NieR: Automata finally releases worldwide next week but if it wasn’t for the consistent fan support that the original received, the sequel probably wouldn’t have seen the light of day. That’s according to Director Yoko Taro who took to PlayStation blog to answer the following question that was posed to him:
“The original Nier has become a cult classic, but what does it mean to you, and what were your goals for the sequel?”
In response, Yoko revealed that when he worked on the original, it was becoming harder to create games due to his company’s business structure, which actually made him want to resign. Although NieR shaped up quite nicely for him, it didn’t sell much and Yoko did end up leaving his employer.
However, the amount of support that the game received “reached the producer’s ear,” and ended up giving birth to NieR: Automata. “What I wanted to say was that both the previous Nier and current Nier: Automata are games that exist due to the constant support of fans,” explained Yoko. “The true nature of a game is not a strong and charismatic director displaying his or her vision, but instead is something formed by some kind of an unknown passion felt by a greater number of people.”
Interestingly, Square Enix producer Yosuke Saito told Eurogamer in an interview that the sequel could have ended up being a mobile game. Speaking about the company’s collaboration with Platinum Games, he revealed:
This collaboration was suggested when we’d just come up with the idea of making the Nier sequel a mobile game. We were inspired by Platinum Games – they were great fans of the first Nier, and their suggestion was remaking Nier as a Vita title. So we got two different projects together, and maybe the best option was doing a full console game.
Saito later added that he’s glad that Square Enix didn’t go down the mobile route.
NieR: Automata releases on Tuesday for the PlayStation 4.
[Source: PlayStation, Eurogamer]
