Ubisoft and Guillemot's Sprung for the Nintendo DS is an interesting attempt at a dating simulator, with a western (French, that is) developer adopting the classic Japanese style of game and spinning it for a western (American, that is) audience.

This style of gameplay, which is rarely seen in America, hinges on simple dialogue responses. Each dialogue choice can elicit any number of responses from other characters and potentially change the whole direction of the story. Better ones have had touching drama, or comedy gold. They're strictly story-driven.

While Japanese dating sims are often very (or completely) linear, Sprung features 50 dating "missions" - what this entails has yet to be seen, but hopefully it alludes to a long-lasting game. Players can play as either male or female, too. The "sexy" and "hip" story, as written by Colleen McGuinnes, takes place at a ski resort. Between this and Sega's Feel the Magic: XY/XX, as well as relationship elements in certain other popular console games (even in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, of all things), we may be seeing the beginning of dating sim popularization in America.