Youkai Watch 2 (3DS) sells over 1,2 million copies in 4 days; smashes through first game's LTD sales

[Yanikun]

Famitsu reports that Youkai Watch 2 sold 1,281,096 copies in its first four days on sale, digital sales not included. The first game, which released one year ago, sold 52,901 copies in its first four days and as of last week sat at 1,176,134 copies sold in its lifetime.

Youkai Watch 2 has the third biggest opening week on the 3DS, coming after Pokémon X/Y (2,096,050) and Monster Hunter 4 (1,875,115).

It is also only the fourth game in Japan's history that is not Pokémon, Monster Hunter, Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest to open above a million -- the others are Resident Evil 2 (PS1), Resident Evil 3 (PS1), and Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters 4 (GB).

Source: http://www.famitsu.com/news/201407/15057222.html (copy and paste the link into your browser, as clicking Famitsu links prompts a "Forbidden" error page)

 

[lights]

At this rate Yokai Watch 3 will be reaching Pokemon numbers in Japan.

 

[MoonsEye]

So what is the appeal of this series. I mean these numbers are insane. There must be something special about yokai watch

 

[Yanikun]

So what is the appeal of this series. I mean these numbers are insane. There must be something special about yokai watch

It's kind of like Pokémon, except it's more deeply-rooted in Japanese culture. The Youkai (monsters) are based on Japanese folklore.

The game itself feels very Japanese. The environment with the big vending machines everywhere, the bridges, the game shops, the obvious play on Japanese brands like convenience stores and phone companies. Also in the details like the sound of the cicadas in Japan in the summertime, the way your shoes are automatically taken off when you enter a building, the bottle of Ramune the characters are drinking in that last screenshot etc.

The guy who created the franchise says he thinks it's popular because the main character feels like a real-life kid, doing stuff he shouldn't be doing etc. I can't tell you why it's popular, but at least the franchise is very well handled.

The marketing for this game/anime is just great. Youkai Watch is everywhere, and the character design must resonate with kids because the game's "Pikachu" is very popular.

There's an animated sort-of movie coming out in December, and for the first 500,000 tickets sold, you get a rare card and medal. So this is what happened when early tickets went on sale yesterday:

But the game itself I think is very good. Visually it looks a lot better, more polished than Pokémon X/Y, and the battle system is funny. It's not a cheap kids cash-in, and I heard the second game improves upon the first in every way.

Also,

 

[MoonsEye]

It's kind of like Pokémon, except it's more deeply-rooted in Japanese culture. The Youkai (monsters) are based on Japanese folklore.

The game itself feels very Japanese. The environment with the big vending machines everywhere, the bridges, the game shops, the obvious play on Japanese brands like convenience stores and phone companies. Also in the details like the sound of the cicadas in Japan in the summertime, the way your shoes are automatically taken off when you enter a building, the bottle of Ramune the characters are drinking in that last screenshot etc.

The guy who created the franchise says he thinks it's popular because the main character feels like a real-life kid, doing stuff he shouldn't be doing etc. I can't tell you why it's popular, but at least the franchise is very well handled.

The marketing for this game/anime is just great. Youkai Watch is everywhere, and the character design must resonate with kids because the game's "Pikachu" is very popular.

There's an animated sort-of movie coming out in December, and for the first 500,000 tickets sold, you get a rare card and medal. So this is what happened when early tickets went on sale yesterday:

But the game itself I think is very good. Visually it looks a lot better, more polished than Pokémon X/Y, and the battle system is funny. It's not a cheap kids cash-in, and I heard the second game improves upon the first in every way.

Also,

Wow, it really looks like the creators were very adamant about the details in the game. The highest grade of polishing. Now i hope some publisher do have guts to localize it in the west.
Biw thanks for your in depth reply and the picts, very informative.