Best Selling Eroge for 2008 in Japan

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#1

Sorta surprised no one posted this listing on the forums yet. :o

Tora no Ana – First-Half 2008 Eroge Sales Ranking
1. ToHeart2 AnotherDays
2. FORTUNE ARTERIAL
3. G??? / G Senjou no Mahou
4. ??? / Beat Blades Haruka
5. ??? / Tsuyokisu 2 Gakki
6. ef - the latter tale.
7. !!! / Princess Lover!
8. ??? / Akatsuki no Goei
9. ??? / Konpaku Mahjong
10. CHAOS;HEAD

Softmap – 2008 Eroge Ranking

1. ToHeart2 AnotherDays
2. FORTUNE ARTERIAL
3. ????????! ?????? ????? / Little Busters! Ectasy
4. ??????? / Beat Blades Haruka
5. ????†?? ???????????? / Shin Koihime Musou~ Shoujo Ryouran?Sangokushi Engi
6. ????III / Toushin Toshi III
7. CHAOS;HEAD
8. ??????? / Tsuyokisu 2 Gakki
9. D.C.II ???????????? / Da Capo II Plus Communication
10. G?????  / G Senjou no Mahou

Getchu.com 2008 Eroge Sales Ranking

1. FORTUNE ARTERIAL
2. ToHeart2 Another Days
3. Little Busters! Ecstasy
4. ????†?? ???????????? / Shin Kohime Musou~ Shoujo Ryouran?Sangokushi Engi
5. D.C.II ???????????? / Da Capo II Plus Communication
6. ???? -kiss on my deity- / Tayutama -kiss on my deity-
7. ????III / Toushin Toshi III
8. G?????  / G Senjou no Mahou
9. ??????? / Beat Blades Haruka
10. ??????? / Tsuyokisu 2 Gakki

[b]Original source of the list[/b].

Also according to 2chan, these are the Best Eroge of 2008 ([b]original source of list[/b]). Rather interesting how sales, does not always match “hardcore otaku” opinion.

#2

Hm… saw both of those lists a while ago, and after thinking about it, I’d really question the place of Beat Blades Haruka on the 2chan top eroges list (kind of inevitable that it would be on top sales rankings as it’s a major Alicesoft title) - partly because the story and characters are pretty bad, but mostly because of the system. It’s clearly an ero-ero game, that’s designed to give you access too as much sex as possible, but the gameplay (dice system) is extremely repetitive, tedious, and no fun at all (unlike the Rance games etc., some of which are really addictive and well-designed). The system seems to be completely at cross-purposes with the game, and after a single playthrough, I grabbed the 100% save file to see what I missed, and never went back to the game after that (to unlock everything manually would require multiple playthroughs, and much of the content would be identical between them. I admit that the game is completely not to my tastes :stuck_out_tongue: (and I certainly wouldn’t buy something like it now), but objectively I still think it’s terrible compared to most other entries on the list. Everything else on the Top 25 list that I’m familiar with deserves to be on there though, although maybe not in that order.

#3

Personally, I prefer a list/award/vote per category, as it’s done in the Bishoujo Awards, because IMO it’s rather useless to compare games of very different genres. For instance, the interest of a RPG such as ??? ZERO? is hardly comparable to the story of a ?? such as ??? or the eroero of something like ???. Can the three be effectively compared to determine which one is the “best”? I personally don’t think so.

#4

I mostly use the lists to see what’s worth looking into, or what title’s I’ve happen to overlook. I agree it’s somewhat futile to compare every genre to each other: console games divide the categories into RPG, sports, action platform, handheld, etc. However given that more eroge titles are released in a single year than console titles, these lists make it much easier to figure out which of the 150+ titles are worth a gander or Google search.

That having been said: I rarely agree with the lists in general, because I’m such a niche bgamer to begin with. Brutal violence, Victorian supernatural, loligoth, and twincest - much less all four of them combined - rarely makes the cut as much as I’d like it too. :stuck_out_tongue:

Note to self: pickup 11eyes this weekend.

#5

I agree that you can’t really compare across genres - whilst it can be done easily enough with art, music etc. the main substance/genre of each eroge is often very different. That said, I prefer the 2chan list to other rankings as it’s very much like the post your favourites/top eroges threads that show up occasionally, plus it’s also along similar lines to EGS, which is always my first port of call for assessing an unknown title. (The accuracy of it for certain titles/companies plus how personal taste issues affect it is certainly open for debate, but 80 to 90% of the time, my own score for a eroge is very close (2 to 3 points either side) to its EGS mean).

And slightly off topic - I do like the Bishoujo Awards as well, but I wish they weren’t restricted to certain companies. [Even further off topic - the 2008 getchu awards still haven’t been announced yet :(]

#6

2008 Getchu awards are up http://www.getchu.com/pc/2008_g_ranking/index.html.

Nice to see Beat Blades Haruka dominating the black side, even if I don’t really think Alicesoft is dark. They’re more gray than anything else. Now if only my rolls in the game didn’t suck so much…

#7

lol… anyone know what the criteria is for a Black or White game one the list? :lol:

#8

Chaos;Head: Black
G-Senjou no Maou: White

Yeah, uh, heh =P

Anyway, Fortune Arterial as the winner is interesting, but not entirely unexpected. (obviously G-Senjou is so much better than anything else on the list it’s not funny, but that aside for a moment)
Fortune Arterial is not that great, but it’s an August title, and August has had a history of combining a fairly strong main route with weaker side routes. One thing to note is that the quality of the game is not necessarily an indication of the amount one enjoys a title - those two factors can be quite different, and this is the case with Fortune Arterial.

Playing an August title is probably some of the most fun you can have on a computer, honestly. They’re just wonderful to read through. August games never get boring, not even for a second, they have wonderful art, beautiful and really well designed characters (even if they start to look a little same-y from title to title) and a story that, if not particularly deep, is at least entertaining and emotionally gripping.

So, yes, I think it’s perfectly understandable that people will like Fortune Arterial - I loved the thing, even though I don’t think it’s that great a game.

#9

It’s an interesting idea separating the eroges into white and black, but they aren’t divided up all that well (light-themed sex romps on the black side etc.). (For a lot of the categories, there doesn’t really need to be a distinction like that either, as the elements in them exist independently of the game’s white/black nature (eg BGM) and can be directly compared). Even for something like art, there’s no need to separate it, as good art is still good art, regardless of what it’s depicting.

(and although I’m completely unvindicated by the getchu rankings, I stand by my comments that whilst Beat Blades Haruka has high production values, it’s poorly designed and vastly overrated :P)

#10

I think I need to move Fortune Arterial up a few spots on my “to buy” list, after looking at those rankings. It was already pretty high on the list, but I might move it up to either this month’s order or my July order.

#11

11-eyes is a great title. I’ve just started playing it, and the complex plot twists are already hitting me.

#12

It is. Out of curiosity, have you played Lass’ earlier title, 3days?

#13

Yukiko is love, isn’t she? :smiley:

#14

Heh… now that I think about it, they probably just threw darts or something. :stuck_out_tongue:

Yes. Very much so. :o

Naw. I managed to get a copy of it used, but I haven’t even installed it.

I suppose I should take your comment as a hint to go ahead and play it. :wink:

#15

Lass should make a new game, named “19mysteries”. :wink:

#16