So, I had to take care of an errand in Eugene earlier today; and I have watched the Jirachi movie so I can do the recap of it. I want to get it out of the way as soon as I can, so I can do the Deoxys movie later this month as well as do a couple more episode recaps in between schoolwork.
Still, I will take this opportunity to address something I have been meaning to for a while: the European launch of Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls, as well as some thoughts on localizing Yo-Kai Watch 3.
After selling a paltry 160,000 units combined by this point in the US (marginally better than the first game; but still not "the next Pokémon" many hyped it as), the games are scheduled to launch in Europe on Friday. Additionally, despite the fact there has been no confirmation officially from Nintendo or Level-5; rumors persist of the localization of Yo-Kai Watch 3.
Looking at sales figures for the first game in Europe, it has sold 700,000 copies as of December 31, 2016; 300,000 more than the original Yo-Kai Watch sold in the US. There is a possibility that the sequels will do better in Europe; given how Level-5 has a much more well-known reputation there than in the US. While some of their IPs outside Professor Layton have sold well such as Ni No Kuni (can't wait for the sequel, probably gonna hook up my PS3 again and work more on getting farther in the first game), others like Inazuma Eleven have been nonstarters (the latter game didn't even get released at retail here and didn't perform well in the 3DS eShop despite heavy promotion).
On that note, I will finally address some of the potential roadblocks that Yo-Kai Watch 3 might face if it were to be localized; and not just the fact that Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls haven't sold well here (even if I were to remove Pokémon Sun and Moon from the equation, launching against the highly-anticipated Final Fantasy XV couldn't have helped matters either).
First, there is the setting itself. The game's plot revolves around the fact that Keita's family moves from New Sakura Town to the fictional American city of St. Peanutsburg when his father gets a new job. Since the setting was changed to the fictional town of Springdale, Idaho for the English releases; this would most likely be the first thing to be changed, at minimum; it could go from a small town to a big city. Pokémon had a setting which, while often influenced by our world; still worked enough as a fantasy counterpart culture to be taken on its own merit.
Second, an early mission revolves around a language barrier between Keita and their neighbors being unable to communicate due to the fact they don't speak English. This ties into the above point; obviously, this mission would have to be rewritten if not outright cut entirely for a potential Western release. Barring any real-life events going on now, this could easily be taken the wrong way and a might unwieldy given the setting being changed in the first two games. It wouldn't be the first time content like this would have to be changed. Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow had the man who taught you how to catch Pokémon went from being drunk in the original game to needing his coffee in the English release. One of the Super NES Final Fantasy spinoffs changed a plot point about drug smuggling to banana smuggling (kind of amusing as someone who's a fan of the Donkey Kong Country games). Even Grand Theft Auto III, a game made by Western developers; had to be modified before it was released due to the events of 9/11. The police cars were redesigned from the blue/white color scheme of the NYPD to the black/white one of the LAPD, the airplane hijackings were cut as well as the Darkel missions (one of which was retooled into a gang war).
Last, but not least, are the characters of Mulder and Scully. I'm not kidding- the leads of the TV show "The X-Files" are major characters in the game. They would definitely have to be modified or at the very least renamed to avoid legal problems with Fox (even the Busters minigame was changed to Blasters for the English release to avoid legal problems with Sony, controversial reboot that year be damned.).
Beyond all this, however, is something that I really have to wonder: is it even going to get that far? Even though this goes hand in hand with more toys and a potential third season of the anime being dubbed being teased at Toy Fair this year; I submit that without official confirmation from Nintendo or Level-5, it's just a rumor at this point. It might be true, and it might not. I admit the potential release of Yo-Kai Watch 3 in the United States is not impossible, but for me at least, it seems unlikely.
A lot of this still stems from my overall disappointment from the series. While I may not be a fan of the anime (if doing both movies and all these episodes are any indication), even the video games haven't impressed me all that much. I would also suggest that the claim that the games influenced Generation VII somewhat dubious, given how that is generally not how game development works. With the anime, I understand, given the turnover rate of the show (which I will get into more when I do the Jirachi movie next time). However, the Alola region was hinted at in Generation VI with the Strange Souvenir as well as some of the lines spoken by one of the Backpackers. My point is, even if Pokémon X, Y and OR/AS were successful games, that meant that Game Freak most likely started work on Generation VII not long after that, long before I had even heard of Yo-Kai Watch; let alone found out about it coming stateside.
On top of that, even if some fans aren't happy about the sequels being met with mixed reception here, I still feel that the games being successful in the West just wasn't meant to be. Even though I admit the sequels may be a slight improvement over the original game (I will probably pick up a used copy of Fleshy Souls in the near future in light of the poor sales here); I still think that the biggest connection I can draw between the two is that Pokémon Sun and Moon was the saga that I wanted Yo-Kai Watch to be. I will address this matter when the anime officially starts being dubbed (not counting the leaked airings from Teletoon in Canada), but I can honestly say that the journey in Alola was well worth the wait. The journey felt big and opened up doors that I hadn't been through since I got in to the series for the first time. By contrast, despite the claims otherwise, the world of Yo-Kai Watch felt like a location the size of Yankee Stadium was crammed into a shot glass.
Even if the fans could relate to the characters in Yo-Kai Watch, I found it difficult to get invested even from a child's perspective. Sun and Moon had elements that could appeal to both a small child in the target audience as well as someone like me who's still a fan after all these years. With apologies to the fans of the series: I just didn't see the appeal in the likes of Jibanyan and Whisper the way I did Pikachu and Ash-Greninja.
While it remains to be seen whether or not Yo-Kai Watch 3 will be released in America, let alone how the sequels will do in Europe; it's clear that I still have unfinished work on the series. Ten months will have passed since Hino's "bloom like a flower" claim was made as of this month; I probably won't do more of the anime until after the European launch, when I'm done with my other plans for this month. As for this claim: I don't expect any real confirmation until E3 at the earliest. If it is, I will do the third movie when I can find the subs of it. Until then, I'm going to work on my plans for this month as well as schoolwork, not to mention playing more of my Pokémon Sun and Moon games. I'm breeding Alolan Vulpix in Sun and Riolu in Moon, as well as training for the next International Challenge. Next time will be my look at Pokémon Jirachi Wishmaker at long last. That will be all for now. Bang.
No comments:
Post a Comment