Hey fellas: another year has come and gone; and what a year it was. I never thought I would have an experience like that before; yet here we are. Likewise, I never thought even after I retired from doing recaps of Yo-Kai Watch; that the series is still producing content. With the Jam Project winding down and a new anime with a music note on its title (not sure whether it means the show is now a musical or just an odd title); I think it's time to look over just what is happening with the series, and Level-5 as well. To do that, I will briefly go over how we got here; with new tidbits that emerged since last year and see where things are going now. So, let's check in with Yo-Kai Watch six years later, to see what is happening with the series and Level-5.
The year 2015 was when the localization plans were being set in motion for the series after it became a hit in its native Japan. Though the people in charge were confident the success of the games, anime and toys in Japan; there was a shadow of doubt of the series succeeding outside Japan. I was one of the people doubting it would work, though in hindsight; had I known the trajectory the series would follow, I might have said things differently. Despite this, however; I still dislike the anime and will not hold back in explaining why. I never understood how the people in charge marketing felt this would be "the next Pokémon;" and I submit that was a mistake. It wasn't even the next Monster Rancher; and even that series had enough to stand on its own merit (I'm also open to Tecmo Koei localizing the reboot games if they're so inclined). This skepticism, along with launching the game directly against multiple different titles (Call of Duty: Black Ops III being the most notable) put the series on rocky ground right out of the gate. The game ultimately sold 440,000 copies domestically; less than the 1 million it sold in Japan.
The year 2016 saw the full release of the toyline; the second season of the anime and most notably; the release of the second main games. Even though the performance of the first game provided some room for thought, rather than re-evaluate their strategy; Level-5 decided to double down on what they had done, with Akihiro Hino himself claiming the series would "bloom like a flower" in the time frame of six months to a year. For many reasons already discussed, that didn't happen. Instead, the games sold significantly less than they did in Japan; selling just 220,000 copies domestically. Launching right before Pokémon Sun and Moon and the same time as Final Fantasy XV didn't exactly help the sequels' chances either.
In 2017, the second season of the anime's English dub concluded and the third version of "Yo-Kai Watch 2" released as "Psychic Specters" outside Japan. Yet again, the game sold poorly despite being relatively well-received (I personally think that it's the most-polished version of the.game); taking only 120,000 copies domestically. This game ended up selling less than previous-generation versions of that year's FIFA; let alone Pokémon Ultra Sun and Moon.
The year 2018 was where the Western side of the franchise really went downhill. Despite initially promising more merchandise, Hasbro ceased manufacturing the toyline and moved onto other licenses. As of this writing, no other licensee has picked up the rights and the unsold tie-ins are frequent fixtures of bargain bins; dollar stores and crane machines everywhere. Due to low ratings, the third season of English dub was recast using actors and crew based in Canada under SDI Media. Numerous segments, totaling 18 episodes worth of content ended up not getting dubbed; and the series was canceled after the third season concluded. The spinoff games "Yo-Kai Watch Blasters" sold just 70,000 copies in another decline from the previous year; not helped by launching directly against the acclaimed PS4 "Spider-Man" game. Even official confirmation of "Yo-Kai Watch 3" getting localized was dampened by reports of mismanagement from within Level-5 Abby, and we'll come back to that.
In 2019, "Yo-Kai Watch 3" finally launched in North America. Despite being regarded as the best of the trilogy by critics and players alike; and being designed specifically to appeal to Western audiences; the game utterly bombed commercially, selling just 4,000 copies overall. Of course, releasing right after Kingdom Hearts III and the Resident Evil 2 remake didn't help its sales either. That, and the fact that many were moving on from the 3DS to the Switch wasn't a help for the game either. In Japan, things were also not looking good for the series. That year's film, launching the "Jam Project" ended up the lowest-grossing installment to date amid competition from "My Hero Academia: Two Heroes," "Shijin-sou no Satsujin," and the Japanese releases of "Frozen II," "Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker" and "Jumanji: The Next Level," making back about half the previous year's film. A brief revival of the original anime was also aired, and the newest main game launched on June 20 of that year: "Yo-Kai Watch 4." The game also got an expansion alongside a PS4 port; and an HD remaster of the first game on Switch. They kind of Sega'd themselves here, as launching all three in less than a year contributed to having the lowest sales of the series to date, despite the install bases of the Switch and PS4 (80M and over 100M worldwide as of this writing). Super Mario Maker 2 launched the same month and has sold over 6M worldwide to date; to say nothing of the numerous sales records broken by "Pokémon Sword and Shield" despite the changes and behaviors in sections of the fandom. Bringing up "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" and "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" just seems like overkill, so the Jam Project also getting a TV anime should make a good enough segue into my next heading.
The year 2020 was one marred by uncertainty and upheaval (and that's even if I were to exclude the pandemic); and this franchise was no exception. Moreover, an entire year had passed since the informal announcement of Yo-Kai Watch 4 and its accompanying anime films; and details began emerging to corroborate the mismanagement of Level-5 Abby. First, the Abby itself closed down as of this past September. Then, reports began emerging of Level-5 pulling out of their non-Japanese markets; apparently operating with a skeleton crew since August of 2019. I've also asked this before, and now accounts of former employees have been shared. Though some undisclosed fans have tried to downplay and deny this news, insisting that a localization of Yo-Kai Watch 4 is still in progress and the company is still turning a profit; personally, the reports behind the scenes paint a rather troubling picture. I will not be revealing any of the names in this case. For the sake of argument, fans speculating about release will be referred to collectively as "Faygo Strawberry," the head of Level-5 IA/former head of Level-5 Abby will be referred to as "Crusty Demon," and the anonymous Level-5 employees shall be referred to as "MC Scat Cat."
These details include a litany of issues from Crusty Demon, regularly giving contradictory orders on any given localization demand; often picking actions that would be far more difficult to implement, then getting angry at MC Scat Cat whenever the changes went down poorly. Crusty Demon also reportedly refused to learn the new market, insisting on trying to use the same mindset they had in Japan for North America. Crusty Demon was not only awful to the workforce, they were the ones responsible for the more infamous changes in the English translation of not only Yo-Kai Watch; but Snack World as well (the "Covfefe Cafe" was a dated joke before last November; now it's just painful). MC Scat Cat revealed their experiences via forums on NeoGAF, ResetEra and GameFAQs; and I shall respect their anonymity. Though I am not at personal liberty to confirm or deny the current status of localization or the company itself; I do submit that it makes far too much sense to simply dismiss as rumor. The pandemic may not be the only reason why the localization and Level-5 outside Japan as a whole are now in limbo; but like many other things, it is a significant factor.
Seeing as how it's been over a year since the initial announcement and any further news has been conspicuous by its absence, at this point; the only way I could see it still happening is if Level-5 sold the rights to someone else to handle the distribution outside Japan. I am well aware of the persistent murmurs from Faygo Strawberry and others about saving the series; but with the first movie being delisted from Netflix earlier this month and the first season of the anime following suit in April (presumably due to the rights expiring), at this point it's like trying to push a boulder up the side of Mt. Fuji. As such, I will not address this manner any further unless someone in charge of the series provides an update on the proposed international release of "Yo-Kai Watch 4." I also do not intend to review any of the Jam Project TV anime, nor the 2021 revival of the original series (music note in the title aside, two years since the previous revival seems less of the timeless appeal Hino envisioned and more of a fleeting demographic). Barring any announcements before long, I don't intend to address this again until July 5; which will mark two years since the initial announcement. I will say this: short of simply releasing the game on eShop and Playstation Store only; I honestly don't know how they're going to pull off the international release. That will be all for now, take care.
