Are there many people who learn Japanese just for games?

Not games, but for manga. Studying Japanese is hard, but this thread is a goldmine. Tweaking my bookmarks for later!

I first got interest watching Japanese animes and picked up a lot through that. Then I learned about games so I wanted to learn more. I took Japanese classes at school and it was so much fun!

I started learning japanese so I could play games! I've been studying for a long time but I feel like I could learn some more as of now, but at the moment I don't struggle playing!

Although, I personally never felt I really 'studied' per se as I would try to learn the language with some sort of exposure therapy? Watching shows with subs and trying to learn the words while doing so!
I do believe it is a bit easier now thanks to all the dictionaries you can find online and with how much translation tools have progressed tho!
I personally really enjoyed, when I first started, watchig gameplays of games I liked so I could sort of figure out the meaning of a sentence remembering the translated ones!

I wanted to learn Japanese for a while since I've been an otaku since I was a kid watching anime, and there are a lot of untranslated games I want to play. But the reality of my particular situation is that I ended up in the Japanese side of a game's community sometime late last year by chance, mostly on social medias like X. I mainly relied on the built-in translator to read what everyone was saying, and I used Google Translate on my end.. (I don't really recommend this! It may sometimes be quite inaccurate, and it's no good to rely on it and use it as a crutch as much as I did..) But after a few months, recurring phrases JP users around me use ended up sticking and I started to be able to read some of the kanji and romaji! I think I also picked up the specific tones my JP friends type (say?) things so it sounds a little more natural-ish..? I also romanize and translate the scripts of some situational voice I listen to and learn a little through that. I admit, my methods were unorthodox, so I don't think I'd honestly recommend following what I did.. Though now, I'm trying to learn it seriously when I have the time, since the elective is now available to me! Learning the basics and phonetic alphabet is important imo :] I'll definitely be checking out the sites and advice given by other users in this thread too~☆ Let's do our best and learn the language together!

I actually learned Japanese naturally through playing games.
At first, I couldn't understand anything at all. I just played by relying on context, intuition, and a lot of guessing. But because I kept doing it for years, I ended up creating an environment where I was constantly reading and listening to Japanese.
Over time, I gradually picked up the language without really realizing it. Nowadays, I can play games in Japanese and understand around 80% of the content. Of course, I still come across words and expressions I don't know, but it's usually enough for me to follow the story and enjoy the game without needing a translation.

I learned English just for games kinda! Of course I also wanted to have access to other translations like manga, anime, books, and to be part of online communities I couldn't otherwise, but my main motivator was definitely media consumption. Doing the same for Japanese now, except far more lax in comparison? There was a frantic energy I had in my teens I'm having trouble finding now, so it's at a pretty glacial speed...

I'm rooting for anyone and everyone learning other languages for whatever reason and motivation; in order to partake in art forms, connecting with other people, etc! I think it's a beautiful thing and it broadens your understanding and appreciation for the world, so, let's all do our best!

I once tried to teach myself Japanese just to play Japanese otome games.
I was doing fine with Hiragana and Katakana, but the Kanji was so difficult that I ended up giving up.
Lately, thanks to translation programs, I'm so glad that I can play games in many different languages!

I am also self-taught Japanese from japanese media. Not from otome games because it's too hard to read kanjis, so i gave up on otome game at first. then mostly i learnt from anime and idols. Then i started to watch TV shows and youtube because they usually put japanese subtitle too. that really helped me to memorize kanji until i'd be able to play otome games (sometimes translator app for unfamiliar kanjis tho).

I'm still studying Japanese even now — though it's been kind of on and off. A full online course could really help you.

I first got into anime, so learning Japanese just felt like a pretty cool thing to do.
Later, I started playing Japanese otome games.

Studying Japanese has also been really helpful for playing non-localized games. I can understand a lot more now. I think the biggest motivation for learning a language probably comes from genuine interest.

I usually use some dictionaries to look up words, learn grammar through lessons, and when I run into something I don't understand while playing a game, I end up asking AI — to the point where most of my chat history with it is just me asking Japanese questions…

Since Japanese is my native language, I'm really happy that people from all over the world are interested in Japanese otome games and content!
So if there's anything I can do to help, feel free to reach out<3

On the flip side, I play games in English, Chinese, and other languages on my trusty Steam Deck using Decky Translator.