Visual Novels on Other Systems?

[Riviera]

-Riviera
I know, I look at all of these otome games for DS and am practically drooling over them @A@ I've been very tempted to import some of them just to stare at the pretty art. XD
Have you played tokimeki memorial girl's side? It looks good but I can rarely get emulators to work properly.

I've played 1 and 2, and they're very cute titles. The boys are more or less cute, and almost all of them are interesting. The first one especially is very, very quirky. Has pretty much every type of guy you can think of. The second one is more focused, but still quite fun, and also expands some things like how you interact with them (the skinship).

I've tried emulators, but can't get them working either. I just play it on my flashcart now. The games themselves actually aren't all that expensive... before I checked, I expected huge prices like most japanese games have, but I'm pretty sure I ended up with a price tag of $30 each.

VNs have such a large internet fanbase, but apparently don't sell well when they actually get translated... maybe pirating is the issue? then again, what do I know XD

Piracy and fear of piracy. There was a big thing a little bit ago about japanese game devs not even letting foreign IPs LOOK at their website for fear of "having their culture compromised" and some of them won't allow fan-translations at all. For that reason and because of fear of piracy.

Plus.. it may seem large on sites like this, but I'm pretty sure if you go to your average game store most of the customers won't even know what a VN is. It's a shame, really. These games would very likely be very popular with readers and people who like dialogue-heavy RPGs. They just need to target the right markets.

There is also still a lot of stigma involved with dating games. You say dating game in western society and most people will probably think you mean ero/hentai.

[gekiganwing]

There is also still a lot of stigma involved with dating games. You say dating game in western society and most people will probably think you mean ero...

As a general rule, crap floats to the top. Take a genre or category of media, and you'll usually find that the latest faddish, heavily-promoted thing is what gets all the attention. And even though these hyped-up products will have a loud fanbase, they're not typically not high quality... For example, in anime/manga fandom, you need patience and dedication to find series which are not merchandise-driven fighting shows, or mindless NSFW content.

Now getting back on topic, VN/romance game fandom has made quite a bit of progress in the last decade. Unlike when I was a new fan in 2001, there's more than a handful of worksafe games in English. There's now some non-harem games. It's possible to find content for various types of fans (including GxB, BxB, and GxG). And while most good content in English is only on computers, some indie games are available through services that also sell relatively mainstream games.

Yes, this media form is still relatively unknown, and it's been buried under years of embarrassing marketing, bad writing/translation, and games that only appeal to a few fans. But while some companies have not succeeded in releasing quality products in English, fans have been picking up their slack.

There are some ways to publish independent VNs on consoles, such as XBLA indie games. In the next few years, there may be more options for releasing OELVNs on consoles.

[teacup]

Piracy and fear of piracy. There was a big thing a little bit ago about japanese game devs not even letting foreign IPs LOOK at their website for fear of "having their culture compromised" and some of them won't allow fan-translations at all. For that reason and because of fear of piracy.

Mm yeah I remember that, in fact a handful VN sites are still Japan IP only...
I thought that was more because of all the attacks on ero content and some japanese ero companies were feeling threatened. A lot of the attacks came from other countries. Hence, blocking foreign IPs.
If piracy is the issue, then wouldn't companies have more financial success by translating console VNs instead of PC ones? Emulators are still so iffy, it seems like more people would be forced to buy console vns if they really wanted the full experience. Also, people who don't know about VNs would get way more exposure if the games were actually sold in game stores as opposed to solely on the internet. Not to mention that console games can't contain any ero content (this applies to ps2, not sure about other consoles) so no one would have a reason to think that the game is just a mindless sex romp. I just think they would sell so much better.

Plus.. it may seem large on sites like this, but I'm pretty sure if you go to your average game store most of the customers won't even know what a VN is. It's a shame, really. These games would very likely be very popular with readers and people who like dialogue-heavy RPGs. They just need to target the right markets.

a lot of people are pirates, and also what looks like a large fanbase can really be quite niche compared to mainstream gaming.

Yeah, that's true. It's just when you look on youtube and see all the comments/views some visual novels have, and people begging for them to be translated, you'd think there was a huge fanbase. But I guess in comparison to more mainstream games, the amount of VN fans is actually pretty small. :<

Now getting back on topic, VN/romance game fandom has made quite a bit of progress in the last decade. Unlike when I was a new fan in 2001, there's more than a handful of worksafe games in English. There's now some non-harem games. It's possible to find content for various types of fans (including GxB, BxB, and GxG). And while most good content in English is only on computers, some indie games are available through services that also sell relatively mainstream games.

You're right about that, just look at MangaGamer, they have an all ages division on their site now~ apparently their sales aren't too good but it's still progress, hopefully more companies like them will start popping up~

[VenusEclipse]

Just saw this. Summer Story for ipod touch/iphone.
It's to help the native Japanese speakers with their English, bishoujo style! I wonder if it can be the other way around too.
The voice acting is in English.

http://inside.anime-expo.org/ax-scoop/2 ... -speakers/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alW9xrC37T8

[Snowflower]

Just saw this. Summer Story for ipod touch/iphone.
It's to help the native Japanese speakers with their English, bishoujo style! I wonder if it can be the other way around too.
The voice acting is in English.

http://inside.anime-expo.org/ax-scoop/2 ... -speakers/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alW9xrC37T8

OMG Another game for the iDeviceeeeee yeeeee

[pondrthis]

iDevices also have KiraKira English and Higurashi English, somewhat well-known titles.

[Riviera]

There is also still a lot of stigma involved with dating games. You say dating game in western society and most people will probably think you mean ero...

As a general rule, crap floats to the top. Take a genre or category of media, and you'll usually find that the latest faddish, heavily-promoted thing is what gets all the attention. And even though these hyped-up products will have a loud fanbase, they're not typically not high quality... For example, in anime/manga fandom, you need patience and dedication to find series which are not merchandise-driven fighting shows, or mindless NSFW content.

Now getting back on topic, VN/romance game fandom has made quite a bit of progress in the last decade. Unlike when I was a new fan in 2001, there's more than a handful of worksafe games in English. There's now some non-harem games. It's possible to find content for various types of fans (including GxB, BxB, and GxG). And while most good content in English is only on computers, some indie games are available through services that also sell relatively mainstream games.

Yes, this media form is still relatively unknown, and it's been buried under years of embarrassing marketing, bad writing/translation, and games that only appeal to a few fans. But while some companies have not succeeded in releasing quality products in English, fans have been picking up their slack.

There are some ways to publish independent VNs on consoles, such as XBLA indie games. In the next few years, there may be more options for releasing OELVNs on consoles.

That's all true, and your latter comments are what give me hope about this whole thing.

*looking up summer story as she types this*

I'm really, really hoping that japanese companies start to understand that fan translations are being done because we do want the game, and at least most of us are willing to pay for it. There have been some japanese otome-ish titles for the DS, just... not outright dating games. Not usually

I mean, we did get Princess Debut, and Style Savvy has hints of something. There was also a Makeup game that let you go around and hit on guys and see them as well. But those are all very girly and are probably passed over by most people looking for otome stuff.

Oh, also on iDevices: Do a search for gamebooks or fighting fantasy. Those are both choose-your-own-adventure type series, and they also bring up other CYOA's like Fabled Lands, Arcana Agency, The Labyrinth Phase, Star Breed, and The Goblin Forest. I supposed they could kinda-sorta count as VNs.

Imaginary Range is free, and it's a comic/game thing by Square Enix.

And shame on me for not mentioning that The Flower Shop and Vera Blanc games are also available for them.