So the point I make about the game as it was intended and how the game actually is is still valid imo. because the game is essentially a harem game until the prom.
I think that depends on the difinition quite a bit. To me it means that the girls are actually aware that they are part of a harem and that you'll ultimately get all that juicy threesome, foursome, etc. content - like it's the case in so many games, where at some point it's just a free for all.
In SS case it's more like MC is fucking a lot of girls, but that's where it ends. There's a reason why DC calls the beach house "the harem feature" and doesn't really think of the game as a whole as such. At least that's how I see it.
Edit.:On that note, to me SS is for example neither an incest nor a harem game. Yes, they are features of the game, but ultimately that's not really what the game is about.
Wasn't like Task 1 in the list on your phone back in the day literally "pick a girl to go to Prom with"? Is that still a thing, I can't even remember but part of me was quite curious to see how the hell they'd solve that you when take girl x to the prom and you've literally railed everyone else who's there that happens to have a vagina (or not)
Yes, that's pretty much what the next years of development are going to be about. But MC will almost certainly have the choice to have literally fucked everybody or just that girl (and maybe a few related to her content). As said, it's a sandbox and up to the player to decide how to play.
Then question remains which of these scenarios has priority in DC's mind and how far the "fuck everybody in town" scenario is going to be elaborated to be consistent.