Doujin soft (同人ソフト,dōjin sofuto) is software created byJapanesehobbyists or hobbyist groups (referred to as "circles"), more for fun than for profit. The term includes digitaldoujin games (同人ゲーム), which are essentially the Japanese equivalent ofindependent video games orfangames (the term "doujin game" also includes things likedoujin-madeboard games andcard games).[1][2][3]
Doujin soft is considered part ofdoujin katsudou, for which it accounts for 5% of alldoujin works altogether (as of 2015).[4] Doujin soft began withmicrocomputers in Japan, and spread to platforms such as theMSX andX68000. Since the 1990s, however, they have primarily been made forMicrosoft Windows.
Mostdoujin soft sales occur atdoujin conventions such asComiket, with several that deal with doujin soft or doujin games exclusively such as Freedom Game (which further only allows games distributed for free)[5] and Digital Games Expo.[6][7] There is also a growing number of specializedinternet sites that selldoujin soft. Additionally, more doujin games have been sold as downloads on consoles and PC stores such as Steam in recent years, throughgame publishers such as Mediascape picking them up.[8]
Doujin video games, likedoujin soft, began withmicrocomputers in Japan, such as thePC-98 andPC-88, and spread to platforms such as theMSX,FM Towns andX68000. From the 90's to 00's however, they were primarily exclusive toMicrosoft Windows. In recent years, more doujin games have been released on mobile platforms and home consoles, as well as other operating systems likemacOS andLinux.[7] Thoughdoujin games used to primarily be for home computers, moredoujin games have been made available on gaming consoles in recent years.[8] There are also doujin groups that develop software for retro consoles such as theGame Boy andGame Gear.[7]
Likefangames,doujin games frequently use characters from existing games,anime, ormanga ("niji sousaku"). These unauthorized uses of characters are generally ignored and accepted by the copyright holders, and many copyright holders also issue guidelines stating that they allowniji sousaku as long as their guidelines are adhered to. There are also manydoujin game titles which are completely original. While there are no statistics on the ratio ofniji sousaku to original titles for doujin games specifically, as of 2015 88% ofdoujin altogether (including doujin games) wasniji sousaku to some extent, with 63% being purelyniji sousaku and only 12% being completely original.[4] Example is Rockman Ciel,[9] later release in form as novelize[10] by PrejectRCL.
Doujin games typically did not get released outside Japan due to language barriers. Recently, Western publishers have been picking up these games for release in other markets, with one of the first known successful examples beingRecettear: An Item Shop's Tale, developed originally byEasyGameStation in 2007, and then localized and released byCarpe Fulgur in 2010 for English audiences, which had a modest success with over 300,000 units sold in these markets.[11][12][13]Recettear's release on the digital storefrontSteam, which at the time had begun opening its catalog to third-party developers, further helped to introducedoujin to the West.[14] This approach has been used to bring otherdoujin games, particularly visual novels and dating sims, to the West.[15][16]
Some titles sell well enough that their creators can make a full-time job out of what is typically an amateur hobby: For exampleTYPE-MOON and07th Expansion originally released games as doujin games. One game,French-Bread'sbrawlerRagnarok Battle Offline, ahomage/spoof of theMMORPGRagnarok Online so impressedGravity Corp., the original game's designers, that it has been given an official release outside Japan.