Hello again. Due to the fact that my computer is still out of commission; I thought I would let you all know how things are going.
I'm just about caught up with my backlog of One Piece, having caught up with my DVR episodes of Thriller Bark. By that proxy, I'm still moving along with Pokemon XY and Z; having just finished the rematch between Ash and Diantha this morning. While not what I expected, it was at least better than the Ash VS Alan battles we've had so far.
As for Yo-Kai Watch: I had to drop the ban hammer on someone who made a comment on one of my recaps; an act I took no pleasure in doing, despite what they might think. Even so, with the European launch also underperforming (while France may be one of the few bright spots in the franchise's poor performance outside Japan, the UK launch of the game debuted at number 8, with the new Ratchet and Clank leading the charts instead); I am mulling over further recaps of the series once I have my computer fixed. I have a couple episodes I've been wanting to do for some time; several episodes in my "maybe" pile, and I definitely want to do the first movie. To say I was less than pleased when I found out the sequel outperformed Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Japan would be putting it mildly.
Before I go have dinner with my family tonight and go see Civil War this weekend; I must also point out anyone expecting me to stop watching things for the purpose of criticizing them has clearly come to the wrong place. That said, given how the US release of the game has barely sold 130,000 copies in roughly six months; I may finally cave and get a used copy soon. My plan is still the same: because the anime left a bad impression on my view of Nate, I'm going to play as Katie instead. It's also telling that despite the marketing push, the anime has not performed well, and the merchandise has also sold poorly in my area. There is talk of a second season and further waves of toys; but despite Level-5 being interested in localizing the sequels, news of any confirmation has been highly conspicuous by its absence. Despite the planned third game moving to a more Western setting; the 20th anniversary of Pokemon has largely eclipsed the hype in the west.
In short, many expected Yo-Kai Watch to be the next Pokemon the same way it has been in Japan. It wasn't. For comparison, the Virtual Console releases of Red, Blue and Yellow have sold a combined 1.5 million downloads; and hype for Sun and Moon remain high (not to mention the leaked footage of Pokemon Go being well-received even if it lacks the mind-blowing feelings of the viral trailer).
Many are even concerned about the future of the franchise; despite Hino's desire to localize the sequels.
I'm personally not expecting anything else until E3 at the earliest, so I'm not going to write any more Yo-Kai Watch recaps until the show; despite the fact that Nintendo's plan is to focus primarily on Zelda U and the NX, both of which have been pushed to 2017. Even as someone who's not a fan of the franchise; I simply cannot spin this into a positive the way the fans can. Sometimes I'm annoyed, other times I have to report the realities of the industry.
So, I hope everyone enjoys their Cinco de Mayo all the same. I have to work more on my CWE class anyway. Bang.
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