Professor Layton film coming in 2010

Level-5 chief Akihiro Hino has said an animated Professor Layton film will arrive in Japan on the very first day of 2010.

That's according to IGN, which sat through a press event by the developer last night.

There's no word on a Western release but, as with the DS series, we can probably expect a translation at some point.

The press event was held to celebrate the Japanese release of Professor Layton and the Final Time Journey today. It's the last game in the series, and has already shipped a whopping 700,000 copies.

All three Professor Layton games have shipped a total of 2.45 million copies in Japan.

So far, the West has only seen the first game, Professor Layton and the Curious Village. Not that we're complaining, as the gorgeous, elaborate and silly adventure is one of the most outstanding titles on the handheld.

Roly-poly over to our Professor Layton and the Curious Village review to find out why this should be in your Christmas stocking.