Yo-Kai Watch - Official Companion Guide

Yo-kai Watch (妖怪ウォッチ, Yōkai Wotchi)[a] is a mixed-media franchise of role-playing video games and toys, created and developed by Level-5. The first game in the series was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013.[6] 3 main sequels and several spinoffs, on both Nintendo and mobile platforms, have been released. In December 2019, they expanded to PlayStation with the release of Yo-kai Watch 4++.

Six manga adaptations have also been produced; one, a series that began serialization in Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic from December 2012, became an award winner. An anime television series produced by OLM, Inc. began airing in Japan from January 2014 and was a ratings success, boosting the franchise in popularity,[7] and began airing in North America from October 2015.[8][9] An animated film was released in December 2014; with three more films being produced. As of 2020, the game series had shipped over 16 million copies worldwide.[10]

Despite not meeting Level-5's expectations in the United States, the franchise still enjoyed a successful U.S. launch, with the original 3DS game selling 400,000 units, as well as toys and an airing of the TV series on Disney XD in the United States on October 5, 2015. However, interest in the Yo-kai Watch franchise steadily declined, and Hasbro's Yo-kai Watch toy line was discontinued in the United States in 2017 and in Europe and Latin America in 2018.