darthspudius: aren't dating sims a bit weird and creepy? After all we have the local pub and actual woman... they are also in high definition.
You are assuming that real-world people are preferable. Besides, odds are that AIs and virtual reality would someday render traditional society obsolete.
Anyhow, the big upside of VNs is that they combine the length and detail of a book with pictures, sound, and music. Media such as movies cannot convey some forms of information very well, all the while being too expensive to create much content.
Furthermore, VNs are similar to other media in that they are a medium. "VN" only indicates how content is presented, not what the content represents. To say VNs are "weird and creepy", is like suggesting that all movies are romantic comedies.