Do you think visual novels are growing or slowly dying?

[Barzini]

It is growing - Definitely. We have seen an increase in both the number of developers as well as consumer. However, purchasing power of our consumers have remained stagnant as well, along with the prices of our products in general though we're seeing new players coming into market by aggressively giving discounts on launch.

On Crowdfunding sites, it isn't as pleasant as last time anymore. Tons of campaigns failing :/

[Anyubel]

Going on youtube, there's a lot more people who do let's plays of visual novels, or at least maybe I just started to go on youtube a lot more. Probably that. At the very least, it is becoming a little more mainstream through games that use visual novel elements. I doubt it'll ever become full on mainstream in the west, but at least it's going somewhere...?

Either way, they're definitely increasing in amounts, almost to the point where I have a folder on my desktop solely dedicated to visual novels that I still have to finish. There's a lot in there. I really, really, really need to get started on that...

[JBShields]

It is growing - Definitely. We have seen an increase in both the number of developers as well as consumer. However, purchasing power of our consumers have remained stagnant as well, along with the prices of our products in general though we're seeing new players coming into market by aggressively giving discounts on launch.

On Crowdfunding sites, it isn't as pleasant as last time anymore. Tons of campaigns failing :/

Here, here! *claps*

I think my past few posts have been about my concerns relating to this. If we have great makers, and more and more great games, but players "remain stagnant" or people don't know about VNs, the art is lost.

My biggest concern is the rise of Virtual Reality. If people play VNs games first, I honestly believe that they'll love them despite the VR technology popularity. But it takes us in the community to get the word out. That's why I've been asking convention goers about VNs. Unfortunately, no one seems to know about them. Yet.

I think that CAN be changed.

[DeprecatedPelican]

I generally think VNs are growing rather than dying. Steam seems to be getting more translated and original VNs than ever before, especially with big companies like Key starting to bring over titles like Clannad over to the west for the first time officially. It also seems like more smaller/independant western developers are making visual novels than ever before. I don't know the exact figures on sales and such, but they probably have their audiences, and while the audience is probably growing much more slowly than audiences for say... FPS games or RPG games, it's still a lot larger than what it would've been even five years ago.

Katawa Shoujo originally got me into VNs a long time ago, before that I probably wouldn't have even considered VNs as good entertainment. I think for most people to give VNs a chance in the first place it just requires that one special game, like with other genres.

[juunishi master]

Based on what I lately saw in Steam, I'd say VNs are growing. A lot of translated VNs, more VNs from out of Japan (Analogue, Over The Hills and Far Away, Asphyxia, An Octave Higher, Rising Angel, etc and correct me if I put a wrong title here), and, yeah, Telltale Games and even Life is Strange could be considered as VN too. And Gone Home too, maybe?

I think there's always people who just tired of playing something that need reflex and/or button smashing and want to enjoy a more relaxing games with great stories.

About a lot of VN with ecchi content, euh, yeah, sex sells. But since I'm only good at enjoying ecchi stuff (yuri only) and not at creating one, I'll stay out from making R18 content. )

[curry nochi rice]

Steam's seeing a lot of VNs being released.
LSF's seeing a way lot more VNs being announced and in production, alternately there's also a lot that actually don't go past the first year of development.

It's literally growing, with no end in sight.

[KittyWills]

It's a niche market in niche market. (text heavy games and anime) So I doubt it's every going to become a huge industry with Triple A games being developed. But in it own community I think it's doing very well. Lots of indies actually completing games and a handful of translated ones popping up on Steam and PSP. I do hope it keeps it's momentum going.

[Chibi Subaru]

I believe it's growing as more Japanese companies are willing to localize their games. Aksys Games just announced they'll be translating four Otomate games for the English market. Then you have D3 Publisher releasing their games on both mobile and Steam. Hunex just released two of their games onto mobile in May, though they could use to go back into their games and fix their grammar. More otome games are being released on the mobile device, but Otomate is bringing theirs over on the Vita, but have worked with NTT Solmare to localize some of their games on mobile.

Before, most Japanese companies were too afraid of localizing their games into the western market because they thought it would be too risky as they felt otome and visual novels wouldn't do well over here. I think if they thought visual novels/otome were dying, we wouldn't be seeing more and more games being translated by bigger companies. Also, these same companies are still making these types of games in their own market at a decent pace.

I also think visual novels are growing as more indie developers are making games that fall into different types of genres. This has helped expand the audience for these games. This has allowed people that originally thought visual novels games were only romance based or porn-like and weren't interested in those to experience what visual novels are like.

[fullmontis]

I really feel they are growing. This comes from someone that six years ago didn't know anything about what a VN was, and now plays and develops them as an hobby. I definitely feel there is some expanding interest for them.

[deltë]

Neither. Isn't becoming as mainstream as other genres, or dying out either.

[proxygames]

Neither. Isn't becoming as mainstream as other genres, or dying out either.

Gonna disagree with you. I find them slowly growing since more are being localized from Japan and new creators are coming in. Steam is proof they are becoming more popular. I doubt they'll ever be super mainstream, they are growing though.

[deltë]

Gonna disagree with you. I find them slowly growing since more are being localized from Japan and new creators are coming in. Steam is proof they are becoming more popular. I doubt they'll ever be super mainstream, they are growing though.

Very slowly growing, maybe.

[YourGeekGoddess]

I feel vns are definitely growing, but it does seem traffic for many visual novel development sites is curiously dwindling. I don't know that that's the actual case though.

[KittyWills]

I feel vns are definitely growing, but it does seem traffic for many visual novel development sites is curiously dwindling. I don't know that that's the actual case though.

I can see that. My guess would be since there are more devs now, there is more competition. Video games are a luxury item and people can only consume so much. Add fandom and mob mentality, you're going to get a few very very popular games while a good chuck of us stay semi-obscure.

[Fuseblower]

I wonder whether visual novels aimed at very young children would be a good idea. Regular novels are hardly ever illustrated but children´s books are. After all : visual novels are merely illustrated stories. I don't know whether such VNs aimed at a young audience exist.