I lost track of how many collaborations articles related to SEGA of Japan’s games we’ve posted here already, but it appears these events have been rather successful for SEGA as they’ve just announced another collaboration event for Phantasy Star Online 2. After Gravity Rush 2 earlier on, it’s now time for NieR: Automata to get a collaboration with SEGA’s online RPG.
NieR: Automata is the sequel to the original NieR on PlayStation 3, a game which much like Valkyria Chronicles was mostly ignored at launch by the gaming community, only to become something of a cult-classic over time. The game also featured a fantastic soundtrack from composer Keiichi Okabe, who is now also working on NieR: Automata. In addition, the sequel is being developed by the renowned PlatinumGames, which SEGA fans of course know because of their work on the highly acclaimed Bayonetta games.
The NieR: Automata collaboration will see costumes for the androids YoRHa No.2 Type B (aka “2B”), YoRHa No9 Type S (aka “9S”) and YoRHa Type A No.2 (aka “A2”) added to Phantasy Star Online 2, as well as accessories, hairstyles, weapon camos and lobby items. We included a few screenshots of the three characters mentioned above as they appear in NieR: Automata. In the game, A2 served as the prototype to create 2B and 9S.
Incidentally, Gravity Rush 2 and Nier: Automata are games that I’m really looking forward to playing in 2017, and both of these franchises have a dedicated fanbase in the West as well. As such it’s ironic that these collaborations happen while Phantasy Star Online 2, a franchise that also has a strong following in the West, hasn’t been localized…
The Nier: Automata content will be added to Phantasy Star Online 2 in March, 2017 in Japan. NieR: Automata itself will be released in Japan on February 23. North America will get the game a bit later on March 7, followed by Europe which is getting the game on March 10. A demo of the game will be released on the PlayStation 4 store in North America, Europe and japan on December 22. Lastly, a PC version of the game is also scheduled to be released later in 2017.