Just last night was another fun “Game Sakaba” segment with many folks from the NieR development team and more in which we were able to watch the guys play around with the new system from SEGA in which it lets you play actual UFO catcher games through a simple touch on your smartphone!

I will not be covering the main portion of this livestream regarding the UFO catchers, but you can watch the full broadcast from the link below:

▶︎ Cast Appearances

• Yoko Taro
• Yosuke Saito
• Keiichi Okabe
• Ui Hinagata
  (YoRHa Ver.1.2 Musical – Rose, Thou Shalt Not Die Zero_KAI – Kuchiba, Bakuken – Yatsume)
• Mio Hanana (aka Namio)
  (YoRHa Ver.1.2 Musical – No21, Thou Shalt Not Die Zero_KAI – Sakura)

▶︎ New Merchandise!

During the livestream, we were shown several new items by ENSKY that will be released.
Here’s a brief rundown:

• 2B’s Skirt Inspired Pull-string Bag
• Available at the ENSKY booth at Tokyo Game Show from September 26
• Available for purchase online from October 2024
• 2,200 yen

• NieR:Automata Acrylic Magnets
• Available at the ENSKY booth at Tokyo Game Show from September 26
• Available for purchase online from October 2024
• Single: 990 yen / Box: 5,940 yen

• NieR:Automata Black Box Light
• Available at the ENSKY booth at Tokyo Game Show from September 26
• Online reservations open from September 2024
• Single: 4,180 yen

• NieR:Automata Metalic Runner Ring
• Available at the ENSKY booth at Tokyo Game Show from September 26
• Available for purchase online from October 2024
• Single: 990 yen / Box: 5,940 yen

• NieR:Automata Ver.1.1a – Voice Included Wireless Earpods, 2nd Edition
  Pod042/Pod153 Model
• Power On: “This is tactical support unit Pod042. Initiating voice audio guidance.”
• Power Off: “This is tactical support unit Pod153. Terminating voice audio guidance.”
• Includes a total of 11 types of voice audio including the beginning and successful pairing.

• NieR:Automata Ver.1.1a – Voice Included Wireless Earpods, 2nd Edition
  A2 Model
• Power On: “…It’s been awhile.”
• Power Off: “See ya.”
• Includes a total of 11 types of voice audio including the beginning and successful pairing.

• NieR:Automata Ver.1.1a – Earpod Wireless Portable Charger
  Pod042 & Pod153 / Lunar Tear Model

• NieR:Automata Ver.1.1a – Craft Beer
  Pascal
• Title: Peace
• Music: Pascal (Ver.1.1a)
• Size: 500ml

• NieR:Automata Ver.1.1a – Craft Beer
  Simone
• Title: Diva
• Music: A Beautiful Song (Ver.1.1a)
• Size: 500ml

• NieR:Automata Ver.1.1a – Craft Beer
  Devola Popola
• Title: Desert rose
• Music: Song of the Ancients / Atonement (Ver.1.1a)
• Size: 500ml

▶︎ New “Smart Toy” brand anitech by HIBINO

Much along the same lines as the PSYCHO-PASS smart toy that was released in 2016 which connects to your smartphone and transforms, several NieR:Automata themed items are currently under development. Here’s a look at the PSYCHO-PASS toy:

Firstly, here’s the mock-up of 2B’s sword, Virtuous Contract:

And secondly, here’s the mock-up of Pod042:

Please note that there seems to be three pods shown in the image on the left, but these are the individual stages in which the smart toy will effectively morph into. They’re currently debating what size to make the smart toy, as if they go with a 1:1 ratio, it might be too large for most people (as there’s little storage space for most in Japan). They demonstrated generally how large a 1:1 ratio would look like in the image on the right.

▶︎ Happy Birthday, Yosupi!

Yosuke “Yosupi” Saito’s birthday was on August 25, so the gang gave him a little birthday celebration including a song/rap by Yoko, Namio, and Ui. The only thing was… the girls couldn’t quite hear the BGM track to be able to sing their lines very well and it was kinda a mess in a hilarious way. They later tried it again and it was a bit better, but it was a little painfully obvious that they didn’t perform a technical rehearsal before the livestream… lol

• Music written by Keiichi Okabe (DJ Okabe)
• Lyrics written by Yoko Taro
• Performed by Mio Hanana (Diva Namio) & Ui Hinagata (Diva Ui)

▲ The lyrics were color coded for the performers.

• Red: Yoko
• Blue: DJ Namio
• Pink: DJ Ui
• Green: DJ Namio / DJ Ui

What was really funny about this is that Saito even ratted them out, saying that they needed to practice and rehearse more, which to anyone involved in productions like this, is an ABSOLUTE given. There’s no excuse for them not to hear the BGM and therefore mess up, but even the second time through, they still kinda messed up, so… yeah, they needed a couple more takes in rehearsal. haha

Here’s a look at Yosupi’s cake that they gave him. The first photo is pretty funny with Yoko’s head on the side. For the actual cake, you can see that they printed a photo of Yosupi in his 9S cosplay that he wore for the World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya earlier this month.

They even made a large poster of the same image of Yosupi as 9S (which he dubbed 54D) and unveiled it during the program. For some reason, the camera focused on his knees, maybe at Yoko’s request.

They also made some small acrylic stands of Yosupi and Yoko in their cosplays from WCS2024.

▶︎ NieR:Automata Ver.1.1a – Season 2

▶︎ The Limited Edition DVD/BD Boxset Bonuses:

• Digital jacket with original artwork by character designer and chief animation director Jun Nakai
• New short story by Jun Eshima, 笑顔ノ君ヘ “Egao no Kimi e” (To you who smiles)
• Drama CD “fa[T]al error“
• Collection of production materials, “Elements of NieR:Automata Ver.1.1a 002”
• ”Pod’s Records 002” Illustration Book
• Replica Disc
• Special Illustration Card(s)

Virtuous Contract

　▶Over 130cm of an overwhelming presence with realistic texture
　▶Reproduces battle scenes with vibration, light, and sound effects based upon movement
　▶Secondary product: Pod042 remote control
　▶Includes voice recordings of the main character, 2B
　▶Comes with unique serial number engraved
　▶Scheduled for release in Autumn 2025

Pod042

　▶Automatic transformation mechanism
　▶Reproduces laser beams with sound effects and light
　▶Can be remote controlled with the Virtuous Contract or smartphone
　▶A special voice recording plays when stroked
　▶Includes an alarm and alert function with Pod042’s voice
　▶Comes with unique serial number engraved
　▶Comes with dedicated stand
　▶Scheduled for release in 2027

▶︎ The Next BAKUKEN Stage Play in 2025!

They let slip that there’s another Bakuken stage play set for 2025, and we’ll hear more about the details later in December, maybe around Christmas along the same lines as the previous Saito Santa livestreams, which officially ended in 2022. This will mark the 4th official play, 3rd in terms of story, which should continue the story from the last one in which we saw the appearance of Kyosuke Suga as Michael. Although I’m very excited to see him back, if that’s the case, it will be hard to see him as a BAD GUY in need of saving by Yatsume…!! The implications for the whole Bakuken stories in terms of the overall Yokoverse is CRAZY!

Absolutely insane take: Could Yatsume actually be the basis for Accord…? We know she’s immortal and will always come back to life due to “reasons”… It would be interesting if this is how Yoko envisioned fusing everything together. This next play might be the last for Bakuken… before Yoko gets another idea for something brand new.

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More news will follow when it’s been announced! Please stay tuned!