An ''eroge'' ( or , ''erogē''; ; a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordserotic video game. In 1982, Japan's

Koei Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its ''Dynasty Warriors'' games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based on p ...

, founded by husband-and-wife team Yoichi and Keiko Erikawa (and later known for strategy video games), released the first erotic computer game with sexually explicit graphics, '' Night Life'',Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier
Hardcore Gaming 101, reprinted from '' Retro Gamer'', Issue 67, 2009 an early

graphic adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

for the

NEC PC-8801 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the three major Japan ...

. That same year, Koei released another erotic title, ''Danchi Tsuma no Yuwaku'' (''Seduction of the Condominium Wife''), which was an early role-playing

adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based ...

with colour graphics, owing to the eight-color palette of the NEC PC-8001 computer. It became a hit, helping Koei become a major software company. On the other hand, some writers, like Naoki Miyamoto, considered the '' Yakyūken'' (1981) produced for Sharp MZ computers by

Hudson Soft was a Japanese video game company that released numerous games for video game consoles, home computers and mobile phones, mainly from the 1980s to the 2000s. It was headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, T ...

to be the first Japanese adult game. Like with Koei, several other now-famous Japanese companies such as

Enix was a Japanese video game publisher that produced video games, anime and manga. Enix is known for publishing the ''Dragon Quest'' series of role-playing video games. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975, as . Th ...

, Square and Nihon Falcom also released erotic adult games for the PC-8801 computer in the early 1980s before they became mainstream. Early eroge usually had simplistic stories and extreme sexual content, such as

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

and

lolicon In Japanese popular culture, is a genre of fictional media in which young (or young-looking) girl characters appear in romantic or sexual contexts. The term, a portmanteau of the English phrase " Lolita complex", also refers to desire an ...

. In some of the early erotic games, the erotic content is meaningfully integrated into a thoughtful and mature storyline, though others often used it as simply an excuse for pornography. In 1999, Key released '' Kanon''. It contains about 7 brief erotic scenes in a sentimental story the size of a long novel (an all-ages version was also released afterward). ''Kanon'' sold over 300,000 copies. In response to increasing pressure from Japanese

lobby group In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

s, in mid-1996 Sega of Japan announced that they would no longer permit

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the su ...

games to include nudity.

History

''Eroge'', also known as erotic games, have their origins in the early 1980s, when Japanese companies introduced their own brands of

microcomputer A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (PC ...

to compete with those of the United States. Competing systems included the X1, FM-7, MSX, and PC-8801. The earliest known commercial erotic computer game is PSK's ''Lolita Yakyūken'', released in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

. That same year,

released the erotic title, , which was an early role-playing

with color graphics, owing to the eight-color palette of the

PC-8001 The is a line of personal computers developed for the Japanese market by NEC. The PC-8001 model was also sold in the United States and Canada as the PC-8001A. Original models of the NEC PC-8001B (or sometimes the NEC PC-8000) were also sold in s ...

computer. It became a hit, helping Koei become a major software company. In another opinion, Yuji Horii recalled in 1986 that he saw a demonstration of a Yakyūken-like game running on the FM-8 in the end of 1981, and he considered Yakyūken was the origin of adult games. Some writers say that '' Yakyūken'' produced for Sharp MZ computers by

is the first Japanese adult game. Other now-famous Japanese companies such as

, Square and Nihon Falcom also released erotic adult games for the PC-8801 computer in the early 1980s before they became mainstream. Early ''eroge'' usually had simple stories, some even involving

anal sex Anal sex or anal intercourse is generally the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex information, anpage 118for information about the clitoris. ...

, which often led to widespread condemnation from the Japanese media. In some of the early erotic games, the erotic content is meaningfully integrated into a thoughtful and mature storytelling, though others often used it as a flimsy excuse for pornography. Erotic games made the PC-8801 popular, but customers quickly became tired of paying 8800 yen ($85) for such simple games. Soon, new genres were invented: ASCII's ''Chaos Angels'', a role-playing-based ''eroge'', inspired '' Dragon Knight'' by Elf and '' Rance'' by AliceSoft. In the early 1990s ''eroge'' games became much more common. Most ''eroge'' games, a fairly large library, found its way on the PC-9801 platform.

FM Towns The is a Japanese personal computer, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with IBM PC compatibles. ...

also received many games, more so than the X68000 or

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few o ...

, whilst the MSX platform (which had many ''eroge'' games in the 1980s) was nearing the end of its lifetime. ''Eroge'' was much less common on consoles – only

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...

's PC Engine series had officially licensed adult games, and from the mid-90s,

Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

. Both

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

and

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

disallowed adult video games on their consoles. Games also started to appear on

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for se ...

as it grew in popularity. In 1992, Elf released '' Dōkyūsei''. In it, before any eroticism, the user has to first win the affection of one of a number of female characters, making the story into an interactive romance novel. Thus, the love simulation genre was invented. Soon afterwards, the video game ''Otogirisou'' on the Super Famicom attracted the attention of many Japanese gamers. ''Otogirisou'' was a standard adventure game but had multiple endings. This concept was called a "sound novel". In 1996, the new software developer and publisher

Leaf A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ...

expanded on this idea, calling it a

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

and releasing their first successful game, '' Shizuku'', a horror story starring a rapist high school student, with very highly reviewed writing and music. Their next game, ''

Kizuato is a Japanese adult horror visual novel released on July 26, 1996, by Leaf. Story Koichi Kashiwagi, a college student, goes to his cousins' for his father's funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corps ...

'', was almost as dark. However, in 1997, they released ''

To Heart ''To Heart'' is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Leaf and released on May 23, 1997 for Windows. It was later ported to the PlayStation and given voice acting. A second PC version, titled ''To Heart PSE'' was released containing ...

'', a sweetly sentimental story of high school love that became one of the most famous and trendsetting ''eroge'' ever. ''To Heart'' music was so popular it was added to

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

machines throughout Japan—a first for ''eroge''. After a similar game by Tactics, '' One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e'', became a hit in 1998,

Visual Arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...

scouted main creative staff of ''One'' to form a new brand under them, which became Key. In 1999, Key released '' Kanon''. It contains only about seven brief erotic scenes in a sentimental story the size of a long novel (an all-ages version was also released afterward), but the enthusiasm of the response was unprecedented, and ''Kanon'' sold over 300,000 copies. In 2002 a 13-episode anime series was produced, as well as another 24-episode anime series in 2006. According to Satoshi Todome's ''A History of Eroge'', ''Kanon'' is still the standard for modern ''eroge'' and is referred to as a "baptism" for young otaku in Japan. Although many ''eroge'' still market themselves primarily on sex, ''eroge'' that focus on story are now a major established part of Japanese otaku culture. Oftentimes, voice actors who have voiced for ''eroge'' have been credited under a pseudonym. As the visual novel standard was adopted, the erotic parts in ''eroge'' began to become less and less apparent. Many ''eroge'' become more story-oriented than sex-oriented, making story the main focus for many modern ''eroge''. More and more people who used to reject such type of games began to become more open-minded, realizing that ''eroge'' are not just about sex anymore. A lot of story-focused ''eroge'' tend to have only a few erotic scenes. Another subgenre is called , in which sexual gratification of the player is the main focus of the game."Visual novel database"
on nukige, "Plot serves the sex-scenes, not the other way round."

Gameplay

There is no set definition for the gameplay of ''eroge'', except that they all include explicit erotic or

sexual content In media discourse, sexual content is material depicting sexual behavior. The sexual behavior involved may be explicit, implicit sexual behavior such as flirting, or include sexual language and euphemisms. Sexual content is a large factor in mo ...

depending on the game. Like other pornographic media in Japan, erotic scenes feature censorship of genitalia, only becoming uncensored if the game is licensed and released outside Japan, unless produced illegally by ''

dōjin In Japan, is a group of people who share an interest, activity, or hobby. The word is sometimes translated into English as " clique", "fandom", "coterie", "society", or "circle" (as in " sewing circle"). Self-published creative works produced ...

'' (usually with a construction kit like NScripter or RPG Maker). Additionally, some games may receive an "all-ages" version, such as a port to consoles or handheld devices where pornographic content isn't allowed, which either remove or censor the sex scenes entirely. ''Eroge'' is most often a

dating sim Dating sims, or , are video game subgenre of simulation games with romantic elements. Dating sims are often dialog-heavy and focus on time management. The player must befriend and carefully build and maintain a relationship with one or more ...

. However, there are also many other gameplay genres represented within ''eroge'', such as role-playing games, mahjong games, or puzzle games. Some ''eroge'', such as those made by

Illusion Soft is a Japanese video game company based in Yokohama. It is notable for developing eroge video games with 3D graphics. Originally, its games were not allowed to be sold or used outside Japan, and official support was only given in Japanese and ...

, are just simulations of sex, with no "conventional" gameplay included.

References

External links

A History of ''Eroge''
(archived fro

The Bluffer's Guide to Hentai Games (Eurogamer)

RPG Eroge (Anime Hentai Hub)
{{Dating sims and visual novels Video game genres

History

Gameplay

See also

References

Further reading

External links