The similarities between Nier: Automata and Shift Up’s upcoming PlayStation 5 exclusive, Stellar Blade, are evident—and not just because the former inspired the latter. Both games center women piecing together a world at its collapse, which makes the two sisters of a sort. And as it does between sisters, jealousy foments under the surface. For Nier: Automata director Yoko Taro, at least, that’s the case, as he’s admitted his jealousy of Stellar Blade and its director.
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In a very cute new IGN interview, Taro and Stellar Blade director (and Shift Up CEO) Kim Hyeong-Tae chatted about their games and how they’ve influenced each other. During one part of the conversation, Kim was asked if he could be business-minded while working on games. In response, he said he’s “not particularly gifted as a businessman,” instead opting to focus on “[making] what I like and what I believe gamers will enjoy.” This seemed to have struck the envy chord in E minor for Taro.
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“So you make games as an artist without thinking about business too much and still have your own company with 300 employees, while I think about business all the time and don’t even have my own company yet?” Taro said. “That’s strange…I guess it’s because I’ve been a slave to Square Enix for so many years. Or I guess I should say I was enslaved by Yosuke Saito, NieR’s producer. It’s all his fault! Haha.”
While this is just a print interview, you can still feel Hyeong-Tae blushing in his chair. Not only has Yoko Taro, one of the games industry’s most legendary directors, said Stellar Blade is “much better than Nier: Automata,” he’s also expressed jealousy of Kim as both a businessman and an artist. Hyeong-Tae didn’t take all the credit, of course, saying there are a lot of people that help him while he “[walks] around greeting people and pretending to be the professional.” Kim also wondered if what Taro said was “a little dangerous” to admit. Apparently, Taro doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he was quite candid throughout the whole interview.
The admiration went both ways between the two creators, however, with Kim saying at one point saying that while Stellar Blade takes inspiration from Taro’s work, he also feels that there are ways in which his efforts can’t quite compare. “I have been inspired by NieR: Automata in so many ways that it’s hard to point out one specific thing,” he said. “I enjoyed playing the game so much and of course I saw all the endings. However, since Mr. Yoko’s talent as a storyteller is exceptional, I can’t do anything similar.”
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