Peach Princess "Top Three" 2001-12

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#21

Hello and hajimemashite, this is my first time posting here. My bishoujo gaming history isn’t very long(1st game bought summer of 2001) so please be gentle to me. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. m(_ )m

I have a few ideas on why Xchange outsells others so far. Some may be already mentioned and/or linked to ideas already mentioned in this thread.

The title - It’s simple, easy to remember, and it’s the type of title you’d expect on a pr0n video game. If I’m choosing A PP game and I have nothing but the title to go on, Xchange would be the first thing I’d check out.

The premise - The idea of the main character being a boy turning into a girl caught my interest from the very start and was the reason I paid any attention to the title in the first place. While the concept isn’t new in Japanese comics and animation, it is something that hasn’t been explored in bishoujo games(much?) at the time that it came out and I was very curious to see what kind of story and situation would rise from this kind of premise. The premise of Xchange sounds much more interesting than the premise of TCI and SW and thus more likely to catch the attention of potential customer.

Familiarity - I know this is kinda a taboo subject on this board but I strongly believe a big reason Xchange may be selling is that the customer is already familiar with it either through some site or place that has a pic from the game.(you know what kind I’m talking about right? if not, you’re better off not knowing ) I don’t think I’ve seen a single of those types of sites that didn’t have something having to do with Xchange on it. @@

Besides the above reasons, how can you guys miss the most obvious reason: a cute and sexy main character! I like both the girl and boy version of Takuya and I’m sure a lot of others like him/her too!


[This message has been edited by Yanachan (edited 02-02-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Yanachan (edited 02-02-2002).]

#22
quote:
Originally posted by Yanachan:
The title - It's simple, easy to remember, and it's the type of title you'd expect on a pr0n video game. If I'm choosing A PP game and I have nothing but the title to go on, Xchange would be the first thing I'd check out.

Well, the game IS easy, but it's also very short compared to the other games that Peach Princess offers, it's very short. Which may be kind of a problem; some people who buys X.change might except a longer and better story and when they encounter the opposite of what they excepted, they might get a bad impression of bishoujo games and that all bishoujo gmaes are like that - short and filled with too much sex and too few decicion points ^^;;

quote:
The premise - The idea of the main character being a boy turning into a girl caught my interest from the very start and was the reason I paid any attention to the title in the first place. While the concept isn't new in Japanese comics and animation, it is something that hasn't been explored in bishoujo games(much?) at the time that it came out and I was very curious to see what kind of story and situation would rise from this kind of premise. The premise of Xchange sounds much more interesting than the premise of TCI and SW and thus more likely to catch the attention of potential customer.

Well, the throught of aboy turning into a woman isn't really allt hat "taboo" at all, since we all ask ourselves sometimes "what would it feel like to be a woman?", and its often those who're attracted to that subject who buys the game; since thay want to see how a boy would react if he suddenly were tunred into a woman - how would he/she react to the various situations he/she might encounter, like the using of female clothes, , the "time of the month", and how he/she would thinki of girls and guys during his/her time as a girl [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
Well, the transgander genre isn't rewally all that "thin" in the market of bishoujo gmae sin Japan - I've seen some titles which focuses on the transgender subject besides X-Change 1 & 2.

quote:
Familiarity - I know this is kinda a taboo subject on this board but I strongly believe a big reason Xchange may be selling is that the customer is already familiar with it either through some site or place that has a pic from the game.(you know what kind I'm talking about right? if not, you're better off not knowing [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/redface.gif[/img]) I don't think I've seen a single of those types of sites that didn't have something having to do with Xchange on it. @_@

Oh, I think that most of us alreday knows that - the pictures in X-change are pirated by various sites, as well as the pictures of many others of Peach Princess games. We does inform those sites about that - that the copyright belongs to X-change, we explins the situatuion of the market as it is now ti them and after that, they mostly removes their pictures... wtih the exceptation of a few very stubborn guys, who doesn't give a damn about it being illegal at all - just like most pirates out there.


quote:
Besides the above reasons, how can you guys miss the most obvious reason: a cute and sexy main character! [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] I like both the girl and boy version of Takuya and I'm sure a lot of others like him/her too! [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

Well as Kumiko says at the page for X-change, he is really cute as a girl... in fact in my opinion, Takya IS really quite cute, both as a boy and girl [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/redface.gif[/img] (hmm, now when you think about it, he looks kind of "bishonen", if you ask me)

#23
quote:
Originally posted by Spectator Beholder:
Well, the game IS easy, but it's also very short compared to the other games that Peach Princess offers, it's very short. Which may be kind of a problem; some people who buys X.change might except a longer and better story and when they encounter the opposite of what they excepted, they might get a bad impression of bishoujo games and that all bishoujo gmaes are like that - short and filled with too much sex and too few decicion points ^^;;

Hmmm, if you guys view Xchange in such a negative light, then it could be considered to be in the best interest of the US bishoujo game market to stop maketing this game? The "gamer might get ugly impression of this genre because of Xchange" is something I'm seeing a bit too often on this board; I mean even Kumiko the company rep puts down this game! I personally think Xchange is a good starting point to get into bishoujo gaming. It may be the oldest and lack some of the nicer features of the later games but I do think it has enough to get a beginner interested in bishoujo games. If you guys think Xchange is too lacking, price it to reflect that!! Hey!, WC is same price as Xchange!, does that mean WC is as short and simple? No! So lower XC's price some and market it as something the customer can get his/her feet wet with.

(Speaking of WC, I think PP should have left the title as "In Use: WC" instead of spelling out "Water Closet". More subtle but I guess it's a bit late for that... [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/frown.gif[/img])

Kumiko, I'm not in position to tell you how to do your job but I think you're too negative at times. Saying something to the effect of "our #1 seller is our worst and suckiest product!" really puts the fans down and it scares off potential customers. You guys need to look at sales results from various perspectives and be more open minded to other people's opinion rather than putting their ideas down so often. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/frown.gif[/img]

Speaking of that...
"Ranma is no longer popular". Of course Ranma's no longer popular, it's OLD!!(DUH!!) Sorry; that post was old but I just had to respond to that. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/tongue.gif[/img] (And even then that's not a good argument since we have Gundam which is even older yet the action figures are practically flying off the shelves. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img] Just shows you old stuff can still sell just like Xchange, ne?)

BTW, sorry if the mood of the post is bad. I slept late and got up early so I was a bit easier to be grumpy. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/tongue.gif[/img]

#24

i would be happy to share my opinions, woodelf-san

let’s see, my favorite of the current titles available by peach princess is probably Snow Drop, followed very closely by Tokimeki Checkin…I think one of the main points for me, as a woman, is that the sex is portrayed in a very romantic, very consensual way

in snow drop, the story is the main key…and it really is like a fairy tale…i most enjoy sexual themes in a game when there is a very clear romantic path to the sex…when minoru and shizuka/kyoka finally make love, i really get the feeling that they have truly developed a closeness that gives the scene some real intimacy…and as any other person, my mood can change and sometimes i want to have something a little shallower, so i have the option of fooling around with keika, but even then, it isn’t totally pointless, because the characters have known each other for a long time and have a real history together

an example of the type of thing i really don’t like much is, say, Fatal Relations…you have no control over how the story goes, which girl you end up with, or when you do and don’t have sex…i like games with a Yes/No option whenever you are presented with a sexual encounter, to me it indicates more roleplaying and thought behind whether or not you get involved with this girl (I loved Gloria for that point, you almost always had a choice)

another example of something sexual and pointless that i didn’t like much was in Adam: The Double Factor…now I love this game and the series, because I love a good mystery/science fiction story, and the Adam/Eve series is one of the best I’ve found …but I was pretty put off by the scenes in Adam where Marina goes down on Yuka to help her get to sleep…this scene made no sense to me whatsoever…Yuka is supposedly all upset over her parents being killed, and these two women don’t even really know each other, yet they are going to engage in sexual activity at the drop of a hat? I know if my parents were murdered, i wouldn’t be interested in sex for a damn long time…especially with someone i don’t know! i don’t like sex without a point or a clear emotional path…in thesame game, I love when Yayoi and Kojiroh get intimate, because I have followed their story from Burst Error and it makes total sense how they would get back together again from time to time…it has an intimacy that i really like…

as for X-change, I appreciated a lot of its humour and wackiness, but some of the scenes were just pointless sexual scenes…and a lot of them were very much Takuya going “No no no” very vehemently and then just kind of giving up and going with the flow…i really dislike non-consensual sex, unless it is a slave or maid sim like The Maid’s Story and the intent is to break down their defenses…like i said above, i have mood swings and preference changes depending on that mood, so i like different things at different times

I am really hoping for Dokusen and Slave Bazaar…Slave Bazaar for the atmosphere of the Rennaisance, the choices you have to be kind or cruel, and the romantic story it seems to have… Dokusen because I love complex simulations and sex-slave training in a school setting is so kinky, perfect for those off-the-wall mood nights, but it also seems to have depth as well, not just a string of pointless encounters

wow, i said a mouthful hope my ‘women’s perspective’ helped you out, woodelf-san!

#25
quote:
Originally posted by Yanachan:
Hmmm, if you guys view Xchange in such a negative light, then it could be considered to be in the best interest of the US bishoujo game market to stop maketing this game? The "gamer might get ugly impression of this genre because of Xchange" is something I'm seeing a bit too often on this board; I mean even Kumiko the company rep puts down this game! I personally think Xchange is a good starting point to get into bishoujo gaming. It may be the oldest and lack some of the nicer features of the later games but I do think it has enough to get a beginner interested in bishoujo games. If you guys think Xchange is too lacking, price it to reflect that!! Hey!, WC is same price as Xchange!, does that mean WC is as short and simple? No! So lower XC's price some and market it as something the customer can get his/her feet wet with.

I didn't say thattWE throught of X-change in this way, but most of those who plays the game might think that of the game and the genre in geneal,if they haven't had had any another experisence of the bishoujo gae genre. By the way, Peach Princess woulmdn't have released x-Change 1 at all, had it not been for X-change 2, which is much larger, better and has more endings and charaters than X-change 1. Peach Princess wants to release x-chage 2 at the english market . But don't you think that it'd be kind of strange to just release a sequel without reelasing the game which the sequel is a sequel of? Had Peach Princess released X-chagne 2 first, it'd have been like Lucasarts releasing Star Wars episode 2 before they released Episod 1 ^^;;.

[This message has been edited by Spectator Beholder (edited 02-02-2002).]

#26
quote:
Originally posted by ladyphoenix:
i really dislike non-consensual sex, unless it is a slave or maid sim like The Maid's Story and the intent is to break down their defenses...like i said above, i have mood swings and preference changes depending on that mood, so i like different things at different times

Well, the point isn't all about breaking down their defenses, it's about mking them good at sex as well [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img] (But it's in a way about breaking down their defenses too, since they may be very shy about sex at first, even if it's all about love [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img])

[This message has been edited by Spectator Beholder (edited 02-02-2002).]

#27
quote:
Originally posted by Spectator Beholder:
Well, the point isn't all about breaking down their defenses, it's about mking them good at sex as well [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img] (But it's in a way about breaking down their defenses too, since they may be very shy about sex at first, even if it's all about love [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img])

[This message has been edited by Spectator Beholder (edited 02-02-2002).]

That is exactly what I meant...because they eventually realize they like sex too, but they are so shy at first that you have to force them so they experience it [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

#28

Heh, I know this is off this topic, but my ‘is sex objectionable’ got flamed to death by someone who didn’t approve of sex. Apparently our attorney general John Ashcroft finds the female half of the statue pair in the great hall offensive. The toga only covers one breast, with the other freely exposed. So, he has ordered to have draperies pulled over the statues to cover them when he holds press conferences there. Bwahaha! Oh, you can follow the news item here: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/HallsOfJustice/hallsofjustice110.html

[This message has been edited by bokmeow (edited 02-02-2002).]

#29

Kumiko, curious question. Xchange is your best selling title to date right. It seems strange to me then that Xchange 2 would be on the list of temporarily postponed projects. This is a business after all. Gotta sell what sells. Sega gave us great games but in the end lost to the huge selection of less pushing the edge games of Playstation. Also I agree with you that X-change is not the most advanced game out there. I also though found it to be enjoyable. People tend to put themselves in a “camp” mental state. Games should be just sex. Games should be complex stories. Personally I like different games for however I feel at the moment. Sometimes simple is good, other times I want to be more involved. Ohh I keeping sprawling. Thought on X-change. Thing I liked most about it was that I got to control the girl uh sorta, something unique from games I played before.

#30

I don’t quite get why the Japanese are concerned with all titles selling well, though none I admit is a problem. They’ve been in our console market to realize that there are flagship titles that sell well in the states. Examples Final Fantasy for Playstation or Halo for Xbox. They should be aware that titles can bomb here but not mean anything at all about the market. Not every console game sells well but as a whole they have a huge market that has grown for years. Also I love to bring up Sega as a perfect case study similiar to the Bishoujo market. Sega came out with titles like Jet Grind Radio, Phantasy Star, Shenmue, Skies of Arcadia, the list could go on and on. Unfortunately, few people knew anything about them and Sega left the console market. It is up to gamers to spread popularity by purchase and word of mouth. It up to publishers to not only create and distribute titles but, to create awareness of the products. The current dilema as I see it is as follows. In the otaku or anime market, bishoujo gaming remains a niche despite the popularity of hentai anime series. In the adult market bishoujo is little known or understood or they may not want to be as interactive as say popping in a tape or DVD and watching. If only hentai buyers would also buy bishoujo and adult material buyers knew of bishoujo.

#31

Has Pea Pri ever approached hentai makers to trade commercial spots in each others products?

#32

Just a side question:

Does it matter for Kumiko to pre-order games? For me it doesn’t matter; If a game is not available right away, i don’t mind waiting a couple weeks for it.
But if it’s important for this company to know how many people will buy a specific game, i will just pre-order them all from now on.

#33
quote:
Originally posted by Kumiko Kamiyama:

7) As for preordering... if you do not mind preordering months in advance, that certainly helps a company have a better idea of demand for their products. No one is charged until the product ships, of course.

The only problem I have with pre-ordering is remembering that I need to calculate and remember the amounts in my balance books. My credit card is linked to my checking account so trying to keep it balanced weekly as well as taking into account automatic bill payments and pre-order values is becoming an interesting exercise in creative accounting. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/tongue.gif[/img]

#34

omg a friend of mine was playing water closet cause i was thinking of ordering it. umm but i dont think i’ll be into golden showers any time soon so i’ll pass on that game however i cant wait to get my hands on little my maid

#35

The one problem I have right now with pre-ordering is that my parents credit card (The one I use to order games from Pear Pri ) expires in April, so I’m not sure what will happen if I order something and it doesn’t come out before April… that said, I have ordered Critical Point already though (collectors edition). The other problem is that I don’t have a job yet, still in college, though I should have a job soon and if I do, I can order more stuff from Pea Pri.

#36

Hmm, since PeaPri doesn’t charge the card till they’re gonna ship it, if it comes out after the expiration date, I would guess that you’d just get a note asking for an up-to-date card number. And you can always email them as soon as you get a new card. Besides, it’s not like they’re going to send people to hunt you down right?

#37