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London Life mini-game won't be included in European edition of DS title Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call

Capital punishment

London Life mini-game won't be included in European edition of DS title Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call

After struggling to contain our excitement over the European launch of Professor Layton and the Spectre’s Call for DS in late November, Nintendo drops a minor bombshell to bring us UK-based punters back down to earth.

When one Nintendo Life reader discovered that the London Life mini-game present in the US version of Professor Layton and the Spectre’s Call may be absent from the European edition, the disappointed fellow contacted the Japanese gaming behemoth for confirmation.

Here's Nintendo's response:

"The bonus role-playing mini-game called Professor Layton's London Life will not be available to European fans. Localising software remains a high priority for Nintendo; however, in this instance it would have significantly delayed the European launch of the game.

"We took this decision as Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call is bursting to the brim with brand new puzzles and a surprising and captivating storyline. We wanted to make sure our European fans could get their hands on the game this year."

London calling

This London Life mini-game that’s missing is unlocked after finishing the main story mission. Apparently, it contains 100 hours of gameplay. That's 100 hours of gameplay nobody living in London will be able to access.

Given that the Japanese iteration of the game was released in November 2009, it’s hard to believe Nintendo has been rushed to put this one out.

Nevertheless, it looks like we over this side of the Pond are going to have to make do with an incomplete Professor Layton and the Spectre’s Call package.

Alex Taylor
Alex Taylor
Living in the Channel Islands, Alex discovered that there were phones not made out of potatoes and milk in 2008. Since then, he only begrudgingly stops playing for long enough to write an article. If he tries to talk to you about open-source software: run