Zoned in
June 19, 2008
Feeding the Flames: Sex in
Videogames
By: Steven Hopper
As the debate rages on, is sexual content in videogames really as big a problem as the media lets on?
It seems that every few decades, another form of entertainment will come about and become a pariah to the mainstream. Everything from comic books to rock music has been scapegoated for provocative content and heralded by some as the downfall of society. Now, it seems that video games are on the chopping block, at first for violent content with games like Mortal Kombat and Doom being among the favorites for causing violence amongst children and teenagers. Now, the industry is under fire for sexual content, beginning with the infamous Hot Coffee scandal that broke concerning sexual content in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It seems that politicians and mainstream media is out for blood yet again to demonize the industry.
While it may seem that the debate about sexual content in video games is a recent development, it is anything but. Sex in video games dates back to the early 80’s, with titles like Custer’s Revenge for Atari 2600 and Leisure Suit Larry for the PC making quite a stir among early gamers and advocacy groups. Sexualized content in video games has continued it a variety of forms and through myriad games, like Fear Effect, Dead or Alive 4, and Fable.
The Hot Coffee scandal a few years ago is probably one of the more notorious instances of the media picking up on the issue. Through means that require a GameShark, enterprising gamers were able to discover an interactive sex scene in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. While this content had no bearing on the actual game and was otherwise invisible to anyone who didn’t know exactly how to get to it, the ensuing media hoopla was rabid. The sex-in-videogames debate kicked into high gear, with politicians like Sen. Hilary Clinton and anti-gaming megaphone Jack Thompson reprimanding the ESRB’s failure to check content and demanding reform of videogame ratings, and nearly every national news outlet commenting on the story to some degree. Take 2 (RockStar’s parent company) had to change the rating of all existing copies of San Andreas from M to AO, and remove all “Hot Coffee” content from subsequent shipments. This coupled with class-action lawsuits and the like could not have been cheap for Take 2.
Even though Take 2’s failure to disclose the sexual content in San Andreas to the ESRB was indeed a spendy faux pas that they probably won’t repeat any time soon, was the fallout really appropriate? The sexuality in the modified (yes, modified) content was mostly implied, as the characters were clothed throughout. Not to mention that we’re not talking about sexual content in Super Mario Galaxy or Dora the Explorer, but rather Grand Theft Auto, a franchise already well known for its mature content. It begs the question: if the hot coffee content were readily available and disclosed when the game released, would there have been a controversy at all?
One of the more recent instances of video game sex being over-glorified in the media was an “expose” ran by Fox News on the well-received Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect. In the January 2008 segment (titled “SE”Xbox, video below) which ran on Martha McCallum’s Front Desk, self-help author Cooper Lawrence berated the game for its strong content, and then proceeded to condescend to GameTrailers’ Geoff Kneighly, even while admitting that she had never played the game.
For parents, video games should be held to the standards of other forms of entertainment. There are certain movies and TV shows that parents don’t allow their children to watch, so why not expect the same kind of final say when it comes to video games? Just like TV and film, there are things in video games that are geared towards children and there are games that certainly aren’t for kids. Ultimately, it is a parent’s responsibility to determine what is appropriate for their child, and the ratings board is around to help them in that regard.
While we at GameZone don't condone sex in videogames, we believe that it ultimately lies with the developer and it's their choice as to what content they put in their games. The industry has made good headway into being a self-regulated form of entertainment, and games that feature sexual content must the revealed as such and be forthcoming as to what they put in their games, much like film and TV.
As video gaming moves from a nascent industry to a formidable force in entertainment, it would make logical sense to hold it up to the same standards as we do other forms of entertainment, be it books, movies, or television. We should also realize that all of these other mediums have sexual content in some form. Unfortunately, a good chunk of society has yet to understand video games’ potential as a form of interactive storytelling, but hopefully the market’s recent success will open a few eyes, and a few closed minds.
Share
Digg This
Glink It