Cupid's arrow goes digital: 'Better than any real man I've ever met'

Near Luxun Park in Hongkou District, a stage is set among blooming cherry blossoms. Women from teenage to mid-30s are gathered there to celebrate the birthday of their common husband – or boyfriend, depending on how they define him – Sylus Qin.

Qin has white hair and red eyes. And he lives only inside smartphones or other digital devices. He is one of the five major characters in the mobile game "Love and Deepspace," which was released last year.

"But he is better than any – and I mean any – real man I've ever met," said Li Siyuan, who has been one of his "girlfriends" since he made an appearance in the game. "Although he appears to be an antagonist in the game, he quite sticks to himself and doesn't hide his desires. This is the character that I admire a lot."

Developed by Papergames, a Shanghai-based interactive entertainment company, "Love and Deepspace" is the first 3D otome game in China. The word otome comes from Japanese, which originally meant "maiden."

Otome games mostly are text adventure games that allow players to develop romantic relationships with one or more in-game male characters. Those with female characters are called "galgames."

Since its release, "Love and Deepspace" has accrued revenue of more than 5.8 billion yuan (US$826 million) around the world, with more than 50 million registered players. It has topped the iOS top download chart three times in the past year.

And this is not the only otome game washing over the market.

In 2017, Papergames released the first Chinese mobile otome game, entitled "Mr Love: Queen's Choice." Its revenue topped 300 million in the first month. With its success, other players like NetEase, Tencent and miHoyo joined the market.

According to Qimai, a Chinese mobile app data analyst, the 2024 revenue of seven leading otome games – including Tencent's "Light and Night, miHoyo's "Tears of Themis" and NetEase's "Far Beyond the World" – reached more than 10 billion yuan.

But just like real-life relationships, money is an unavoidable element with these virtual couples.

Take "Love and Deepspace" for example. It can be played for free like most mobile games, but its design makes it technically a gold digger if a player wants to unlock more stories with their "husbands" or "boyfriends," or wants to buy different outfits for their beloved.

The game is staged in the far future in a world on the verge of destruction. The heroine, who represents the player, is a rookie "deepspace hunter" out to save the world with five companions, who develop profound relationships with the players.

Apart from the main story, each companion has side stories that mostly need to be "unlocked" through special cards drawn from "banner events" that usually require payments.

In the game, two types of currencies, pink diamonds and purple diamonds, can be used to draw cards from events. The probability of getting a "five-star card," the highest-quality one, is only about 1.4 percent. The pink diamonds can be partially obtained through gameplay, while the purple ones can be procured only with real cash.

Xiao Cheng, a player from Yunnan Province, told Shanghai Daily that she has spent more than 1,500 yuan on her favorite character, Caleb Xia, in the six months. She said that's "very little" compared to many other players.

Xiao said that for the latest "Caleb Xia" banner she spent all the 4,700 pink diamonds she saved for a week, and spent another nearly 470 yuan to get both "five-star cards."

"The lucky draw includes two five-star cards, a bunch of three or four-star ones, and other trivial props," she said. "Every month, there are two or three events featuring different characters, and for us on salaries, developing relationships with just one of them is economically acceptable. But if you want to flirt with two or more, your wallet quickly gets thinner."

In fact, in-game money spending is just one way Chinese otome games make profits. The virtual fever has been spreading offline like wildfire and benefiting tangible economics.

Recent birthday events for Sylus Qin have been a boon for the Hongkou Plaza in Hongkou. Consumers who visit the mall and promote it on certain social media platforms can receive a limited edition of cards or posters of Qin from the center. With these "gifts," they can enjoy discounts at more than 50 restaurants, snack bars, bubble tea shops and cosmetics shops.

Qin's "girlfriends" come from all over the country to take part in the promotion, and on the first day, the daily limit on volumes of cards and posters was hit by early afternoon.

Game-related merchandise also contributes greatly to revenues.

During the "Double 11" shopping spree last November, "Love and Deepspace" sold merchandise valued at more than 200 million yuan just on the first day. And in August, Tencent's "Light and Night" released a "wedding card" for the third time and sold more than 1 million, after same-sales volumes the first two times.

"Merchandise and offline joint events are extremely popular," said a Sylus Qin "girlfriend" defined only by her online name "Lingyu." "For instance, there was once an event of 'Love and Deepspace' with Goodme Milktea, where you could get some merchandise by buying a cup of milk tea. But I didn't get one because the merchandise sold out so fast."

It would be wrong to think otome games are just a Chinese fad. In fact, such games are also popular abroad, especially in Japan and the United States.

Global app data analyst Sensor Tower reported that the download volume of "Love and Deepspace" in the first nine months of last year ranked top on the "interactive story game chart" in Japan. The game was also selected as an "editor's choice" in Apple's app store in the US.

After a month of its global release, the game accrued revenue of more than 100 million yuan outside the Chinese mainland.

A player who goes by the online tag "vakarianne" explained why she loves the game.

"I went in not expecting many features besides the otome part, but the combat is generally more fun than I thought it would be," she said. "And there's awesome community support."

But players are not satisfied with the gaming experience – not because of the payments involved but because there aren't more opportunities to part with their money.

Several players told Shanghai Daily that Sylus Qin doesn't have as many five-star cards to draw as other characters and urged Yao Runhao, the chief executive of Papergames, to enhance his presence in the future!