Dating Sims in the US/Canadian market?

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Originally posted by Tsubaki
But like the western market taste is any better. I'm actually disgusted to see Thousand Arms as a game that is appreciated on this board. It was an awful RPG (worst battle system ever), with all the awfulness of TokiMemo "dates" thrown in. A bunch of random garbage dialog with the characters that neither make the dates believeable, nor the characters. If the TA praise on this board is any indication, I guess date sims could do decently here. WTF do people see in it!?! It's like the worst game RED Company ever did, and sad it's the only one here.

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Thanks for the heads up, Tsubaki. I hadn't tried this one yet, and in fact I was looking for an RPG to keep me busy! It sounds like it's totally my style. Thanks again! :p :lol:

isn't a sakura taisen game due here in the US soon?

There was a game, I believe it was called Graduation released for the PC in America. You're a teacher and you have to oversee 5 female students. Developed and originally released in Japan, it's a very close cousin of dating sims. It's basically the exact same thing, just not romantic.

I've never played a dating sim because the language barrier is just gigantic. But I have known Japanese capable gamers who I respected and appreciated their tastes in games, absolutely swear by Tokimeki. Assuring me it's fantastic. Or maybe they're just banking on the fact I'll never play Tokimeki and so are playing a "hardcore" bluff. I dunno. I'd like to try one some day.

As for a dating sim in America on a console, I don't think it will ever happen. Just because it wouldn't sell jack and publishers know it. Some genres are just going to stay in Japan.

Sakura Taisen is only part dating game. And yeah it's coming to the US on PS2.

I can't think of a single reason why there aren't any of these out here. People always act like they're some weird Japanese thing, but it's hardly like dateless losers are unique to that market.

On the other hand, I've only ever played one of these things, and it was just about the stupidest thing I've ever owned. I think I got to hold the girl's hand and kiss her at the end after a half hour of text and answering her questions exactly how she wanted like a complete tool. If I want to act like a total servant and only get to first base, I'll ask out a mormon chick or something. If the guy in chinatown hadn't thrown it in for $5, I'd have felt ripped off.

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Originally posted by lithium

Or maybe they\'re just banking on the fact I\'ll never play Tokimeki and so are playing a \"hardcore\" bluff. I dunno. I\'d like to try one some day.

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That needs to be an official gaming term.

• Hardcore Bluff : hard\'-kor\'-bl~uf(Amer. slang)
  
  Acting like a game you overspent on is one of the best ever made, knowing nobody can prove otherwise. See: Panzer Dragoon Saga, Darius Alpha.

Yeah, most of the date sims I've seen seem boring to me, though they usually have great art. Sakura Taisen series isn't all date sim, but it's an important element of the game. So why does it work there (at least for me) when it doesn't work for others?

Partly because the characters have a lot of personality (helped by their voice actresses), partly because its very well-written, but probably mainly by the dynamic and anime-like setting where it all takes place which helps things from getting boring, sprinkled liberally with humor. Though I doubt I'd like the series much if it wasn't broken up by a string of fun battles and mini-games. It also avoids melodrama, except near the end where things have built up so you don't really mind it too much.

Also unlike date sims, as far as I know, treating the women right doesn't just get you the ending with them in ST, it actually effects their game stats and how well they'll do during the battle sections of the game. Actually, getting all the right responses and boosting the girls up makes these fights a bit too easy.

Sakura Taisen will also sell in the US to the anime crowd since it has an anime series to support it and it plays more like an interactive anime than a date sim, though it's immpossible to divorce it completely from being a date sim.

I think Princess Maker made it out here on PC, but it's not exactly a dating sim.

I love Sakura Taisen, but it's not strictly a dating sim either. I mean, you don't go out on dates or anything really, except once in awhile.

Agreed about Thousand Arms, that was one of the most forgettable RPGs I ever played. I dunno what Gamer's Republic saw in it.

The only straight dating sim I've played is Ryoko Inoue Roommate on DC, haven't finished yet, although I supposed it's a life sim with someone who happens to be a hot chick. I wouldn't say it's terrible, like I've mentioned before on the baord, it's an extremely useful Japanese study tool. If I were a native Japanese speaker I dunno how I'd feel, and if it was in English, I think I'd feel pretty fruity playing it. I'll have to check out TokiMemo someday.

I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

Dating sims won't work in the US because nobody wants to go into a store and admit they are a dateless loser to the whole world.

I'm not saying those are the only people that play them, but I know a bunch of people that do and its not pretty...

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Originally posted by Master
Dating sims won't work in the US because nobody wants to go into a store and admit they are a dateless loser to the whole world.

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There are whole anime and comic book companies whose continued existence create a compelling argument against that. I like the sig, btw.

And just for the record, there are some PC publishers who release more adult-oriented versions of these things in english.