Level-5's Professor Layton Series Ships 11.5M

Japanese publisher and developer Level-5 said this week that it has shipped 11.47 million units of its Professor Layton puzzle game series for Nintendo DS across four titles worldwide. The popular series first debuted in Japan in February 2007 with Professor Layton and the Curious Village, which came to Western territories in 2008. Two other Professor Layton games have shipped in both Japan and the West, including Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box and Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. Other games in the series include Professor Layton and the Specter's Flute, which is only currently available in Japan, and the upcoming 3DS game Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle, due to release in Japan later this month. In June last year, Fukuoka, Japan-based Level-5 said it would open a Los Angeles-based office, and is expected to open an office in Europe this year. The company was founded in 1998 and is developer of the Dark Cloud series. Level-5 also developed Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, followed by Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, and other titles. [Thanks to Andriasang]