Level-5 Details Professor Layton Plans

The focus of today's Professor Layton and the Devil's Flute premier event was on tomorrow Layton game, but Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino did make mention of future developments for the popular series.

As reported earlier, the next Layton game to follow Devil's Flute will be "Kiseki no Kamen," or "Miracle Mask." Hino shared artwork and a logo for the game, but refrained from getting into specifics.

Miracle Mask is set in Casino City, a city was created by the magic power of the Miracle Mask of the title. The Miracle Mask is the same mask that's worn by Devil's Flute villain Death Call.

The game appears to be centered on the mask, which it is said can grant the wishes of its possessors and has lead to a string of mysterious incidents. "The truth is hidden deep within the mask," reads the game's official description on materials handed out to the press today.

Artwork for The Miracle Mask.

A report on the game in this week's Famitsu says that the tried and true Layton gameplay systems will see some major changes this time around. Hino did not provide clarification at today's event.

This next next Layton game arrives in Fall 2010.

Level-5's plans for Layton go beyond games. The first Layton movie, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, hits theaters in late December. A second movie could follow. While not strictly committing to a second movie, Hino said that the "second season" of the Layton series, which begins with Devil's Flute, was imagined with another movie.

Based off a chart shown at the event, the second movie would follow the release of Miracle Mask but come before the release of the as-yet unnamed third Layton game.

Layton will also be involved in a major tie-up shortly with McDonalds. As part of Nintendo's DS at Mac online service, visitors to McDonalds restaurants will be able to download three original puzzles, view an art gallery from the Eternal Diva movie, and take a quiz about the Layton series.

The McDonalds tie-up will run from 1/8 to 1/28. A different puzzle will be available every week during this period. To play the puzzles, you'll have to have your DS and a copy of Devil's Flute. The other content requires just the DS.

The Layton series has sold 7.9 million units worldwide, Hino said at the event. Only the first two games have been released outside of Japan.