The Professor Layton for Smash Ultimate support thread! See OP for where to meet us next after the boards close. Thank you for all your support!

[Curious Villager]

Uh oh

I think if this turns out to be true, Layton's chances diminish significantly.

Of course, if a Level 5 rep had already been started, they're not going to stop making them, so we might get lucky. On the other hand, this could be why we haven't seen anything at all from Level 5 in the game already.

Well one thing's for sure, unless Level-5 managed to get a hold of a publishing partner, we're probably not going to be seeing anything from them outside of Japan for the incoming future...

In terms of Smash though, since the pass was already decided since last year, this should hopefully not affect the chances of us seeing a character from them too much, however, if they miss the boat again, then I'd be very concerned of their future chances, unfortunately...

 

[Erureido]

As a huge Professor Layton fan, hearing about Level 5 discontinuing operations in America is very concerning. It also makes me worried that this will lower Layton's chances of being added to Smash now.

Only hope now is if Layton was decided on to be in the 2nd Fighters Pass before this all happened.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

At this stage I would settle for a spirit event. If not even that, you lot will have to make a concerted effort to increase fan movement.

 

[Curious Villager]

At this stage I would settle for a spirit event. If not even that, you lot will have to make a concerted effort to increase fan movement.

Maybe one day Layton might miraculously receive a Banjo/K.Rool tier fan demand. But considering the fandom's been slowly dying each passing day,
I probably wouldn't hold my breath...

I think I'll probably just call it quits if we won't even get so much as a spirit event from some Level-5 game once this game finally wraps things up, if we can't even manage that, I don't know what hope we'd really have in a future smash title.

Especially considering all the baggage L5 keeps throwing on to themselves each year and is probably at the brink of being Alphadream'd...,
Oh well, Its nice we at least got HD versions of the original Layton trilogy I guess...

 

[fogbadge]

anyone got a pic of someone falling to there knees crying noooooooo?

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

anyone got a pic of someone falling to there knees crying noooooooo?

Will this do?

 

[amageish]

Welp. This is grim news to wake up to... I, uh, hope Nintendo or someone decides there is value in their IPs and gets strikes some sort of deal for localizations? I guess?

I am definitely reminded of that interview where Miyamoto commented on how Ace Attorney and Layton were investigation games that were able to be localized.... now we have The Great Ace Attorney stuck in Japan, Ace Attorney games being digital-only when localized, and Level-5 seemingly just giving up on the concept of English language releases. How times have changed...

As for Smash... I have no idea how this does[n't] affect Smash Bros potential, honestly. We have plenty of characters who are seen as likely from franchises that are known to be dead/finished or have been MIA for a considerable amount of time... So... Um... It could still happen, I guess?

Otherwise... Yeah, I'll see you in in 20-30 years for the Smash game where the DS era is the central target of nostalgia-bait, as I think that's our best bet for Layton in Smash at this point...

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Welp. This is grim news to wake up to... I, uh, hope Nintendo or someone decides there is value in their IPs and gets strikes some sort of deal for localizations? I guess?

I am definitely reminded of that interview where Miyamoto commented on how Ace Attorney and Layton were investigation games that were able to be localized.... now we have The Great Ace Attorney stuck in Japan, Ace Attorney games being digital-only when localized, and Level-5 seemingly just giving up on the concept of English language releases. How times have changed...

As for Smash... I have no idea how this does[n't] affect Smash Bros potential, honestly. We have plenty of characters who are seen as likely from franchises that are known to be dead/finished or have been MIA for a considerable amount of time... So... Um... It could still happen, I guess?

Otherwise... Yeah, I'll see you in in 20-30 years for the Smash game where the DS era is the central target of nostalgia-bait, as I think that's our best bet for Layton in Smash at this point...

If worse comes to worst, Arc System Works could try to acquire L5. At least then Layton would finally share the spotlight with another VN investigator.

Spoiler

 

[Curious Villager]

Welp. This is grim news to wake up to... I, uh, hope Nintendo or someone decides there is value in their IPs and gets strikes some sort of deal for localizations? I guess?

I am definitely reminded of that interview where Miyamoto commented on how Ace Attorney and Layton were investigation games that were able to be localized.... now we have The Great Ace Attorney stuck in Japan, Ace Attorney games being digital-only when localized, and Level-5 seemingly just giving up on the concept of English language releases. How times have changed...

As for Smash... I have no idea how this does[n't] affect Smash Bros potential, honestly. We have plenty of characters who are seen as likely from franchises that are known to be dead/finished or have been MIA for a considerable amount of time... So... Um... It could still happen, I guess?

Otherwise... Yeah, I'll see you in in 20-30 years for the Smash game where the DS era is the central target of nostalgia-bait, as I think that's our best bet for Layton in Smash at this point...

I mean, I suppose the Layton series at least had a history in the West, so its not quite a Lucas/Takamaru type comparison as Sakurai mainly didn't want to include them due to their lack of familiarity in the west.

Though Layton and other Level-5 properties may go down the same route as Medabots where it eventually fades from western consciousness and mainly sticks to Japan for the rest of the series future. Which would be... quite sad to see...

Hopefully Level-5 would at least get the series out in Europe since that's pretty much where the franchise found the most success anyway, but who knows I guess.

Hopefully Nintendo or Namco will at least approach them to take over publishing and localization duties outside of Japan like they used to...

 

[amageish]

If worse comes to worst, Arc System Works could try to acquire L5. At least then Layton would finally share the spotlight with another VN investigator.

I'm unsure if that'd be an investment worth making on the part of Arc System Works unless they are able to strike a very cheap deal... I think we'd need something like when ATLUS was bought by SEGA, where SEGA was very aware that they were throwing money into a pit for the short-term...

I mean, I suppose the Layton series at least had a history in the West, so its not quite a Lucas/Takamaru type comparison as Sakurai mainly didn't want to include them due to their lack of familiarity in the west.

Though Layton and other Level-5 properties may go down the same route as Medabots where it eventually fades from western consciousness and mainly sticks to Japan for the rest of the series future. Which would be... quite sad to see...

Hopefully Level-5 would at least get the series out in Europe since that's pretty much where the franchise found the most success anyway, but who knows I guess.

Hopefully Nintendo or Namco will at least approach them to take over publishing and localization duties outside of Japan like they used to...

Very true... It's just a franchise with a history of popularity in the west and a very uncertain future...

Hopefully it doesn't completely fade. I guess we have mobile ports to sustain us, assuming those don't go the way of SMT1 and just never get updated to be compatible on new devices...

Yeah, I'm kind of surprised they'd just throw in the towel like this, honestly. It feels kind of like a lazy way out when it'd be better to just... work hard on making games people like worldwide again.

We'll see. Yokai Watch 4 being on PS4 is a weird thing for Nintendo, at least... Hopefully Level-5 didn't burn too many bridges.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

As far as I see it, L5 flew too close to the sun with Hino's devil-may-care overmarketing. It would be shocking if that didn't backfire sooner or later.

Now they're stuck having to deal with completely changing their habits, which, culturally speaking, is not a situation you want to be in.

 

[Curious Villager]

I'm unsure if that'd be an investment worth making on the part of Arc System Works unless they are able to strike a very cheap deal... I think we'd need something like when ATLUS was bought by SEGA, where SEGA was very aware that they were throwing money into a pit for the short-term...



Very true... It's just a franchise with a history of popularity in the west and a very uncertain future...

Hopefully it doesn't completely fade. I guess we have mobile ports to sustain us, assuming those don't go the way of SMT1 and just never get updated to be compatible on new devices...

Yeah, I'm kind of surprised they'd just throw in the towel like this, honestly. It feels kind of like a lazy way out when it'd be better to just... work hard on making games people like worldwide again.

We'll see. Yokai Watch 4 being on PS4 is a weird thing for Nintendo, at least... Hopefully Level-5 didn't burn too many bridges.

Layton has the bulk of its popularity in the west and Level-5 knows it, I'm not sure if they will be able to reach the series full potential by keeping it contained inside of Japan.

Lord forbid we have to pull an "Operation Rainfall" for the Layton series.... Level-5 pls...


I suppose Level-5's efforts have usually been dedicated on very specific markets.

Inazuma Eleven appeals to those who enjoy football, which is pretty much, the whole world aside from the US.
Yo-Kai Watch appeals to those who enjoy Japanese folklore, which is mostly Japan and those who are very interested in Japanese culture.

I think Layton has been overall more flexible, which is probably why it managed to reach a larger audience outside of Japan with Europe and a bit of America too.

Take that in comparison with the likes of Mario and Pokemon, which overall have a very universal appeal that pretty much anyone can enjoy.


Overall though, Level-5 always focused more on the Japanese market so they probably just saw no need for a western branch anymore, that said, I do hope they will at least crawl back to Nintendo to publish some of their games outside of Japan though, or at least for the Layton series and maybe Inazuma Eleven (if that ever comes out...)

 

[MattX20]

If there's any good news at the moment for this thread, it's that we're nearing 100 pages

 

[fogbadge]

Will this do?

yes, than you

 

[Curious Villager]

If there's any good news at the moment for this thread, it's that we're nearing 100 pages

Considering all the junk we've been through with L5 the past few years.

I guess its quite the miracle this thread survived this long....

Thanks ya'll..

 

[MattX20]

The question now becomes how much longer will it take to reach page 100

 

[amageish]

Layton has the bulk of its popularity in the west and Level-5 knows it, I'm not sure if they will be able to reach the series full potential by keeping it contained inside of Japan.

Lord forbid we have to pull an "Operation Rainfall" for the Layton series.... Level-5 pls...

I suppose Level-5's efforts have usually been dedicated on very specific markets.

Inazuma Eleven appeals to those who enjoy football, which is pretty much, the whole world aside from the US.
Yo-Kai Watch appeals to those who enjoy Japanese folklore, which is mostly Japan and those who are very interested in Japanese culture.

I think Layton has been overall more flexible, which is probably why it managed to reach a larger audience outside of Japan with Europe and a bit of America too.

Take that in comparison with the likes of Mario and Pokemon, which overall have a very universal appeal that pretty much anyone can enjoy.


Overall though, Level-5 always focused more on the Japanese market so they probably just saw no need for a western branch anymore, that said, I do hope they will at least crawl back to Nintendo to publish some of their games outside of Japan though, or at least for the Layton series and maybe Inazuma Eleven (if that ever comes out...)

Yeah, true... I guess this probably explains why the anime still has no official subtitles...

Ugh, plz no. If we have to do it though, I request we call it Operation Brainfall. Because... puzzle game.

They definitely have exact audiences and don't seem to... realize it? I mean, when/where they decide to do different types of franchising feels kind of like they just throw darts at a dartboard, honestly.

I do get why they'd focus on Japan, but hopefully them shutting down Level-5 international offices doesn't mean they won't be doing anything international ever again...

I do wonder what this means for Concept too...

 

[MattX20]

Yeah, true... I guess this probably explains why the anime still has no official subtitles...

Ugh, plz no. If we have to do it though, I request we call it Operation Brainfall. Because... puzzle game.

They definitely have exact audiences and don't seem to... realize it? I mean, when/where they decide to do different types of franchising feels kind of like they just throw darts at a dartboard, honestly.

I do get why they'd focus on Japan, but hopefully them shutting down Level-5 international offices doesn't mean they won't be doing anything international ever again...

I do wonder what this means for Concept too...

As I recall, Sega shut down their San Francisco office years ago

 

[Curious Villager]

Yeah, true... I guess this probably explains why the anime still has no official subtitles...

Ugh, plz no. If we have to do it though, I request we call it Operation Brainfall. Because... puzzle game.

They definitely have exact audiences and don't seem to... realize it? I mean, when/where they decide to do different types of franchising feels kind of like they just throw darts at a dartboard, honestly.

I do get why they'd focus on Japan, but hopefully them shutting down Level-5 international offices doesn't mean they won't be doing anything international ever again...

I do wonder what this means for Concept too...

Probably yeah, I think it had a German release but that's pretty much it...

Heh, sounds about right, hopefully it won't come to this though...

Who knows how Hino operates at this point. Kinda makes me wish Nintendo or Namco would come in and knock some sense into that guy...

Lets hope for the best...

I haven't really heard much from Comcept outside of that one mobile game that apparently didn't even last for a year...
Kinda get why Level-5 bought them now though, as both Keiji Inafune and Hino seem to bite more than they can chew...

The question now becomes how much longer will it take to reach page 100

When its announced that Level-5 filed for bankruptcy.... :x

Just kidding, I hope...

 

[fogbadge]

Considering all the junk we've been through with L5 the past few years.

I guess its quite the miracle this thread survived this long....

Thanks ya'll..

i think several of the pages are just us saying: what is level-5 up to?

 

[amageish]

Probably yeah, I think it had a German release but that's pretty much it...

Heh, sounds about right, hopefully it won't come to this though...

Who knows how Hino operates at this point. Kinda makes me wish Nintendo or Namco would come in and knock some sense into that guy...

Lets hope for the best...

I mean, it's good it had a German release at least... I'm just sad it isn't available legally at all...

Hopefully not! That would be very frustrating.

Hino, um, yeah. Good game director. Not good CEO. Someone please stop him.

Fingers crossed things turn out well!!!

i think several of the pages are just us saying: what is level-5 up to?

This, um, is kind of a motif for sure. Don't forget about the classics "It's weird Level-5 is still absent" and "Hey, look, we got Smash news that wasn't Layton. Cool."

 

[Curious Villager]

This, um, is kind of a motif for sure. Don't forget about the classics "It's weird Level-5 is still absent" and "Hey, look, we got Smash news that wasn't Layton. Cool."

H-hey now, at least the Layton twitter kept us company for a little while, until they stopped as well....

 

[fogbadge]

This, um, is kind of a motif for sure. Don't forget about the classics "It's weird Level-5 is still absent" and "Hey, look, we got Smash news that wasn't Layton. Cool."

ah the classics

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

Maybe Level-5 could try getting Nintendo to publish overseas like they used to, publishing themselves seems to not be working...

 

[Curious Villager]

Maybe Level-5 could try getting Nintendo to publish overseas like they used to, publishing themselves seems to not be working...

Seems like the best option yeah, hopefully it won't be all doom and gloom....

This might not change things as much as we think. Quote from Scott Strichart, now SEGA's localization producer who used to work on L5 years ago:

"Sad to see the Level 5 news about shutting down US operations, but taking it with a grain of salt. Remember, most of Level 5’s greatest games were published by third parties or Nintendo themselves, and they don’t need a US office to continue licensing their content that way. " [...]

"They can still localize in-house from Japan, which was where the majority of that happened anyway. The US office more or less stopped directly localizing content after I left, taking on more of an advise and assist role across its multimedia productions and games."

tl;dr everything is up in the air.

https://twitter.com/TriggerRedd/status/1315663576875499521

But yeah, best option if Level-5 just sucked it up and crawled back to Nintendo and Namco to publish their games again.
The company was at their brightest during that time period anyway..

 

[Brindor]

I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft/Xbox ended up buying Level-5 honestly, it seems like it would be a good time for them to swoop in too considering the dire straits they're (supposedly) in from what little I've read of on /v/ and other gaming forums.

 

[MattX20]

Remember, SNK went bankrupt more than once and managed to get out of their lowest points. Level 5 can probably do the same

 

[Curious Villager]

I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft/Xbox ended up buying Level-5 honestly, it seems like it would be a good time for them to swoop in too considering the dire straits they're (supposedly) in from what little I've read of on /v/ and other gaming forums.

Does Microsoft have any Level-5 games on their console? Honest question...

I know Sony does, though I guess it beats out being bought by them..

I think I'd rather L5 be bought by either Nintendo or Namco though if it has to come to that point.
Maybe even Square Enix since their already huge buddies for years and L5 already has their fair share of JRPG's of their own...

 

[fogbadge]

I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft/Xbox ended up buying Level-5 honestly, it seems like it would be a good time for them to swoop in too considering the dire straits they're (supposedly) in from what little I've read of on /v/ and other gaming forums.

i shudder at the thought

 

[GoodGrief741]

I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft/Xbox ended up buying Level-5 honestly, it seems like it would be a good time for them to swoop in too considering the dire straits they're (supposedly) in from what little I've read of on /v/ and other gaming forums.

I'd be surprised if any Level-5 ever has done well on Xbox, so I doubt they'd consider the purchase.

 

[fogbadge]

I'd be surprised if any Level-5 ever has done well on Xbox, so I doubt they'd consider the purchase.

well theres a cancelled game for xbox on their list of games called "true fantasy live online" from back in 2004. and thats the only one so your surprise would be appropriate

 

[Curious Villager]

well theres a cancelled game for xbox on their list of games called "true fantasy live online" from back in 2004

So basically none..

Yeah I don't really see why Microsoft would purchase Level-5 as the two don't really seem to look at each other eye to eye.

Sony might do it I suppose, well old Sony at least, not as sure about nu Sony..

The last company purchase Nintendo has made was Monolith Soft over a decade ago (and some other company I forgot..) so I don't know how likely they are to purchase Level-5, especially after they left Alphadream out to crash and burn on its own...

Though then again, Level-5 at least has quite a few notable and beloved IP's that may make them more attractive to acquire over Alpha's only one (and Tomato Adventure I suppose...) but I guess we'll see..

Namco might be their best shot I guess..

 

[fogbadge]

So basically none..

Yeah I don't really see why Microsoft would purchase Level-5 as the two don't really seem to look at each other eye to eye.

Sony might do it I suppose, well old Sony at least, not as sure about nu Sony..

The last company purchase Nintendo has made was Monolith Soft over a decade ago (and some other company I forgot..) so I don't know how likely they are to purchase Level-5, especially after they left Alphadream out to crash and burn on its own...

Though then again, Level-5 at least has quite a few notable and beloved IP's that may make them more attractive to acquire over Alpha's only one (and Tomato Adventure I suppose...) but I guess we'll see..

Namco might be their best shot I guess..

just cause they but the company doesnt necessarily mean the get all the series rights, nit sure how it works

 

[MattX20]

Only time will tell regarding Level 5's fate

 

[fogbadge]

Only time will tell regarding Level 5's fate

lets hope it works out

 

[amageish]

I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft/Xbox ended up buying Level-5 honestly, it seems like it would be a good time for them to swoop in too considering the dire straits they're (supposedly) in from what little I've read of on /v/ and other gaming forums.

I'm unsure if that'd be a good idea for Microsoft, honestly. Level-5 is big, but I don't know if any of the IPs are big enough to make people go out and buy an entire new console, given how poorly Xbox usually does in Japan... Yokai Watch was a sensation, but its sales have dropped lately and I imagine that a lot of it's success came from it being on the 3DS, a platform kids already owned...

If they're going to be bought by someone, then one assumes it'll be someone who gets the benefits of the IPs. I honestly think Apple Arcade exclusivity would be a more likely fate then Xbox...

 

[MattX20]

Hmm...only the first 3 Layton games and Lady Layton were ported to the Switch and the prequels weren't, correct?

 

[amageish]

Hmm...only the first 3 Layton games and Lady Layton were ported to the Switch and the prequels weren't, correct?

Only Layton's Mystery Journey (i.e., Lady Layton) was. Curious Village was listed for Switch by one of the European localization teams, like, 2 years ago, but nothing has come of that yet.

 

[MattX20]

Only Layton's Mystery Journey (i.e., Lady Layton) was. Curious Village was listed for Switch by one of the European localization teams, like, 2 years ago, but nothing has come of that yet.

Oh, I see

 

[Curious Villager]

Hmm...only the first 3 Layton games and Lady Layton were ported to the Switch and the prequels weren't, correct?

Layton's Mystery Journey got a Switch port.
The first trilogy received IOS ports.

Its up in the air what they'll do with the prequel trilogy, if anything.

And yeah, Curious Village had that listing for Switch but who knows what became of that...