Nier RepliCant Message Board

New DLC for Nier, expected to be available tomorrow, adds 15 new stages, new costumes for Kaine, Emil, and Nier, and new Shades, as part of a new time-traveling scenario. Perhaps more importantly, it also enables players to control the young version of Nier from the Japan-only, PS3-only Nier Replicant, effectively removing the single difference between the two versions.

The character model change is included as a bonus in the "World of Recycled Vessel" pack, whose main component is a world unlocked by a hidden diary, in which Nier and his companions find themselves in a "dreamscape" that combines the past and present of the game.

Square Enix didn't announce pricing for North America, but the price in Europe, where the release date is May 12, is €6.99 or 560.

#sqaureenix The younger model of Nier that appeared in Japan's PlayStation 3 exclusive Nier Replicant makes a special Western appearance in The World of Recycled Vessel, downloadable content for Square Enix's action-RPG which explores the past of the grizzled protagonist. More »

Japan may be as confused by Square Enix's Nier as we are -- but it would appear that PS3 owners are answering their questions about the action RPG title firsthand, by purchasing it. The PS3 version, Nier Replicant, is the best-selling title for the week of April 19.25, with 60,000 units sold, according to Gpara's early estimate of Media Create sales rankings.

Nier Gestalt, the version released for Xbox 360 (and also the version released on both consoles in North America) didn't perform quite as well, coming in at number 11 -- possibly due to the older, more gruff main character, but probably due to the fact that it's on Xbox 360. There's no mention of how many copies were sold, but it's fewer than the 12,000 with which Pokemon Ranger: Path of Light achieved the number ten position.

To see how games that aren't Nier performed, check the list after the break.

[Via Kotaku]

#nier In Japan, role-playing game Nier has been released in two flavors: Nier Replicant for the PS3 and Nier Gestalt for the Xbox 360. Which version do you think is more popular in Japan? More »

Square Enix's angriest game ever, Nier, recently received a firm Japanese release date: Both iterations of the game (Nier Gestalt and Nier Replicant) will be landing on Japan's store shelves on April 22. Considering the current U.S. release window of Spring 2010, we wouldn't be surprised if we got our hands on the game soon after. However, we've been wrong before! Like that time we saw Nier at E3 last year, and were all like "man, there's no way they're actually going to finish and release this."

The PlayStation 3 story of Nier will be written in blood.

Square has not one, but two Nier games in the works: one for Xbox, and one for PS3. Nier Replicant is being developed exclusively for PS3, and looks somewhat different from its Gestalt counterpart. Both games feature a white-haired protagonist named Nier, but Replicant's lead is a younger, slimmer and a bit more effeminate than the 360's lead character. Both stories have our hero(es) on a journey to save a family member: in Replicant, it's a sister, while in Gestalt, it's a daughter.We're not entirely sure why Square Enix deemed it necessary to create two same-but-different versions of Nier for the two consoles. This new trailer does state that "peering into the mirror reveals yet another tale," so perhaps Square Enix fans will have to buy both versions of the game to get the whole story. We can't wait!