How Much is too much?: Adult content on the rise

Games in general have definitely matured. There has always been and always will be controversy over violence in games, that’s a given, and is almost accepted as well as expected. So I won’t dwell on the violence in games.

Nowadays, the envelope for what people consider “mature” games is being pushed farther than ever. Firstly, there is language. I think I went probably 17 years without hearing any overly profane statements in a video game. Now there are plenty, examples range from Bloodrayne, Die Hard: Vendetta, BMX XXX and more. All of them feature very explicit dialogue, we aren’t talking “damn” or “hell” here, and it’s far beyond that. These games all feature the popular four letter words we all know and love. I still raise an eyebrow everytime I hear such words while playing. Not because I’m offended, just because I can’t believe it at times.

Nudity and sex are also becoming more rampant. A lot of games always used sex, or sexually attractive images to sell, but never completely focused on it, and it was certainly never exploited to the same degree as one certain game, the newly released BMX XXX. This game features not only digital nudity, but also allows players to unlock movies of real strippers, who have no problem revealing their top half in full.

It’s almost surreal to be playing a game and seeing such a thing. As a gamer I have no problem watching it, however, it’s just a bit hard to comprehend. So where do I stand on this one? It’s a bit complicated. I respect acclaim for having the balls to push the envelope, and create some controversy. And in reality, they are giving the people what they want. Sex sells. On that same note, I applaud Nintendo for letting it go.

I also do not support censorship of any kind. I believe developers should have complete freedom to create the product they so desire. Because in the end, consumers are the ones with the choices. If they want graphic content they can have it. No one is forcing anything. People have no problem going to see a movie, and being bombarded with profanity and sexually explicit images, but show it in a game and the world stops spinning.

Then again, it comes down to the fact that a game could simply be giving us a lot of adult content, and not focusing on gameplay. I find that a bit of a downfall. After the shock of BMX XXX has worn off, you realize it is indeed, not a spectacular game by any means (although it’s also not that bad) a balance has to be achieved if this kind of new maturity is to be more accepted. Really, strippers are fine and dandy, but can only compensate for shallow gameplay for so long.

There is a very thin line for developers to walk. But as I said, the freedoms to use such content should always exist. I think there is a lot more to come, and the trend of more adult driven games will continue to increase, whether they are games with gritty dialogue, gory visuals or games with sex and nudity. This new “mature” look and sound of games will be here to stay. It’ll be interesting to see where it all goes. And it will be up to us gamers to decide if we want it.

Editorial by Dan Chubaty

Written By Dan Chubaty