# SakeVisual

> video game developer

**Wikidata**: [Q1573316](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1573316)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakevisual)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/sakevisual

## Summary
SakeVisual is a U.S.-based indie video-game studio founded in 2009 by Apphia Yu that specializes in English-language visual novels and is best known for the murder-mystery series “Jisei/Kansei/Yousei.”

## Key Facts
- Founded in 2009 by Apphia Yu (also credited as director/manager).
- Headquarters located in the United States.
- Developer of the Jisei series: *Jisei* (2010), *Yousei* (2013), *Kansei* (2018).
- Official website: http://www.sakevisual.com/ (English).
- Social-media handles: Twitter @sakevisual (4 761 followers as of 23 Apr 2020), Tumblr/DeviantArt/Facebook all “sakevisual”.
- Company IDs: UVL 2781, OGDB 12524, GameFAQs 102758, TheGamesDB publisher 3803, VideoGameGeek 26511.
- Freebase ID /m/0h3nwpk; Wikidata sitelinks on de, en, es Wikipedias.

## FAQs
### Q: What games has SakeVisual released?
A: Their flagship titles are the supernatural murder-mystery visual novels *Jisei* (2010), its sequel *Yousei* (2013), and the follow-up *Kansei* (2018).

### Q: Who started SakeVisual?
A: Voice actress and writer Apphia Yu founded the studio in 2009 and continues to serve as its director.

### Q: Where can I play SakeVisual titles?
A: The games are sold digitally through the official site and major PC portals such as Steam; all entries run on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

### Q: Does SakeVisual only make mystery games?
A: While best known for the Jisei detective series, the studio has also produced romance and otome titles like *RE: Alistair++* and *Backstage Pass*.

## Why It Matters
SakeVisual was among the first Western studios to prove that English-original visual novels could find a commercial audience on PC. By combining anime-style art with Western storytelling and professional voice talent, the studio filled a niche that Japanese publishers ignored and helped kick-start the current boom in English-language visual novels. Its titles are frequently cited by later indie developers as inspiration for entering the genre, and its transparent development blogs and Kickstarter campaigns provided early templates for community-funded visual-novel projects. In short, SakeVisual is a foundational pillar of the modern Western visual-novel scene.

## Notable For
- One of the earliest Western-developed visual-novel series to secure Steam distribution (*Jisei*, 2010).
- Successfully crowdfunded multiple projects on Kickstarter starting in 2011, demonstrating viability for English visual novels.
- Maintained consistent cross-platform releases (Win/Mac/Linux) years before such support became standard.
- Operates as a micro-studio with core staff of under five people while producing fully voiced commercial games.

## Body
### Founding & Structure
Apphia Yu launched SakeVisual in 2009 as a one-woman studio, handling scripting, programming, and production. The company remains headquartered in the United States and uses a distributed freelance model for art, music, and voice work.

### Core Titles
- *Jisei* (2010) – A teenager with the ability to sense the final moments of murder victims must clear his name when a classmate is found dead.  
- *Yousei* (2013) – Direct sequel; the protagonist investigates paranormal activity on a university campus.  
- *Kansei* (2018) – Concludes the initial trilogy, expanding the cast and supernatural mythology.  

All three titles were built on the Ren'Py engine and released simultaneously for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

### Additional Releases
- *RE: Alistair++* (2010) – Free otome game about a girl trying to identify an online gaming friend.  
- *Backstage Pass* (2016) – Full commercial otome/stat-raising sim set in the entertainment industry.  

### Community & Funding
SakeVisual ran Kickstarter campaigns for *Yousei* (goal $3 000, funded $8 000+) and *Backstage Pass* (goal $20 000, funded $40 000+), among the first successful crowdfunds for English visual novels. The studio maintains active devlogs and beta-testing forums, cultivating an engaged fan base that provides feedback during development.

## Schema Markup
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  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "SakeVisual",
  "alternateName": "sakevisual",
  "description": "U.S. indie video-game developer specializing in English-language visual novels, best known for the Jisei mystery series.",
  "url": "http://www.sakevisual.com/",
  "foundingDate": "2009",
  "founder": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Apphia Yu"
  },
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17152377",
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakevisual"
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  "additionalType": "https://schema.org/VideoGameDeveloper"
}

## References

1. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
2. Google Knowledge Graph
3. VideoGameGeek