Nintendo has released the launch trailer for Yo-kai Watch, and made some huge announcements for their US fans.
Nintendo revealed on their Facebook that select episodes of the Yo-kai Watch anime will be uploaded to the Nintendo YouTube channel. Some of these episodes already aired on Disney XD since the show launched there last October, but now, even if you don’t have cable, you can watch these episodes in the US online.
Nintendo will also be hosting a huge event at the Nintendo World Store this coming Saturday, November 7. No less than Level 5’s resident and CEO, and Yo-kai Watch’s creator, Akihiro Hino, will be in the store to greet fans, and give photos and autographs. Nintendo World Store has scheduled a program for the afternoon, including a scavenger hunt, memory games, and more, all based on Yo-kai Watch.
Nintendo ‘s three minute trailer explains the game’s premise. Unlike Pokemon’s competitive trainer vs trainer scenario, Yo-kai Watch’s conceit centers around befriending yo-kai to defeat and collect even more yo-kai. Some yo-kai have to be collected to progress through the game, and there are also rare yo-kai, referred to as Legendary yo-kai.
While the obvious comparison with Pokemon doesn’t work on the gameplay level, Yo-kai Watch has other things in common with the monster collecting RPG. It’s also an enormously successful cross media franchise in Japan, having sold over 7 million in games, and made $ 1 billion in toys and merchandise, not including movies, animation, comics, and recently, the new trading card game.
Both are family friendly franchises as well, and Nintendo hopes to replicate their initial success bringing Pokemon to the West in 1998 with Yo-kai Watch in 2015.
You can watch the trailer above. Yo-kai Watch is releasing to the 3DS in the US on November 6.
