‘For Japan Only?’ Crossing and Re-inscribing Boundaries in the Circulation of Adult Computer Games

This chapter considers how and why 'Japan' comes to matter in the circulation of games in a globalised world by examining the consumption of adult video games inside and outside Japan. Despite the export of Japanese video games abroad, adult computer games are often seen to be distinctively 'Japanese.' This chapter argues that adult video games are a niche genre; producers and players form a close-knitted community that is suspicious of non-Japanese out of the fear that the Western media will widely report such games. Western reports about such games have led the international community to put pressure on the Japanese government to stamp out such genre. While some in the adult game community believe that it'd be the best if the game would only be played by Japanese inside the country, others are keen to expand the community outside Japan. The chapter concludes by suggesting the need to go beyond national and nationalising discourse to see the nuance of interactions within national borders and exceeding them.