Libertine

When you look at the most downloaded games on abandonware sites, one genre always sticks out: adult games. Adult-themed games like Knights of Xentar, Cobra Mission, Leisure Suit Larry, Three Sisters Story are still favorites among the software stealing community, despite their predictable stories, outdated features and sucky gameplay.
And that isn't really surprising. After all, the people who grew up with computer games are now (young) adults with interests in both porn and computer games.

This raises an interesting question: why are there still virtually no decent adult-themed games being produced?

Now, there are adult games being produced. Tons of them even, mostly in Japan, but they're popular in the west as well. The problem with these games is that most of them suck, and that the vast majority are completely the same.

Here's a short overview of the adult game types that exist right now to give :


# Japanese dating sim/adventure games

These games mostly consist of a story illustrated with hentai pictures. They're all basically about a guy (you) who dates/fucks a bunch of stereotypical hentai girls (sporty girl, geek girl, innocent girl, wild girl, busty teacher, etc) and maybe solves a small mystery on the side.
A few exceptions aside, they're almost completely linear, possibly containing a few branches in the story which determine which girl you'll end up with. "Playing" these games pretty much comes down to clicking your mouse a few thousand times to make the story scroll by.
Even worse, since most of these games are made in Japan, they deal with the basic Japanese fetishes. So, by the time you finish a game like this, in the story you will probably have raped your sister, violently deflourished half a dozen schoolgirls, covered every girl in the game with a few gallons of cum, and with a bit of luck you'll also have had your daily watersports/enemas/scat fix.

There are some notable exceptions though, which stick out among the muck for one reason or another:
True Love - a dating sim where your daily activities determine what type of girl you will end up with. Sounds bad, but is a relief after tons of other hentai games.
Seasons of Sakura - a dating sim with a better story than most others, as well as a complete lack of rape.

There are some others that escape the drab, but they are few and far between.


# Adult RPG

There are only 4 games in this genre that have been translated into English that I know of: Knights of Xentar, Cobra Mission, Mad Paradox and Brave Soul.
They are a bit like the early Final Fantasy titles, but with worse gameplay and gratuitious nudity thrown in. Knights of Xentar would be worth a try for those interested, had it not been for the game needing pure DOS to run.


# Strip poker/blackjack/tetris/arkanoid/etc

There are quite a few games out there in which you play a game of skill or luck and where the reward consists of nude pictures. Since these games are fairly small and easy to make and are very suitable for Flash, you can find them on quite a few sites. While they can be fun, and are most definitely assets on your sites, there's not a lot of potential for growth in them.


# Interative porn DVDs

These are pretty much what you would expect: (somewhat) interactive porn DVDs. Some are pretty nice, but actually calling them games would be a bit of a stretch.


# Sex simulators

Games like these - some examples of this genre are Virtual Valerie and Ultravixen - let you choose what to do while having sex with a virtual girl. Lacking a real goal, challenge, actual gameplay and a story, these can hardly be considered real games. They may be entertaining at times, but real games they are not.


# Other games

And then there are games that don't really fit into any of the above genres. Some examples:

Sexy Beach 2 - Admittedly, a dating sim, but surprisingly, it's in 3D. Not quite as good as it sounds, this game is a bit like DOA: Extreme Volleyball without the volleyball. In other words, boring. You get to watch polygonal girls getting nude on the beach, basically. They look pretty good, but since the game has no storyline or gameplay whatsoever, it gets really old really fast. Still, at least it's something new.

Battle Raper - Like the name suggests, this is a bit like Mortal Combat or Tekken, only instead of killing your opponent after beating her, you get to rape her. I shit you not. In fact, they even cry while you rape them. Nonetheless, apart from demonstrating that there is no hope left for humanity, the gameplay is bad and the genre isn't really suitable for adult games.

WET The Sexy Empire - An ambitious mix between adventure and strategy, this game lets you build up your own porn empire. While building up a porn empire may seem like fun (after all, isn't that why we chose this profession?), WET doesn't just do a bad job at describing it, it also is excruciatingly boring.


Recently, games like BMX XXX and DOA: Extreme Volleyball have begun mixing action with (semi-)nudity. A new Leisure Suit Larry - this time in 3D - will come out this fall. Also, games with adult themes like GTA and Fallout 2 have been around - and popular - for quite a while already. While games like these do prove that there is definitely an interest in such themes among gamers, chances of mainstream production companies actually including explicit sexual content are very slim at best.


Obviously, that isn't a comprehensive list of what's out there, but it gives a fairly decent idea of it. There are quite a few adult-themed games, but very few deliver something even close to enjoyable gaming. For the largest part, adult games are dominated by japanese dating sim games, and the western games that exist are mostly limited to strip poker-like games and interactive porn dvds (as well as a few sex simulation games that are best forgotten as quickly as possible).
The ones that do feature high quality gaming, on the other hand, do not feature explicit sex.

What seems to be almost completely absent are games that are actually playable (instead of just clickable), have decent gameplay, decent porn and (perhaps?) even something remotely like replay value. Since even the bad games that exist now are still quite popular one would think that there is a good amount of space in the market for games that actually bring some quality into the genre.



Ofcourse, there is one big barrier for aspiring adult gamemakers: the costs of producing a game. These can be quite high, depending on the type of game you're making. Naturally, 3D action games will cost lots more to produce than very basic RPG or adventure games. High quality adult 3D action games will probably stay out of reach of most of the porn industry for the next few years.
When it comes to RPG and adventure games though, costs don't really need to be an obstacle. Since the standard is pretty low (extremely low, to be a bit more accurate), the quality needed to surpass the competition isn't really all that much. In fact, most freeware games made by amateurs easily beat the entire adult genre when it comes to gameplay.

So, why isn't the western adult industry doing anything with this opportunity? Most parts of the adult market are already pretty close to saturation, but it seems like nobody is even interested in this whole area. Any ideas?

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