Why does it feel so hard to just enjoy mobile otome games?

[arilyn]

I've recently tried to look for mobile otome games since I tend to commute on the train every day and wanted to play something on my phone. Unfortunately I've come to see many otome games priorities gems to make certain choices or clocks that limit the amount of story you can read.

I understand from a company's standpoint to make players want to play longer and also make in game purchases, but grinding long hours for a little bit of story is so not worth it. Of course spending money is optional and most games are manageable as free-to-play, but it turns me off from playing any otomes on my phone. Is this also a reason why most mobile otomes are gacha based?

 

[blues2]

You just answered your own question. Mobile games are built that way because people are willing to spend on in app purchases. The gacha model is popular because, at its core, it is gambling, and gambling is addictive. The gullible customers fall into the mindset of eagerly waiting for lucky pulls, and when it doesn't happen, they have to spend money to "reach pity".
FOMO is a factor too. It makes people worry that if they don't get the limited card now, it might not come back (or they might have to wait a very long time)

Mobile games are essentially every trick in the marketing department squeezed into one app. They have:
- fake discounts. You will see packs that say 80% off but that discount never ends. The "discounted price" is actually the original price and the price itself was never higher to begin with
- eye-catching announcements - red dots, red dots everywhere that make people want to click on it, and colorful promotions emphasizing the above fake discounts
- cheap packs that don't make people think twice before buying - you will see a lot of people hesitant to spend $100 on a full offline game, but they will not hesitate to spend $1 x 100 times in an online game because "it's cheap"

The businessmen in mobile companies know how to take money from their players and the players willingly accept it~

 

[satory]

If you just want to play games on your phone but don't want to wait or grind for story to unlock, I would recomend using psp emulator and play some psp otome games. Emulator is easy to use, it's doesn't require a lot to run and there are a ton of quality games out there. And no in-game purchases or gacha mechanics :)

 

[arilyn]

The businessmen in mobile companies know how to take money from their players and the players willingly accept it~

Thank you for your insight! It sucks that it has to be this way... and it's hard not to get pulled in even when you're aware of it. It kind of takes away from just enjoying the game for what it is. I guess all we can really do is stay aware and set our own limits, but yeah… it's frustrating that the experience is shaped so heavily by monetization instead of just fun.

 

[arilyn]

If you just want to play games on your phone but don't want to wait or grind for story to unlock, I would recomend using psp emulator and play some psp otome games. Emulator is easy to use, it's doesn't require a lot to run and there are a ton of quality games out there. And no in-game purchases or gacha mechanics :)

Omg, I've always wanted to jump into emulation but I was always a little hesitant. Never thought of emulating on my phone (surprisingly enough). Thank you sm!

 

[Kumami]

I played otome games on mobile phone both gacha and non-gacha type but the non-gacha games are mostly demo version that you still have to pay if you want to continue the story (I wish they will put the 'demo version' in the game title so I don't have to waste my time playing only the prologue)

 

[shironyan]

I'm more into story and voices( full voices) when it comes to otome games, so mostly mobile otome game is not appealing to me because they kinda lack of that aspect.
This kinda my reason why i'm not even into that popular otome game in mobile, iykyk

 

[Tenya]

Whew. (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

Thinking about this makes my brain hurt a little 'cause all of you are correct, and I'd also like to add my own two cents:
I think a huge part of the reason (and why the incentives exist for it to be kept this way) is capitalism. I know, I know. (⚆_⚆) But hear me out: a lot of the time it's just... those are live service games (which means that it's not just a standalone offline game that you can download and play in your own time, whenever), so the game is hosted on server(s) somewhere, and it receives regular updates. This, on one hand, requires a constant revenue stream, but as for how extractive the game actually is in relation to the player, that's entirely up to the developer/publisher/shareholders (ahem). Which is a bit sad, in my opinion, because realistically you probably do not need all those predatory practices (I'm looking at you, gacha games) to have a game be successful AND kind to the player. Writing this, I just keep thinking of Love and Deepspace which I love but it's become a sore spot in my eyes because it's genuinely not been very transparent or kind to people who are not willing to spend hundreds of dollars on it. It's a bit depressing, I think, especially since otome as a medium has been made mostly by women for women and then it's just... sold by men, and extracting from women and--

I'm sorry for the depressing pivot, but I've been thinking about this a lot and hopefully some of you have some more uplifting/different thoughts too? ( ;´ - `;)

Oh, and another reason, for me at least, is probably that the story is incomplete? I mean, in some other cases like Voltage Inc's own app you can just buy the stories and that's good, but the pricing... whew.

 

[imonusi]

I hesitate to spend a lot of money on smartphone apps because they might shut down.

It was a truly sad experience when a game I enjoyed and spent money on, hoping it would continue forever, ended up shutting down.

 

[lst]

If you're interested in otome games on itch.io and don't mind reading small text on your phone, some games offer Android versions. For games that only have a PC version, you can emulate them using JoiPlay and its Ren'Py plugin. Here's the link for both: https://www.patreon.com/joiplay.
I also recommend trying the "Use Phone/Small Variant" setting in JoiPlay. Sometimes it makes the dialogue text larger, depending on the game.
There's also Kirikiroid2, in case you want to play translated KiriKiri otome games on your phone. Link: Kirikiroid2 V2 (Android 7.1 up)

 

[Nihilistic]

Mobile games are honestly the worst. They almost endorse gambling habits on younger audiences and it just gets worse and worse with waiting around, paid choices and locked out stories. I used to be obsessed with them and racked up a ridiculous amount of debt with games. One in particular I enjoyed so much, paid for every choice etc and one day it was gone. The developer just removed the games and I never saw a penny back, devastating

 

[SakaNaegi]

Most gacha games don't have full content unless you spend money, especially some otome games where you have to pay to continue the story , That's why I choose to buy paid otome games from Nintendo Switch and Steam

 

[runa3_]

I feel like it's hard to enjoy mobile otome games because they're rarely one-time purchases—you have to pay every time you play.

 

[ichigomilk]

I think a lot of it has to do with time and money. For mobile games, you either have to wait to unlock stuff or you can pay if you want content faster. For console games, you buy the game once and it's yours. You can play whenever and however long you like. You can not play for days and you wouldn't miss out on anything but I believe for mobile games you have to login daily for rewards and stuff. You also don't have to wait for updates or be worried the game might one day shut down since the console game is fully completed. I wish companies who end up shutting down their games would consider and implement an offline version so fans can still have access to stuff they paid/unlocked. These are the reasons why I avoid playing them, but I also get the appeal since mobile games are more accessible and can be free to play as long as you're patient, willing to wait, and don't mind missing out on stuff.