Stellar Blade – From NieR: Automata to Stellar Blade, Yoko Taro and Hyung-Tae Kim discuss developments in video games in Asia

Expected by part of the gaming community PlayStation 5, Stellar Bladethe first AAA console game from the Korean studio Shift Up clearly already arouses some curiosity. At least that's what we can deduce from the figures: the game ranks number one in pre-orders in several countries, notably in the United States, and its demo has been played almost twice as many as that of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. According to estimates ofAmpere Analysisspecializing in market studies on digital leisure, the game demo would have reached a peak of 690,000 daily active players, where they were “only” 380,000 for the highly anticipated title of Square Enix. The Stellar Blade demo would therefore be played almost twice as much as that of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

An evolving gaming industry in Asia

How to explain this craze? There Japanese version of IGN invited the South Korean Hyung-tae Kimcreative director of Stellar Blade, and the Japanese Yoko Taro, to whom we owe in particular Nier: Automata, in particular to try to answer the question. If the two directors are not stingy in compliments for each other (NieR: Automata is one of Hyung-Tae Kim's references and inspirations and according to Yoko Taro, Stellar Blade is “an incredible game” and “would be much better than NieR: Automata”), the exchange is especially valid for their reading of the evolution of the Asian video game market and its consequences for the West.

We note in particular that according to the duo, South Korea and China have long been leading countries in terms of online games and MMOs, particularly on mobile platforms (mobile gaming has long been one of the specialties of Shift Up), where Japan focused more on console gaming. Trends are evolving and both South Korean and Chinese studios are now also investing in the console games market, like Shift Up with Stellar Blade. To the point of supplanting Japan? This is Yoko Taro's opinion: according to him, Japanese developers “can no longer keep up technologically” and “the quality not only of the characters but also of the environments” of the Shift Up title “is also up to par that of Western games.” He continues: “Stellar Blade is of a very high technological level, so much so that I can't wait to see how Western players will react.”

“Unconventional” heroines

According to Yoko Taro, this increase in technological level would mark a milestone for the Asian video game industry. In her time, Yoko Taro also intended to compete with Western gaming, but with other weapons: 2B, the “unconventional” heroine of NieR: Automata, would have been precisely imagined to stand out from Western gaming video production.

Yoko Taro specifies: “ In an action combat game immersing the player in a science fiction setting, a conventional character would have been a male character who uses a gun, wearing clothing reminiscent of that of the United States Marine Corps. But there is already Halo and other games like that. It made no sense to me to do something like that. Anyway, I wouldn't be able to do this better than Western developers, because we are more culturally distant from them. I wanted to create a different style of play with less competition. That's why we opted for a sci-fi action fighting game with a female heroine dressed in black and blindfolded. Back then there was nothing like this, but now that Stellar Blade is about to hit the scene, I feel like it's going to become a saturated market soon! »

Hyung-Tae Kim and Yoko Taro share the observation that developers in Asia (and particularly in Korea) copy each other extensively. If Stellar Blade is a commercial success, clones could emerge – although Hyung-Tae Kim believes that Yoko Taro's games are “far too unique to imitate”.

What about EVE, the protagonist of Stellar Blade? Yoko Taro finds it “ also attractive » and considers that “ the artistic style (by Hyung-Tae Kim) is likely to appeal to Japanese audiences. Stellar Blade's graphics, environment and characters have a style that Japanese gamers love “. More broadly, like 2B, was EVE also designed to stand out from Western games? Obviously, yes and no. According to Hyung-Tae Kim, some of his projects are commercial, others are artistic. Stellar Blade would rather fall into the second category, but clearly, Yoko Taro is not fooled: “ So you design artistic games without thinking much about business and you have your own company with 300 employees, while I myself think about business all the time and I don't even have my own company yet? It’s strange… (…) haha! » Everyone will judge, the fact remains that both have designed games with strong female characters who overcome the challenges of hostile worlds. With NieR: Automata, Yoko Taro had rather chosen narration; with Stellar Blade, Hyung-Tae Kim focuses mainly on action (even if the title also includes a “story” mode for players not looking for too demanding gameplay). For the record, Stellar Blade is expected from April 26 exclusively on PlayStation 5.