Will we ever see big money production in the adult game industry ?

Dave98424

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The adult film industry has a few studios that are working hard to raise the quality level of the porn they produce like Pure Taboo for example and it got me thinking will we ever see the same sort of quality improvement in the adult game industry. Just imagine how good a porn game could be if developed by a major game studio with serious financial backing.
 

DuniX

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It depends on how fast the banks will collapse with the current crisis and what they are replaced with after.
Maybe our Bitcoin utopia will finally be viable?
But as long as Payment Processors are going to continue to gatekeep, there is not a chance.
 

anne O'nymous

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Just imagine how good a porn game could be if developed by a major game studio with serious financial backing.
I don't need to imagine, I lived through the 90's and the game that professional studios made for the major porn companies. It wasn't the lamest thing I've seen, but even a nowadays average kinetic novel looks more like a game than what we had at this time.

Now, if you're in fact talking about adult games, it's something else. Any modded Fallout or The Elder Scrolls title prove that it can lead to something interesting. But it's too much of a niche for a studio to effectively engage millions to make such game.
In order to not lost money, they would need to make two separate version of it, one "all public" and one for the adult, but it would still be difficult to sell them. If they promote both versions, parents will think that the "all public" one is full of sex, and so don't buy it for their children. And if they promote only the "all public" version, while just implying that there's a version more for the adults, people who will want to play it will, most of the time, buy in fact the "all public" version, then complain that there's no sex at all inside.


But as long as Payment Processors are going to continue to gatekeep, there is not a chance.
What are the payment processors doing in this discussion ? Major studios don't rely on payment processors to fund their creation process ; you can't raise the millions needed to make such game, by using Kickstarter, Patreon or any other platform like that. Either you use your own capital, or you ask for a loan to your bank ; and they don't need to know what kind of game you'll make.
 
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DuniX

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you can't raise the millions needed to make such game, by using Kickstarter, Patreon or any other platform like that.
You forgot the part where you have to Buy the damn game.
Nobody is funding that kind of project without actually expecting a return, which they can't if the game is going to be banned on platforms on Steam and payment processors are going to be anal about it.

The only way the adult industry will rise is over the corpses of banks.
 

anne O'nymous

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You forgot the part where you have to Buy the damn game.
And ? You can buy sex toys with your debit/credit card, I fail to see how you couldn't buy a video game with the same card.


Nobody is funding that kind of project without actually expecting a return, which they can't if the game is going to be banned on platforms on Steam and payment processors are going to be anal about it.
Kids nowadays... Did they even know that there's a whole world outside of internet, with, among so many things, shops ?
Plus, I can assure you that all the online sex-shops would be glad to put the game in their catalog ; like they did IRL in the past.


The only way the adult industry will rise is over the corpses of banks.
I wonder how the adult industry managed to be one of the top world industry in the 70's/80's/90's, creating hundreds of games each years in the end of the 80's and all the 90's, while selling thousands of them, if they can only achieve this on the corpses of banks.
 

AmazonessKing

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Despite some studios trying to produce quality porn films, truth is that cash grabs like Brazzers and the like will remain popular, either for memes or accessibility, and that's a shame. I think the same happens with adult games. I think there are high quality products out there, though, like Dandy Boy Adventures, that can match relatively good 16-bit games, but it still have the usual porn game troops and don't do much outside of that. Subverse or whatever is called is trying? But as it is, looks nothing different from any other Daz3D game with questionable and disgusting fetishes thrown in, so no, I don't see the bar raising above very niche and yet unknown games.

It's a problem with quality gameplay, and quality visuals. Furthermore, larger studios wouldn't even try adult games, since with the whole "larger audience" meme they just wouldn't try for fear of alienation.

Major studios don't rely on payment processors to fund their creation process
There are no major studios working on adult games. If you want to do something of quality you DO rely on payment processors. I understand the thread is about big money games, ie AAA, but truth is, none of the current AAA developers would do this, so it has to be something made from the ground up.
 
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And ? You can buy sex toys with your debit/credit card, I fail to see how you couldn't buy a video game with the same card.
Judging by the fact that even mainstream porn can have problems - Portal podcast episode with Ashley "Riley Reid" Mathews mentions her problems in setting up payments, connected to "operation Chokepoint" if you need examples - you can expect that payment processors would be likely to stop supporting you as soon as first deplatforming specialist will notice you. Where religious zealots of 80's and 90's were largely ineffectual, self-righteous activist mobs of today are quite capable of doing major damage to individuals and businesses when they target advertiser or payment processors with the assistance of allied media. I'm relatively new to this site, but even here, even in this very thread we can see, that among ourself we will not agree what is acceptable in our sexual fantasies.

So I think cancel-mobs is seriously one of the risk. I do agree that niche problem and business/marketing model you talking about is another one. Both because porn games are a themself niche, and because there are... differences of testes to put it mildly, further dividing us.

And most of AAA studios are moving away from sexual themes at Warp 9.9 (same as in movies, I don't see any sexploitation movies made these days), with a bit of exception with CD-P Red maybe, so I would imagine you would have to build it from the ground up, because no one will risk both they money and reputation.
 

Dave98424

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Currently, no major game studio will touch a true adult themed game but look at what happened to porn movies, they started out as total hack job films and now we have some pretty high end quality movies so I expect at some point the adult game industry to have the same sort of advancement... I just hope it does not take decades for it to happen.
 

Plake

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I think the problem with porn games (NOT adult only, like Manhunt 2 or Hatred) is the fact that porn is freely available on the net. Most people are just looking for a "quick fix" and thus those games would not make a worthy profit. Mainstream games do get more adult content compared to even just last gen, but I don't expect any call of honour or Grand Theft Solid of porn games in the next 10 years or so...
 
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SpikeZg

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Ok, this is probably topic for a new thread but are there any decent looking porn movies with a good story?
 

Plake

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Ok, this is probably topic for a new thread but are there any decent looking porn movies with a good story?
Depends if we're talking about soft- or hardcore... ^^
I remember from the '90 those emanuelle movies on public television, that (I am SURE to this day!) were simply french hardcore moviescut and redubbed for tv! xD They prolly had some deeper stories than most brazzers flicks.
 

Sinfall Studios

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I would be willing to bet a lot on big money entering the industry, just because of the nature of capitalism. The top indie developers now are earning tens of thousands of dollars every month, for half finished games that, as good as they are, come nowhere close to what a top studio would do. All it takes is someone with funding and a willingness to put their name and face to such a venture and it will happen. As we've seen from everything from porn to sex toys to dating apps, this always happens. It starts off a bit seedy and amateur and taboo, until suddenly it reaches a critical mass and then it's just another accepted thing that everyone does.

I would say make the most of now - we're in a golden age of creativity right now where anyone with a little gumption and brainpower can conceivably make a decent living off something creative they've cooked up in their spare time. A decade from now, I can't see that being the case.
 

Zippity

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The adult film industry has a few studios that are working hard to raise the quality level of the porn they produce like Pure Taboo for example and it got me thinking will we ever see the same sort of quality improvement in the adult game industry. Just imagine how good a porn game could be if developed by a major game studio with serious financial backing.
Seriously don't see it becoming a thing any time in the near future, if ever... This niche of the porn industry is primarily driven by amateur developers, many of which are first time developers... And there are very few gems that ever see the light of completion...

The trouble you will run into if this particular industry went industrial, is how do you make a product that will have the types of content the vast majority of readers/players would be willing to enjoy... Because if you focus too much one way or another, you pigeon hole your prospective buyers... Diversity without alienation is the easiest path to investing in high quality and quantity in order to get high returns on money invested... And because the fan base in this industry is so highly varied, it would be difficult to warrant heavy investment if the target audience is too small or fractured... It's why we have SO MANY B-Rated Porn films exist, because they don't have the budgets to pay for better skilled actors who are also willing to get busy on the screen... Or why so many porn vids have gone over to the amateur side of videos, involving people either not being paid, or paid very little, so the invested overhead is super low... Takes money to make money, but if the buyers are limited in scope due to the use of some hard core fetish over something more openly accepted by the masses, then you will not be getting the same kinds of returns as compared to something more open... To make up for heavy monetary investment during development... Paying workers, paying workers comp insurance, business insurance, overhead costs, equipment costs, rent, and so on...

I just don't see this industry getting heavy corporate investment...

Just look at the small corporations in Japan that pump out all these low quality erotic visual novels... Consisting of a few pictures, lots of text, and barely any production value at all... Because the money invested isn't worth the risk, otherwise...

Zip
 
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Cul

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Feb 25, 2019
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Ok, this is probably topic for a new thread but are there any decent looking porn movies with a good story?
there were a couple I liked, though 'plots' are hard to come by yeah

Love

Klip
(options > subs on)
The Band

Marfa Girl
(please have pop-up blocker)
All Things Fair

Cheeky

My Mother

Malicious

Call Boy

Under Your Bed

Cucked X Cucked


mm ok, I don't think last one was a movie, I'll trade for Y tu mamá también.
 
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SpikeZg

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there were a couple I liked, though 'plots' are hard to come by yeah

Love

Klip
(options > subs on)
The Band

Marfa Girl
(please have pop-up blocker)
All Things Fair

Cheeky

My Mother

Malicious

Call Boy

Under Your Bed

Cucked X Cucked


mm ok, I don't think last one was a movie, I'll trade for Y tu mamá también.
Wow, nice, thank you for the links :) (y) ;)
 
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megaplayboy10k

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Assuming 10 million as a reasonable starting point for a "major" developer to venture on the game, they probably have to sell 500k units at 50 bucks per to make a profit after development and marketing costs. So, the short answer is "no". Maybe someone could put up half a million or even 5 million to develop a well-polished adult game, but that's probably the upper bound. I tend to doubt you could make a game with a 3d engine and realistic enough characters and movements for that kind of budget, at least with today's technology(skyrim level mod stuff ain't gonna cut it). Maybe in 10-20 years.
 

Krynh

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With Sisterly Love being on steam you'd have to ask the developers how much money they're making from steam sales verses the money they got from their patreons. Then you'd need to ask them if they could afford to make a game with no donations coming in and just the hope of money from selling the game.

I doubt there's much money coming from the sale of the game on steam.

For every indie sucess story (and there aren't as many these days) there's hundreds who've had to go back to their day jobs after not making a profit from sales.