Yo-Kai Watch Will Be The Next Pokémon, Claims Viz Media

According to VGChartz Pokémon still outsells Yokai Watch in Japan. So what marketshare is it the Associate Brand Manager refers to?

Honestly chinpokomon looks better than this.

I wouldn't be surprised if it does. Pokemon is no longer the big thing with kids and older fans have obviously noticed the main games (among other things) have been stagnating.

@AlliMeadow
Was that a recent update? I thought Yokai Watch already outsold Pokemon in Japan, although maybe that was in the case of spin offs?

"Welcome to the Salty Spitoons. How Tough are ya?"
"How tough am I? I think, Yokai Watch Anime > Pokemon Anime, by a landslide."
"Yeah, so?"
"And I've only seen trailers."
"Uhh, right this way. Sorry to keep you waiting."

Wasn't Digimon and Yi-Gi-Oh nearly the size of Pokemon at one point? Now look at them. Also, how can they have 95% of the market share when a Pokemon remake sold more than double (and pokemon X/Y selling double of OR/AS) of Yo-Kai Watch?

Also, looking at the trailer... the names of the things. "Wazzat" a reference to "What's that?" And "Fidgeaphant" ... when the girl has to go to the bathroom... is that... trying to reference... "Piss your pants?" (I hope I don't get in trouble for that... ) Sorry, it is just that is what i first heard when I watched that. lol

If Viz Media was true, then that is more telling on how far Pokemon has fallen. I still enjoy the main seires, but, after Pokemon Emerald, the series has stagnated in the main series. (At least Game Freak has gotten spin-offs... but those may be overstaying their welcome...)

Big words.
Let's wait until Pokemon Z (or whatever) appears to compare.

I'm definitely curious about this, and will likely enjoy it. However, I doubt I could love this as much as Pokemon since I'm such a massive Pokemon fan. Still, it's possible that this could become more popular than Pokemon once it arrives over here. It's a shame that it's still such a long wait until it reaches Europe.

I dunno if it will be or not, since I've not played it yet, but that's a pretty bold claim to make.

Monster Ranchers wasn't the next Pokemon, but they seemed like they wanted to be.

Really guys, Yokai Watch is an amazing game, and super fun. I prefer it over Pokemon.

That outselling Pokemon thing though? Debatable. Its still fairly new and Pokemon has ridiculous longevity and is so engrained into public consciousness.

Nah, still inferior to Dragon Quest Monsters.

95 % market share of what?

The next pokemon? I'm sorry but I don't think so. Pokemon is so iconic that everyone pretty much knows what it is. Yo KY What's is not going to be the next pokemon.

@crimsontadpoles Pokemon fan here since Gen 1 and I can say I have found Yokai Watch more entertaining. The kids and I can't wait. Taking the day off work next week so we can take a trip to Nintendo World Store for the launch event

@MarkyVigoroth What do you mean with "overstaying their welcome"? Also, Gamefreak doesn't make the spin offs.

On topic, I still have my doubts it will be that huge in the West. It could be huge, but Pokemon huge? There are reasons why I doubt that. I already made such a list as to why I doubt that, so I will post that here.

1) It's highly based on Japanese culture. The Japanese can relate to those Yokais because they represent creatures from Japanese folklore. But people in the West may have no idea what those creatures are. It's also worth noting that Japanese RPG's besides Pokemon/Final Fantasy aren't doing very well in the West (sadly). People here in the West have more appeal to "realistic" games.

2) Pokemon came at the right place at the right time and brought some revolutionary things. The 90's was a crazy time. Can't recall exactly what made Pokemon so popular, but the 2 version thing and the fact that you could trade/battle with each other was really revolutionary. You had to trade to catch them all. This brought Pokemon into massive main stream attention along with the Anime.

3) The "It looks like Pokemon, it must be a rip off" mentality. Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon and all those franchises are fun and all, but look like Pokemon. Most of which don't have the same revolutionary things as Pokemon had. They quickly became small franchises compared to Pokemon. Pokemon is still deeply into the mainstream mind, therefore it's possible people are gonna judge Yokai's Watch far too quick as "Pokemon rip off" ( I don't share this mentality btw).

4) Because Pokemon was such an success, the Pokemon became iconic characters like Mario, Link etc. It's just really hard to make a franchise that made such an impact like Pokemon, Mario and Zelda these days. These iconic franchises are nearly immortal if you think about it.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't want to strike fear to the Yo-Kai Watch fans, and from the looks of it, I think it will still sell enough to localize the other games. I'm just doubting it will be as big as Pokemon here in the West.

As for my personal opinion about Yo-Kai Watch, I can't really say. I live in Europe and we don't have a demo yet. So I can't tell how the game plays. From the looks of it, it seems fun but I don't think it will be as fun as Pokemon in my personal opinion.

Isnt Yo-Kai Watch already starting to die down a little in Japan right now?

Bigger than Pokemon now? Maybe.

But you'll need to check in about 15 years from now to really compare the 2, think that's about how long the movies and anime tv series have been going.

I'm ok w/ the marketing hyperbole though, it shows respect. Who doesn't want to be the next Pokemon or TMNT or Hello Kitty? Gotta aim high. I think Bey Blades was supposed to be the next Pokemon also.

You want to take down Pokemon, you have to take down Pikachu, and you need a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade to do that. That's the true starting line for anyone who wants to compete with the beast.

95% market share of the anime I would assume since this is Viz Media we're talking about.

Obviously Yokai Watch isn't going to dwarf Pokemon as a whole or in games. Yokai Watch simply won't take America by storm like Pokemon did in the late 90s.

"We're bigger than Pokemon"

Cut to Pokemon fans burning copies of the game and merchandise in the streets

@Morpheel - For Hobo fires.

I'm not buying it. No way.

Pokemon forever!

Not my cup of tea and nothing will be the next pokèmon, just look back to the Pokèmon craze that took place in the late 90's.
I don't think Yo-kai watch will have the same amount of hype as Pokémon did in the 90's. Now a days kids just play games on their smart phones and play Call of duty or Halo all day long on their Playstation or Xbox. Still alot kids play Nintendo just not as much as Sony or Microsoft.

@AlliMeadow Combine X/Y and Alpha/Omega and you get a whopping 24 million units something that Yokoi Watch can't possibly reach.

Besides, both of them are completely different although I'll give Yokoi Watch some credit as the designs are creative unlike the recent pokemon games from Black and white onwards.

I'd like to see the source of their 95% market share claim. It's not true of games, it's not true of anime, and the Yo-kai Watch merchandise sales are down 75% on last year so I want to see what they are on about.

I think it will have a little trouble as the creatures are very Japanese advertising mascots in their design. Not saying it wont sell or that it wont outsell pokemon but I don't think it'll grab people as easily. Pokémon mixed cute early forms and badass later ones to grab a nice cross section of boys and girls, and used real world animals as a base which let newcomers easily Identify them. I just don't see that with this.

I wish Yokai Watch the best. I haven't seen very much advertisement for the game, so I'm not sure about these claims. I like the anime, I'm going to support the series.

I doubt it'll have even close to the same impact Pokémon had. But I still think it looks better than the modern Pokémon series.

@manu0 I'm really interested in that, too.

This is great. I've been interested in Youkai Watch since it was first announced, and it being this popular will probably push the Pokémon Company to do better and make better games.

I think kids and adults alike will enjoy having a mischievous spirit on which to blame their overactive bladders.

I played the demo and while the presentation was fantastic (it's Level-5, duh) I thought the mini-game gimmick in battles could get old fast. Having to play the same mini-games hundreds of times? C'mon now. I'm really curious as to how the rest of the overworld looks.

They really need to get that demo out in PAL territories because that's what convinced me to get the game. My 6-year-old niece has been burning it up also, and the commercials are on Cartoon Network almost constantly. I'd say it'll do well, but until I see Jibanyan floating in the Thanksgiving day parade I'd say that Pokemon is still at the top of their class.

Those claims are untrue. But I hope the game does well in the west. I enjoyed the demo. The combat is somewhat confusing in the beginning, and the mini-game stuff is kinda dull, but it's fun. Definitely not Pokémon fun, but Gamefreak can learn a trick or two from level 5.

We'll see if Yokai Watch is still around in 15 years time.
I'm certain it won't - Level 5 take the Nintendo approach of releasing the same game over and over and multiply it by 100.
Like with Professor Layton and Inzuma Eleven, people will eventually get bored.

That may hold true in Japan but I think it will not make that big of an impact on the west. However I already like it more then pokemon. Pokemon hasn't evolved much since the early days.

Ah, that's right. Viz picked up the rights for the manga. I'm sure they will advertise it as much as possible but I still have no interest in this series.

No it will not. But will certainly make a lot of sucess.

It could be successful but certainly not bigger than Pokemon.

Publisher says their own franchise will outsell the competitor. Let's take that seriously...

@ikki5 Seems like "fidget + elephant."

OT: A rather bold statement, but Viz and Level-5 will have to work extremely hard and be very fortunate to break into the Western mainstream. It doesn't sound likely, really (though "Yo-Kai is why!" is rather catchy).

I'm really curious about this 95% market share is. The games are still going well and the last I checked the anime was still popular enough.
Either way best of luck to it. I don't know if it could beat Pokemon but who knows. Just remember Pokemon has beaten Digimon, Yugi-oh, Bayblades, Bakugon, etc.
I played the demo and was not super impressed but if it good enough reviews I'll check the full game.

Dunno. The controls/trailers look confusing, and not very fun. I'll give it a small try in the demo but that's it.

I kind of doubt it, but maybe a strong competitor would be good for Pokémon.

95% market share [citation needed]

@Tops
As long as it's popular enough to bring the sequels to the west that's all I care about. I've enjoyed what I played in the demo.
*I'm also one who wishes we got more Digimon games localized.

^ THIS!

Bigger than pokémon? Not very likely, giving Game freak some incentive to step up with new additions to Pokémon games seems a more likely result IMO, which is a good thing.

Yeah, I hope they do well because competition is good and all, but don't know. Yokai are not a very well known concept to western audiences, and catching monsters sound IMO more approachable than spirits of dead pets and cursed salarymen with dog ears etc.
Plus, no multiplayer.
But if it forces Gamefreak to improve on their games even more , then again, I'm all for it

@Angelic_Lapras_King
It's dying diwn some because Level 5 thought it a good idea to delay the third game til next year which puzzles me as the second anime season and the movie will only tide over the audience so long

Well Excuuuuuuse me, but no
Pokemon is and will ever be the better and bigger one

@MasterWario Why? I absolutely love Pokémon, and I'm really excited for this.

I'm a huge Pokemon fan too, since the original back in the gameboy days. I'm excited about Yo-Kai watch and I don't think it will outsell Pokemon in the long run. Which reminds me, when can we have another Dragon Quest Monsters (or Dragon Warrior Monsters) game? I heard they got a remake of the original for 3DS in Japan.

I'll take both this and Pokemon. No need to pick one.

They should be called the next Digimon because that's exactly what it'll be. Another Pokemon Challenger, that for a moment or two becomes bigger than Pokemon and may even go as far as to predict the end of Pokemon, then suddenly they fall flat and Pokemon regains the spotlight. I mean sure Pkmn is nearly 20 years old and it's reign could end but that's been the pattern so far. Maybe it's because Pokemon has the money behind it, I don't think Level 5 can compete with it. Or maybe it'll be the next YuGiOh, It'll stay around forever but the time when it was #1 will pass after a short time and never come back.

@Krisi I'm just not too interested in it, that's all. I guess the way Viz Media sounded arrogant made me want to sound a little arrogant too.

Yoki is not bigger than Pokemon.The Pokemon series still sells millions of games after the "fad" was over.Will Yoki still sell as much in 20 years? http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/sales/software/3ds.html
X/Y is at 14.15 million and ORAS is at 10.69 million sold.

They want to be the very best... like no one ever was....

Design wise, the critters don't appeal to me. But I'm indeed curious about the game and I'm eager to try it.
All I hope is that Yo-kai Watch will bring the much needed competition for Pokemon. The stagnacy in the series is tiresome. After BW GF staff seem to be affraid of any kind of crucial innovation (and I don't blame them - 5th gen is one of the most critised generation and many fans hated it). Surely gen 6 brought us many fantastic things and improvements, but I feel all of those additions are bait to keep us distracted and to buy some time.

Doubt it will be, but I hope it does make them reconsider the story formula Pokemon puts in every game. Pokemon needs strong competition and a sales dip for us to see some truly fresh ideas out of the main series.

@Lizuka
I think I remember walking around with the circle pad... though the combat selection is primarily stylus based.

@rjejr @Artwark @AlliMeadow @NandN3ds
I'd point to life-to-date physical sales according to Media Create, rounded to the nearest hundred thousand because I'm too lazy to get the latest figures:
Pokémon X/Y (2013): ~4.6 million
Pokémon OR/AS (2014): ~2.4 million
Yo-Kai Watch (2013): ~1.2 million
Yo-Kai Watch 2 Ganso/Honke (Head/Founder) (2014): ~3.1 million
Yo-Kai Watch 2 Headliner (2014): ~2.3 million
It's darned close to outselling Pokémon - and neither of the two are bundled in major ways in Japan.
When you take spin-offs into account...
Yo-Kai Watch Busters White Dog Team/Red Cat Team: 1.3 million+
I think this has outsold all Pokémon spin-offs on the 3DS, combined. Last I checked, the two Mystery Dungeon games on the 3DS combined to sell just 700k (though the figures are still rising for the holidays).

@Lizuka Overworld uses the controls you're used to in Pokémon games, except that you can now change the perspective slightly with L/R. In-battle controls use more touch-based controls, but it's still perfectly usable with L/R and the D-Pad.

I played the demo and found it pretty charming. I've never been a Pokémon fan myself. (Digimon 4ever!) I hope Yokai-Watch does well in the west.

@TheWPCTraveler

About the spin offs, doesn't this say otherwise?

http://gonintendo.com/stories/245721-japan-top-30-best-selling-software-for-sept-2015

@Swamp-Marsh-Mud Those are digital-only sales.
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/10/the_legend_of_zelda_tri_force_heroes_launches_at_number_one_in_japan_but_with_sales_a_long_way_behind_predecessors
According to the latest Media Create report, Yo-Kai Watch Busters has sold nearly 1.7 million units.
...
Dang.

I'll happily try something new! I'm also hyped for the game, but with a little Poke-breather I hope this gives Nintendo time to flesh out something fresh for Pokemon.

@TheWPCTraveler

Alright then. One more question, where does it say it's digital only? Just asking so that I know it for the future.

@Swamp-Marsh-Mud The digital numbers come out monthly instead of weekly and may include the presence of digital-only titles.
They also have much lower numbers.

@Swamp-Marsh-Mud The digital numbers come out monthly instead of weekly and may include the presence of digital-only titles.
They also have much lower numbers.

@TheWPCTraveler Alright then, thanks =).

Didnt the last yo kai watch sold less than the first one ?

@Faruko No, quite the opposite. You could be thinking of the spinoff game, Youkai Watch Busters. The first one sold over a million or so and the sequel (all three versions) far outsold the first game. We'll have to wait and see if the third game does better or not next summer

Honestly, I hope Yo-Kai Watch becomes HUGE. You know why? It'll give Game Freak a giant kick up the arse to do some innovation.

A mascot that looks like a Blooper ripped from a Mario parody, and all the other questionable designs will certainly help...not.

@Morpheel Hahahaha! A shiny Hofner bass for you good sir!

While I hope this game sells big, it'll never be at 90's Pokémon level of popularity. Ah, those were the times.

@TheWPCTraveler Life-to-date? Pokemon has been out since 1996, that's 20 years, and it's still selling that well. So we should check back in 2030 and see who's on top then, Pokemon or Yo-kai. My money is on Pikachu.

I hope Yo-kai becomes big, because if it creates competition between them and Pokemon it will force both to need to come out with something new to win over the audience. I'll be trying Yo-kai demo later to see if I like it.

@ikki5
Yu-Gi-Oh? Maybe. Digimon, I seriously doubt it, definitely not world-wide. Maybe in Japan, it was still pretty big there, just like other otherwise niche series like Dragon Quest or Tales of.

I could see Yo-Kai Watch rivaling Pokemon in Japan to some degree, but I doubt it'll get anywhere near as popular Pokemon was in it's hay day. In Japan they they still do Pokemon themed stuff, like that gym or the Pokemon train.

Honestly, I rather get this than Pokemon Z.

With gamefreak thinking stuff like the battle frontier, the pokemon games have litte to offer to me.

I can't wait to give this a try.

I'm very tempted by this game. I just need to find out more about online options.

Well, considering how Game Freak has been beating the dead horse so much that its just bones left of it, this could be the next big thing.

I hope this outdoes Pokemon. Pokemon's had too much of a monopoly on the monster JRPG market.

Yo-kai watch is so big in Japan, I honestly wouldn't be too surprised.

"the next pokemon"!?

HAH HAH HA HA HA HA!!

hilarious! no really, it is

In Japan? Sure, for a time perhaps. But elsewhere? I honestly don't think it will come close. The main thing I think is, well, ironic it may sound, but the game is TOO Japanese. By what I mean is while Pokemon obviously has Japanese routes, the creatures still have universal appeal, for example most either are based on deities from other parts of the world, and/or on realistic animals that people everywhere can find a connection with in some way, not to mention a (mostly) simple elemental rock/paper/scissors formula, again, a factor most everybody is familiar with. Many who aren't into Japanese merchandise still play Pokemon for these reasons.

Yokai however are ONLY based on Japanese forklore, which look alien to most outside of Japan. Couple this with the more complex battle system, and that it will be instantly targeted as a Pokemon rip-off, I really don't think it will do much against the titan that is Pokemon anywhere beyond Japan itself.

@MarkyVigoroth Not sure what you mean by stagnated. XY and even ORAS pushed the series forward bringing in new features, items, characters, etc. And that doesn't even include the move into 3D.

Oh that's funny. This gave me a good laugh.

No new franchise has toppled a near 20-year franchise overnight. Fable was supposed to be the "Zelda killer", Killzone the "Halo killer", PS All-stars Royale clearly wanted to compete with Smash Bros, and now Yo-Kai Watch is gunning for Pokémon. I may be a die hard Pokémon fan, but I'm welcome to competition. Viz Media better have a game plan, because you don't just bare your fangs at the top dog without that dog growling back. Nintendo will probably up their game now, though.

@Swamp-Marsh-Mud By 'overstaying their welcome', I mean that, despite the new Pokemon, the games have been getting rather repetitive. Even the new lands and incremental improvements of mechanics are not sufficient in stopping the 'rehashed' feeling of these games.