They are actually a level of freedom of expression that the West does not have.
I want to quote from one of my drafts:
"I know that a lot of people... and I mean a LOT of ppl in this world, can benefit from the bishoujos (or bishounen) because visual novels are not like any other form of media. They are the only thing that constructs REAL personal relationships with the player, in 1st person, on PURPOSE, and it is PREPOSTEROUS, and that is why they are so freaking AWESOME! Visual novels have the power to bring HOPE to those people who otherwise have no hope left in life... and that is an incredible amount of power encapsulated in a set of very simple ideas... they are ideas that can Change Lives!
Vic ireland president of Gaijinworks says visual novels is the last frontier of untapped Japanese games. So to me there is really only one answer. To spread visual novels! These ideas are simply too good for us to be keeping to ourselves."
bishoujo = pretty girl
bishounen = pretty guy
We don't have something like this in the West. That is why it is imperative that it must go out to the world (or i want it to) and make humanity better. I think that erotic scenes are just a part of the package of the visual novel ideas. They are a level of freedom of thought that people outside of Japan cannot discover for fear of stigmatism.