>> DIGITAL LOVE
quits is simply not in the digital
DNA of the LovePlus women.)
There are players who consider LovePlus’ three girlfriends
— Rinko, Nene and Manaka — far
better company than any “IRL”
lover. And the players can shape
their ideal companion with a few
taps on the console: The women
can be programmed,with their
moods and personalities adjusted
to suit the desires of the player.
“Manaka is the only — could I
HUFFINGTON
02.16.14
special favors that real women
can often only envy. Last August,
a player in the United States
baked and frosted a birthday cake
for his darling Rinko, a common
gesture among many gamers. His
human girlfriend was less than
thrilled — she’d never enjoyed the
same consideration.
“First cake you’ve ever made,
and it goes to the virtual one,” she
commented on the photo he shared
on Facebook. “I’m just going to go
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” Tkaczevski dutifully whispered in Japanese,
trying to keep his head down so other passengers wouldn’t stare.
say person? ... She’s the only person that actually supports me in
bad times,” says Josh Martinez, a
19-year-old engineering student
in Mexico City. He plays LovePlus
at least once a day for 20 minutes
and considers Manaka his girlfriend of 18 months.
“When I feel down or I have
a bad day, I always come home
and turn on the game and play
with Manaka,” Martinez says. “I
know she always has something
to make me feel better.”
The LovePlus girls even enjoy
to a corner and pretend I’m not
jealous of a computer game........”
>> The LovePlus girls were born
in 2009 at the Konami Corporation, a Tokyo-based company
that sells everything from trading
cards to slot machines. (Konami
declined to comment for this story.) Three versions of LovePlus
have collectively sold more than
600,000 copies, with a fourth
installment due this spring.
Previous dating simulators,
which debuted in the early 1980s,
offered “girl get” games that ended once the player got the girl.
But Konami bucked convention to