Before Nier: Automata was greenlit as we know it today, it almost became a Farmville-style mobile title. No doubt that would have pleased fans of the cult classic original.
If you actually enjoy farming, check out our list of the best new MMOs.
“The timing was amazing, miraculous,” says Square Enix producer Yosuke Saito in an interview with Eurogamer. “This collaboration was suggested when we’d just come up with the idea of making the Nier sequel a mobile game.”
Saito says the team then spoke to PlatinumGames, the action game developers whom Nier: Automata was a collaboration with, and they suggested doing a Nier remake on PlayStation Vita. Things didn’t pan out that way though, and Nier: Automata ended up being a fully-fledged sequel, both for PS4 and PC.
Apparently the vision for the mobile game, according to eccentric series creator Yoko Taro, was along the lines of Farmville. “Yeah, we’re very glad we didn’t go down that route,” says Saito.
Read the full interview at Eurogamer. Nier: Automata is coming to PC March 17, and you can check out the system requirements here.