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Sexbox 360: Hot Coffee and Blue Aliens
November 22nd, 2009 | 
Author: 
Before you get your hopes up, you smut-ridden leery voyeur you, details about the newly confirmed XXX version of Microsoft’s newest console venture will not be disclosed herein. Whilst the glut of indie massage games do suggest a sly ushering in of a whole (excuse the pun…) new kind of home entertainment system, this article is going to discuss something a little higher-brow.
The matter of sex. Sex in games. In-game sex. In-game nudity. Penises. Penii?! Well that is a perennial debate so I will shy away like so many chaste maidens from that particular issue. More accurately, the portrayal of sex in games and why it’s so controversial when it is portrayed, despite the utter saturation of it in other mediums.
The Lost and Damned, whilst developed by an (aptly-named) studio who already have a good pedigree in controversy, managed to shock, delight, confuse many with its cock-sure depiction of a male member (of congress, no less). With The Ballad Of Gay Tony, the closing chapter of the GTA 4 saga dealing in part with another aspect of sexuality, Rockstar are certainly one of the few developers not afraid of raising a few issues about sex and sexuality, and it’s these I’m interested in.
For one, if we, as a community of gamers wish to be granted ever-more respect by the mainstream media, we must, as a rule, respond to issues of sex and nudity in a mature fashion. I don’t wish to imply that people are not, just that it is an important foundation to lay. We must be able to enter into a dialogue about sex in games in the same way as developers must be able to depict it in such a way as to facilitate mature discussion. Now, Japanese developers have a vivid history of sex games, but cultural differences abound; I’m talking about the way forward for a western audience and industry. What have we learnt from Hot Coffee, J. Thompson, blue aliens and japanese dating sims?
"Let's get it oooon..."
Mass Effect spawned an absolutely hilarious reaction in the media upon its release (if you somehow haven’t seen it before, it’s absolutely hilarious how ignorant some people were about it…)
Aside from being laughably under-researched (my favourite line is ‘the ability of players to engage in graphic sex’) the feature linked above highlights all that is wrong with the interaction between the mainstream and video games. Especially surrounding the issue of what is, ultimately, no matter how many different religious groups believe otherwise, a perfectly natural act. Again, fun as it would be, I’m not offering a diatribe against either Fox (Megan or the TV company), the media, religion, your mum, or Bioware (the twisted, predatory corrupting influence that they are). This video is timeless, but seems especially relevant once again as Bioware are set to release Dragon Age: Origins, a game that we’re told (or perhaps warned) has a good deal of on screen hanky panky.
Yeah, this looks like fun...
Let’s cut to the chase: I propose that the only way we are going to make progress in the matter, is for more games to have sex featured in them. The problem is how to present it. The power of suggestion is as powerful as ever, and to my mind the sex scene in Mass Effect is both tasteful and effective. ‘Sleeping’ with hookers in Grand Theft Auto is not tasteful but it’s certainly not offensive or gratuitous. So far so good. Let’s take a look at a few more examples.
Sex in Fallout 3 is possible but inconsequential, unrewarding, and ultimately pointless from a gameplay or narrative perspective. A non-committal depiction shall we say. Fable 2 takes another interesting approach by letting you only hear the act of coitus. If you’ve played Fable you’ll also know that having a child is amusing but again, ultimately a gimmick; I call this a morally neutral stance. Both are fine, but one is sincerely lacking in ambition to drive the matter forward, understandable after the fiasco that the ratings boards conjured over the naming of in-game drugs
Where is the sex that adds to the drama? Think about the potential of sex scenes in films and literature to really evoke emotions, to create powerful drama and motivations between characters. How games developers, backed into a corner by ratings boards and neurotic censorship endorsed by a morally perplexed billboard society continue to shy away from a responsible yet vivid depiction of all things sexual baffles me.
"That is one massive penis".
I’m hoping that Heavy Rain, the TIMJ hands-on preview of which you can read here, with its ostensibly ‘life-life’ portrayal of a believable scenario will feature a real, bar-setting sexual event or relationship. If games are ever going to cross over the threshold from entertainment to art-form, from wasted artistic potential to responsible medium of expression, we all need to get virtually laid a little more.
You did forget to mention Fahrenheit (by Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream) which featured two sex scenes and chesticles.
And a strip tease in the end credits.
Don’t think they made it into the US release tho.
Yes I was going to say Farenheit too. There is also Singles and Singles 2 a sim like game where the point is to get on so well with your room mate that you get it on! (so I’ve heard!)
I think it’s (finally) starting to be seen as a viable way to breathe life and depth into a game IF handled in a mature way (Mass Effect did this in spades in my estimation – as I am sure Heavy Rain will too if that is part of it’s story arc).
Other games like GTA, Fable II etc, the sex angle is titillating, and (in the case of the former at least) gratuitous. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with a laugh and a joke, but at what expense to how people who don’t play games view the Games Industry at large I wonder?
I can only hope that developers like Bioware and Quantic Dream etc continue to blaze a trail with such mature storylines and handle them appropriately – I really do think they can add to a game and how immersed you become in it and care for the characters you get to know, as apposed to games like GTA where you don’t (not that this makes them bad games, it doesn’t – it just makes for brainless gameplay as a whole that isn’t anywhere near as engaging).
As an openly Gay man I hope developers like the above also don’t shy away from embracing Gay-related storyarcs in games with paths of choice, my only real disapointment with ‘Mass Effect’ (which is my favourite game I’ve ever played due to its amazing immersion) was the fact that the only Gay choice was for two female characters to hook up, which I kinda felt was a little bit of a cop-out if truth be told.
Time will tell, but there are developers out there who know how to do this stuff, and do it right within the context of a games storyline.
Its strange but you have a valid point, there are only a few games I can think of that have man/man relationships.
I wonder why developers like to throw in the girl on girl, do they think that we really want to see it?! personally I think that its just a way for devs to assert heterosexuality into their games.. lets face it which would most straight people rather watch, 2 girls or 2 guys?
I think thats the question that it bottles down to. I also think that although its socially acceptable to be gay its still not socially acceptable to broadcast it in such a way, but 2 girls is cause its for the majority.
Pretty sad really if you ask me. Yeah I’m straight but I have openly gay friends and it doesn’t bother me at all. Its all down to choice. I also think that this is a good topic for a poll!
Fahrenheit again had an openly gay NPC handled quite tastefully I think.
But then you have games like Enchanted Arm with Makoto, who’s stereotypical screech made me want to tear my ears off. I’m sure to some gay people that may have found that an offensive portrayal? However to my knowledge he’s also the first openly gay playable character is he not? So a brave and mature decision but it could have been handled better for the Western releases.
I have to disagree with the GTA thing, especially with GTA4. So far in the full game and the two expansions I’ve given a crap about the protagonists because of the way the story works.
I also believe Rockstar have also handled the idea of sexuality the best way to introduce it into the industry; with a lot of humour.
It did make me laugh with The Lost and Damned with the infamous ‘full frontal nudity’ scene. I’d read about it, and when it got to that cut scene the camera kept daring to go lower, and just when I thought it had been oversold, or was being exaggerated, it was exposed and I was left thinking ‘There it is, a big dong!’.
Sure it’s purely for shock value, but it was dealt with humour which makes it less possible for media to pick up on it out of context and make a big deal a’la Modern Warfare’s airport level.
I mean, it’s only in recent years TV and movies have been able to deal with homosexuality in more mature ways, after years of poking fun at the subject. I think it’s gonna be a ‘one step at a time’ kinda thing.
It’s certainly a subject the industry will tackle at some point, as soon as sex can be included in a game without a massive media frenzy.
IF I remember rightly Singles does allow you to be either gay (male or female) or straight.
Sex in games seems to be coming in. GTA was the first game really to allow you to be a criminal and kill and maim at your leisure…and I remember the media furore that caused. Now it’s fairly common place. I think sex in games will become more common both straight and gay. I agree the sex scenes in Mass Effect were quite tastefully done.