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NEWS: Yo-kai Watch TV Anime Enters Shadowside Arc in April




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CastMember1991



Joined: 06 Feb 2012
Posts: 857
PostPosted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 7:15 am Reply with quote
I'm still really disappointed Yo-kai Watch didn't do so well here in the States. It would have been interesting to see it become the next big phenomenon, but in the end, poor marketing sunk it stateside.

At the Walmart and Walgreens where I live, I didn't see one chunk of merchandise. And yet SpongeBob and TMNT were everywhere, as well as Nintendo's own Mario.
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Haterater



Joined: 30 Apr 2006
Posts: 1727
PostPosted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 11:16 am Reply with quote
I think one of the main reasons it didn't do well is because of the Yokai designs. Not enough "basic" concept designs that are easy to relate to.
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OjaruFan



Joined: 18 Jan 2018
Posts: 60
PostPosted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 12:04 pm Reply with quote
Does this mean that the show will no longer focus on Nate and Hailey? If so, then I’m totally fine with that. The show needs a change in format to stay fresh.

CastMember1991 wrote:
I'm still really disappointed Yo-kai Watch didn't do so well here in the States. It would have been interesting to see it become the next big phenomenon, but in the end, poor marketing sunk it stateside.

At the Walmart and Walgreens where I live, I didn't see one chunk of merchandise. And yet SpongeBob and TMNT were everywhere, as well as Nintendo's own Mario.

To be fair, the franchise focuses on Japanese-centric ideas that aren’t as easily accessible and appealing to mainstream consumers in the US. Sure the English version has various Americanizations thrown in, but it still has that Japanese feel that mainstream consumers in Asia are more likely to identify and appreciate. The big boys, such as Pokémon, Dragon Ball and Mario, are popular in the US because they focus on universal ideas that anyone can identify and appreciate.

A good amount of Americans aren’t curious about foreign cultures and ideas. When they consume entertainment, they want to be entertained, not educated.
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Primus



Joined: 01 Mar 2006
Posts: 2758
Location: Toronto
PostPosted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 12:33 pm Reply with quote
CastMember1991 wrote:
I'm still really disappointed Yo-kai Watch didn't do so well here in the States. It would have been interesting to see it become the next big phenomenon, but in the end, poor marketing sunk it stateside.

At the Walmart and Walgreens where I live, I didn't see one chunk of merchandise. And yet SpongeBob and TMNT were everywhere, as well as Nintendo's own Mario.


If you want Yo-Kai Watch merch, check your local clearance chains (Big Lots and Dollar Tree in the US, Dollarama in Canada). That's where everything Wal-Mart/ToysRus/Target didn't sell went.
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michaeltanzer



Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 168
PostPosted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 12:45 pm Reply with quote
OjaruFan wrote:
Does this mean that the show will no longer focus on Nate and Hailey? If so, then I’m totally fine with that. The show needs a change in format to stay fresh.

CastMember1991 wrote:
I'm still really disappointed Yo-kai Watch didn't do so well here in the States. It would have been interesting to see it become the next big phenomenon, but in the end, poor marketing sunk it stateside.

At the Walmart and Walgreens where I live, I didn't see one chunk of merchandise. And yet SpongeBob and TMNT were everywhere, as well as Nintendo's own Mario.

To be fair, the franchise focuses on Japanese-centric ideas that aren’t as easily accessible and appealing to mainstream consumers in the US. Sure the English version has various Americanizations thrown in, but it still has that Japanese feel that mainstream consumers in Asia are more likely to identify and appreciate. The big boys, such as Pokémon, Dragon Ball and Mario, are popular in the US because they focus on universal ideas that anyone can identify and appreciate.

A good amount of Americans aren’t curious about foreign cultures and ideas. When they consume entertainment, they want to be entertained, not educated.


Wait wait a minute, does that also mean the Pokemon anime is doing OK on Disney Anime hyper or something?
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CastMember1991



Joined: 06 Feb 2012
Posts: 857
PostPosted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 1:23 pm Reply with quote
michaeltanzer wrote:
Wait wait a minute, does that also mean the Pokemon anime is doing OK on Disney Anime hyper or something?


Obviously. Even though it's not as big of a franchise as it was in the '90s, Pokémon is still an established brand that's had a big footing in America for a long time. There are even plans to build a Pokémon Training Academy at Universal Studios' new Nintendo-themed land.
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KH91



Joined: 17 May 2013
Posts: 6176
PostPosted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:59 pm Reply with quote
OjaruFan wrote:
To be fair, the franchise focuses on Japanese-centric ideas that aren’t as easily accessible and appealing to mainstream consumers in the US. Sure the English version has various Americanizations thrown in, but it still has that Japanese feel that mainstream consumers in Asia are more likely to identify and appreciate. The big boys, such as Pokémon, Dragon Ball and Mario, are popular in the US because they focus on universal ideas that anyone can identify and appreciate.

A good amount of Americans aren’t curious about foreign cultures and ideas. When they consume entertainment, they want to be entertained, not educated.


Well, it appears that we didn't watch the same thing otherwise 4Kids wouldn't have had to change the Japanese-centric jokes/food/text/etc. to something that English folk would understand. Laughing
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CastMember1991



Joined: 06 Feb 2012
Posts: 857
PostPosted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:37 am Reply with quote
KH91 wrote:
OjaruFan wrote:
To be fair, the franchise focuses on Japanese-centric ideas that aren’t as easily accessible and appealing to mainstream consumers in the US. Sure the English version has various Americanizations thrown in, but it still has that Japanese feel that mainstream consumers in Asia are more likely to identify and appreciate. The big boys, such as Pokémon, Dragon Ball and Mario, are popular in the US because they focus on universal ideas that anyone can identify and appreciate.

A good amount of Americans aren’t curious about foreign cultures and ideas. When they consume entertainment, they want to be entertained, not educated.


Well, it appears that we didn't watch the same thing otherwise 4Kids wouldn't have had to change the Japanese-centric jokes/food/text/etc. to something that English folk would understand. Laughing


That's because Nintendo probably requested 4Kids (R.I.P.) do that. The games - from my understanding - never had any direct in-your-face references to Japanese culture like some instances of the anime did. Yo-kai Watch, despite the game being localized, was still referencing Japanese culture. And that's why despite having a brief period of popularity in Japan, the latter was such a disaster in the US.

And speaking of which, Hasbro just announced a pretty big sales loss due to Yo-kai Watch's failure.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/hasbro-reports-surprise-sales-drop-fourth-quarter-52904680
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