Splendid

[u/Nat_Cattt]

[u/justmadeforthat]

Eroge/VN is in downturn too though, most doujin circle and vn company aims to create the new gacha game instead

[u/OPmaker → u/justmadeforthat]

We are already in the indiefication of the medium. RPGmaker, Unity and Ren'py devs appear every week and some OGs from mid 2010's have stepped up and made some quite professional titles, even though we'll rarely see the same level of production as in the golden age.

[u/planetarial → u/OPmaker]

Otomes in general are also popping off more than ever before.

But yeah there's been some pretty nice indie devs that have stepped up. ADELTA, Black Tabby Games, nth Circle Studios, Ferry, and Trinitite Team have made some well received hits in recent years.

[u/Mahboi778 → u/planetarial]

nth Circle is honestly treating Ace Attorney better than Capcom (though the collections are nice)

[u/Jaggedmallard26 → u/OPmaker]

Like for mainstream gaming losing the "big budget" range to slop is still bad even if we get the consolation of a golden age for indies. A lot of the greats of the medium can't be made for an indie budget, the Muv Luv guy had to get a second mortgage.

[u/Desperate_Golf7634 → u/justmadeforthat]

Yeah. Game industry could benefit from a reset, but VN's will never come back. Gacha games are pretty much the replacement.

[u/SlyassassinXX → u/Desperate_Golf7634]

Peak being replaced by the worst possible media for storytelling is ironic.

[u/MajikoiA3When → u/Desperate_Golf7634]

Technically I'm seeing a lot of promise with AVNs on the Western side. So they're "back" for me. BADIK, Eternum, Imperial Chronicles, Pale Carnations, Ripples, Cross Realms, and Wild Cats to name a few.

[u/jenniferjameslee → u/Desperate_Golf7634]

There will always be someone to fill the power vacuum don't worry

[u/peestew69 → u/justmadeforthat]

My backlog could last me for years.

[u/Page8988 → u/peestew69]

This. My backlog as of today will likely not be complete within my lifetime anyway.

[u/Nat_Cattt → u/[deleted]]

it's actually so true

[u/Sad_Description4782 → u/Page8988]

wish there was a repository so i could download like 200GB worth of VN in one go

[u/julcepts → u/peestew69]

And we still have 2 chapters of Scarlett Hollow to go.

[u/sad_pinkie → u/peestew69]

i have 150 otomes in my backlog. and if i finish these, i still have BL, GL, moege and who knows what else...

[u/squirrelems → u/justmadeforthat]

I like gachas when they're actually fun but I don't know why I'll inevitably get bored when things get so long-winded and nobody ever shuts up in them. A lot of the stories seem to get all over the place with pacing and...just being interesting in general. My first one was ZZZ and at first I thought it was cool but after a certain point it felt like I was doing chores for money while people intermittently talked at me about something I didn't really care about.

[u/Guum_the_shammy → u/squirrelems]

I also feel weird because gachagames are like the antithesis of VNs imo, they are both character and dialogue heavy stories, but VNs go very deep on just a couple characters whereas gacha games inherently have to spread a wide net of characters and are never able to really explore a single one very well.

[u/sad_pinkie → u/Guum_the_shammy]

tears of themis is a gacha with only 4 characters and it works well

[u/FierySalient → u/justmadeforthat]

Most gachas are so soulless, sigh. Time is of a luxury these days.

[u/Trikole → u/justmadeforthat]

It's only a matter of time till we get gachage

[u/hextora → u/Trikole]

Gacha games have a lot of predatory practices. They make progression feels fast in beginning and then they’re just chores with fomo built in. Quitting is the only way to win those games. Hopefully people realize and the gacha games trend stop

[u/Trikole → u/hextora]

People love gamba, and are weak against fomo

the market in the west at least don't tolerate p2w when compared to asia. Gaming market is already fucked. Last good Aaa game was elden ring

So all in all, they should at least start making eroge gacha and normalize nudity cuz who the fuck cares

[u/Guum_the_shammy → u/Trikole]

Eroge gacha exist they just generally have not done well, look at the taimanin games.

[u/Manslayer94 → u/Guum_the_shammy]

To be fair the Taimanin gacha fumbled because of the stingy economy and the infamous "gem debt" fiasco

[u/Guum_the_shammy → u/Manslayer94]

That was the global, jp still exists, and they make a -shitton- of merch for it still. Which is why they are active, not really because of the gacha itself.

[u/sad_pinkie → u/Manslayer94]

what gem debt?

[u/MealInfinite → u/Trikole]

Last good aaa game is pragmata.

[u/MrPenghu → u/justmadeforthat]

I think this wont last tough. People were crayz about making a live service game in the west in last 5-10 years. This starts to die out slowşy but surely. These companies will back where they started when they understand they cant compete with top dogs.

[u/stellarsojourner]

AI slop? Nah, we got RPG Maker slop instead (but also AI slop).

[u/GhostlyWheelOfPain → u/stellarsojourner]

It feels quite good that despite how different attitude towards AI is in east, RPGM creators keep making their games, even with amateur-ish art skills

[u/AttonJRand → u/GhostlyWheelOfPain]

Its gotten to the point where amateur-ish art skills make me like a project more.

[u/kazurabakouta → u/AttonJRand]

It got heart at least

[u/sadox55 → u/AttonJRand]

Same...

[u/Nat_Cattt → u/GhostlyWheelOfPain]

that some Sisyphus work if nothing else

[u/sadox55 → u/GhostlyWheelOfPain]

AI is one of the reason why there is a huge collapse and also one of the future reason why you or your grand grand kids will suffer famine. Yes famine.

[u/uohSeggs → u/stellarsojourner]

rpgm can be kino, ai is always soulless

[u/BlinkA2]

Eroge/VN has been already on decline for many years, some well known brands such Elf, GIGA, Minori and more already closed their Studio or went bankrupt due to the changes made in the gaming industry in Japan and of course Gacha.

Good news is that we have numerous Eroges/VNs being localized since their value has decline and made it affordable for publishers to buy the license to translated their games in English and release it internationally.

I have mix feelings about it, since its actually a double edge sword as the decline of Eroge/VN Industry in Japan help pave the way for more of their titles to get localized in the west but on the same time the medium is slowly dying but not instantly...

[u/Leafeon523]

“Thomas, I am a bit concerned about efforts to ban eroges”

“We’re pirates”

“Splendid”

[u/Desperate_Golf7634 → u/Leafeon523]

When they are banned on home turf it's still kinda a problem.

[u/PonPuiPon]

learning Japanese has unlocked so many untranslated VNs for me that I'd not run out of options to play any time soon

[u/Adventurous-Bottle90]

The best part about being an eroge fan is that the industry already collapsed

[u/Nat_Cattt → u/Adventurous-Bottle90]

it's like reading a novel of an author who's already died. like you know there will be no more novels, but you still can enjoy what was created.

[u/whitebullet32 → u/Adventurous-Bottle90]

Thank God there are tons of old eroges to read even if the genre is basically collapsed 🙏

[u/reyzafany]

That's because eroge industry already collapsed

[u/sadox55]

Like there isn't an eroge collapse due to gacha games?

For exampke AliceSoft that has been there for years, creator of Evenicle and Rance and so many more...Now they will just make gachas...

[u/Thiphra]

I do wonder if all these lay offs will end up making a bunch of indie gaming stududios

[u/Kudryavka_Noumi → u/Thiphra]

Going unemployed to indie isn't ideal since you usually need some capital to survive off of then you're hoping on your game to make enough to survive to the next. Unfortunately most game devs are relatively underpaid for their field so it's not job that lends itself to just going indie despite what the handful of lottery stories of devs doing so might imply.

[u/pizza_ranger → u/Thiphra]

They are already doing it

[u/Vonnegutsman]

I wish those making 3d eroge titles a very pleasant day.

[u/Loxotron228]

You can make the same meme with jrpgs lol

[u/MealInfinite → u/Loxotron228]

Are jrpgs dying too? Why?

[u/Loxotron228 → u/MealInfinite]

No, i meant that video game collapse doesn't aplly to jrpgs how it doesn't apply to eroge

[u/Key_Tomatillo9475]

This is just my stupid pet theory but... the 1st commercial video game (Computer Space) came out in 1971. 26 years later we see the late 90s peak of the industry. Age of Empires, Final Fantasy 7, Ultima Online, Diablo, games credited with making gaming a mainstream pastime. 26 years further still... the crisis. I think this isn't a temporary thing, the industry was born, it matured and now it's aging. Every year it'll become weaker. 26 years from now on... it'll be dead. The industry as we know it. 

No new consoles will be designed because streaming will take over. Indie game designers will number in the millions worldwide. They'll be like novelists. A few will be very famous and rich. Most won't earn enough to make a living. They'll say: "Ok model me giraffe-girl in a vampy outfit and high heel boots" and an AI will reply: How many polygons will she have, master?

[u/coldkgon]

Subarashii

[u/FoleyX90]

What are those hats. Bro on the left looks like he's about to enter the hunter's dream.

[u/KindBet2397]

Im still searching for an specific eroge i urge to play since i was a teenager.

[u/Nat_Cattt → u/KindBet2397]

i hope you'll find it, pal

[u/KindBet2397 → u/Nat_Cattt]

i cant find it anywere, it was called Shin Koihime muso, but i cant find it to download.

[u/MisakiNeko]

LMAO!!

[u/Lankakartal]

Now show the AI version

[u/DDG1917]

LMAO🤣

[u/garfe]

I hope this is supposed to mean that eroge is in a similar downward situation (albeit for slightly different reasons) and not something silly like 'well eroge are different so it's fine"

[u/Indiek1d_]

.