Professor Layton's success is no mystery to Japan in the week ending February 18th.

Courtesy of Media-Create, we have the most recent sales figures from Japan.

The DS may have a new hit franchise. Sales of Professor Layton and the Mysterious Town came out roaring in its first week. Layton, developed by Level 5 (known for quality RPG efforts such as Dragon Quest VIII), is the first in a planned trilogy of titles. Despite being a new IP (and an adventure title, no less) the game has received a good deal of advertising in Japan. This, combined with positive reviews and the all-devouring popularity of the DS, are likely responsible for the successful debut. A game of impressive style and substance, there is a good chance Layton will continue to sell on the back of glowing word-of-mouth.

Licensed anime titles constituted the week's other new DS titles. Of particular note, Bleach 2nd, developed by Treasure, is the polished sequel to last year's solid 2D fighter (also notable for its Wi-Fi Connection matches). Though the game never saw release outside of Japan, it is possible that the DS established user-base has grown to a point where western publishers will be more willing to take chances.

Little changed on the hardware front as the DS Lite and Wii led all platforms by a wide margin. However, the PSP may have a much needed killer-app coming up in the form of Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2 - the first PSP title sold in excess of 600k in Japan.

The weekly software numbers follow:

The week's console numbers follow: