Choices: Which console should I buy for dating sims?

[Yume Sakka]

Hi,
I'm 36, female, and I prefer anime above all else when watching TV, so I thought I might get myself a game console now that I'm upgrading to an LCD TV. I've searched all over the 'net and I cannot seem to find a guide that lists both the top Japanese video games available in America AND which console I should buy. This will be my first console EVER, as I never cared for American action-based video games, growing up in the 80's... But I love the gorgeous design art some Japanese games have, and the idea of being able to control what those lovely characters do intrigues me.

Last night I just bought a Panasonic Viera TC-L32C12, 32" with up to 720p, but I'm hesitant to even take it out of the box in case it's not what I need. (HD TVs are SO expensive! Do video games look THAT much different on a 32"?)

Also, I bought a new PC monitor, a Dell S2209W, 22", TN panel, which IS capable of 1080p, although it's only hooked up with a VGA/analog cable because I refuse to buy a new PC until Windows 7 comes out on October 22.

So I decided to hold off opening the TV box until I got some advice from fellow anime aficionados. My taste in anime runs mainly to romantic comedies with fantasy/science-fiction elements, with a good dollop of humor and fantastic music, such as Card Captor Sakura, Karin/Chibi Vampire, Kyo Kara Maoh, DN Angel, Negima, Elemental Gelade, Slayers, Kanon, and Inuyasha. Also, Ouran High School Host Club.

Thanks in advance for any advice/guidance, minna-san!

[Skywise]

PS2 and PSP - PS2 has the most currently, but there's been quite a bit released on the PSP as well. Provided you can read Japanese that is. If you can't, the only thing left is the PC. Most of the localized titles out are just plain porn, but there's some that has more of a focus on story. You can also use something like AGTH to help extract the Japanese text from the (PC) game in real-time for easy lookup.

[boogiecat]

Its better to buy the PS2 due to its vast library of dating sim games..

[Draneor]

I also have to recommend the PS2. While the PS3 has a couple releases (Tears to Tiara and White Album), most anigames (anime games) and visual novels are still coming out for the PS2. If you're interested in retro titles, the Dreamcast also has a nice library. However, most of those games also have PS2 versions. Unfortunately, like Skywise mentioned, you do need to know Japanese as, apart from the now defunct Hirameki, console visual novels are not translated into English. Nippon Ichi America has published some RPGs that have a visual novel component (Ar Tonelico, Ar Tonelico II), but that's about as close as it gets. Lastly, due to region coding, you'll need to either buy a Japanese console or acquire a way around it (not hard).

A decent number of story-based or character-based visual novels have been translated for the PC (Kanon, Shuffle!, D.C.~Da Capo~, Suika, Cross+Channel, Fate/Stay Night, Chaos;Head, Utawarerumono, ONE -To the Radiant Season-, Tsukihime, Umineko no Naku Koro ni, Planetarian, Kira☆Kira, Wind -a breath of heart-, Ever17, and Natsuiro no Sunadokei, to mention a few). Some professionally and some by fans. Most will have some adult content, but that's what the ctrl key is for. 95+% or more of the content in those games will be all ages.

Both the DS and the PSP are region free and have a decent library of anigames. The PSP seems to have more--especially when it comes to visual novels. But even the DS gets the occasional visual novel (Really! Really?).

[Skywise]

DC games are harder to get though, and games keep coming out for the the PS2. A Japanese or Asian PS3 might actually be a good solution, since then you'd be covered for games coming out on new systems as well.

[Draneor]

A Japanese or Asian PS3 might actually be a good solution, since then you'd be covered for games coming out on new systems as well.

The industry has been very slow in moving to the PS3. To be honest, most visual novels just don't have the visual quality to merit a PS3 release. Many still come out in 800x600. I guess they'll have to dump the PS2 at some point though, and the PS3 does seem like the next in line.

On the other hand, the 360--oddly enough--has a decent amount of titles, although it is region coded.

[Buster Darkwings]

A Japanese or Asian PS3 might actually be a good solution, since then you'd be covered for games coming out on new systems as well.

The industry has been very slow in moving to the PS3. To be honest, most visual novels just don't have the visual quality to merit a PS3 release. Many still come out in 800x600. I guess they'll have to dump the PS2 at some point though, and the PS3 does seem like the next in line.

A lot of PS3 games are already rendered at resolutions about that size, so I don't think that's a major concern. The programming difficulty might have something to do with it, and I suppose Sony licensing might be harder to obtain (they might want to maintain a more general gaming library for the time being or something), but I suspect we'll be seeing more galge after waves of Japanese people start buying PS3s for FFXIII.