Fans were overjoyed when Level-5 revealed that it was working on a brand new entry in the Professor Layton franchise, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam. The game has had a few hiccups regarding its release date, but judging by the comments from the Tokyo Game Show, it seems to be looking pretty nice. Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino revealed in a new interview that he was hesitant to create a new entry in the Layton series, but was encouraged by Nintendo who apparently really wanted the company to produce a new title, essentially pushing for Layton to return from Level-5. 5.
“It wasn’t [a new title] in almost 10 years. The series is briefly over.” He goes on to explain that he had doubts about making a new Professor Layton game, since the series had previously come to a “beautiful” ending.
“Certain individuals in the industry really wanted us to release a new game… we had a strong push coming from the company “N.” By “N” Hino most likely means Nintendo. Professor Layton is one of the most successful exclusive series for the Nintendo DS, and Nintendo has been the overseas publisher for a number of Layton titles to date – so it wouldn’t be a surprise if someone from Nintendo pushed for the return of the franchise.
Thanks to MasterPikachu6 for sending us the news tip!