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>> DIGITAL LOVE
allow for a never-ending virtual
love affair: Successfully wooing
a girl leads to a second, openended phase of the game in which
players can date their virtual girlfriends forever. The game only
ends when a player decides he or
she is through, and these digital relationships can last longer
than some marriages. In one famous instance, a LovePlus player
known only as “SAL9000” made
history by marrying his virtual
girlfriend, Nene.
Set against the backdrop of a
fictional Japanese city, LovePlus
gamers assume the role of a teenage Japanese boy who hopes to
date one of three girls he meets at
his new high school. There’s sweet,
big-sisterly Nene; intelligent, but
clingy Manaka; and shy Rinko, who
feels alienated by her new stepmother and half-brother. The girls
have animated avatars with heartshaped faces and large black eyes,
and they speak set phrases that are
pre-recorded by professional singers and voice actresses.
The high school girls will kiss,
model bikinis and moan when
players stroke their chests with a
stylus, but sex and nudity are out
of the question. Neither the chastity nor young age of the girls has
HUFFINGTON
02.16.14
The girls have animated avatars with
heart-shaped faces and large black
eyes, and they speak set phrases
that are pre-recorded by professional
singers and voice actresses.
kept players from being attracted
to their girlfriends, however.
There are fans who snuggle up
with “hugging pillows” that are
printed with life-sized portraits of
their girlfriends, which are available in clothed or semi-nude versions. Tkaczevski says he sleeps
with his Rinko pillow because it