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An eroge (エロゲー, erogē^?, erotic game) is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Circle-question. ... AnimePlay is a trademark used to refer to the visual novel games distributed by Hirameki International and a magazine profiling these games. ... Dōjin soft, 同人ソフト short for software, also sometimes called dōjin games 同人ゲ−ム) are video games created by Japanese hobbyists or hobbyist groups (referred to as circles), more for fun than for profit; essentially, the Japanese equivalent of fangames. ... Dating simulations (dating sims) are a video game subgenre of simulation games, usually Japanese, with romantic elements. ... A visual novel is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art. ... A bishōjo game (美少女ゲーム bishōjo gÄ“mu); more often spelled bishoujo game), also known as a girl game/gal game is a type of Japanese video game centered around interactions with attractive anime-style girls. ... An otome game ) is a video game that is targeted towards a female market, where the basic goal is to develop a romantic relationship between the player character (a female) and one of several male characters. ... Namcos Pac-Man was a hit, and became a universal phenomenon. ... The main cast of the anime Cowboy Bebop (1998) (L to R: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Ed Tivrusky, Faye Valentine, and Ein the dog) For the oleo-resin, see Animé (oleo-resin). ...

In English, eroge are often called hentai games in keeping with the English slang definition of hentai. This is sometimes shortened to H games. In Japan, eroge are also known as 18-kin game (18禁ゲーム, jyuhachi-kin gēmu^?).^{[citation needed]}. It has been suggested that H Manga be merged into this article or section. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ...

HCG (H CG artwork) refers to the anime-style artwork commonly used in these games, which is often distributed separately from the game itself via the Internet to people who just want to look at the artwork without playing the game itself. CG means either computer graphics or computer-generated. ...

History of eroge

In the 1980s, Japanese companies introduced their own brands of microcomputer to compete with the United States. The competing models included Sharp's X1 series, Fujitsu's FM-7 series, and NEC's PC-88 series. NEC was behind its competitors in terms of hardware (with only 16 colors and no sound support) and needed a way to regain control of the market. From these roots, the erotic game was invented. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Commodore 64 was one of the most popular microcomputers of its era, and is the best selling home computer of all time. ... The word sharp or acronym SHARP has several uses: Look up sharp in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The X1 series from Sharp is a series of home computers released in Japan. ... For the district in Saga, Japan, see Fujitsu, Saga. ... The FM TOWNS (also spelled FM-TOWNS, FM Towns and FM-Towns) system is a Japanese PC variant, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to Summer 1997. ... NEC Corporation (Jp. ... The NEC PC8801 system was introduced by NEC Corporation in 1981. ...

These original eroge had a single, simplistic storyline, usually involving rape. It made the PC-88 popular, but customers quickly tired of paying 8800 yen ($85) for such a simple game. Soon, new genres were invented: ASCII's Chaos Angels, a role-playing-based eroge, inspired Dragon Knight by Elf and Rance by AliceSoft. However, these games still had weak storylines. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Dragon Knight is a hentai eroge series. ... Rance is a series of Japan-exclusive eroge computer role-playing games by Alice Soft featuring the title character, Rance. ... AliceSoft (sometimes also spelled as Alice Soft) was established in 1989, as an eroge publisher for the computer market, first for the PC-98 and later for PCs running Microsoft Windows platforms. ...

In 1992, Elf released Dōkyūsei. The main innovation of Dōkyūsei was that instead of being simple pornography, the user had to first win the affection of one of a number of female characters, making the story into an interactive romance novel. Thus, the dating simulation genre was invented. The original DōkyÅ«sei, released in 1992. ... Zork I is one of the first interactive fiction games, as well as being one of the first commercially sold. ... A screenshot of the renai game True Love Story 3 A renai game (恋愛ゲーム) is a Japanese adventure video game focusing on romantic interactions with anime girls. ...

Soon afterwards, the video game Otogirisou on the Super Famicom attracted the attention of many Japanese gamers. Otogirisou was a standard adventure game, but had multiple endings. This concept was called a "sound novel". This article should be merged with Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Famicom design differed from that of the American SNES, though the controllers are almost the same. ...

In 1996, the new software publisher Leaf expanded on this idea, calling it a visual novel and releasing their first successful game, Shizuku. Shizuku was a typical rape game, but in 1997 they released To Heart, a story of high school love which set the standard for modern eroge. To Heart featured high-quality music that was so popular it was added to karaoke machines throughout Japan—a first for eroge. Leaf is a Japanese visual novel studio under the publisher AQUAPLUS (アクアプラス). It and its competitor Key (to which it is often compared) are the most popular and successful dedicated visual novel studios operating today. ... A visual novel is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art. ... Screenshot of Shizuku. ... To Heart Playstation game box // Summary To Heart is a visual novel by Leaf/Aquaplus released in 1997 for the PC. It was later ported to the PlayStation and given voice acting. ... A karaoke machine Karaoke 空 kara, empty or void, and オーケストラ ōkesutora, orchestra) pronounced ;   is a form of entertainment in which an amateur singer or singers sing along with recorded music on microphone. ...

In 1999, the new software house Key, which had split from Tactics over the question of how much storyline an eroge needed, released Kanon with much fanfare. Kanon nearly eliminated the erotic part of the eroge (in fact, an all-ages version was released), instead focusing on the storyline of the visual novel. It was an instant hit, and in 2002 a 13 episode anime series was produced, as well as another 24 episode anime series in 2006, a first for an eroge. According to Satoshi TODOME's A History of Eroge, Kanon is still the standard for modern eroge and is referred to as a "baptism" for young otaku in Japan. Key is a Japanese renai game studio, known for making dramatic and plot-oriented games. ... Tactics is a Japanese visual novel studio, which specializes in the development of renai and eroge style games. ... This article is about the Japanese series. ... Otaku ) is a derisive Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive hobbies, most commonly manga, anime or hentai. ...

Types of eroge

All game genres generally have some sort of eroge variety. Frequently, eroge are also dating sims in the form of visual novels. However, eroge also come in a variety of other categories: Dating simulations (dating sims) are a video game subgenre of simulation games, usually Japanese, with romantic elements. ... A visual novel is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art. ...

• Strip versions of traditional games, including but not limited to mahjong, pachinko, poker, chess and blackjack. Many adult arcade games fall under this category.
• Regular video game genres such as RPGs with a sexual element in the storyline.
• Conditioning game which, by performing different types of sexual activities, changes the female's stats which unlocks additional types of play.
• Interactive video, which is essentially nothing more than an eroge that plays in a DVD player (also known as a "DVDPG"—"DVD Player Game").
• Sex simulators, often in 3D.
• Puzzle games with erotic background images
• Ero-cha is online sex chat employing full voice chat with voice actresses in real time. This system uses 2D eroge-type characters as well as erotic game style point-and-click functions.

Eroge may be bishōjo games, GxB, or BL games, although girl games are the most popular. Mahjong (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Cantonese: Màhjeung; other common English spellings include mahjongg, majiang, and hyphenated forms such as mah-jong or mah-jongg) is a game for four players that originated in China. ... Classic pachinko machine Pachinko parlor at night Entrance to pachinko parlor in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. ... A game of Texas holdem, currently the most popular form of poker, in progress. ... Chess is a recreational and competitive game for two players. ... Blackjack, The face cards (Jack, Queen, and King) and the ten count as 10 points, and the Ace counts as 1 or 11. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... This article is about games in which one plays the role of a character. ... The inside of a DVD player A DVD player is a device not only playing discs produced under the DVD Video standard but also playing discs under the standard of DVD Audio. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... GxB is a common abbreviation used in reference to dating sims and occasionally used to describe general fictional works where a female main character dates male characters. ... BL games (also known as yaoi games) usually refer to H games oriented around homosexual couples, though they can be any male/male dating sim. ...

Western perceptions

Eroge are seen among many Internet-using Westerners as focusing on perversion and kinks (see Pornography in Japan). But unlike the majority of American adult games, eroge often portray characters with individual personalities, quirks, and daily concerns. Many games focus on the immersion of a specific setting or environment, and the social relationships between characters. The term Western world, the West or the Occident (Latin occidens -sunset, -west, as distinct from the Orient) [1] can have multiple meanings dependent on its context (e. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Eroge be merged into this article or section. ...

As the amount of interactive game play is limited for most of these translated games, they are sometimes considered better as visual novels (and sometimes even interactive) for the PC rather than computer games in the usual sense of the word. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ...

For the most part, Western exposure to the genre has been limited due to the small number of companies willing to localize eroge, a lack of market penetration, and non-existent support from magazines, game review sites, and adult stores. Eroge typically lack advertising, and rely on a dedicated fanbase. In a few cases games have been translated and adapted to Western versions of Windows by fans, but this is much less common than with anime films, due to technical difficulty. There are also a few companies, like Peach Princess, that specialize in translating eroge into English for North American audiences. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, the lead section of this article may need to be expanded. ... Fan translation refers to the unofficial translation of various forms of media by fans, usually into a language in which an official translated version is not available. ... Peach Princess is a California based English translator and distributor of Japanese bishōjo games; so far, all its releases have been eroge, which has made it one of the few companies in North America rated Adults Only by the ESRB. Many of its releases to date were developed by...

See also

• Category:H games and Category:English-translated H games
• Bishōjo game
• Dating sim
• Yaoi
• Yuri
• Shotacon
• Lolicon
• List of H authors (groups, studios, productions companies, circles)

A bishōjo game (美少女ゲーム bishōjo gēmu); more often spelled bishoujo game), also known as a girl game/gal game is a type of Japanese video game centered around interactions with attractive anime-style girls. ... Dating simulations (dating sims) are a video game subgenre of simulation games, usually Japanese, with romantic elements. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Utena Tenjou and Anthy Himemiya from Revolutionary Girl Utena, a popular yuri couple. ... Shotacon ), sometimes shortened to shota ), is a Japanese term for a sexual complex where an adult is attracted to an underage boy, or in which two underage boys are attracted to one another. ... Lolicon art often depicts childlike characteristics with likely double meanings. ... This is a page that lists people, groups, and companies that have made (produce or develop), publish or distribute hentai material. ...

External links

• A History of Eroge
• Eroge: Past, Present and Future
• The Bluffer's Guide to Hentai Games (Eurogamer)
• The Virtual Sex Review