It's no secret that the cultural differences between Western and Asian countries can sometimes lead to somewhat tense situations. Indeed, it's not uncommon to see controversies erupt over the way women are portrayed in South Korean and Japanese games, as recently demonstrated by titles like Stellar Blade and Bayonetta. And while this can sometimes lead to a certain form of censorship, the creators of NieR Automata assure us that the game has not been a victim of it.
NieR Automata victim of censorship? The studio denies
For several days, rumors have been circulating that PlatinumGames was forced to rethink the character designs of its heroines in order to prevent NieR Automata from being banned in other countries outside of Japan. The source of this rumor: the game's producer himself, Yosuke Saito, who then implied this during an online interview broadcast last week on YouTube. Here is the statement in question:
There are certain things that are ethically or morally inappropriate – even if they are only aspects of a character. We try to set boundaries by establishing rules about what is acceptable and what is not. While some things may be acceptable in Japan, they can become problematic in certain overseas regions. This is the kind of situation we generally try to avoid creating.
Yosuke Saito during a live broadcast on the GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE YouTube channel on June 10, 2025
It turns out, however, that his words, naturally spoken in Japanese, were actually mistranslated and therefore misinterpreted by the public. Because if we believe the Japanese media Automaton, what Saito really meant originally was that as long as NieR Automata complied with the ethical and moral rules in force in Japan, then PlatinumGames would do everything possible to integrate this into the game without any censorship in other countries.
Going against the tide of the West, a true philosophy
Seeing the rumor spread like wildfire on social media, Saito tweeted to clarify the situation. "Ah, I was misunderstood somewhere without knowing it" the creator wonders, before adding: "That's a huge translation error... I mean, NieR Automata has no restrictions!!!". These words were then endorsed by Yoko Taro, the game's director, who also declared "I've never heard of such a thing..." to an internet user asking him if it was true that Square Enix was imposing censorship on them.
NieR Automata fans can rest assured: the game is indeed as PlatinumGames always intended it. Moreover, Taro did not fail to point out that it was important for the studio to go against Western trends to better stand out. "If Western science fiction is full of marine-like soldiers, we could go in the opposite direction and use gothic lolita outfits, for example. We tend to take the opposite view” he declared.
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