wasn’t Capcom trying to artificially create a shortage. MTV Multiplayer contacted Capcom in order to help get a clear idea of what determines the number of copies that are produced of a game, and when and why production is eventually halted.

“The sales life cycle of a product is shrinking,” said Capcom VP Christian Svensson, who admitted it’s a complicated process to determine all of these things. Retailers have to be convinced to buy in big at the launch of a game, and if a game underperforms in its first week, you can kiss it goodbye.

If you’re interested in just what happened with Phoenix Wright and the process Capcom goes through, head over to MTV Multiplayer and check out the full article.