Are you disappointed by the man in your life? Tired of his stubbly chin and the way he lies around the house? Or would you just like a boyfriend with cat’s ears?
Then the answer may be at the Tokyo Game Show, in a special booth crammed full of the latest romance simulation games, where well-turned-out “digital men” offer flowers and cookies at the drop of a hat (and then pick the hat up and tidy it away).
Voltage Romance Apps, whose average user is a woman aged around 30, has a range of games in which players flirt with a fictional handsome, clean shaven roommate.
The free-to-download Room Share Love Days does what it says on the tin, and allows the player to “enjoy sharing a home with a variety of cute guys,” a company spokeswoman said.
These fictional roommates do not laze around on the sofa or steal food from the fridge, but instead present the player with flowers on their return home, don aprons to make heart-shaped chocolates and will kiss and cuddle at the press of a button.
Voltage say their games are played by couples and singles and are in the process of being translated into English.
Other titles include scenarios such as the “kabe-don” phenomenon — a fantasy popular in Japanese anime of a tall man leaning over a girl against a wall.
For the young woman who wants something that little bit out of the ordinary, game developer Ambition is offering teenagers the chance to keep a “The cat boyfriend — which has cat’s ears and a human body — is most popular, as it is the most sophisticated,” an Ambition spokesperson said, adding the “boyfriends” can be ordered to “work” to buy new clothes.
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