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[vato_loco]

I'm over 40 hours in Nier: Automata (I haven't finished it yet, no spoilers please) and I'm so in love with it. Then I started thinking about the risk Square Enix took when making this game:

- Having a crack team go at the "sequel" of a critically acclaimed but financially mediocre game, [EDIT: I meant acclaimed by fans. Critics hated it. Which, really, adds to my point.]
- Making it a very "particular" game, with multiple endings that add to the story in a semi-linear way,
- No offense to Okabe-san, but the game's music is not what you'd call "regular" by any stretch. I absolutely LOVE the score, they completely fit in the scenes and I love how in certain areas, the score adds or substratcs certain tracks to add to the mood,
- The game interrupts the player's flow to show you a cutscene that somewhat relates to the things you're doing. It doesn't even care.
-

Spoiler

That Romeo and Juliet scene was just.so.good, you guys.

The game, as we know, turned out to be a masterpiece. I'm almost certain I'm enjoying this one more than Horizon Zero Dawn, which is also a masterpiece on its own. But N:A is its own thing. It is bizarre when it wants to be, it gets serious when it needs to be, and it even blends those two things perfectly when it feels right to do so.

This all comes back to Square Enix. In a time where most big devs take very little chances with their investments, where most big IPs come out year after year looking exactly the same with very little in the way of risk, Squeenix just said "hey, remember that IP that sold very little but fans just loved? Get a great director, a great composer, hire friggin' Platinum Games, spend plenty for QA to make sure there's virtually no glitches in this open world, go nuts with advertising. Let's see where it takes us."

I have to tip my hat to them. They went with this crazy idea and I'm glad it played out well for them, because I sure as hell want to see more GotY material from them.

 

[DrunkShogun]

A lot of goes to saito the producer. From what I've heard, he's been Defending Yoko taro and pushing for his games to be made. Still credit due to square enix for giving their full support to a game sequel that had no right to exist looking at sales.

 

[MetalliCabombination]

Did you really say nier was critically acclaimed or am i reading it wrong?

 

[Hektor]

NieR was not critically acclaimed lol


But yea, it's great what has happened. This is a one in a million kind of thing.

 

[Ruff]

I'm glad they took another chance on it, props to them indeed. This niche little game completely overshines their main AAA offerings IMO.

 

[Ahasverus]

They took a big risk and it ended up having a better result than all their games since 2008.

May that be a lesson. Less Nomura hacks and more Yoko Taro auteurs.

 

[LotusHD]

NieR was not critically acclaimed lol

Maybe one of the endings got rid of that reality

Ending [P]isseth Off

 

[transience]

They've been doing this a lot lately. Life is Strange, Hitman and Setsuna all stand out for different reasons. I think the shift at the top has been super positive for them.

 

[Mohasus]

- Making it a very "particular" game, with multiple endings that add to the story in a semi-linear way,
- No offense to Okabe-san, but the game's music is not what you'd call "regular" by any stretch. I absolutely LOVE the score, they completely fit in the scenes and I love how in certain areas, the score adds or substratcs certain tracks to add to the mood,
- The game interrupts the player's flow to show you a cutscene that somewhat relates to the things you're doing. It doesn't even care.

How is this any different from the first game? Serious question as I haven't played N:A yet.

Seems like Nier with good combat and better graphics.

 

[True Fire]

The previous 4 games in the DrakeNieR series were critically panned. Yoko Taro has never had a well received game before.

 

[Ahasverus]

How is this any different from the first game? Serious question as I haven't played N:A yet.

Seems like Nier with good combat and better graphics.

It was a big risk the first time. It's a bigger risk to double down when the first game flops.

The previous 4 games in the DrakeNieR series were critically panned. Yoko Taro has never had a well received game before.

Who would have thought that pairing a first tier gameplay studio with a visionary would result in good products.

 

[LotusHD]

It was a big risk the first time. It's a bigger risk to double down when the first game flops.

I wonder what might have happened if Automata didn't tell people to keep playing lol

 

[EvilKatarn]

Thank this guy

 

[JPS Kai]

Get a great director, a great composer, hire friggin' Platinum Games, spend plenty for QA to make sure there's virtually no glitches in this open world

As much as I love Automata, I need to stop you right there.

There was literally a game-breaking bug prior to release. If you started playing the game after the initial install on PS4 (and before it downloaded 100% of the game), some of the key flags would get screwed up. The very first quest you get to help out the weapon smith would bug out and you wouldn't be able to interact with the toolbox. That's in addition to getting a quest that wasn't supposed to happen until

Spoiler

the second route

Square Enix PR had to come out and issue a statement not to play the game before it finished installing shortly after the JP release.

 

[Arklite]

Kudos to Squares efforts here, a gamble that no doubt looked safer after PG got on board. Platinum is amazing at collaborative work when managed correctly.

 

[N° 2048]

Seriously one of the best games I've played in years. Bought the HK version and keeping my physical version sealed.

I'm having trouble focusing on any other game but Nier: Automata right now even though I'm just about 100% done it (80 hours).

Persona 5 save me.

 

[True Fire]

They've been doing this a lot lately. Life is Strange, Hitman and Setsuna all stand out for different reasons. I think the shift at the top has been super positive for them.

Hitman is my retroactive GOTY 2016. I only dabbled in it when it first came out, but I bought the entire pack on sale and I'm in love with it. The fact that we're getting an entire second game package is a dream come true.

What a risk, though. They really bet the farm on the Paris mission.

 

[Kanann]

Critically acclaimed what?

Thank this guy

Programmer > producer > president

 

[matmanx1]

I'm not very far in on the PC version (less than 10 hours) but I am extremely glad to be playing and experiencing another "Nier" game. March is one of my busiest months of the year in terms of work commitments and RL stuff going on so I haven't had a lot of time for the game. That being said, I can already see and feel a little bit of the magic in this one that was present in the first game.

And while we're giving props to SE I would like to say "thank you" for the PC version. Outside of some cutscenes dropping frames I have had literally no problems with the game whatsoever. It's a nice looking and great playing PC version and in this day and age I appreciate that.

 

[Ruff]

Did you really say nier was critically acclaimed or am i reading it wrong?

I think they're definitely mistaking cult favor for critical acclaim.

 

[semiconscious]

I have to tip my hat to them. They went with this crazy idea and I'm glad it played out well for them, because I sure as hell want to see more GotY material from them.

i tip my hat, as well. love the fact that they're taking chances. now, if only they could figure out what the hell to do with the final fantasy franchise ...

 

[Grief.exe]

- Having a crack team go at the "sequel" of a critically acclaimed but financially mediocre game,

It was actually critically panned, which strengthens the argument you are making.

i tip my hat, as well. love the fact that they're taking chances. now, if only they could figure out what the hell to do with the final fantasy franchise ...

Give the franchise to Platinum ¯\_(&#12484_/¯

Spoiler

For real though

 

[Exentryk]

Yeah, Saito is the man! The dream team of Taro, Okabe and Platinum Games really knocked this one out of the park. I'm so happy SE greenlit this, and I hope with the critical and decent commercial success, SE will be happy to give this team more budget.

Bring on Ni3R!

 

[GurgleBot20]

How are sales numbers looking? Platinum could use another success so publishers could hire them for more work, especially since Scalebound got cancelled.

 

[Exentryk]

How are sales numbers looking? Platinum could use another success so publishers could hire them for more work, especially since Scalebound got cancelled.

250K+ on PS in JP, and around 195k on PC so far. No data on western PS sales. Be great if it can hit a million.

 

[flatearthpandas]

Did you really say nier was critically acclaimed or am i reading it wrong?

Yeah, my exact response. But still, even more, do have to give credit to Squeenix for making it happen.

 

[WITHE1982]

A lot of goes to saito the producer. From what I've heard, he's been Defending Yoko taro and pushing for his games to be made. Still credit due to square enix for giving their full support to a game sequel that had no right to exist looking at sales.

Yup the guy deserves a lot of credit although I was cursing him while playing the game...

*ending boss spoiler*

Spoiler

as I was stuck on his name during the bullet time end credits boss during ending E

I finally admitted defeat in the end.

 

[Gaspard]

Did you call Platinum a crack team?

I do applaud Square for taking a risk with this game, it paid off.

 

[Skulldead]

Sometime it doesn't work, check drakengard 3..... it wasn't bad, but i'm sure it was not a success. Same with Star Ocean 5...

You have to guess sometimes....

 

[Dark_castle]

Critically acclaimed alright.

 

[QuiteWhittle]

I remember reading here, probably from a Duckroll post, that Yoko Taro and his games are well-liked among SE's top brass.

 

[Exentryk]

They really turned it around!

 

[Mesoian]

Did you call Platinum a crack team?

I do applaud Square for taking a risk with this game, it paid off.

Platinum is like batman. P* + Prep time + Budget = amazing stuff.

P* - those things = that's how the bat got his back broken.

 

[OniBaka]

I remember the reveal of automata, gaf was going crazy. Really caught us by surprise with how the original game sold.

 

[MTC100]

They've been doing this a lot lately. Life is Strange, Hitman and Setsuna all stand out for different reasons. I think the shift at the top has been super positive for them.

It's called diversity, they are smart enough to supply different types of target audiences, it's a win/win situation for everyone.

About the critically acclaimed part: When is a game considered critically acclaimed? When it reaches a certain number of 100s? 10 of it? 20? 60(like BotW)? Or is the Metascore important, is the game considered critically acclaimed with 90? 95? 97?

EDIT: I just read the OP again, he meant Nier 1 was critically acclaimed? No, I don't think you can say that of course, it was acclaimed by fans not critics...

 

[semiconscious]

Give the franchise to Platinum ¯\_(&#12484_/¯

Spoiler

For real though

the truth?: hard to imagine them doing any worse ...

 

[makingmusic476]

Nier not being critically acclaimed was quite notable at the time.

There was this huge divide between players saying it's great and journalists saying it wasn't. Who did the infamous fishing video? Sterling?

I'm so glad I eventually picked up the game. It looked like something I'd love, and word of mouth made me finally get it.

 

[ahoyhoy]

They really turned it around!

Amazing.

 

[TetraGenesis]

They really turned it around!

Hahahahahahaha

 

[Clear]

Automata has unquestionably exceeded expectations both critically and commercially. Which isn't to say its blown up huge, but its very much an established franchise at this point, especially in Japan.

Media Create thread this week has the PS4 version at just under 280k now, and the game is still in the top10 after a month. Pretty impressive given the relative size of the install-base.

By way of comparison against SE's flagship XV, its shifted 1/3 as many units on a fraction of the budget. Hell, I'd suspect that the marketing budget for XV by itself was likely bigger than Nier's entire production cost. It should turn a very tidy profit for all concerned.

The only downside I can see is that it sort of cements Platinum in a position where they are considered a work-for-hire shop with specialist expertise in certain genres; i.e. getting bankrolled on self-generated IP might be a problem even if working on other publishers franchises isn't.

 

[Isaac Otherworld]

The whole NieR and Drakengard thing baffles me and I have no idea how it's been allowed to happen.

Drakengard was an odd niche game. Despite being praised for it's dark and bizarre characters, setting, and story it was critically panned and almost everyone agrees that the game itself is quite bad. It was never a big hit and didn't reach a large audience at all. I'm not sure if it even broke even in regards to it's budget.

Then Drakengard 2 happened. The same sort of reception happens. And I'm certain Drakengard 1 sold much better than Drakengard 2.

Then we get NieR. NieR was panned critically, but audiences and critics that stuck with it loved the story. While it was no great shakes or anything, the gameplay at least was competent enough to carry the story where as the previous games couldn't even really do that. It didn't sell very well. I'm not sure if it even made back it's budget.

Then NieR Automata happens and it's a critical darling and audiences seem to love it. It's actually a legitimate level of popularity. But how did this even happen? Like was there just some crazy executive at SE who was just like "I really love this series. I believe in it. Keep sinking money into it?" Like any other publisher and studio would have liquidated the team at this point (I'm looking at you EA). I'm not criticizing. I haven't played NieR Automata yet, but the Drakengard series has always been one of my favorites. I'm just scratching my head about how in the world they keep making these things.

 

[StereoVsn]

They've been doing this a lot lately. Life is Strange, Hitman and Setsuna all stand out for different reasons. I think the shift at the top has been super positive for them.

This is actually a good point. They also ponied up for Deus Ex sequel which while not selling well enough took a long time to develop (yes, SE probably made them split it but dev took a long time). SE has recently started doing interesting stuff.

They also with Nintendo released two DQ games on 3DS and then separately two DQ Musou games on PS4/PC despite none of them selling well.

They are also continuing support for FFXV and trying to patch it up and add more SP content.

Good for SE and despite issues with Deus Ex and FFXV at least they are taking risks. Oh and for Xbone supporters, they are the only JRPG company still releasing those on the platform.

The whole NieR and Drakengard thing baffles me and I have no idea how it's been allowed to happen.

But how did this even happen? Like was there just some crazy executive at SE who was just like "I really love this series. I believe in it. Keep sinking money into it?" Like any other publisher and studio would have liquidated the team at this point (I'm looking at you EA). I'm not criticizing. I haven't played NieR Automata yet, but the Drakengard series has always been one of my favorites. I'm just scratching my head about how in the world they keep making these things.

Basically yes. One of SE execs loves Yoko Taro games and has been supporting him all these years.

 

[Nightengale]

Yoichi Wada is said to be a big fan of Yoko Taro, and funds his projects despite continued critical and commercial bombas because he believes in his vision.

Yosuke Saito clearly shares that same view, threatening to resign if he can't work a project with Yoko Taro.

 

[Dragon1893]

They really turned it around!

Lol, well played.

As a huge fan of the first game seeing the reception for Automata, both from a critical and comercial standpoint, really warms my heart.
The game is fantastic.

But yeah, lol at critically acclaimed.

Anyway, I agree, god bless them for greenlighting this.

 

[Aaronrules380]

Automata has unquestionably exceeded expectations both critically and commercially. Which isn't to say its blown up huge, but its very much an established franchise at this point, especially in Japan.

Media Create thread this week has the PS4 version at just under 280k now, and the game is still in the top10 after a month. Pretty impressive given the relative size of the install-base.

By way of comparison against SE's flagship XV, its shifted 1/3 as many units on a fraction of the budget. Hell, I'd suspect that the marketing budget for XV by itself was likely bigger than Nier's entire production cost. It should turn a very tidy profit for all concerned.

The only downside I can see is that it sort of cements Platinum in a position where they are considered a work-for-hire shop with specialist expertise in certain genres; i.e. getting bankrolled on self-generated IP might be a problem even if working on other publishers franchises isn't.

I feel like platinum's been in that role for a while though? They've had very little success with their original ip other than the first Bayonetta. I also don't think it's a bad thing to combine their strengths with known franchises either

 

[Earthpainting]

Nier Automata isn't just the sequel to one of my favourite PS3 games, but also the spiritual successor to The Guardian Legend that I've been begging for. Major props from me.

 

[Clear]

I feel like platinum's been in that role for a while though? They've had very little success with their original ip other than the first Bayonetta. I also don't think it's a bad thing to combine their strengths with known franchises either

Well, they started out with original IP, and Scalebound was no doubt intended to be their return to that tradition. For Taura that's probably not a big deal as he's steadily building his reputation with stuff like Nier and MG:R, but you have to wonder how seasoned vets like Kamiya feel about it; it has to be disappointing, and makes you wonder if he'd consider splitting off to do his own think like Mikami did with Tango.

 

[vato_loco]

They really turned it around!

Comment of the year.

Yes, I mean acclaimed by the fans, I know journalists hated it. I'll edit the thread to reflect that.

As much as I love Automata, I need to stop you right there.

There was literally a game-breaking bug prior to release. If you started playing the game after the initial install on PS4 (and before it downloaded 100% of the game), some of the key flags would get screwed up. The very first quest you get to help out the weapon smith would bug out and you wouldn't be able to interact with the toolbox. That's in addition to getting a quest that wasn't supposed to happen until

Spoiler

the second route

Square Enix PR had to come out and issue a statement not to play the game before it finished installing shortly after the JP release.

Oh my, I had no idea that had happened. So far I've had the game freeze on me once and that's it. It's one more than I found on Horizon, but it's pretty damn technically impressive.

 

[Christhor]

Nier not being critically acclaimed was quite notable at the time.

There was this huge divide between players saying it's great and journalists saying it wasn't. Who did the infamous fishing video? Sterling?

I'm so glad I eventually picked up the game. It looked like something I'd love, and word of mouth made me finally get it.

Basically this. If Nier had the type of hype surrounding it pre-release as Automata did, I think the scores would have been about the same, a 10 point difference at the very most. Nier came out at a time when reviewers in general seemed to have a thing against Japanese games, for some reason. It's also hilarious if you go back and look at how many of the reviewers clearly stopped playing the game at Ending A and even at the fishing quest that you can't fail two hours into the game.

The whole NieR and Drakengard thing baffles me and I have no idea how it's been allowed to happen.

Drakengard was an odd niche game. Despite being praised for it's dark and bizarre characters, setting, and story it was critically panned and almost everyone agrees that the game itself is quite bad. It was never a big hit and didn't reach a large audience at all. I'm not sure if it even broke even in regards to it's budget.

Yoichi Wada, former Square Enix president, is supposedly a big fan of Taro Yoko and his games. Here's a tweet saying he might do a second run of the game: https://twitter.com/yoichiw/status/64996495883112448

 

[Randam]

Wow, nier only has 68 on metacritic?

Why? Game is great.