Girl Friend Beta

 is a 2012 Japanese smartphone game developed by CyberAgent for iOS and Android devices. As of June 2014, it has over 5.3 million users. An anime television series produced by Silver Link aired in Japan between October and December 2014. There are also five manga adaptations based on the game, and a PlayStation Vita spin-off game was released in November 2015.
Gameplay.
The game is a dating simulator which features over 100 different virtual girls, each with a unique voice actress. The player progresses their relationship with the virtual girlfriend by taking her on dates. The game is free-to-play, however the player pays real-world money to gain premium services. The game features various events that occur, including battle events when bad guys appear. The player can engage in club activities and school class events to solicit romance and increase intimacy with female students. There is a card-based system within the game, where the player collects different cards of varying rarity; each card has different attributes, such as attack and defense costs. Cards can be enhanced by engaging in a part-time job.
Related media.
Print media.
A manga adaptation illustrated by Tsukako Akina titled began serialization in the September 2014 issue of ASCII Media Works's "Dengeki Maoh" magazine, released on July 26, 2014.
The first issue of the official "Girl Friend Beta Magazine" was released by ASCII Media Works on August 22, 2014, and four different manga series that cover specific characters began serialization in that issue. The first manga is illustrated by Takahiro Seguchi and is titled . The second manga is illustrated by Sawayoshi Azuma and is titled . The third manga is illustrated by Kakao and is titled . The fourth manga is illustrated by Na! and is titled .
Anime.
An anime television series based on the original smartphone game was announced in June 2014, with an official announcement press conference taking place at the Akihabara UDX Theater. Produced by Silver Link, the series was directed by Naotaka Hayashi, with anime character designs by Noriko Tsutsumitani based on the original designs by QP:flapper, and story written by Michiko Yokote. The series began airing in Japan on TX Network (TV Tokyo) from October 13 to December 29, 2014. It was simulcasted by Crunchyroll. The opening theme is by Neuron★Creamsoft (main vocalist Haruka Kazemachi (voiced by Saori Hayami)), and the ending theme is by Satomi Satō as Kokomi Shiina. An original net animation adaptation of "Girl Friend Note" was released in October 2016.
Other.
 is a spin-off adventure visual novel game developed by CyberAgent and published by Bandai Namco Games for the PlayStation Vita, released on November 19, 2015. The game involves the player romantically interacting with eight different characters from the original smartphone game. Game features include character movements, binaural voices, touchscreen events and microphone voice communication, and involves an original story.
An Internet radio show began broadcasting weekly from October 8, 2013 onwards, hosted by voice actors involved in the game. A similar smartphone game targeted at females, titled , was released by the same developers.
 is a spin-off rhythm game developed by R-Force Entertainment and published by CyberAgent for Android and iOS. Released on December 1, 2015, the game underwent a two-week long maintenance due to unforeseen complications regarding various game systems. Maintenance ended on December 16, 2015 for Android and December 17, 2015 for iOS. It got a web anime adaptation in October 2016.
In July 2018, a stageshow will be held in Shinagawa Prince Hotel and the main cast is portrayed by the idol group , with an original character named .
Reception.
There are over 5.3 million users of the smartphone game as of June 2014. Virtual currency expenditures within March 2014 were valued at 1.8 billion yen, accounting for over 40% of Ameba's entire smartphone division earnings.
During the New Year celebratory period in early 2014, a promotional commercial for the game featured a handful of character introductions, including the character ; her self-introduction became an Internet meme on Niconico due to her awkward-sounding speech. More than 100 parody remixes of the original video were created on Niconico, with some reaching over 660,000 hits within the few days following the initial release.