![]() ![]() Today, Voltage is a world leader in female romance simulation apps, catering to female “otaku” – intense fans of popular culture, such as anime and manga – and other curious women. That proved to be an excellent business strategy. “We wanted to provide something for them.” “Almost all women are under stress,” says Higashi. So, in the mid-2000s the duo pivoted their punk gaming business, Voltage, to cater to the female audience, debuting their first dating app for women “My Lover is The No.1 Host” in 2006. Japan has the second largest mobile gaming market in the world, generating $6.5 billion of sales in 2016, according to the Global Games Market Report. Japanese businesswoman Nanako Higashi and her husband, Yuzi Tsutani, saw a niche in this lucrative sector. Based on the quest of a blonde teenage girl, who is a candidate to be the next “ Queen of the Universe”, to choose her perfect suitor, it was wildly successful. In 1994, a team of female coders at Japanese gaming company Koei broke with tradition, launching the first romance game for women, “Angelique”. Known as “bishoujo” they would generally focus on a male protagonist pursuing pretty anime-style female characters. ![]() In a society where 44.2% of women – almost half of Japan’s millennial singles aged between 18 and 34 – are virgins, this industry has seemingly tapped into a deep desire for simulated intimacy in Japan.ĭating simulation apps first appeared in Japan in the 1980s. In 2014, the romance gaming industry in Japan was worth $130 million. “When I was tired at the end of the day, before going to sleep, I was so relieved to hear his sweet and gentle words,” she tells CNN. Women in Japan are finding love with virtual characters on their phones. ![]()
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