News Articles
Thursday5th Nov 2015
Nintendo Download 5th November (North America)
Yo-Kai Watch! Rodea! Stinger! Electronic Super Joy! More!
It's time for more Nintendo Download Update goodness, and this week gamers in North America have a high-profile retail arrival on 3DS to consider alongside a long-awaited dual release on the portable and Wii U. There are some promising download-only games on offer too, so let's get to the...
News Orders for the Actual Yo-Kai Watch Toy Open on 6th November in North America
This thing's been rarer than Nintendo Directs in Japan
Yo-Kai Watch arrives on 3DS in North America on 6th November, which is an important launch for both Level-5 and Nintendo. It's a franchise that's become a dominant force in Japan, and both parties will hope that it finds a significant audience in the West. In addition to the game it's recently...
Wednesday4th Nov 2015
The Yo-Kai basics, again
Yo-Kai Watch is just a few days away from its release in North America, as Nintendo and series developer Level 5 aim to turn it into the next major success story for the 3DS. The IP is hugely successful in Japan, but the question remains as to whether it can replicate that performance in the West. Based on the launch...
Monday2nd Nov 2015
Video Toadette Takes to the Court in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash as Yo-Kai Watch Focuses on Weirdness
Net play won't be a strength of Toad and Toadette
It can be interesting to see how Nintendo's marketing varies across different titles, with concepts - or lack of concept as the case may be - drawn up to play to a game's strengths. On that score Nintendo's clearly got very different ideas of how to tempt players to pick up Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash...
Friday30th Oct 2015
News Yo-Kai Watch Will Be The Next Pokémon, Claims Viz Media
"We are certainly bigger than Pokémon in Japan"
Viz Media - the firm which is handling the release of the Yo-Kai Watch comic and TV show in Europe and America - has confidently claimed that the series will be "the next Pokémon". Waell Oueslati, EMEA associate brand manager at Viz Media, is clearly bullish about the chances of the franchise in the...
Monday26th Oct 2015
Video Nintendo Goes for the Zany Approach in North American Yo-Kai Watch Marketing
No, this isn't a Japanese commercial
Yo-Kai Watch is out in North America soon, and Level-5 will be hoping that it makes them enough money for a second swimming pool of cash - we're assuming there's already one in the company's HQ from sales of the IP in Japan. We're not quite sure whether the RPG is enjoying the buzz it'd hope for, however, at...
Wednesday21st Oct 2015
Video Nintendo Digs Out an Old Favourite for Halloween New 3DS Commercial
Also plugs Yo-Kai Watch
Apparently Halloween is rather popular - maybe it's the outfits, all the sweets / candy, or just a general love of spooky and horrifying things. What was a bit of a laugh when your humble writer was in short trouser many years ago is now a 'Holiday', so we all need to jump on board. Of course we'll do some Halloween-type...
Monday19th Oct 2015
News Yo-Kai Watch 2DS Bundle Coming To North America On November 6th
Comes with the game pre-installed for $99.99
Nintendo is releasing a new 2DS hardware bundle to mark the launch of Yo-Kai Watch in North America. The console - which comes with the game pre-installed - will launch on November 6th for $99.99, alongside the game's full retail release. Yo-Kai Watch is the first in a series which has taken Japan by a...
Wednesday14th Oct 2015
Whoops
We think Nintendo of America's social media team need a refreshing hot beverage and then a lie down, as it's incurred the wrath of some of its 2.4 million+ Twitter followers once again. After teasing a disappointing but cute photo last week and underwhelming many, it's now given followers a demo and then rapidly taken it away. Nintendo...
Friday2nd Oct 2015
News Yo-kai Watch Release Date Moves Up to 5th December in Australia and New Zealand
Christmas comes early this year
It's no secret that the Yo-Kai Watch franchise has been a huge hit in Japan and it won't be long now until the West gets a chance to see what all the hype's about. Level-5's going all-in with its Pokémon-like series with an anime and toy line set to complement the release of the game in order to garner as much...
Tuesday22nd Sep 2015
News The Yo-Kai Watch Anime Starts In North America on 5th October
Premiering on the Disney Big Grin channel
Level-5 will try to take over the Western world, and give Pokémon a black eye, when it releases Yo-Kai Watch in North America in November. The battle of slightly confusing RPG franchises with never-ending collectible and money-making concepts will truly begin in earnest. Before the game arrives North...
Wednesday19th Aug 2015
Disney, Hasbro and VIZ Media all involved
Throughout 2015 we've had snippets of information on how Level-5 would team up with partners to try and make Yo-kai Watch as big a hit in the West as it already is in Japan. It was also confirmed that the game would arrive in North America in 2015 (PAL territories in 2016), and now a firm release date has...
Tuesday4th Aug 2015
Weirdness Keep Your French Fries Toasty Hot With These Yo-Kai Watch Holsters
Only in Japan, of course
Yo-Kai Watch is massive in Japan, and that means there are plenty of opportunities for all kinds of cross-promotional activity. However, few ideas are as zany as these McDonald's French Fry holsters, which allow you to slot in your pack of chopped potatoes and keep them warm during your quests to locate naughty spirits...
Friday26th Jun 2015
News Reggie Talks Yo-Kai Watch And The Importance Of Keeping The Series Nintendo Exclusive
"The partnership is very strong with Level 5"
This year sees the Western launch of Level 5's Yo-Kai Watch, a game which has already proven itself to be a smash-hit in its native Japan. Nintendo is publishing the game in the West and there are hopes that it will turn into the kind of cash-cow that Pokémon has been for the firm. Speaking to
Tuesday16th Jun 2015
News Fresh YO-KAI WATCH Trailer Showcases Colourful New Gameplay
One to watch
The newest trailer for YO-KAI WATCH showcases a brightly coloured world with plenty of Yo-kai to find and collect. Yo-kai can be used to fight in battles to rid the world of evil and protect the town of Springdale, with a style similar to that of Pokémon. YO-KAI WATCH launches this Holiday only on Nintendo 3DS. You can check out the...
Tuesday7th Apr 2015
Game expected to arrive in 2016
We already knew that Yo-Kai Watch was coming to the west thanks to Hasbro's deal to create toys for the popular Japanese cross-over franchise, but it wasn't until today - and Level-5's Japanese Vision 2015 conference - that a publisher (Nintendo) and solid release window (2016) came to light. Nintend