Yoko Taro Told to Make NieR: Automata With Japan in Mind

NieR series creator Yoko Taro was told to make NieR: Automata focusing on the Japanese market without worrying about overseas reviews. The developer recently shared an anecdote about the game’s creation on X (formerly Twitter). In a recent interview with AV Watch, Shuhei Yoshida of Sony and PlayStation fame, credited NieR: Automata with being one of the games that changed the direction of the Japanese market from trying to imitate Western games and Hollywood-style trends circa the PS3 era. Yoshida also said that he thinks the Japanese game industry “revived after NieR.” Yoko Taro shared the interview on his personal social media and thanked Yoshida for his words. He then added that it was NieR: Automata Producer Yosuke Saito who “ordered” Taro to make a game “for the Japanese market without worrying about overseas reviews.” Here’s another direct from Yoko Taro regarding the instructions Producer Saito gave him on NieR: Automata: “I remember he said something like "Yoko, you're incapable of making games for overseas, so (at least) give it your best for the Japanese market."” Yosuke Saito himself responded to Yoko Taro’s post, by adding “That's not exactly what I said lol. What I meant was, because we're Japanese people there's no need to go out of our way to appeal to overseas audiences. We can probably attract around a million people across the world who want to play a Japanese game made by a Japanese person (the one and only Yoko Taro!)” Yoko Taro responded to his interaction with Yosuke Saito with a final, “Aren't we saying the same thing? (laughs).” NieR: Automata is available worldwide on the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC. The anime is streaming on Crunchyroll. A NieR game series livestream will be held on April 19, 2025. The post Yoko Taro Told to Make NieR: Automata With Japan in Mind appeared first on Siliconera.

Mar 31, 2025 - 21:59

Yoko Taro Told to Make NieR: Automata With Japan in Mind

NieR series creator Yoko Taro was told to make NieR: Automata focusing on the Japanese market without worrying about overseas reviews. The developer recently shared an anecdote about the game’s creation on X (formerly Twitter).

In a recent interview with AV Watch, Shuhei Yoshida of Sony and PlayStation fame, credited NieR: Automata with being one of the games that changed the direction of the Japanese market from trying to imitate Western games and Hollywood-style trends circa the PS3 era. Yoshida also said that he thinks the Japanese game industry “revived after NieR.”

Yoko Taro shared the interview on his personal social media and thanked Yoshida for his words. He then added that it was NieR: Automata Producer Yosuke Saito who “ordered” Taro to make a game “for the Japanese market without worrying about overseas reviews.”

Here’s another direct from Yoko Taro regarding the instructions Producer Saito gave him on NieR: Automata:

“I remember he said something like "Yoko, you're incapable of making games for overseas, so (at least) give it your best for the Japanese market."”

Yosuke Saito himself responded to Yoko Taro’s post, by adding “That's not exactly what I said lol. What I meant was, because we're Japanese people there's no need to go out of our way to appeal to overseas audiences. We can probably attract around a million people across the world who want to play a Japanese game made by a Japanese person (the one and only Yoko Taro!)” Yoko Taro responded to his interaction with Yosuke Saito with a final, “Aren't we saying the same thing? (laughs).”

NieR: Automata is available worldwide on the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC. The anime is streaming on Crunchyroll. A NieR game series livestream will be held on April 19, 2025.

The post Yoko Taro Told to Make NieR: Automata With Japan in Mind appeared first on Siliconera.