The next Pokémon: Nintendo to publish $1B juggernaut Yo-kai Watch in the West next year

The next monster craze comes West next year.

Nintendo announced today that it will be the publisher of Level-5’s Yo-kai Watch role-playing game, bringing it to its Nintendo 3DS in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand next year. The company will also handle publishing duties for South Korea. The children’s franchise about a world of spirit-like creatures is a cultural phenomenon in Japan, with the game bringing in sales of more than 7 million copies there since its 2013 launch. The greater franchise, which includes manga and an animated television show, has generated more than $1 billion in retail sales in Japan alone. Nintendo is poised to welcome similar successes in the West through this debut.