Are Porn Games a Viable Market?

[Jumpin]

Jumpin said:

The problem is no one takes them seriously. If you go to a porn game site, usually it’s wall to wall cringeworthy apps that are more along the lines of gross-out games than something actually sexy and/or entertaining. The games are basically the same crap as they were on Newgrounds like 20+ years ago.

On the EShop most of the games are these very cheap soft core puzzle games that aren’t worth the 4 quid they charge. Also, they’re anime, which I don’t think is going to hook many people in any audience niche outside of (maybe) the virgin teenagers and Japan.

I think certain parts of Witcher 3 were on the right track, although the sex scenes were fairly tame and low-budgeted (no foreplay, reusing animations, etc…). Maybe the dev team was shy about sex? Either way, I think few people will deny that the wedding scenario and Shani hookup in Hearts of Stone was one of the best parts of Witcher 3 Complete (and that’s saying a lot for a game that extensive and high quality).

What I’d like to see is a developer making an attempt at a story based pornographic game geared towards couples. The Switch would be a fairly good console for that since each player can have their own screen. I think there’d be a big market for it. But yeah, I’m very much into the idea.

Just to clarify the part on anime games a bit. I’m not trying to shame anime porn game fans, just trying to be realistic. You can like what art style you want.

What I’m pointing out is that anime porn games are a niche genre and will stay a niche genre—at least, outside of Japan. They’ve also been around forever without seeing much success. I played them as a young teenager in the 1990s, and they were graphical adventures with full casts of characters, storylines, and such—yes, teenaged guys who hadn’t got laid yet were pretty into these games... at least, back in the 1990s, possibly not today (I can imagine today’s teens playing these games about a horny guy peaking in change rooms, looking up skirts, and groping and saying “That’s not appropriate! Hiroto really shouldn’t have done that…”). In nearly three decades (or longer), anime porn games have failed to penetrate the mainstream market, failed to make a splash, (I’m out of metaphors). These are in very low demand among mainstream audiences, but are all there is available on Platforms like the Switch EShop.

In short, if we’re looking for a mainstream successful pornographic game, it can’t be anime/cartoon. Even if 3D rendered, they probably can’t be any other uncanny valley art style.