The more I study the social gaming phenomenon the more I wonder why Zynga, Playdom, and other casual gaming companies haven’t launched a dating sim? Dating sims, also known as visual novels, are a big hit in Japan. Such a hit that a Japanese man married their girlfriend from a dating sim. Titles like Harvest Moon have even begun to crack the US market.
Dating sims seem to have a lot going for them that would make them appealing to social game makers:
- Addictive – guy married his virtual girlfriend, need I say more
- Require continual maintenance – most are structured around the passing of days, not unlike FarmVille
- Ripe for virtual goods - already well established past time in Japan to buy a virtual girlfriend gifts
- Appeal to women – It’s not just that it’s romance based, but it’s interpersonal relationships rather than a shoot’em up
So why haven’t the makers of FarmVille and Mafia Wars begun to experiment with dating sims?
One obvious reason is that dating sims aren’t exactly social. But then again what could be more about social media than a dating sim? Just play with the concept of a “social media character” a bit. The girl of your dreams could have a Facebook page. You can leave notes on her wall as part of the dating sim. The ultimate prize would be when she changes her status to in a relationship – with you. Of course others playing the game would be in direct competition for her affection, but that only adds to the simulation.
Another reason might be that social game makers think of dating sims as being too adult. Some of the titles in Japan are but the majority are more an outgrowth of the whole manga and anime culture in Japan. Where as there are a few adult oriented manga titles there are many more targeted for children. It isn’t like American audiences haven’t been exposed to teen romance novels before, anyone remember Sweet Valley High? Really what these dating sims allow you to do is deal with interpersonal relationships. In Harvest Moon you can marry but the courtship is little more than learning a character’s likes and dislikes.
As far as I can tell (not being able to play all the Japanese dating sims) it seems as if dating sims are taking over where anime left off. A natural evolution – as manga lead to anime, anime is now leading to dating sims. It brings interactivity to the storylines where games tend to be ancillary to it. Dating sims are the first truly successful form of interactive drama. They certainly seem addictive enough for someone to marry their virtual girlfriend, so why haven’t Zynga and Playdom begun to experiment with them?
Perhaps the slow adoption is due to people not wanting to mix up their virtual/dating with their real life/friends?
Well dating sims are a complex industry in Japan. They are largely an offshoot of the anime industry and cater to the more niche fans. 70% of dating sims in Japan have adult content and most people like to keep it under wraps that they like them, so in essence it is taboo.
They tend to go hand in hand with anime- many dating sims have been turned into successful anime franchises (minus the adult content in the dating sims).
Being a pretty serious Japanophile my self I have played more than a few of them and from experience can tell you they are extremely high quality. The industry is very mature with many professional artists and a completely unique style from the art, characters, interface, and all the way down to the music.
The issue is I don’t think they would appeal to an audience outside of Asia on a large scale just because of how different entertainment is in each part of the world.
The other issue is that mimicking the art from these games would require heavy resources and time.
One curious thing I have seen is on newgrounds.com. A very very long time ago they had a ton of flash dating sims that were very popular and American made. This makes me wonder if it is indeed possible. It would still be niche though.
Execution would be very difficult, but has much potential.