CrazyPerson
Grim Reaper
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2013
- Messages
- 442
- Reputation score
- 63
Hey folks,
I figured I'd try and do a thread about how to get around DLSite, since it's by far the biggest source of stuff we discuss around here.
And since there's a number of people here that actually properly pay money to creators (eyebrow waggle), I figure I'd try to encourage that by helping with confusion.
Let me know if this is useful, and I'll try to add more.
English and Japanese DLSite have almost the same UI.
This is useful to find your way around without knowing moonrunes - most buttons are in the same location, so if you're confused what something in japdlsite does, check the other.
You can quickly switch between the two by changing the URL of a game from "RJ1234" to "RE1234" and vice-versa, if the game is published to both sites.
Ideally, you'd want an account on both sites (need separate accounts, with separate usernames and game lists, sadly) - the japanese version has way more stuff, but the english version sometimes has proper translated versions.
This also lets you compare the logged-in-only sites to figure out buttons.
Registering on Japanese DLSite is hard
This can be a bit tricky. I recommend using chrome, so you have the built-in "translate this page" button that also works on HTTPS forms.
The first blocker is the second form page. Interesting fields:
Full Name. No ASCII, no spaces. If you're lazy, copy random japanese characters into this field. If you want, google "fullwidth converter" and enter your name, without spaces.
The name for your credit card is entered somewhere else, so the two don't have to match here.
Phonetic name. This one is tricky - it only allows Katakana, so the previous trick won't work. If you did your-name-in-Katakana in japanese class, here's where you show off. If not, just copy the example from the right-hand side and enter "ディーエルタロウ"
Phone number. Only allows digits, doesn't really support international. You can try to enter your number if you want to be nice, I suppose.
Birth date. Apparently used for password resets, so you probably want to use your real one.
Purchase limit: How much the site will let you spend per month. I recommend setting this to a sane number, you WILL lose track some christmas sale
After that, it's your run-of-the-mill registration. You get an email with a link, click the link.
I guess not correctly filling out all fields technically violates their ToS, but hey - as long as they get their money and no problems, nobody seems to mind.
DLSite JP and credit cards
Personally, I've never had problems, but YMMV. Things to note:
They support 3DSecure (verified by visa / securecode), which means lower fees for them. If your card doesn't, they might not like you. Ask your bank.
They operate from Japan, so if your card only allows transactions from the same country, bad luck. Ask your bank.
There used to be another roundabout "JPoints" system on eng dlsite, but that seems to have been phased out in favor of direct paypal support (which explicitly only allows age-unrestricted works :/)
DLSite points and ratings
Apparently, Japanese are crazy for loyalty programs, so of course, DLSite has one.
You'll see price tags like "1,080円 /ポイント3%" - the 3% is the amount of points you get from purchase. This is usually 3%, can be higher during certain sales.
Basically this means that whenever you buy something, you get 3% of the purchase price as credit towards your next purchase from them, expiring after 1 year.
Gotcha: They use this credit to encourage you to leave ratings. (just a 1-5 score, don't worry) Go to
Anything you rate within 90 days of purchase should net you a few points.
Bear in mind that in japanese culture, "this sucks" is a terrible insult, you say "this is average". So they pretty much only use the top 3 buttons in the rating scale, remember that when you see average scores.
I'll try to do more of these later...
I figured I'd try and do a thread about how to get around DLSite, since it's by far the biggest source of stuff we discuss around here.
And since there's a number of people here that actually properly pay money to creators (eyebrow waggle), I figure I'd try to encourage that by helping with confusion.
Let me know if this is useful, and I'll try to add more.
English and Japanese DLSite have almost the same UI.
This is useful to find your way around without knowing moonrunes - most buttons are in the same location, so if you're confused what something in japdlsite does, check the other.
You can quickly switch between the two by changing the URL of a game from "RJ1234" to "RE1234" and vice-versa, if the game is published to both sites.
Ideally, you'd want an account on both sites (need separate accounts, with separate usernames and game lists, sadly) - the japanese version has way more stuff, but the english version sometimes has proper translated versions.
This also lets you compare the logged-in-only sites to figure out buttons.
Registering on Japanese DLSite is hard
This can be a bit tricky. I recommend using chrome, so you have the built-in "translate this page" button that also works on HTTPS forms.
The first blocker is the second form page. Interesting fields:
Full Name. No ASCII, no spaces. If you're lazy, copy random japanese characters into this field. If you want, google "fullwidth converter" and enter your name, without spaces.
The name for your credit card is entered somewhere else, so the two don't have to match here.
Phonetic name. This one is tricky - it only allows Katakana, so the previous trick won't work. If you did your-name-in-Katakana in japanese class, here's where you show off. If not, just copy the example from the right-hand side and enter "ディーエルタロウ"
Phone number. Only allows digits, doesn't really support international. You can try to enter your number if you want to be nice, I suppose.
Birth date. Apparently used for password resets, so you probably want to use your real one.
Purchase limit: How much the site will let you spend per month. I recommend setting this to a sane number, you WILL lose track some christmas sale
After that, it's your run-of-the-mill registration. You get an email with a link, click the link.
I guess not correctly filling out all fields technically violates their ToS, but hey - as long as they get their money and no problems, nobody seems to mind.
DLSite JP and credit cards
Personally, I've never had problems, but YMMV. Things to note:
They support 3DSecure (verified by visa / securecode), which means lower fees for them. If your card doesn't, they might not like you. Ask your bank.
They operate from Japan, so if your card only allows transactions from the same country, bad luck. Ask your bank.
There used to be another roundabout "JPoints" system on eng dlsite, but that seems to have been phased out in favor of direct paypal support (which explicitly only allows age-unrestricted works :/)
DLSite points and ratings
Apparently, Japanese are crazy for loyalty programs, so of course, DLSite has one.
You'll see price tags like "1,080円 /ポイント3%" - the 3% is the amount of points you get from purchase. This is usually 3%, can be higher during certain sales.
Basically this means that whenever you buy something, you get 3% of the purchase price as credit towards your next purchase from them, expiring after 1 year.
Gotcha: They use this credit to encourage you to leave ratings. (just a 1-5 score, don't worry) Go to
You must be registered to see the links
and you should see everything you haven't rated yet. Rate away.Anything you rate within 90 days of purchase should net you a few points.
Bear in mind that in japanese culture, "this sucks" is a terrible insult, you say "this is average". So they pretty much only use the top 3 buttons in the rating scale, remember that when you see average scores.
I'll try to do more of these later...
