Japanese powerhouse developer-cum-publisher Level-5 today held a grand old event, where they announced that their hottest franchise would be making its way to the west.

Yo-Kai Watch is a series that is virtually unknown outside Japan, but with just two 3DS entries, it has become the biggest name on the scene. Its light, Pokémon-inflected RPG nature catapulted the last game past three million copies sold in 2014 alone.

The company confirmed that the Yo-Kai Watch games will be making their way to western territories in 2016, and like with many of Level-5's titles, Nintendo will be the ones to handle the publishing.

You can get a feel for the series from the trailer for Yo-Kai Watch Busters; a recently revealed spin-off game.

Curiously, Level-5 also used the event to announce a new mainline Professor Layton game and Fantasy Life 2, but these were confirmed only for smartphones at the moment.