Never Ending Realm

Video game reviews, fan fiction, gaming news, and more! Since 2003. We especially love JRPGs, RPGs and the best of the rest. Never Ending Realm: Where your favorite games live forever!

Menu
  • News
    • PlayStation
    • Nintendo
    • Xbox
    • PC
    • Mobile
  • Fan Fiction
  • Opinion
    • Throwback Bit Thursday
    • Games Costing A Kidney
    • Thank God It’s Friday
  • Lists
  • Reviews
  • Humor
  • About
Menu
NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139

NieR Replicant’s Creative Director Is Not Sure It Will Sell Well

Posted on April 26, 2021 by Dakota Deitsch

Yoko Taro, creative director of the NieR games, recently shared on Square Enix’s website that he was unsure that NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 would sell very well. He also reminded everyone that ver.1.22474487139 is a “version upgrade” of the original NieR game and that it is not a remake or remaster. He goes on to say some pretty interesting things that might seem very odd for someone to say about their own project.

NieR: Automata Sales Were A Fluke

If you have played both NieR and NieR: Automata, you would see that one of the few things they have in common is the name. While Automata did very well for itself, it was so vastly different from the original that Taro feels ver.1.22474487139 won’t live up to Automata’s success.

NieR Automata Shot for Replicant Article
NieR: Automata saw success where the original NieR did not.

NieR: Automata as sold over 5.5 units worldwide and has won many awards since its release. It has also been featured in many collaboration events, most notably Final Fantasy XIV’s NieR raid. With that level of success and recognition, it is no wonder Square Enix wants to take this opportunity to expose new players to the first title.

The issue with that is that most of Automata’s success was from newcomers to the franchise. In 2019, Yoko Taro estimated that total sales of the first NieR game were only at 500,000. While those who played the game seemed to enjoy it, it definitely didn’t blow up in success like Automata did.

A Complicated History

Another mistake that is often made is that NieR is the first in the franchise. While it may be the first game in the NieR series, NieR is actually a spin-off of the Drakengard series, and follows the fifth ending of the first game. With that being said, NieR’s origins don’t start with NieR but instead, with Drakengard on the PlayStation 2.

Drakengard Series
NieR’s complicated lore runs even deeper with Drakengard.

That can confuse players who want to find out more about the game’s lore and I think that is where Yoko Taro’s worry stems from. It is good that he clarified that Replicant was a version upgrade and not a brand new game, but I do think there will be people out there who base their purchase off of their love for Automata.

That is not necessarily a bad thing, but the games do differ from each other in a lot of ways. Automata set itself a part and almost acted as a stand alone release. Knowing the full history of the game’s world would probably help you appreciate some things more, and certainly explain them better too, but it isn’t necessary. To go back and experience some more history within this game’s universe would be exciting, but it won’t be the same experience Automata was.

Another weird change worth mentioning is the change in development teams. The original NieR game was developed by Cavia, the same developer of Drakengard, and Automata was developed by PlatinumGames. NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 was developed by Toylogic, yet another change in developers. A change in development teams can drastically change how a game feels and plays. Luckily though, many of the same creators have stayed on the NieR projects.

Uncertain Outcome for NieR Replicant

It is hard to say how NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 will perform. As of right now it has a Metascore of 84 with a user score of 9.1 so it seems to be doing pretty well. The original NieR has a Metascore of 68 and Automata’s is 88, but only time will tell how many units ver.1.22474487139 will sell.

It is odd to see creators of the project express concern instead of enthusiasm. While it might be a realistic way to look at things, I am inclined to think ver.1.22474487139 will do better than the original NieR because of the exposure Automata gave to the series. At any rate, the game is out now and available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam.

Agree with the author? Couldn’t disagree more and are frothing at the mouth to tell him? Leave a comment here, on Facebook or send an email and make sure to follow Never Ending Realm on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube!

Category: News, PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Tags: Drakengard Series, JRPG, Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139, Nier Series, RPG, Square Enix

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow us on social media!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Must Reads

  • 2023 is Here and The Never Ending Realm Turns 20 Years Old
  • Throwback Bit Thursday: Remembering a Merry 1998 Christmas 
  • A Mid 2022 PlayStation 5 vs Xbox Series X Comparison
  • TBT: Five Critically Underrated 32-Bit Era JRPGs
  • The Rise and Fall of Japanese Role-Playing Games (JRPGs)
  • Yoshida: Final Fantasy is Struggling to Keep Up With Industry Trends
  • The Top Ten Greatest Final Fantasy Games of All-Time
  • Top Ten Greatest ‘The Legend of Zelda’ Games of All Time
  • 5 Of The Best JRPG Heroes
  • The Top 10 Best Selling PlayStation 2 JRPGs (All Time Sales)

Action-Adventure Action-RPG Bandai/Namco Bethesda CD PROJEKT RED Chrono Cross Cyberpunk 2077 Final Fantasy (Series) Final Fantasy IX Final Fantasy VI Final Fantasy VII Final Fantasy VII Remake Final Fantasy XVI First-Person RPG First Person Shooter Halo: Infinite Halo Series JRPG Microsoft Nintendo Nintendo 64 Nintendo Switch PC PlayStation PlayStation 1 PlayStation 2 PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 RPG SEGA Sega Saturn Sony Square Enix Tales Series The Legend of Dragoon The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time The Legend of Zelda Series XBOX Xbox 360 Xbox Game Pass Xbox One Xbox Series S Xbox Series X Xenogears

  • Legend of Dragoon
    Masayuki Kasebe: The Legend of Dragoon Could Have Saved FFVII Remake
  • Wukong cover
    Wukong Dev: No ‘Black Myth’ Version for Xbox Thanks to Difficulties on Underpowered Series S
  • Astro Bot Water Effects
    2024 Recap: Xbox Launches its Best Games, Xbox Gets out of the Race Against Sony, Astro GotY, and More!
  • Intergalactic protagonist
    Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet the Most Hated New Game Reveal? Concord 2.0?
  • Astro Bot Water Effects
    Astro Bot Review (PS5)
  • FFVII Rebirth
    Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Welcome to the Multiverse! Review (PS5)
  • Echoes of Wisdom Raises Zelda To New Heights Through Brilliance, Grace and Elegance – My Review and Verdict
  • Legend of Zelda Fanfiction: The Plane of Masked Yearning – Part Seven
  • PS5 Pro
    PlayStation 5 Pro’s $700 Tag: A Peek at a Future Without Xbox?
  • Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
    Final Fantasy Should be “Political”: Has Sakaguchi Been Misunderstood By News Outlets?
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright 2022 by Never Ending Realm, Mont Cessna & Samuel Rivera