In my opinion Bishoujo games are too expensive

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#1

Just as the topic says, you don’t have to agree with me but I’ll just reveal my views on that matter.

I don’t know what your source of income is, and I don’t know how much you earn in the U.S. (and it is none of my business of course) but I consider the Bishoujo gaming hobby rather devastating to my budget. I mean, when peach princess releases games in download edition for 15$ then that’s ok, that’s the price I am willing to pay and I have no regrets of the purchase. But if I’m requested to pay 40$ + delivery to europe costs for e.g. Amorous Professor Cherry, I quit. Maybe half a year ago, when dollar was cheap that was possible for me to afford, now American currency is stronger again and I have to wait until it devaluates (that’s the essence of relativism: bad for you good for me:D).
As far as I’m concerned, this is exactly what prevents bishoujo games from becoming a significant figure in the electronic entertainment industry, escpecially if you can buy an awesome game like FINAL FANTASY X for 20$ (if not less). Bishoujo games are therefore not competitive.

#2

(I forgot to add it to the last post)
I am sure that reducing the prices would help the business, especially that the only costs of the game are drawing CG’s and writing the story, and they are not technically troublesome to programme, so you don’t need a legion of highly-skilled software engineers

#3

Firstly, you fail as a erogamer :lol:

Second, you’re wrong when you say $40 for an eroge is high :stuck_out_tongue:

Third,

There is an Edit button in your first post, ready for you to click anytime

Fourth,

Yeah right, CGs and the scenario. What you’re saying sounds more like a doujin game to me, because in the world of professionals, eroge companies do it in another way. They hire artists to draw CGs (yes, not just one), writers to write the scenario (again, not just one, and the scenarios here are serious business, not just some kind of thrown-in filler scenarios usually seen in Western games), seiyuus to provide voices to the characters (and you can expect a lost of highly-paid professional seiyuus working in this eroge industry), composers to write original score for the game and in some cases, a director to make animated movie for the game (see ef as an example). How much do all of those elements make the game worth? And no, those are not all the cost a company got to pay, cost for printing CDs/DVDs (in many cases, for multiple platforms), cost for packaging, printing manuals, fan discs, cost for marketing the game, etc etc… Please tell me that the companies that have got to pay so much for a game they create don’t deserve at least $40 for a copy of it. :stuck_out_tongue:

Fifth, you should know that many of us are willing to pay ¬Ä50 for D.C (yes, i mean “¬Ä”, not “$”) when it comes out despite of its price. If you pass on this game just because of its price, you owe yourself a sorry :stuck_out_tongue:

Sixth, please do a research before you have to say something. I mean please, we’re all adult men here now, researching a bit about something is the least thing we can do to help ourselves

#4

Bishoujo games are sort of a hobby and everyone should ask themself how much they want to invest in their hobbies.
I think nothing is wrong with spending money on Bishoujo games if they give you a fun time in return.

#5

There are women here as well.

At any rate, on to the point, this thread made me laugh. You’re spoiled already if you think PP is too expensive. Try spending upwards of 90-100$+ per game when importing from Japan. Not only that but the games are translated and uncensored at a cheaper price. Not to mention most new games I see anymore(with the exception of PS2 titles which most are all around 40$) are priced at 50-60$ each. We’re not going to use pre-owned or older title games as a reference to compare against eroge here because these are NEW games to the English market, thus only fair to compare to other new titles.

Even with bringing a game to the English market you have company dealing costs, localization(not just basic translation), licensing cost, not to mention paying the people that are working on the game to begin with.

As with all hobbies, if you can’t afford it, find a new one.

#6

B-games generally require less coding than mainstream games, this is true. However, they require a LOT of custom graphics, which cannot be reused and cannot be passed off to someone cheap. Many games can cut corners on visual presentation here and there. For these games, visual presentation is the major selling point. They have to hire quality artists.

Have you read http://zepy.momotato.com/2008/09/09/eroge-production/ ? Full-length games are not cheap to make. We here in the English market are already getting a major discount because PP knows very few of us could manage to buy the games if they were $90 each like they are in Japan… And on the other hand, the English market punishes erotic content to such an extent that even made much cheaper, the games are never going to sell like they do in Japan.

Sure, you can make cheaper Bishoujo games. If you visit DLsite and look for games made by amateurs you will find some stuff in a much cheaper price bracket. A rare few of them are even in English. But the quality/polish/length is generally way lower. Even with the original-English stuff that you can find on my site, the games are very short and low on graphics compared to fullprice Japanese games.

If money’s tight, wait for a bargain or save up for the game that you want the most! :slight_smile:

#7

I think a big part of the problem is he said they were “too expensive” rather than the truth, which is they’re “out of his reach”. Not having money sucks, but it’s not the only thing that factors into the equation. How much it costs to make is very important.

And yes, $90 is a real price. That’s what these games commonly go for in Japan. I’m 100% serious.

#8

Okay, make it just adults instead of adult men and all is well :smiley:

Edit: $90 = €70 = ¥8800 to be exact, shipping cost not included.

#9

Actually, with the exchange rate and the most common retail price for the games in Japan (?9240), they’re more like $94. :frowning: I can’t afford to import much now.

#10

If you can’t afford the occasional Bishoujo game, get a real job.

#11

The US dollar is barely considered strong right now. It’s pretty weak now if you ask me.

I think it’s fairly priced. If I were to go into an adult shop around here, a DVD that lasts about 1-2 hour is $45-55 dollars. Which I think is quite high considering the huge market it has out there, versus these games which don’t. The games can last up to 20 hours, and in some cases more. I rather have a bit of a story with character development, rather than mindless sex in some DVD.

#12

$40 dollors usd is better than $63.52 for the high range manga game stuff and at least you get a box with peach princess stuff

#13

Hang on, are you seriously complaining about being able to buy things like Princess Waltz, Kazoku Keikaku, Yume Miru Kusuri et. al for $40?

Try getting a copy of a first-edition printing of Yume Miru Kusuri nowadays. It’ll run into the hundreds =p

And yeah, eroges are expensive. But the good ones last a heck of a long time - I find that they’re a more efficient expenditure of income for entertainment than a lot of other things, which is why I’m willing to pay the price, really.

Moshimo Ashita ga Hare Naraba was hell expensive, but if you look at how long it’s been in my sig (and I’ve still got two routes to go, god damn)… difficult to deny it was worth it. One of the best eroges I’ve ever played, seriously, I dunno how I never knew about this masterpiece until recently.

#14

I assume you’re talking about a first-edition printing of the Japanese version of YMK. While that might prove to be quite attractive to those who actually understand Japanese, I doubt it has much value to someone like OP here. Honestly, if I had such a thing in my possession, it’s monetary value would be awesome, however it’s value as a story and piece of art would mean little since I couldn’t understand it.

I agree though, 40 dollars really is NOT that much, and english translated titles usually don’t hit that $40 mark either, look at the new downhill series coming out, they are only $25 (I get the feeling they are short though, especially having 3 “parts”). Buying a game for maybe 360 or PS3 is expensive, especially nowadays where they rarely last past the 10 hour mark. Multiplayer doesn’t mean much to me anymore.

I suppose everyone has different opinions, and the prices PP is asking is VERY fair, both to publisher and consumer if you ask me. I imagine that the publisher might even be taking a bit of a hit offering at those prices. I don’t know how much it cost to license these games, but I’m sure it’s not cheap. They gotta make sure they at least break even on their investment.

I wouldn’t mind paying extra 20 dollars to PP if that could secure even better (newer more expensive licenses) games, but I can’t speak for everyone else here.

#15

I remember when MangaGamer first opened business, everyone here keeps complaining that their €50 ($64) price is too high. , pretty much in the same way sir Yakuza here says. :lol:

#16

You forgot they have to either pay for someone to develope an engine or buy license to use another one. Then they must hire someone to write the script to display all that text, CGs, etc. This can be the same person who wrote the engine, but often isn’t (or isn’t the only person).

Sometimes you can reuse them for games like Custom Reido.

Or you could try buying something like Tsukibako. I got mine cheap at $215.

#17

Dude, if you think $40 dollars is too expensive for a game, translated eroge would be the last thing you’d be complaining about. A lot of mainstream video games range from 50-70 dollars nowadays.

#18

His complaints are understandable. When elaborate AAA titles go for the same price (if not even lower) as bishoujo games, it’s easy for consumers to perceive a lack of value.

However, that’s just a market flaw. I don’t think moviegoers or DVD buyers complain that the price of watching a low-budget drama equals that of a glossy blockbuster. But for whatever reason, the core gaming market (still very narrow, which may be one cause of this dilemma. I don’t think there’s much crossover between the AAA and casual game markets, which target different demographics and utilize different distribution channels) strongly values such things as high-end technology and length. The problem becomes worse as you factor in product depreciation, which you don’t really see in the publishing, music, or film industries.

Ultimately, bishoujo game fans have to reconcile themselves to the fact that this is a completely different market. These things can’t be valued and sustained the same way as AAA games, so it’s unreasonable to draw direct comparisons.

#19

I’d like to know where you get these AAA video games for $40 (or even cheaper like you claim is possible), because I’ve been paying $60 for them all this time. These are new right? Like current gen brand new still sealed?

#20

This thread makes me laugh…
I think everything has been said except for the fact that if you live in EU, order your games on archonia.com.
It’s in EU so you won’t have the VAT and the expensive post fees.