Ulternia said: I wish Nintendo fans supported Yokai Watch more. It’s the only major 3rd party franchise from Nintendo this decade and it still gets no support. |
I mean, it's got nothin to do with the platform. It's everything to do with the game. I knew the franchise was doomed to be niche in the west from the beginning. For one, a big part of the charm of Yokai Watch is that its about Yokai, which are part of Japanese folklore. Which means a large part of its charm and immediate appeal on a conceptual level is culture-dependant. The gameplay is the other half of the problem. The battle system, in both presentation and style, strongly resembles mobile game design. Now in Japan, this is fine and even beneficial. Mobile gaming is more accepted among the general gamer audience. In the west, complete opposite. Mobile gaming is viewed widely negative, games from that space are presumed to be casual, shallow, etc. And thus Yokai Watch's battle gameplay resembling mobile games is a big negative that damages its reputation and makes it a tough sell. Then there's the visual design, which leans into a saturday morning anime style that's a lot less popular outside Japan.
On top of that it has the same problem Battleborn had, facing off against a rival so massive that many have written it off as a ripoff of said rival.
But it gets plenty of support in Japan. Also, not sure what you mean by "from Nintendo", Yokai is a Level-5 property.
But all that could change. Yokai Watch 4 is teasing a change in art style and a lot of shake ups for gameplay. If they follow through they might be able to gain traction in the West depending on what they do while also rekindling Japanese interest.