An is a
Japanese
video or computer game
that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork.
In English, eroge are often called
hentai
games in keeping with the
English slang
definition of hentai. This is sometimes shortened to
H
games.
History
In the 1980s, Japanese companies introduced their own brands of
microcomputer to compete with those of
the United States. Competing systems included the
Sharp X1,
Fujitsu FM-7,
MSX, and
NEC PC-8801.
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. Thus came the erotic game.
Early eroge had simple stories, often involving
rape. It made the PC-8801 popular, but customers
quickly tired of paying 8800 yen ($85) for such simple games. Soon,
new genres were invented: ASCII's
Chaos
Angels, a
role-playing-based eroge,
inspired
Dragon
Knight by Elf and
Rance by
AliceSoft.
In 1992, Elf released
Dōkyūsei. In it, before any
eroticism, the user has to first win the affection of one of a
number of female characters, making the story into an
interactive romance novel. Thus, the
love simulation genre was
invented.
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."
In 1996, the new software publisher
Leaf expanded on this idea, calling it a
visual novel and releasing their first
successful game,
Shizuku, a horror
story starring a rapist high school student, with very highly
reviewed writing and music. Their next game,
Kizuato, was almost as dark. However, in 1997,
they released
To Heart, a sweetly
sentimental story of high school love that became one of the most
famous and trendsetting eroge ever.
To Heart's music was
so popular it was added to
karaoke machines
throughout Japan—a first for eroge.
After a similar game by
Tactics,
One: Kagayaku Kisetsu
e, became a hit in 1998,
Visual
Art's scouted main creative staff of
One to form a new
brand under them, which became
Key. In
1999, Key released
Kanon. It contains
only about 7 brief erotic scenes in a sentimental story the size of
a long novel (an all-ages version was also released afterward), but
the enthusiasm of the response was unprecedented, and
Kanon sold over 300,000 copies. In 2002 a 13-episode anime
series was produced, as well as another 24-episode anime series in
2006. 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
otakus in
Japan.
In 2006, the Japanese company
Illusion
Soft released the
polygon-based eroge video game,
RapeLay. The game revolves around a male
protagonist stalking and raping a mother and her two daughters. In
2009 RapeLay was brought to wider public attention by British MP
Keith Vaz.
Equality Now followed up by bringing pressure
on the Japanese government arguing the game breaches the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women which culminated in the restriction of the sale
and production of RapeLay.
Although many eroge still market themselves primarily on sex, eroge
that focus on story are now a major established part of Japanese
otaku culture.
Types of eroge
Most eroge are
visual novels or
romance sim. However, there are many
other kinds of eroge:
- Other common video game genres, such as RPGs, with erotic elements.
- Conditioning game, in which the female character, by
performing different types of sexual activities, changes her stats,
unlocking additional types of play.
- "Strip"' versions of traditional games, including but not
limited to mahjong, pachinko, poker, chess, and blackjack. Many
adult arcade games fall under this
category.
- Interactive video, which is essentially nothing more
than an eroge that plays in a DVD player
(also known as 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,
otome games, or
BL
games, although bishōjo games are the most popular. A small
number of
bara eroge have been
produced, mostly
dōjin soft.
See also
References
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