The new game called “Yo-Kai Watch” was recently released in North America following its massive success in Japan. (Photo : Reuters)
A new Nintendo 3DS game is slowly gaining popularity due to its close resemblance with "Pokémon." The new game called "Yo-Kai Watch" was recently released in North America following its massive success in Japan.
Just like "Pokémon" it extends way outside of the video game realm. An anime was released in October, a manga series was released early in November and a lineup of toys based on the series will roll out in 2016.
For many analysts, "Yo-Kai Watch" was released in a very interesting time especially today when handheld gaming consoles are overshadowed by the success of the mobile gaming platform. Japanese video games are also facing a slow deterioration in terms of popularity and are not as successful as they were many years ago.
Despite these massive hurdles in front, analysts are still positive that "Yo-Kai Watch" may hold the same secret recipe that propelled "Pokémon" into global prominence.
Nintendo is also betting big into this "Yo-Kai Watch" franchise. According to Hacked News, Nintendo has already spent $2 billion to bank roll the franchise.
The game was developed by Level-5, a company founded in 1995 and creator of puzzle book-like game series "Professor Layton." The game was one of the first successful video game title to hit the Nintendo DS, according to The Verge.
Level-5's major success came when "Yo-Kai Watch" was released. The game was exclusively released in Japan in 2013 and has sold more than seven million copies, to date. Moreover, the franchise has sold over $1 billion in toys and other related merchandise.
Bringing its successful hit franchise to the United States, Level-5 created a new company called Level-5 abby. The purpose of the new company is to develop multimedia contents aimed for western demographics.
