Pokémon has faced plenty of competitors over the years, but few have held the promise that Yo-kai Watchdid. Tasking a young protagonist with collecting and battling cartoony creatures, the similarity between the two franchises was immediately obvious. At the same time, Yo-kai Watch had a brand of its own, exploring a modern urban setting filled with folklore-inspired spirits who tend to be much more conversational than Pokémon.
On its North American release date of November 6, 2015, Yo-kai Watch was poised to go toe-to-toe with Pokémon. A major marketing campaign and TV series backed up the original 3DS entry, which sold 400,000 copies in the months following its launch. 10 years later, however, Yo-kai Watch‘s torch has seemingly been extinguished outside of Japan.
Pokémon Rival Yo-Kai Watch Shouldn’t Have Disappeared
Out With A Whimper
In some ways, the disappearance of Yo-kai Watch seems like a foregone conclusion. Sustaining the Pokémon-level hype surrounding the first game is a difficult task, and Yo-kai Watch didn’t have the luxury of a baked-in adult audience. While plenty of Pokémon sales are generated by those who grew up with the games, Yo-kai Watch had to compete for the attention of children in a more oversaturated market.
It’s also a less culturally legible series for the North American market, with a stronger basis in Japanese mythology and folklore than Pokémon‘s fairly neutral approach. Plenty of people were willing to try it out, but they might not have been willing to buy each sequel in rapid succession.
Even so, Yo-kai Watch‘s slide out of the public consciousness has been unusually aggressive. It wasn’t a problem of quality, as most fans rank the second and third games above the first. While they didn’t revolutionize the underlying gameplay, the series was proving that it could improve at a steady rate, which is more than can be said for Pokémon in the same period.
After the 3DS entries, the Switch’s staggering popularity seemed like the perfect place for Yo-kai Watch to reach an even wider audience. Instead, the Switch entry Yo-kai Watch 4 was never localized in the West, leaving the franchise out to dry for North American audiences. In Japan, it struggled to match the previous heights of series sales despite positive reviews, indicating a declining interest in the franchise.
Yo-Kai Watch Had An Uphill Battle With Distribution
The US Was Never The Priority
The decision not to localize the fourth game might have less to do with Yo-kai Watch itself and more with developer Level-5, which started to pull out of localizing its games in the West. By 2020, the company had effectively shut down its US operations, although it ended up restarting things several years later. Upcoming Level-5 gameProfessor Layton and the New World of Steam will be heading stateside, but there’s still no news on any future Yo-kai Watch localization.
US distribution of Yo-kai Watch had been scaled back even before this point. The third 3DS game was distributed in short supply compared to the first two, resulting in resale prices that can reach $500 for a new copy. If that exorbitance is anything to go by, there’s clearly still a demand for Yo-kai Watch, but it’s not being met.
The other kink in Yo-kai Watch‘s distribution was Nintendo’s involvement. While Level-5 published the games in Japan, Nintendo handled their publication in North America, giving the company charge of its own biggest rival. I don’t suspect any malicious intent, but it’s not surprising that Nintendo eventually stopped prioritizing marketing initiatives for Yo-kai Watch when it already had Pokémon to worry about.
Pokémon Competitors Are Doing Better Than Ever
Palworld Is One Of Many
In recent years, other Pokémon competitors have been finding success.Palworld is the most famous (or infamous) example, but games like TemTemand Cassette Beasts have also garnered substantial audiences. Confidence in the Pokémon series has been steadily eroding, which could have provided room for Yo-kai Watch to flourish.
There’s still a chance that Yo-kai Watch could eventually return to the American market. Yo-kai Watch 4 seems like a lost cause at this point, but Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino shared that a new Yo-kai Watch project was in the works in a 2023 X post. The Switch port of the original game also received an update this year, hinting that Level-5 hasn’t abandoned Switch development for the series.
Even after four mainline games (and multiple versions of 2 and 3), Yo-kai Watch still has plenty of untapped potential. The Switch 2 could be the perfect place to bring that potential to life, especially if it ends up being a successful home for Level-5’s Professor Layton and the New World of Steam.
If Yo-kai Watch never comes back to the West, though, I may just have to accept a quiet end for a promising series. Not every neat idea will turn into a franchise with global staying power, and Yo-kai Watchmanaged to make an impact either way. Pokémon‘s most promising rival had a good run on the 3DS, which is more than can be said for most.
- Released
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January 8, 2014
- ESRB
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E 10+ // Comic Mischief, Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
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Level-5, Nippon Ichi Software
- Publisher(s)
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Level-5, Nippon Ichi Software
- Multiplayer
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Local Multiplayer
- Franchise
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Yo-Kai Watch
