Yoko Taro Says Being a Director is Not Necessarily About Making “Fun;” NieR:Automata Was Created to be Memorable

At the G-STAR 2023 event in Korea, during the “A meeting to talk incessantly about the production of NieR Automata,” NieR series creator Yoko Taro and NieR series producer Yosuke Saito teased and elucidated upcoming developments.

One of the most interesting exchanges regarded Saito’s and Taro’s philosophies on game development. While Saito strikes a middle ground, saying that financial gain and quality should be approached with balance, Taro emphasizes the importance of making the game spread through word of mouth.

Instead of making the title “fun,” it’s more about ensuring that people will buy the product. NieR:Automata is used as an explicit example, as that was crafted to be memorable rather than fun.

You can view a translation of these developments below via our team’s Ryuji:

Yosuke Saito says that producers consider games as products, and their first priority is to make money for the company, but that does not mean they should not care about the quality of their work. As for the director, he believes that while they should focus on the artistry of the game, it does not mean they should neglect the commerciality of the game and that it is crucial to balance the two.

Yoko Taro stated that being a director is not about “fun” but designing “the meaning of buying.” He then says that NieR: Automata was created with the aim of creating a product that players would want to tell other people about and that would remain in their memories, even if it were not interesting. This means NieR: Automata did not have to be fun; it needed to be memorable.

Thanks to 4Gamer for sharing this news.

NieR:Automata was initially released in 2017 on PlayStation 4 and PC, with an Xbox One release in 2018. The game follows characters named 2B and 9S, who are agents of Yorha, an organization tasked with various combative and information-gathering missions. This entry became highly popularized for its storytelling and characters in a fusion of action, exploration, and shmup elements.

NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa Edition is now available for Nintendo Switch worldwide. The first iteration of the game, simply NieR:Automata, is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox, and PC, with the Xbox version containing the colosseum DLC sans extra purchases.

• NieR:Automata has sold over seven million units worldwide.
• Square Enix uploaded a one-hour compilation music video of chill tracks from the NieR series.
• The Japanese voice actress of 2B recently performed a cover of the iconic NieR song “Weight of the World.”

The Switch version has a physical release with a reversible cover, and it is not a Cloud version. It includes all existing DLC and new NieR Replicant & Re[in]carnation costumes.