Without a doubt, Love Plus is more than a love sim. It's captured the imagination of Japanese players, spawning erotic game and porno parodies and now what some are calling a straight-up rip-off.
Japanese network game site Gree is launching a new schoolgirl sim called Hime Koi (above). These types of games are a dime-a-dozen in Japan, but Hime Koe's illustrations look incredibly similar to Love Plus' art — so similar that Love Plus artist Mino☆Taro tweeted, "The art from Gree's new gal game isn't Mino☆Taro's~!"
Gree is Japan's second largest social networking site and not some fly-by-night operation. And Japanese copyright law is quite strict, so it is surprising to see just how similar Hime Koi's illustrators are to Love Plus'.
Comparisons are appearing online to illustrate just how similar Hime Koi looks. In this image, the drawing at the top is Hime Koi and the drawing in the middle is Love Plus. The bottom image shows Hime Koi overlaid onto Love Plus.
There has been a significant outcry online among Japanese fans, calling out Gree on the similarities. "Doesn't Gree have any corporate pride," one commenter wondered.
Love Plus caused a sensation when it was released back in 2009. A sequel, a manga and an arcade version followed, and the game even featured in national TV spots for the Nintendo DSi XL. A Nintendo 3DS Love Plus game is in the works.
GREEで遊べる恋愛ゲーム『ヒメこい』がDS『ラブプラス』の絵をパクった!? ネット上で大問題に発展 [ロケットニュース24 via 痛いニュース]