sanahtlig

I'm planning on being at Anime Expo this year. I'm looking forward to my first live industry VN panel.

Looks like MG changed the Euphoria page. Had to edit the link in my NISA forum announcement. They might not have appreciated a direct link to hardcore S&M when I announced it as all-ages.

No ero = do not want.

Links to the respective announcements: Starless Euphoria Looks like the Steam revolution has begun.

Try the Cation series by Hibiki Works. The gameplay isn't as engaging as True Love though. Here's the full list: https://vndb.org/v/all?q=;fil=tagspoil-0.plat-win.olang-ja.tag_inc-39;o=d;s=rating Oyako Rankan is the top ranking one. That's on my list of games to play. It does have NTR content though (as any good dating simulator should).

The number of views would be another cool piece of dynamic information. I have a mock-up of what the final product might look like in my signature (ignore the static info like the blog name and "Now featuring"). It should all fit on a single line. Number of views could be after the date: (3/31/15, X views)

(An old parody I wrote in 2013, I'm reposting here for general amusement. See the original forum thread for initial reactions.) Announcer: It’s a beautiful day for baseball today in Eroge Stadium. I’m your host Sanahtlig here to provide commentary for Visual Novel Translation TV. Today the Localizers play against the Fan Translators in a special Western League All-Star game. This should be an interesting matchup. On the Localizers team we have representatives from Mangagamer including the rising star Kouryuu, as well as veterans from JAST USA including the well known Peter Payne. The Fan Translators are a truly diverse bunch of big names playing together for the first time ever. We have Ixrec from Amaterasu, Moogy from TLWiki, Haeleth, and Aaeru from Fuwanovel. It’ll be interesting to see how they interact as a team. The Localizers are up to bat first. But there seems to be a delay. The first batter from Mangagamer appears to have brought a large stick instead of a bat! He seems to be arguing with the umpire. Let’s listen in. Umpire: You can’t just waltz in here with a stick for a bat. Go borrow a real bat from one of the JAST players! Mangagamer player: ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US! Umpire: WTF? Announcer: The Mangagamer player just took off and started running the bases before the game even started! What is he doing??? We’ll be back after a word from our sponsors. [Commercial] VNDB, a compendium of visual novel knowledge, by you, for you: an oasis where you can request visual novel recommendations, speak freely, and engage in enlightened discussions. Please click our affiliates so we don't go broke! 5 min later Announcer: We’re back, and this time Peter Payne is up to bat with 1 out and 1 expelled player. Here’s the pitch and—it’s a hit! Wait, what is he doing? He’s just standing there! Let’s zoom in for a closer look. On close examination, Peter is actually shuffling towards 1st base so slow it’s barely perceptible from a distance. He makes it a few feet before being tagged out by the catcher. That’s two outs folks. Up to bat next is Kouryuu, Mangagamer’s newest darling. Here’s the pitch and—it’s a line drive. This— At that moment the microphone fades out. The game ensues soundless until a member from Mangagamer finally strikes out, ending the round. We’re back at Eroge Stadium. We apologize for the technical difficulties. A member from Mangagamer barged in and carried off the microphone, claiming we didn’t have rights to broadcast audio during their lineup. We’re assured now that the problem has been cleared up. The Localizers are taking to the field. Wait, what is this? Mangagamer’s players have taken to the field without clothes! This isn’t baseball, this is pornography! Outrageous! JAST’s entire bench has rushed onto the field to subdue them. They appear to be re-clothing the Mangagamer players—is that 2 bras I see??? We’ll be back after a commercial break. [Commercial] Mangagamer staff A: Somebody set us up the bomb! Mangagamer staff B: What you say?! *Screen flash and booming sound* Pictured is a box set of 3 games, priced at $150. A tag in the corner of the screen reads “no voice”. Narrator: Shin Koihime Musou! Otanoshimini! 5 min later Announcer: We’re back and the game looks ready to resume. First up to bat is Haeleth, the oldest member on the team and a true league veteran. He seems to be getting some boos from the audience…hmm? Haeleth just threw down his bat and walked out of the stadium! Amazing! Looks like the Fan Translators are down one member! Next up to bat is Moogy. Moogy is known for his often uncomplimentary remarks for his fellow players. Moogy steps up to bat and—he seems to be shouting something at the Fan Translator dug out. He’s throwing down his bat and…he just walked out into the field? He seems to have joined the Localizers! What an unexpected development! Next up is Ixrec. This guy is a monster folks; he has the highest RBI in the entire league. Here’s the pitch, and—it’s a hard hit to right field! Peter Payne scrambles for the ball…what is he doing? Is he riding a wheelchair in the grass? Why is he in a wheelchair?! Ixrec scores! And he’s running around the bases again! Look at him go! One of the umpires from the Japanese league, Age, has grabbed Ixrec and is trying to stop him! Oh my, Ixrec just kicked Age in the balls and is running the bases again! Unbelievable! We’ll be back after a commercial break. [Commercial] JAST USA is proud to announce the best hentai dating sim ever, Lightning Warrior Raidy 3! Play the role of a cute swordswoman as she fights creepy tentacle monsters and devilish vixens with her new lesbian fusion powers! Coming to a store near you in 2018! 10 min later Announcer: We’re back. Age has left the game, and I doubt we’ll see him back for another Western League game in the near future. We have a Fan Translator on 1st base from a single up the middle. Next up is Aaeru. A relative newcomer, Aaeru doesn’t seem to be getting along too well with her fellow Fan Translators. But in this game it’s results that count, which I’m sure Aaeru will show us today. Here comes the pitch…it’s a fast line drive to left field! That’s a base hit! Wait! Aaeru appears to making a beeline for 3rd base! What is she doing?! She’s stopped on 3rd base and doesn’t seem to be budging. It appears that she’s decided to run the bases in reverse order! What are the umpires doing?! The other Fan Translators are snickering, but no one seems to be stopping her. That leaves a player each on 2nd and 3rd base. Next up to bat is…Moogy? Did he switch sides again?! It’s probably best not to think too hard about this. Here’s the pitch—and it’s a pop up to right field! Peter goes for the ball—and his wheelchair tips over! The Fan Translators are running the bases and—Aaeru just collided with her fellow Fan Translator! Who would've seen that coming?! She’s getting up, and-- Mangagamer 3rd baseman: ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US! Announcer: The Mangagamer 3rd baseman just clubbed her over the head with 3rd base! Ouch! Moogy runs up to her and…he’s kicking her while she’s down! I don’t know who’s the greater bastard: Aaeru, the Mangagamer 3rd baseman, or Moogy! Ixrec runs out of the dugout—he’s running the bases again! Someone catch him! What the hell??? The Mangagamer players are stripping again! Peter is still crawling out in right field towards the ball! This is utter chaos folks! It’s a wacky free-for-all today in Eroge Stadium. I’ve never seen such incredible dysfunction in all my days as an Eroge Stadium broadcaster. Will Moogy stop kicking Aaeru? Will Mangagamer stop turning this into a live porn event? Will Ixrec leave any points for anyone else? Will Peter ever get the damn ball? Stay tuned to Visual Novel Translation TV! In the meantime, let's get some comments from the stadium audience.

Many companies look the other way for free fan translations. They're much more likely to pounce if they get tipped off that other people are profiting off their hard work.

School Days is the only English VN I can think of with a love triangle focus. I'm kind of fond of such drama (and I really liked the KimiNozo anime) so I wish there were more.

From the looks of it Rooke will be swamped with writing his Sakura Spirit novel for a while.

From the hour or so of the demo I played, I didn't notice any issues with translation accuracy (I know enough Japanese to follow some of the dialogue). Rooke has issues with the editing, but this hasn't interfered with my own game experience so far. Not sure if I'm going to get the full game. The demo hasn't hooked me yet, but it hasn't completely turned me off either.

While I'm extremely skeptical that something like that would work with video streaming, I am curious if people are able to reliably view Erogamescape with such proxy addons. I currently use web-based proxies that periodically go under, forcing me to hunt for another one. It's annoying to have to jump through hoops just to view a single site.

I threw up a link to the blog post on their company forums, which Peter Payne frequents. He should be aware of my position, though whether he'll act on it is anyone's guess.

This is a response to a comment from Tay (which I suspect has ulterior motives). Eroge, as told through the visual novel medium, fill a void in my life. I'm well past college age, yet I've never touched a girl romantically, much less kissed or dated. You might say I'm starved for romance, yet I have little interest in dating. I could go into detail, but I'm not that interested in discussing my personal life publicly or privately. I'm going through changes in my life that might very well change my outlook, but this is how I've lived my adult life until now. Suffice to say, I find anime-style heroines attractive, and I crave sexual and romantic fulfillment. Nukige don't typically do it for me because I want to be emotionally moved. I need drama. I need context. I need to immerse myself in a fictional world. Non-ero VNs don't do it for me because they lack sexual content, which is a large part of the draw for me, even if it's a small part of the overall package. Before I was into eroge I was into RPGs, fantasy novels, and anime, so story-driven eroge were a natural evolution of my interests. I suspect this isn't the response Tay was looking for. "Join Fuwanovel and enjoy sexual fulfillment!" doesn't make a great tagline, after all. It might also invite unwanted attention from authorities. I'm interested in the eroge industry (eroge account for ~90% of PC VNs originating in Japan), especially the English side, because it's such a fascinating niche. The market dynamics are completely unique. The stigma of porn hamstrings the market, preventing exposure through traditional channels. Cheap low-budget games often turn the most volume and yield the most profit: mediocrity reigns supreme. Most Japanese eroge publishers simply refuse to deal with English licensors, for a variety of business and cultural reasons. The fanbase is small but extremely vocal; it's possible to keep up with all major developments and voices in the community simply by following a few forums. Despite the tiny size of the English market, piracy is rampant and has threatened to completely annihilate the industry at several points. For every eroge customer there's probably 9 "fans" who've never bought an eroge, or who buy only when they can't get what they want for free. The market is so exquisitely fucked up that watching it inspires the sort of morbid fascination of observing a train wreck in progress. And then there's all the *unique* personalities that such a niche invariably draws. Shameless plug: Those interested in seeing the world through my eyes might want to give my novella in progress Memory's Wounds a try.

As phersu said. As applied to anime culture, in keeping with its origin the most "correct" usage is to refer to a sexualized childlike character. If the character isn't sexualized in some way, she's not a loli.

I am a black hole, swallower of newspapers. I bend space and time to my will.

It's highly doubtful they would add H-content. Otherwise they'd have done so already and released it in Japan.

For what it's worth, I seem to recall an option in Venus Blood series games to not display H-scenes, probably because the H-content is kind of extreme and the gameplay + story have such merit that there might actually be people who'd want to play the games with no ero. But that's built into their engine. I doubt it'd be trivial for a third party like JAST to hack a feature like that in themselves. I should add that the H-scenes in the Venus Blood series are long, varied, and even have character development significance. I'd appreciate them a bit more if there weren't so damn many though leading to densely packed ero in the last few chapters of every game.

There's no demand for toggleable H-content because negative reactions to erotic content tend to be morally driven. Practically speaking, the audience that refuses to buy eroge would not suddenly go out and purchase them if there were a menu option to disable it in-game. They're still buying buying a porn game, and that's wrong . To capture this demographic, you have to completely dissociate the release from porn. You have to remove the 18+ label and HCG on the packaging. You have to insert new content to replace the holes created by removing the ero. Then you have to lower the price because non-ero releases are cheaper by tradition. A toggle just doesn't cut it. The demographics for porn games and not-porn games are too distinct.

8800 yen is typical for full-length titles from popular developers. That used to be $90 (USD), but with current exchange rates looks like that comes out to $72. I wonder if the growing interest in the English market may in part be due to the relative strength of the dollar against the yen at the current moment.

My guess is that part of the reason is that English titles have an MSRP of about half their Japanese counterparts (sometimes even less). If I were a Japanese customer, I might be unhappy that Westerners were getting the same product at the same time as me for half the price, and I'd ask Japanese publishers why they couldn't do the same for me. If eroge sold for $100 each in English, I think there'd be a lot less resistance from Japanese companies overall, and particularly for recent and popular titles.