LOULOU
d’AKI

PLAYING FOR LOVE

Japan


In Japan, lonely men are falling for virtual girlfriends who are far from perfect. The digital beauties of today come without any artificial intelligence, they can react to their partner only within very strict paths of a pre written storyline. Yet they seem very real to many Japanese men, some of whom have long term relationships with Rinko, Manaka or Nene, one of the characters to choose from in the game 'LovePlus', played on a portable Nintendo console. 


The success of the LovePlus game series which has sold around 500'000 copies, shows that machines won't need perfect artificial intelligence to convince us of their human potential .
Many of these users have a very sane idea of the game they are playing and the imaginary quality of the girls they are dating. Others cannot tell fact from fiction anymore and are desperately waiting for the next update of the game which would equal the next step in the relationship. As it is there are no more updates, so these hardcore users keep playing the same storylines again and again. They're stuck in a love loophole.

For women there are a bunch of romance simulations on the market – a scene that contrasts the Science Fiction-world of LovePlus: The otome scene is in a phase of fast growth, but it's still deeply rooted in the traditions of romantic storytelling as in books or mangas.

As for now, romance simulation games are almost uniquely a Japanese phenomenon. These games might involve the player a bit more than a classic book because of the interactive features and the multimedia character of the games, combining text, music and illustrations, but finally they are just doing the same old trick in a new media: trying to tell a story in a emotionally convincing way.


Where Tamagotchi emulated pets, LovePlus emulates a human partner. 

And once again Japan proves to be the most advanced societal research lab when it comes to digital technologies.


nd the imaginary quality of the girls they are dating while others  no longer can tell fact from fiction. They love their virtual girlfriends sincerely, and they are desperately waiting for the next update of the game, the ne
Hitomi, mother of two children and a frequent player of Voltage romance applications, poses for a portrait after work in Tokyo
Hitomi, mother of two and a frequent player of Voltage romance applications, often plays her game while commuting to work in the Tokyo JR train line.
Tokyo night view.
People visit the Star Wars exhibition in Mori Art Museum in Tokyo.
Girls dance on the strest after the Niconico Chokaiki weekend fair in the outskirts of Tokyo.
The double room in Ohnoya hotel in Atami, one of the destinations for a weekend trip with a virtual girlfriend for the players of Kotami’s dating simulation game Love Plus.
A male guest in a bathrobe looks at the rooftop view in Ohnoya hotel, Atami, where Love Plus players were programmed to go for a weekend trip with their virtual girlfriend.
A UFO-catcher machine and sofas in a backroom of the Adult museum, one of the locations on the list for a Love Plus player taking his virtual girlfriend to Atami for a weekend.
Masano uses a Nintendo pen to chat with his virtual girlfriend on the playing console. The Love Plus dating simulation application also permits its users to give your virtual girlfriend a caress which might make her blush.
A doll on display at the Adult museum in Atami, one of the program points for the Love Plus dating simulation game players who brought their virtual girlfriends on a weekend trip to Atami.
Books lie on the floor in a private booth at Cafe 801, a library and café for girls specialized on the Boys Love cathegory of Manga books and magazines.
Jennai, the producer of Waldburgsgedichte, with a story booklet in her lap.
A female Cosplayer checks her makeup before a photo shoot at the Niconico Chokaiki Anime fare in Tokyo.
Boys in school uniforms play with their smartphones and watch publicity ads as they wait for the light to turn green at a crossing in Akihabara, Tokyo.
A girl shops for Boys Love Manga books in an Anime shop in downtown Tokyo.
Mr. Masano arranges the desk before the doors open to a fair and an event he has arranged for Love Plus users to gather with a possiblity to plug their playing consoles to a larger screen.
A Love Plus playing married couple show pictures on their smartphones of dolls who resemble to the game’s virtual girlfriends Rinko, Nene and Manaka, during a visit to the Octoberfest in Germany. Beside the phone stands a little figurine of Nene with hand
Mr. Masano gives a brief introduction to the event he has arranged for Love Plus users during a weekend fair, before the doors open to the public.
A man with a briefcase covers his mouth as he starts laughing while chatting to a waitress on the street in Akihabara, a district famous for its electronic shops and Otome cafés in Tokyo.
Men with briefcases ascend the rolling escalator towards the game machines in a Patchinko hall in Akihabara, Tokyo.
A player of Love Plus, indicates the itinerary of a programmed weekend in Atami on a map. The players were to take their virtual girlfriends on a trip and to follow the game instructions once there on where to go and what to
A married couple, frequent players of Love Plus, holds up their playing consoles, each one with a picture of the virtual Love Plus girlfriend they date: Manaka to the left, Rinko the the right.
Players of Love Plus, a love simulation game, meet at a fair for Anime and Otome related culture during the Japanese holiday ’Golden Week’ in Tokyo. All players bring their own consoles and gadgets related to the game. The Love Plus love simulation app ha
A man reads a Manga cartoon while waiting for the train after a day of work in Tokyo.
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