Today, I woke up and as everyday I started reading Kotaku while sipping a good italian espresso. Then I found a really interesting post about an article from another blog about eroge industry problems related to doujin. Actually I work(ed) in this field so I'm always curious by how people outside this business perceive it.
Doujin games are the "next big thing" in the otaku business since almost 3 years ago and in the industry the blooming situation of doujin market is compared to the eroge in the nineties (ah, good old days old kiabakura and free girls at my old job!). Actually many old school programmers and artist from 2D videogame companies are behind the biggest selling doujin games, but this is another story...
Something that is often misunderstood is the fact that many eroge companies are not companies at all but just brands: one brand is created to market a new game created trough a temporary team of drawers, writer, programmer and voices actors. The so called "outsourcing" has been in place for almost 10 years in the industry almost among the companies that now are "topping the eroge sales charts. And in games like the legendary Viper from Sogna the artists have always been famous anime drawers who wanted to make some good money and worked for the company under a pseudonim (like all voice actors in the best selling games)...
I think in many ways the erge industry has in many way always been more mature or almost more similar to the movie industry than the consumer games (just he fact that "normal" games industry can't accept the erotic games one is an indication of how much it's still behind other entertainments were: sex sells...). In the movie industry directors and actors are paid for a project and are not full time staff...
Also in several companies the owner is the writer that's why if there are some cuts the first to go are the additional writers since only in the low rating/selling eroge the story is not the strongest selling point. But in reality many writers have been freelance from the beginning so they always worked in the industry and at the same time in publishing so if they get famous through eroge it's no news that they jump on a new contract asap! Actually I always tough that eroge are  digital books even tough the media is visual the story for the best selling games is the main point (so much that supe successfull companies big issue is find the right story for the new game not to get a good artist).
Eroge industry and doujin have always been linked (the real "tokyo erogame show" is the commercial booths area of Comiket after all) whats new in the last 2-3 years is the decline of the sales for the average game (almost 70% of games sells less than 5000 copies while the best sellers run over 50-100.000 copies) so the doujin artist don't have take the hassle to start a company and just keep releasing doujin games as they have always done. The new thing is just that now they invest more money in the doujin games (voice actors usually cost of 30% of the total cost of a game production) instead of going "official" since the eroge business competition is so strong that it's  difficult to get money right now if you don't have a super strong doujin franchise (instead after releasing a good doujin game a circle can sell even 30-40.000 copies!) or a big company supporting you with the production/distribution/promotion issues.

And... time to make a new espresso and start to work...

Spotted this on Akiba Blog...

During carnival time in every italian city there is a parade with thousand costumed participants and dozens of floats bearing papier-mâché figures  and performing artists. This year the city of San Benedetto featured a float with a big Super Mario sculpture that won he first price: finally Italy is celebrating the biggest national hero (I'm still puzzled why the Super Mario Theme should be the Japanese anthem and not the Italian one!)


Note: I found this few days ago on an Italian blog and I will post the link as soon as I find it... Yes, I'm getting old or maybe in the last 20 years I went to (way) to many raves... gomenne!