The first thing to consider is the difference between audiences. To illustrate the problem, I would like to look at the simple case of box art. Recently, there has been some issue about Agarest Senki's box art, which, I would say, in all honesty, is hideous. The Western box art is, of course, hideous, but, the Japanese box art is the same thing we've seen on so many RPGs.

In fact, the example seems good because it's not the first time it's happened. Consider that Valis, Athena and Sudeki had this similar contrast. The same thing has happened for Senko no Ronde and so on.




Note that is only JRPGs. It also extends to other game genres.


If anything, it goes to show the different perception towards gaming in the West as opposed to that in the East. One need not go further than look at the box art of most Western games to consider how the majority of the Western audience approaches gaming.


This is not saying that there is a preference of big, muscular men or really macho art over more cutesy art (even though there are undertones of this). Point is, a keen interest is in what the game has to offer. Sure, a storyline would be a big bonus to a game, the emphasis is on how "fun" a game may be. "Clicking" and "reading" would, for some, not constitute as much fun or gameplay, as say, solving puzzles, shooting things, managing things, directing things, and the list can potentially go on. To basically put it, when asking a hardcore Western gamer to consider playing a click and read story as opposed to <insert action> game, it's not too hard to figure which he'd rather play.




AVGN summed it up best when he played Plumbers don't wear ties on the 3D0. As much as that game was pretty crappy and had few choices, it had a similar point and click style, unanimated stills (real life in this case) and voiceovers. It wasn't a game and eroge, as such, wouldn't be counted as games by such gamers.



But, of course, that is not the point of Josh's essay, nor is that the point to eroge. As noted, eroge has the advantage of getting you to be interested in their characters in pursuing a relationship with them. Admittedly, this is a hallmark of the genre, but, at the same time, it also perpetuates a problem associated with it. This is not to say that these games are completely condescending to the feminine form, but there is a point to the study linked. It doesn't matter whether the person at the end of it is male or female, he/she is a "prize' for the player, as such, an object. Granted, this is a controversial point, but it one that'd spark debate.


One point of contention I do have with Josh's essay is his emphasis on female relationships with the protagonist. To explain, when I played Persona 3, the one social link that stood out was the dialogues with the jaded monk at the bar. This non-intimate relationship with the monk sparked two images in my mind, first and foremost, relationships with elderly people, and second, the dialogues that JC Denton had at the bar in Deus Ex. Both of them had a sense of realism to it, which is contrary to an infatuation for a 2D character by a real-life figure.



(On this note, I would recommend playing Deus Ex, The Sims and Arcanum. I played this before I played eroge, and it was enjoyment of these games that sort of allowed my liking for eroge, just as some people enjoyed eroge thanks to Monkey Island.) 



Let us also not forget that the woes that plague Western games also plague Eastern games, albeit in different ways. First, consider the problem of graphics. Now this may sound funny: eroge is not always memory intensive (save for 3D games and games like School Days), but, being a game revolving around unlocking and acquiring 2D art, sometimes, a game is noted less for its story, and more for its art. Sounds familiar? In the West, it's how detailed a character model may be, in eroge, it's how moe the girl is. At one, it's been commented that most eroge companies close because their games don't sell well.

Oftentimes, most companies place heavy emphasis on the artists they hire then on their storywriters. Of course, assuming one has the right channels, one would not really feel the loss if they had played a game, and felt that they had not really connected with the story, or felt the art was overrated. Eroge companies, however, cannot afford such mistakes, and companies have folded because of this problem.


And the above are just four sequels. With enough digging, you'll realise there's more in the genre: not as much in the west, but they're there
.

Another problem is that of something I like to call sequelitis. Granted, it's not rampant in eroge, but it is there. Fate Stay/Night had the sequel FH/A, Shuffle had two sequels Tick!Tack and Really?Really!, not to mention that Summer Days was the failed sequel of School Days. And Sengoku Rance, considered to be one of, if not the, best eroge JRPGs out there is actually the th in its saga. That's right. It's a sequel in a long line of sequels. Even Kana had a remake. For a genre that promises originality and creativity, it actually has the same sort of problems, even if on a smaller scale. Assuming it gets bigger, eroge companies may want to release more sequels to capitalise on the franchise of characters their players have come to love. I'm sure this sounds familiar.



Valis X, considered to be the death of Valis


The eroge treatment may improve some, but not all, games. Persona 3 & 4 were two instances where the "eroge" treatment was given to the already successful Shin Megami Tensei franchise, but the same thing was done for the ailing Valis series. The eroge Valis X, however, was seen as an epic failure, and doomed an already dying franchise. Simply adding sex to something does not immediately make it sell, ironic as that may sound.


Last, but not least, Josh has mentioned that most eroge is free, provided obtained through the right channels. Granted, games like Katawa Shoujo are fine under such a distribution, but eroge companies depend a lot on the profit they get from selling their games. Yes, it's another tired debate, but it also needs to be mentioned.


There's a world of gaming we all aren't acquainted with. I'm quite certain that many Western gamers are quick to dismiss eroge, just as many weeaboos are uninterested in some of the finer merits of character customization posited in Western RPGs. Yes, Western gamers should consider playing eroge, this I agree. But, at the same time, eroge just isn't completely fantastic.