Tsugumi: Well, I admit that it probably sounded unfair, I aimed more for "sad frustration", not "harsh criticism". It's not like Illusion does it wrong, while others do it right. In fact, I can't think of good example of others doing it right. And Illusion definitely had some good ideas.
Character creator is a big one, that was fantastic idea. But it's not enough, e.g. HS/HS2 are just improved porn, not bad, but also nothing to be too excited about. Porn in general is boring, it's much more interesting with some depth, stories, personalities, emotions.
I like AA/AA2, because they feel lively, many NPCs you can freely interact with and they interact with each other, it's nice. Of course it worked best when it was new, after years it loses some power. But it's still reasonably enjoyable, even though it's basically just stats grinding (interact with someone repeatedly until they like or hate you or someone else).
AI Shoujo is nice idea too, island, free roaming, cool. But as "simulation crafting and survival game", as it's also described... yeah, right, there's a bit of it, but it gets boring pretty quickly. You can have some limited fun with clumsy house building, but it doesn't save it. And sure, on one hand it takes it away from porn, but on the other it's not necessarily bad, because just porn is not that interesting. And maybe it's just me, but the whole thing is kind of depressing, with the girls being some androids you get from pods, it's weird.
I don't have any sure recipe for perfect and successful game. But you know what, maybe start with putting existing ideas together and make Shipwreck Academy™. Nice island, free roaming, plenty of NPCs and interactions. Add some survival aspects that actually matter. Maybe (N)PCs can form aliances or tribes and interact also at this level. Perhaps some mini stories or quests, but that may be difficult, because while it could help a lot with sucking the player in, there's only so many you can add, and then what.
As for sexual content, add shitload of positions, or even better, invent some more free system where you don't have just the 100% fixed predefined ones. Maybe we're not there yet, but computers did get much more powerful and should be able to handle it. At least some illusion of more freedom. Slight variations in positions (movement of free limbs, ...), either random or depending on environment. Or transitions between positions, that would be awesome (and not easy, I know). I'd also say details, like body parts fitting perfectly in each other, because after all, sex should be very big part, but it's Japan, so not much chance for that.
Reading it again... I'll keep dreaming.
TL;DR Porn games with good gameplay probably don't sell that much
Residences on Mars don't sell either. Could it be similar problem? You know, maybe if there was one first...
