[// Pregenerate link to episode ahead of time: - clicktotweet.com- sharelinkgenerator.com]: #
> Everything that lives is designed to end. We are perpetually trapped in a never-ending spiral of life and death. Is this a curse? Or some kind of punishment? I often think about the god who blessed us with this cryptic puzzle...and wonder if we'll ever get the chance to kill him.
>
> — Nier: Automata
Uh... we're talking about Nier this week, and hopefully we don't dive too far down the existentialist rabbithole. Plus, we've got special guest Sarah (aka SMZeldaRules) as our resident Nier-ologist to get us through it all.
Next week, we'll dive into that long-running and epic fandom: Final Fantasy fans (with special guests, Dan and Ari)!
## Where can I learn more about SMZeldaRules?
Do you like Cosplay? Perhaps Video Games? Good news! SMZeldaRules is a huge fan of both! If you want to follow her work, you can find her on...
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smzeldarulesartandcosplay
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## Episode outline
### Fandom Facts
**History and Origins:**
Nier... is actually a complicated game series to explain. It is definitely most well-known because of the 2017 entry in the series, _Nier: Automata_, but technically that is a sequel to the less popular _Nier_ (2010), which itself is a sequel to Ending E of _Drakengard / Drag-On Dragoon_ (2003). I think I've got that right.
[// Interject and ask if Sarah can provide some additional detail without a tone of spoilers ]: #
Speaking just about _Nier_ and _Nier: Automata_ (for the moment), the games are set in the far future where Earth has been left in a state of decay. _Nier_ focussed on the character of the same name attempting to find a cure for an illness, the Black Scrawl, and the sequel focusses on a combat android, 2B, in the midst of a proxy war between androids and machines created by otherworldly invaders. Did we mention it gets complicated?
Both _Nier_ and _Nier: Automata_ were written by the eclectic Yoko Taro. And combined have sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide.
[// Someone could easily do a history lesson on how all the games fit together ]: #
**Search Data:**
Given the complicated nature of the series, I looked up _Drakengard_, _Nier_, and _Nier: Automata_. The data is [very spiky](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F013f6zqs,%2Fm%2F09k6px6,%2Fm%2F02glg9), but generally interest has gone up since 2004 (although most interest has been since March 2017 - approximately the release date).
Since _Automata_ has the most data, we used it for looking at interest by region. The top 10 countries, by search data: South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines, Moldova, Malaysia, Russia, Puerto Rico.
(_Nier_ data is pretty similar in terms of top five, but Canada makes an appearance at 6th and Australia at 10th)
**Size of Fandom:**
Looking at the data we have from a few sources:
- There are almost 31 000 subscribers on [r/nier](https://www.reddit.com/r/nier/)
- [Metacritic has over 2700 user ratings for Automata](http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/nier-automata/user-reviews)
- [Nier: Automata has sold over 2 million copies by March 2018](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nier:_Automata)
It's fair to say that there are tens of thousands of dedicate fans of Nier.
**Fanac Fast Facts:**
- Archive Of Our Own has about [400 fics related](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/NieR:%20Automata%20(Video%20Game)/works) to the [Nier series](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Nier%20Gestalt%20%7C%20Nier/works):
- ... Most of which are F/M (224)
- ... Most of which have no crossover
- ... Most of which involve 2B (296) or 9S (280)
- In a 'best girl' survey on the Nier subreddit, [2B narrowly beat out A2](https://www.reddit...
