It’s been a while since we’ve heard from ace attorney Phoenix Wright or any of his law-practicing (or enforcing) friends. However, with the next game in the series launching in Japan next month, Capcom has finally announced that Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth will be coming to North America in late 2009. Yes, that long-fabled Miles Edgeworth spin-off is a reality, and is hitting DS systems this winter.

Since Miles is a prosecutor and not a defense attorney like our old pal Phoenix, I’m excited to see a change from the typical “keep your innocent client from getting sent to jail” gameplay. According to Kotaku, there will be more of an emphasis on crime scenes and investigating (hence the title, I’m guessing) that the actual courtroom, which should be a nice change of pace for the series. I’m a big fan of the Ace Attorney games, so I will definitely be checking this out. We’ll keep you posted and let you know when Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth gets a definitive release date.