• News

Yoko Taro says NieR Automata's success was a fluke, bets Replicant won't be similar

Ever quirky, Yoko Taro chimed in on NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139...'s launch that he bets it won't be as successful as NieR Automata.

TJ Denzer

April 23, 2021 9:10 AM

2

Yoko Taro is not a very normal fellow when it comes to most things. Whether it’s wearing the big Emil head in most public appearances and functions or simply designing subversive games, Taro has made quite a name for himself, especially since the success of NieR Automata. However, Yoko Taro doesn’t think NieR Automata was a normal or expected situation. He claims it was fluke, and that he hardly expects NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... (which came out today) to sell so well.

Yoko Taro shared these interesting thoughts in a special NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... post-launch message published on Square Enix’s website on April 23, 2021. There was a lot of interesting things in the message. For one, Taro doesn’t consider this a remake or remaster, but rather a “version upgrade,” also the numbers on the end were just something random he slapped on. But more notably, Yoko Taro has no expectation that NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... will do as well as Automata did.

“I mean, come on, I made it! Automata selling was a fluke,” Taro wrote. “And all my other stuff has hardly sold anything worthy of note.”

Producer Yosuke Saito also chimed in to share in the quirky enthusiasm.

“NieR: Automata’s big success was honestly somewhat of a miracle, so I don’t think we will be selling quite that much…” Saito wrote. “However, if we don’t shift a certain amount then Mr. YOKO and myself will be forced to travel the world, selling the game out the back of a van.”

Indeed, NieR: Automata took off like a rocket when it launched in 2017. The game was popular all over social media, has sold millions of copies, and even made it into crossovers like Soulcalibur 6. We certainly loved the game when we reviewed it here at Shacknews.

Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see if Taro and Saito’s expectations turn out to be true. The Nier Replicant remaster is out as of today, April 23. If you don’t want Taro and Saito to have to sell it out of a van, be sure to pick it up on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.