Nier Automata was made without trying to appeal to Western audiences and yet it got lots of success in the West
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I think its worth remembering the culture at the time here.
During the late 2000s and into the 2010s, the game journos and industry was full force shitting on Japanese games. Anything made in Japan was getting unfairly lambasted. Basically every trope of a Japanese game was being put under the microscope and hated on, and it basically was succeeding in making people reject a lot of those things as cliche and bad relative to Western Games of the time.
You can pull up a lot of reviews and the like from the time and find just how brutal and mocking they are of Japanese titles that aren't trying to ape Western sensibilities and culture. Especially as this was the zenith of Game Journos being high on their own shit, thinking themselves cultural titans, and using their influence to fuck with the Japanese devs. That's one of the reasons why people were so primed to destroy them in Gamergate.
While I don't think Automata is fully responsible, it is one of the most successful examples to show the big name companies that they didn't need to hide everything Japanese to appeal to the West.
Never forget the time when someone (might have been this visit) asked him why the final boss of Drakengard 3 was so maddening and difficult, and he just said "because its the final boss" and nothing further. Just let that punch sit.
Very true on the Persona 5 point, though I think we can make some distinction between "Japanese games" and "anime games." Persona 5 is unabashedly anime in many ways, whereas Automata isn't really that anime but is still undeniably Japanese.
I think all of them combined came together to shift the tides back in the favor of Japan being itself in gaming, in various ways.
Automata I think is probably the biggest culprit for unrestrained hot MCs and open thirsting getting a comeback, which is a little sad because its a lot more than that but its what most people took from it.
Breath of the Wild released at almost the exact same time, had universal acclaim, and swept Western awards. I can get excluding that one because "Nintendo," but worth mentioning.
I think Automata's importance was being a breakthrough success. Drakengard/Nier wasn't very mainstream or even that big in the weeb groups. Then Automata comes out of nowhere and knocks it out of the park. The important part was showing that the western market can be entered successfully without pandering to it. An important example for smaller devs.
Then again... PocketPair came along in 2023 said, "Americans like guns, right?" and sold 15m copies in one month.
Well that's because they were made by Cavia, a mostly anime license slop making company, so they weren't exactly big name worthy and the combat was less than stellar. Automata's biggest reason for success, besides the butt, was getting Platinum, a hugely popular company, to develop the gameplay element to cover their weaknesses.
So unfortunately I think the biggest takeaway there is "have your small indie creator get a popular company to risk their budget/time on him and you might be universally acclaimed." Because without Platinum involved, it absolutely would have remained a cult little title like Gestalt was.
That finally came out? I've been waiting for ages since 5 came out.
Of course we would bat an eye. How did this guy get a Japanese girlfriend who cooks and bakes?!