Eroge in Decline? Screenwriter Responds Outraged!

Do you think eroges are in decline? A good portion of Japanese people think so, because they are no longer popular or talked about as much as they used to be. And the discussion about the decline of eroges recently gained prominence on Twitter, after a post went viral with a provocative metaphor about the current state of the industry.

It all started when a user identified as @20seikiboi posted the following on his Twitter profile:

“I heard that eroges are in such low demand that the industry has almost become a traditional art.”

The sentence, although short, carried an implicit criticism of the current state of erotic games in Japan, suggesting that the industry had become obsolete, something nostalgic and outdated — like a cultural relic.

And although @20seikiboi only has 700 followers, his post reached more than 7 million views and well, an eroge creator saw this tweet and did not like what was said at all.

Eroge in Decline? Screenwriter Responds Outraged!

The post gained so much visibility that it reached the eyes of SCA-Ji (すかぢ), renowned eroge screenwriter and author of acclaimed titles such as Subarashiki Hibi. Irritated by the superficiality of the statement, he responded in a series of harsh tweets:

“It’s so short that I can’t even understand what you mean. And I have no idea what criteria you used to say that. Eroge isn’t so decadent that it would go viral because of something so stupid. Like, who are you again?”

“If this kind of nonsensical tweet gets 20 thousand likes, then probably this nonsense about eroge will continue to be posted. Seriously, what is this? A tweet with no content whatsoever that doesn’t mean anything.”

“This ‘decline of eroges’ story has been going around for 15 years. And now someone comes along and tweets this without any new content and it goes viral? I think it’s just a bunch of people trying to comfort themselves with a tired opinion. I’m going to completely deny this kind of bullshit discussion (reference to philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt). It’s so stupid that it doesn’t even deserve debate.”

The statements of an industry veteran generated several reactions. SCA-Ji has been involved in the production of these types of games since the 90s, and he was quite irritated by the statements made by the user above. Below are some reactions to SCA-Ji’s statements:

• Of course the person involved will be angry

   

• Generation Z doesn’t even play PC games anymore, so it’s natural that the market will decline

   

• Neither the person saying this nor the rest of the industry has concrete data to prove anything. There’s no point in demanding this

   

• Since it doesn’t pass Apple’s approval, it can’t be released on cell phones, so the industry is cornered. The only way to survive is to follow the path of Fate and become all-ages as soon as possible

   

• The scriptwriter of a studio that closed down published work on Narou (web novel website) and recently had an anime adapted. Even if the eroge ends, the creators individually can still survive

   

• But, in practice, it is already dead content, right?

   

• That hurt. I wish he had presented a source showing that the market is not in decline

   

• Before talking about the content of the works, it is necessary to understand that the platform itself is already dying. Without that, there is no way to discuss

   

• Both those who say that the market is over and those who say that it is not… are right, in the end. The market has always been small, so it can be said that it has not declined. But, if the reference is the period of greatest success, then it is not wrong to say that it has declined

In fact, the market for these games has undergone changes with the advancement of all-ages VNs, VTubers, streaming services and censorship by companies like Visa and Mastercard. However, many argue that eroges are still alive — albeit more niche and artistic.