The Pokémon trading card series has been running for years and continues to generate revenue for Game Freak and Nintendo, but it's not the only game of this type that Nintendo has up its sleeve.
The recent Level-5 3DS hit Yokai Watch - which has since been followed by Yokai Watch 2 - has its own collectable card game, and it has been confirmed that the series has sold 100 million cards in eight months in Japan.
Yokai Watch Toritsuki Card Battle is a two-player card game that is now on its fourth series, and is handled by Bandai Namco, who distribute all Yokai Watch merchandise in Japan. Bandai Namco gets a share of the profits generated as part of the deal, and has made more cash from this arrangement than it has with any of its own properties of late.
Yokai Watch still hasn't been released in the west, but that looks set to change this year. A range of Yokai Watch toys is also coming, so perhaps Nintendo - alongside Bandai Namco and Level-5 - will have another chance to boost its profits when the franchise hits western shores.
[source siliconera.com]
Comments 12
This franchise is scary popular in japan. Why dont they PUT a exclusive yokai watch game on the Wii U? Wouldn't that sell many Wii U's in japan?
@97alexk I think Yokai watch is more suited to handhelds. Plus, Level-5 has no reason to support the Wii U. They're too busy making totally fun and worthwhile smartphone games.
Madness. This is getting more popular than Pokemon.
@CaviarMeths
it probably won't last though like Pokemon has. Remember Digimon, Yi-gi-Oh and all them? Just as popular yet Pokemon was the only long lasting one.
I've played the game a bit and the monsters are great. Will make for some gorgeous trading cards. I'll def pick some up.
@ikki5 - Isn't Yu-gi-Oh still an ongoing entity though? Could've sworn I just saw a new tv series or card set pop-op. Not as big as Poekmon, and never will be, bu tit still seems to be on going.
Besides that, my avatar says the rest.
I can't tell: in that picture, are those girls swooning over that creature in front of them, or that boy? This is not the kind of series I thought it was if it's the latter.
@rjejr
it is but it is only a fraction of what it once was. It was a pretty hefty competitor to Pokemon but now... it is just another show/cardgame.
I'd really like to just have the localization of the games please Level-5 :3
@ikki5 - "it is just another show/cardgame"
Considering the turnover in that market - toys and shows for boys - just being an ongoing entity is quite an accomplishment. But to your point, no it's not Pokemon.
@ikki5 Pokemon's card game is trash, and Yugioh's TV is trash. Id say theyre kinda even (ok, pokemon's actual video games demolish yugioh but still )
@ikki5
That's apples to oranges. Pokemon was a videogame property, Yu Gi Oh was card game property first and Digimon was an anime/tamagotchi hybrid property. The fact that all three of those had anime adaptions that were very popular in the western world during a certain timeframe is sheer coincidende. The money behind them and the long time expectations for each one of those is quite different and not comparable at all.
Having said that, Yokai Watch long lasting success is still up in the air.
There are many videogame properties that have enjoyed continued long lasting success on the Japanese market, Monster Hunter for one, is going already for a decade of everlasting Japanese popularity. On the other hand, franchises like Love Plus or Nintendo very own Nintendogs start with a thunder and become Japanese darlings...but are soon ditched by the very same people years later.
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