22 million women played otome dating apps in 2014

[Darklord Rooke]

Quote

Over 22 million women worldwide are currently playing a range of romance apps by Japanese app developer Voltage, inspired by Shōjo manga comic books for young girls wildly popular in Japan.

Otome apps are interactive 2D animated games on iOS and Android aimed at women in their 20s and 30s.

During the game, the user can choose how the protagonist responds, which affects the outcome of the game.

"We began distributing our first dating sim title 'My lover is the No.1 Host' in December 2006. Up until then we'd been making battle simulation games aimed at men and lyric and song ringtone websites, but the reception we got [was so positive] that we gradually started to specialise in dating sims," said a Voltage spokesperson.

"Dating simulation games came about in Japan during the late 1980s in PC games aimed towards boys and men. The market has been primarily focused on things aimed towards men for a while now, but with the widespread use of mobile phones, we realised that there was a market for these games aimed at women too.

"We thought we needed to take a firm hold on providing a new style of dating sim game that working women could easily enjoy, during their rise and emergence in society."

Voltage's most successful game, "My Forged Wedding", about a girl who has to pretend to be married to a complete stranger for a month in order to land a job, is currently top in the iTunes app store's Entertainment category in 46 countries.

Outside Japan, Voltage apps are most popular with users in North America and English-speaking countries in Southeast Asia, and there is even a Voltage Wiki devoted to explaining the games.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/22-million-women-hooked-otome-romantic-dating-simulator-games-1449353

Interesting. 22 MILLION ey? Mobile market is the future of VNs, and like every other medium the most prolific readers will prove themselves to be women.

[Darklord Rooke]

Also, eroge need to release their stuff on a portable medium and get off PCs. That and reduce their pricepoints. Not many readers are going to pay 40 bucks for the privilege of being chained to their PC while reading a story.

[Decay]

"And get off PC," can't they be on both?

[Darklord Rooke]

Just now, Decay said:

"And get off PC," can't they be on both?

Oops. you're right.

It's 6AM on a Sunday and my fingers aren't listening to instruction ...  

[Chuee]

4 minutes ago, Rooke said:

Also, eroge need to release their stuff on a portable medium and get off PCs.

But... then they wouldn't be eroge...

 

[Novel21]

Wow 22 million woman that it's alot

Maybey I'm one of them

[Nosebleed]

It's great that otome as a genre has such a big following, but I really don't want eroge to go mainstream like that. The fact that it's niche is what makes it so great imo. (Also who the fuck has the money to buy a new console every X years just for this ).

Also I feel like this is comparing apples to oranges since dating sims are clearly not the same as most eroge/moege/charage on PC. They're aimed at very different audiences with different needs and as such can't really be put on the same pedestal.

[granit]

11 minutes ago, Rooke said:

Also, eroge need to release their stuff on a portable medium and get off PCs. 

 I need my Chinese porn games on 1280×720 

[Yuuko]

2 minutes ago, granit said:

 I need my Chinese porn games on 1280×720 

2048x1280 please  

[Chronopolis]

Is it really 22 million? I think it's more like 22 million user's have at least installed one of the apps (some of them free) at least once.

[Darklord Rooke]

4 minutes ago, Chronopolis said:

Is it really 22 million? I think it's more like 22 million user's have at least installed one of the apps (some of them free) at least once.

Is that any different to what was posted? :S But still vastly larger than the PC VN market, considering some of those VNs are also free. 

I think Fuwa should aim to cover more of the mobile otome market in the future, in news and reviews, that kinda thing. Going by the support mail in Tay's inbox, I believe such a move will create a universal feeling of joy throughout the community. Warm fuzzies in the heart-ular region, even  

[Nosebleed]

14 minutes ago, Chronopolis said:

Is it really 22 million? I think it's more like 22 million user's have at least installed one of the apps (some of them free) at least once.

Yeah this is likely a factor as well. I don't doubt these apps were downloaded millions of times, but I also download a ton of apps and uninstall/forget them some time later. But companies never reveal the amount of "active users" so they can keep the "look at how many people are playing this" hype going.

11 minutes ago, Rooke said:

Is that any different to what was posted? 

Yes. VERY different. Downloads are not the same as active users. You can download the app and immediately uninstall it and that's still "a download".
Athough I still believe there's millions playing these games so... yeah it kinda doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things.
I guess a better way to put it would be to just say "22 million women have downloaded these apps".

 

The biggest strength the mobile market has is that people can easily download apps and quickly play them (a.k.a games you play while you're on the toilet), but to me and many other people that's also why it's not very fun, because most games there (dating sims or otherwise) are really vapid with little to discover and thus end up becoming irrelevant soon, so it ends up quickly becoming a cesspool of clones of clones of clones of clones (...) of games.

PC's strength is the flexibility it has to accomodate all kinds of audiences as well as fewer restrictions in the type of content you can make, and that's why it's such a beloved medium.

I understand why the mobile market is bigger, but that doesn't necessarly mean it's better for everything, and I think eroge benefit from being on PC. They can, of course, be ported onto other platforms later, which is great too.

[Chronopolis]

1 minute ago, Rooke said:

Is that any different to what was posted? :S But still vastly larger than the PC VN market, considering some of those VNs are also free. 

Oh, I guess it isn't. I read the titles as "there are 22 million otome gamers"... If you compare it to VN's in the west, we probably have around 100k-250k people, including all forms and casual levels.

[Codesterz]

Are they certain about the woman part? Guys can play otomes as well. I feel like whoever wrote the article assumed if you are playing an otome game you are a female.

[Darklord Rooke]

5 minutes ago, Codesterz said:

Are they certain about the woman part? Guys can play otomes as well. I feel like whoever wrote the article assumed if you are playing an otome game you are a female.

It’s fairly solid as ‘rules’ go. Men don’t read as many stories aimed at women as women do stories aimed at men, and this holds very true for the romance genre. While men CAN read otome, and some men certainly do, it won’t be in such a great number as to significantly affect the statistic. Think of it as ‘within the margin of error’.

[Fiddle]

32 minutes ago, Nosebleed said:

It's great that otome as a genre has such a big following, but I really don't want eroge to go mainstream like that. The fact that it's niche is what makes it so great imo.

Making visual novels popular in the west was a mistake.

[Nosebleed]

Just now, Fiddle said:

Making visual novels popular in the west was a mistake.

Hey at least I get paid to... wait, no I don't.

@Tay I'd like to hand in my resignation letter.

[Codesterz]

1 minute ago, Rooke said:

It’s fairly solid as ‘rules’ go. Men don’t read as many stories aimed at women as women do stories aimed at men, and this holds very true for the romance genre. While men CAN read otome, and some men certainly do, it won’t be in such a great number as to significantly affect the statistic. Think of it as ‘within the margin of error’.

I think they need to deduct a million off that number

I remember a long time ago before I become an erotic content only ahole I tried to read some psp otome vn. I lasted a few hours at least. Something with samurai and such. Honestly don't remember the name and don't care enough to try figure it out.

[Darklord Rooke]

5 minutes ago, Codesterz said:

I remember a long time ago before I become an erotic content only ahole I tried to read some psp otome vn. I lasted a few hours at least. Something with samurai and such. Honestly don't remember the name and don't care enough to try figure it out.

PSP and samurai? Wouldn't be Hakuouki, would it? It's quite a good otome, so you have good taste *nods*

[Mr Poltroon]

Well, I'm comfortably within the Otome target zone. In fact, if I were to arbitrarily distinguish VN's based on their H content, Otome are on the top of non-H content for me.

[Codesterz]

Just now, Rooke said:

PSP and samurai? Wouldn't be Hakuouki, would it? It's quite a good otome, so you have good taste *nods*

Yeah that's the one. Couldn't remember its name. I knew I'd recognize the name if I saw or heard it though.

[Eclipsed]

Otomes are great, screw consoles vs. pc / mainstream vs. niche; everything should go multi-plat so we can all play on whatever we have and then have mucho fun discussiono's on the forums.

 

1 hour ago, Rooke said:

Also, eroge need to release their stuff on a portable medium and get off PCs. That and reduce their pricepoints. Not many readers are going to pay 40 bucks for the privilege of being chained to their PC while reading a story.

I use my Tabby for the portable VN reading, because yes, not being chained to PC while reading a story is smex.

[Narcosis]

>eroge

>mainstream

Surely you jest

[Daydreamer97]

I used to play Voltage otome games and other free-to-play games on my phone before I got bored. They're mostly light and fluffy, okay 2-4 hour reads. They also have a pretty large fandom on tumblr, probably because unlike say, Ozmafia, they have lower prices and the ability to choose the guy from the get-go (although there is Amnesia:Memories which goes on sale for as low as 90% off). Personally, I'm moving on to otome games and other visual novels I find on Steam since it gives more content for the money.

[Suzu Fanatic]

5 hours ago, Rooke said:

Also, eroge need to release their stuff on a portable medium and get off PCs. That and reduce their pricepoints. Not many readers are going to pay 40 bucks for the privilege of being chained to their PC while reading a story.

If I set aside my bias, I can somewhat agree - in the sense it would be more widely accessible. Though I still believe there's a huge market to us armchair warriors out there

 

But still-

 

On the other point - from what I understand, most of those dating apps are nothing like a VN, and more like a interactive Chia pet (god I'm old) - at least based on the blurbs I've seen and heard over time.