There are two basic facets of the adult interactive industry (not including online sex games): interactive film with live actresses, or virtual sex; and graphics-based erotica, which includes, among other things, hentai (also known as H-games).

Interactive Virtual Sex Simulations

These are titles featuring real actresses, like Diva X (Pixis) and Virtual Sex (Digital Playground) both of which are extremely popular. These simulations allow the player to issue commands to the woman onscreen (i.e. remove your clothes; use a dildo; get screwed by that guy; etc.) which are then portrayed seamlessly by snippets of video. In some ways these products are easier to create than the graphics-based adult games category. After filming and editing all the necessary scenes, a user interface is applied and you have an erotic simulation. Given that both the Diva X and Virtual Sex series use basically the same interface with each new girl released, the programming is primarily finished already. Combine ease of production with the marketing muscle of these two companies and you have big sellers. It's a win-win situation because these titles have attractive selling points before they even reach the consumer: they are straight-forward and easy to use, allowing users to interact directly with a REAL woman, often a hot porn star. But wait, there's more! Most, if not all, adult sex sims are now being produced exclusively on DVD, a format which is rapidly eclipsing the antiquated VCR market. It's a natural transition for sex simulations of this nature because of all the film that is present, and DVD players can accomodate the basic interactive aspects. And viewing film or video on your TV set or DVD player/DVD-rom is still much better quality than on your computer's cd-rom or hard drive. Additionally, other companies like VCA Interactive and Digital Sin have been improving upon the virtual sex concept in recent years by releasing their own high production DVDs, and consumers are inhaling them off the store shelves. (cont.)