Shuhei Yoshida, a veteran gaming executive, thinks the Japanese gaming industry was once a follower, not a leader. Western games were more popular and had better gameplay. Games like GTA, Gears of Wars, and The Last of Us were hits. Japanese developers tried to copy them.
But then Nier: Automata came out in 2017. It wasn’t a huge hit at first, but it gained popularity over time. It sold over 9 million copies and made 2B, the main character, a gaming icon.
Nier: Automata’s Impact
Nier: Automata helped boost sales of other games, including ones from Square Enix. 2B became more popular than the “slime” character from Dragon Quest, which is a symbol of Square Enix.
Yoshida says the creators of Nier: Automata didn’t expect it to do well abroad. But it did, and that changed things. Japanese developers stopped copying Western games and started making their own unique games.
A New Era for Japanese Games
After Nier: Automata, Japanese games started to gain more independence. Developers were no longer trying to fit in with Western trends. They were making games that were fun and different. Yoshida thinks Nier: Automata helped revive the Japanese gaming industry.
Games like Nier: Automata proved that Japanese games can be successful without copying Western styles. This shift in the industry has led to more innovative and creative games.
