Read on Twitter
-The Development of Brother and Father in NieR-
Ironically, development of NieR started with the Xbox 360 as the target system. At this point, only the younger protagonist was considered. However, Yosuke Saito (Producer) expressed concern for the Western markets.
Ironically, development of NieR started with the Xbox 360 as the target system. At this point, only the younger protagonist was considered. However, Yosuke Saito (Producer) expressed concern for the Western markets.
There was a lot of debate between the development team and American/European localizers. The younger protagonist was almost scrapped in favor of a "macho" protagonist, who was considered to be more marketable for the West.
Additionally, as an action RPG, the team wanted to differentiate NieR from Square Enix's popular Kingdom Hearts franchise. An older protagonist in a darker, grittier game would stand out against the lighter Kingdom Hearts.
The desperation to appeal to the West should not be understated. The seventh generation was a difficult time for console Japanese games in general. Many factors contributed to this, but the rise of mobile gaming, difficulty producing on new hardware, and
the types of games that were popular in the West caused issues. Even one of the biggest JRPGs of the generation, Final Fantasy XIII, had many issues impacting its development. Keiji Inafune of Capcom was particularly outspoken about the decline of Japanese games during this time.
Yoko refused to just make a game about an older protagonist though, stating that the decision would cause him and the team to lose motivation.
Saito convinced Yoko to make two versions of the game - one for each type of protagonist.
The Replicant version of the game almost got canceled in a presumably different meeting, with Square Enix USA reasoning "Can't we just release Gestalt?" as it would be the version both the JP and Western markets would be getting.
An English dub of Replicant seemed to have been planned as well, but there was an "issue with the voice actors". So we were left with Japan receiving NieR Replicant on Playstation 3, Gestalt on Xbox 360, and the West only receiving Gestalt on both platforms.
Research for this thread was rather saddening because it seems Father Nier was never part of the original game and was practically imposed on Taro Yoko. Though, Saito's concern for the Western market was understandable and highly common during the time.
This is reflected clearly in the finished release as well. To put it lightly, Brother's in-game transformation is rather dramatic, both in appearance and voice, whereas Father's change is hardly noticeable. (Both Niers, pre- and post- timeskip)
Post NieR's release, the Brother has, by far, received more content. He is the only Nier featured in Drakengard's 10th anniversary illustrations, Automata's outfit DLC, and narratives in the NieR concerts.
Although the love for both Niers has created a bit of a divide in the fanbase, it is not a strictly geographical divide. Many JP fans know and love Father, as do many Western fans know and love Brother! (1000 respondents in this poll have watched a playthrough of NieR Gestalt!)
(Sources to Follow)
Debates w/ Localizers: https://s.inside-games.jp/article/2010/05/18/42090_2.html (with very big thank you to @inkopolis for translating certain parts of this article, will post the full organized translation in a bit)
Debates w/ Localizers: https://s.inside-games.jp/article/2010/05/18/42090_2.html (with very big thank you to @inkopolis for translating certain parts of this article, will post the full organized translation in a bit)
NieR & Kingdom Hearts: https://www.videogamer.com/previews/nier-interview
Debates w/ Localizers 2: Grimoire NIER, English translation here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vEP2iZ52P-DWhQBQ2Is6R8Wjao99AGi0YuWShTvA-tA/edit?usp=sharing
Decline of JP Games during the 7th Gen: https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/01/18/japans-decline
Additionally a very big thank you to @Flawlessdana17 for knowing all NieR knowledge ever and helping me put together this beast of a thread!
Full translation of section used in Famitsu interview, I changed some of the order to have the thread read a bit better:
