Is The English Release of Yo-Kai Watch 4 Still Happening?

On July 5, 2019 at Anime Expo in Los Angeles; during the first appearance of Level-5 at the expo, Akihiro Hino informally announced plans to localize Yo-Kai Watch 4 in English alongside the fourth and fifth movies in the series. A year has passed since then; bringing many changes to the state of the video game and anime industries (and not just because of the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic). Given how quiet it's been since then (apart from the game being submitted to the ESRB for rating), this bears the question: is the English release still happening? Much as I did with Yo-Kai Watch 3, I shall use this post to explore what's gone on so far in an attempt to answer this question.

Let's start with the launch of the Nintendo Switch in March 2017. Since it began development under the NX codename, the console was always a source of fascination among fans and the public alike. After the underperformance of the Wii U, the console had a lot riding on it; especially given the shakeup of leadership at Nintendo after Satoru Iwata passed away in 2015. The results have spoken for themselves: the console has sold over 55 million units to date, with the launch title "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" selling over 17 million units across all its versions as of this writing.

At this time, many suggested that "Yo-Kai Watch" being released in territories outside Japan would be vital to Nintendo's future as a company; due to publishing the series outside its homeland. This very much proved not to be the case upon release, with the first game having sold just a paltry 440,000 copies in the US when it launched in 2015. Its EU sales of 700,000 were moderately better, but still less than the 1 million the title sold in Japan. The following year in 2016, the launch of
"Yo-Kai Watch 2" outside Japan was confirmed for that September. During that year's E3, Hino gave his most optimistic prediction about the series' success outside Japan: believing that it would follow the same pattern and "bloom like a flower" within six months to a year's time. Unfortunately, it didn't: the sequels ended up selling only about half of what the first game did domestically, and the general public and critics were divided over the games (though fans and others such as myself did concede they refined many problems with the first game even though it admittedly relied on many elements from it). Releasing in the shadow of both "Final Fantasy XV" and "Pokémon Sun and Moon" didn't help matters either, as they went onto eclipse "Yo-Kai Watch 2" critically and commercially.

Suffice to say, with the release of the Switch in 2017, many people began transitioning from the 3DS to the new hybrid console; and what developers were planning to do with the console from 2017 onward was an interesting situation. Least of all, this meant that numerous franchises would make the jump from the 3DS to the Switch; especially in the case of Pokémon and Yo-Kai Watch. Despite some detractors at the time thinking otherwise, "Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon" still proved to be successful titles, being uniformly praised and selling over 8.77 million copies worldwide to date. "Yo-Kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters" released that September, and has only sold 120,000 copies in the US; another drop from the previous titles and well below what it sold in Japan (despite being the most polished version of the game).

By the year 2018, development was in progress for Yo-Kai Watch 4 even before the title was officially announced that April. Before I go any further, I'd like to thank the user SodaDog of The Cutting Room Floor in advance for the details about development that I otherwise wouldn't have known about. One of the hardest things about writing some of these articles is finding concrete information about the subjects I address. Sometimes, the details are plentiful about this matter; other times I need to do more digging. This is the latter case, but several concrete details have been pinned down; some of which I addressed in previous posts. The game was initially scheduled for that year's holiday season; most likely to coincide with the release of the fifth movie. I may have retired from recapping the series after my look at the fourth movie (I don't plan to review any further anime from the series in my new direction either); but we shall return to this point. The year also saw the release of Yo-Kai Watch Blasters ("Busters" in Japan) on the 3DS, which; while not without its fans, garnered mixed reception for its gameplay loop. It also sold only 70,000 copies in the US, well below the 2 million it sold in Japan; largely due to a smaller print run and launching against the highly-anticipated Spider-Man PS4 game. Even as #PokémonLet'sGo, a remake of Pokémon Yellow sold well over 11 million copies as of this writing; Yo-Kai Watch 4 was delayed from its planned holiday 2018 release in Japan into 2019. This brings us to our next point.

On June 20, 2019; Yo-Kai Watch 4: We're Looking Up at the Same Sky; released in Japan on Nintendo Switch, nearly three years after the third game released in Japan. The third game also came to the United States that February; in the wake of both Kingdom Hearts III and the remake of Resident Evil 2 releasing. Though largely praised for being the most polished of the three main titles, the game; which was ironically developed to appeal to Western players, sold just 4,000 copies on the 3DS. Likewise, though Yo-Kai Watch 4 was largely praised for its improvements over previous titles; the game still had a marked decline from the previous entries in sales despite launching at #1.

Just eight days later on June 28, however; Super Mario Maker 2 launched; causing Yo-Kai Watch 4 to quickly fall in sales. Super Mario Maker 2 went on to sell more in its first three days than YW4 did in its first five months. To date, the base version of Yo-Kai Watch 4 has received the lowest sales of the franchise. Level-5 also gave the game an expansion and a port on the Playstation 4 later the same year, as well as a rerelease of the first game on the Switch; but this ultimately proved unsuccessful in reaching the same heights it had before. One major red flag is that after those versions launched, the publisher stopped reporting sales. This doesn't happen often, and I can only think of a handful of major examples in my lifetime (the Xbox One being the biggest one I can think of). Even before the announcement of their first ever expansions, "Pokémon Sword and Shield" have sold over 17 million copies to date; placing them among the bestselling games not only on the Switch; but of the entire franchise so far, managing to overcome divisive feedback from some fans. "Yo-Kai Watch 4" has only sold 380,000 copies to date across all its versions by contrast. Bringing up "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" (18.8 million sold) and "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" (24.7 million sold) would just be overkill.

So, much as I did with "Yo-Kai Watch 3" before it was officially announced; to answer this question; we'll need to put ourselves in the position of the creators. You have a console which is much different to develop for than previous ones; despite being made by the same manufacturer with a similar target audience. You also have an existing system you have worked with in the past that could reach a new audience; even with the challenges of not having your main one and a new console on the way. You have a toyline that had record sales in your own country, but didn't make inroads elsewhere in the world. You have an anime series which has been trying to find an identity beyond the humorous exploits of yokai and being a merchandise-driven series. Finally, you have a pair of movies that are key to your new game's story; set to be localized alongside the new game despite the fact the fourth film underperformed and the fifth outright flopped at the box office.

Given all this in mind, it all begs the question: is the English release of Yo-Kai Watch 4 still happening? Much as the last game before it, I submit it's not impossible; but it's definitely a task which faces the same uphill battle the previous games did.

As such, I would give the following suggestions to Level-5 if I was given the opportunity: market the title as a soft reboot of the series for western audiences; as with the accompanying movies. In lieu of printing any physical copies of the game (barring a limited run), have the games go straight to the Nintendo Switch eShop and/or Playstation Network Store digitally (my closest area that got a physical copy of Yo-Kai Watch 3 was Corvallis, at which point I finally caved and downloaded it from eShop instead). Put the movies on digital streaming/PVOD with subtitles rather than dubbed for traditional venues (some theaters are trying to reopen, but for the most part the entire year's slate has been reshuffled or outright sent to home viewing instead), which is also a model that's more likely for the TV series going forward (since Snack World got put on Crunchyroll and Inazuma Eleven Ares was a nonstarter in NA). Most importantly of all, don't try to push the game as the "next big thing:" just release it and promote it enough to let players make their own judgment.

I cannot say for certain what will happen for the proposed localization, let alone the whole series going forward. I mentioned before that I'm reminded of how Monster Rancher went through a similar pattern in the past, and in a fraction of the time I suggested. It remains to be seen whether or not
Yo-Kai Watch can recover, or if it does end up like Monster Rancher (haven't heard about Tecmo Koei localizing the reboot game either); defeated not just by competition, but also by its own troubles adapting to a changing marketplace. If the localization does happen, I don't plan on getting the game right at launch; but most likely at a reduced price on a digital sale depending on what happens. That's all for now. Later.