Falsely Accused - Enzai The First Yaoi Game In The US?
Date: 2006 January 17 15:58
Posted by Joe
We've just been sent the press release from JAST USA, about a rather novel PC game for a certain type of anime fan. Yep, we're talking Yaoi (or boys love). Appropriately for this kind of game, Enzai - Falsely Accused, the action takes place in a prison ^_- (our resident expert Spike's going to love this).
Full Story
Press release details as follows:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JAST USA ANNOUNCES SHIPPING OF FIRST "BOY'S LOVE" PC DATING-SIM GAME
San Diego, CA, Monday, January 16, 2006 - JAST USA, a distributor of Japanese PC dating-sim games for adults, has announced the immediate availability of "Enzai - Falsely Accused," the first love simulation game for fans of "yaoi" (a.k.a. "boy's love").
"Enzai - Falsely Accused" is set in Napoleaonic France some years after the French Revolution, where the player assumes the role of Guys, a youth convicted of a murder he didn't commit. In prison he encounters a series of characters who will help or hinder him as he tries to gather evidence to clear his name: Lusca the lawyer, Evan the journalist, Vallewida the former soldier. It features multiple outcomes based on what actions the player takes during the game, with many possible endings for the player to explore.
Ever since the first computers with color graphics, Japan has had a tradition of "dating sims," sexual games in which the player is surrounded by a number of beautiful females to woo and enjoy sex with. Usually known as "hentai games" by U.S. fans, dating-sims are extremely popular in Japan, with around 25% of PC software titles being some type of erotic simulation game. Some titles become so popular they spawn mainstream anime series. ("Hentai" refers to anime-style sexual imagery in animation, comics or computer games.)
Yaoi ("yah-ow-ee") is an incredibly popular genre related to Japanese animation, translatable as "boy's love," which focuses on relationships between male characters. Yaoi anime and manga have increasingly been licensed for sale outside of Japan, but this is the first yaoi PC dating-sim to be ported. The game is translated into English and is 100% uncensored.
"We've worked hard to build a market for Japanese dating-sims," said Peter Payne, JAST USA founder, "growing awareness about the games and how special they are. We really love these games. There's something about being part of a complex interactive story that brings a real emotional attachment to the characters that you could never get by watching 22 minutes of anime."
He continued, "Doing yaoi games is frankly a new direction for us. But we were bowled over by the passion of the many yaoi fans who came to us at anime conventions and begged us to bring out BL games in English. Thanks to the interest the Japanese publisher Langmaor showed in us, boy's love games in English are now a reality."
JAST USA was founded in 1998 to bring Japanese dating-sim games to fans around the world. They specialize in adult anime games and stock more than 60 conventional "hentai" game titles in addition to the new yaoi dating-sim.
All PC dating-sims are adult games intended for persons over the age of 18. All game characters are aged 18 or older. All games are compatible with standard PCs running Windows XP or other versions of Windows.
Source: JAST USA