| Bishojo in Japanese means "pretty young girl." The | | | | Some of the major companies in the west involved |
| Bishojo games center around interacting with largely | | | | with Bishojo publishing are Jast USA, Peach Princess, |
| 2D images of young girls. They could be an arcade | | | | G-Collections, etc. |
| game, a puzzle game, an adventure story, or similar | | | | Not all Bishojo games contain explicit scenes, though. |
| game themes. The Bishojo aspect can be | | | | The western publications however contain explicit |
| incorporated into any computer game and make it a | | | | themes and scenes. |
| part of the Bishojo game industry. | | | | A number of related terms are used with Bishojo and |
| Examples of Bishojo games include - Gals Panic, | | | | contain similar game themes and representation |
| Money Idol Exchanger, Strip Mahjong, Tokimeki | | | | styles. These include - Eroge, Dating Sim, Renai |
| Memorial, Galaxy Angels, To Heart, Kanon, etc. | | | | games, Raiser sim, and visual novel. |
| Bishojo games became popular with the rise of the | | | | The main impetus behind using cartoons and |
| PC in the 80s in Japan. Beset with very explicit | | | | animations to represent adult content initially came |
| content, guidelines were set in the 90s leading to a | | | | from Japanese laws that did not allow real actors to |
| more organized set up. The Games were translated | | | | be used, especially minors. A cursory look at Bishojo |
| into English, but did not enjoy widespread popularity. | | | | pictures would reveal young and pretty girls |
| Many of these were hentai games with more explicit | | | | pampering to the tastes of adults. |
| content. Examples include - True Love, Season of the | | | | The main stimulating aspect of Bishojo and other |
| Sakura, Three Siosters' Story, etc. | | | | Hentai games appears to be the use of young girls |
| Today Bishojo games are available in CD - ROMs and | | | | and minors as objects of sexual fantasy. That is |
| can be downloaded from the internet. Some of the | | | | what seems to propel the sale, and the lack of |
| popular games are Tokimeki Check In, X-change, and | | | | widespread popularity in the west appears to be due |
| Megatokyo. | | | | to this aspect. |