Nintendo has announced a new 2DS bundle as part of the general North American release of Level 5’s hit RPG Yo-Kai Watch November 6. For $99.99 you can get a brand new 2DS with a pre-installed copy of Yo-Kai Watch.
The cross-media series (manga and anime exist in addition to the games) has been a massive hit with Japanese children so far; the second game was the top-selling video game in Japan in 2014, selling almost 3 million copies.
Yo-Kai Watch has often been compared to Pokemon in both its success and premise: the player travels around Sakura New Town encountering, befriending, and battling different Yo-Kai with the help of Yo-Kai the player has previously befriended/defeated. The player is able to see and identify Yo-Kai using the Yo-Kai Watch, a device given to them by Whisper, the first Yo-Kai they encounter.
Nintendo is clearly hoping that Yo-Kai Watch will soon become the next big thing in North America. Sales of the game may be boosted by young fans of the anime, which has already begun airing on U.S. television.
But only time will tell whether gamers will latch onto Yo-Kai Watch or not. We’ll just have to wait until November 6 and see.
