Well, I couldn't decide where to put this, since it was opinion, but it is all related to video games, so I decided this was a safe place for it.  I posted my response to this yesterday, and decided I'd share not only my thoughts, but also ask for yours on it.  I doubt most people will read all my view as well as the article, but if you do, share your opinion please.

Quote:The most appalling thing to feature in a game, according to a poll on What They Play, isn’t rampant use of the word fudge, or even a graphically severed human head; it’s sex between a man and a woman.
The game industry is one that has, since its humble beginnings, always been one to strive for realism. The realism of a game’s look is always important, and the well established fact is that whoever first conquers the uncanny valley will have a place in gaming history. The realism of authentic military weapons, their response times, reload times, and the way that the bullets pierce a human target is of utmost importance for today’s strategic shooters. Why then, in an industry so obsessed with reality, is sex so uncommon?

The act of sexual intercourse is as human as birth and death, and just as important. The propagation of the species and our very survival as human beings depends on it. Everyone living today is the result of one sexual act or another, yet the act is seen as something not to be talked about. Despite books, movies, and even music being able to tackle the subject, videogames still walk with blinders, pretending that it’s not there.
It can be considered a failure of the industry that sexual issues are never brought up in games. The issue is always skirted around. Characters will fall in love with other characters, and even speak in a manner expressing sexual desire, but the end result is typically Disney like, with a kiss symbolizing true love.

The typical exception of course, comes with games like Grand Theft Auto. A rather juvenile eye is turned towards the subject, though at least players are given some credit. While the fourth iteration has improved in a great deal of ways, the childish pun filled humor and ridiculous sexuality remains. Get your web browsing done at TW@ and go get a bite at Café 69 before picking up prostitutes or hitting the strip club if you have any doubts.

Of course, when a game does attempt anything close to real as far as intercourse is involved, it becomes a problem for conservative bloggers and the pundits on television news. One of the biggest stories this year of course, is the public beating that Mass Effect got in January on Fox News. From the ten seconds of prime time television grade sex shown in the game, over ten minutes of prime time television outrage were generated.

A conservative blogger posted that Mass Effect featured fully customizable rape and sodomy, which Fox News seemed to take as truth without taking the time to learn for themselves. The game was torn apart, and Geoff Keighley, the token videogame defender, was stepped on pretty harshly even after throwing out some reasonable arguments. If this is the treatment that a game gets for putting in a reasonable, not sexually explicit scene of intercourse, it’s simple to see why more developers don’t go after the subject.

In addition to the microscopic analysis of mass media, there is always the dread that a game be tagged by the ESRB with an Adults Only rating, a death knell for any project. A fairly nonsensical rating in and of itself, the AO rating declares that the game is not to be sold to anyone under the age of 18, rather than 17, as suggested by a Mature rating. While this difference may not seem like much, an AO rating ensures that Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Circuit City and most other major chains won’t even think about carrying the title. Additionally, this means the Microsoft won’t publish it, as they have declared that they will not have AO rated games on the 360.

If games are ever going to truly evolve and be respected as much as the mediums of books and film, then they need to stop shying away from sex. The public knowledge of videogaming is growing and slowly people are realizing that all games aren’t for children, just as certain movies or books are not intended for kids.

source: http://xboxfocus.com/columns/26-outside-...index.html


Only reasons I can see people having any problem with sex in video games is
A) If it is poorly, and gratuitously placed, thus hurting the realism of the game for that person
B) The parent doesn't want to teach their child about sex, or is extremely uncomfortable with the subject
C) The child is extremely stupid, and the parents know this, and are afraid he'll go out and try to do what he has seen, because his parents didn't raise him properly to know the difference between right and wrong, or reality and fiction
D) The parent is afraid that the child will see something they find interesting (once again indicating they were never talked to about it), and go to school to talk about it with their friends. The main problem here is only a case of a cycle, which IMO doesn't have a plausible end that would turn out to be horrible. Parents may be afraid their kid will tell other kids, who will ask their parents, or will try to do what they heard/saw for themselves, which would have been another area where the parent could have explained right and wrong, and perhaps reality and fiction.

However, if the games have sexual acts that aren't very fetish oriented, with all sorts of caddle prods and batteries, but rather just a scene of two doing it, perhaps without showing anything obvious like Mass Effect did, I'd see nothing but good coming from it. It would allow that child to want to ask mother or father about the act, which would destroy one problem some parents have with sex talk, which is being able to comfortably bring it up.

I just can't see any reasonable complications that could occur by having a child (or teen as most games with sex in them would require) play a game with sex in it. If it is very kinky, crazy stuff that is going on, there might be a problem with it, if the kid starts to think that's the way it is supposed to be done. In which case, his expectations will be screwed up, and the actual performance of his first sexual experience MIGHT be a let down. However, that is the worst reason I can think of that a parent could think of to support a stance against sex in video games.

In the end, however, it is all up to the parents. Keep an eye on what your child wants to buy, and make choices based on the rating of the game. Maybe you should take an extra step and research reviews of it online to see what gamers and the like have gotten out of the experience. If you still don't feel right letting your child play it, think about it for yourself. Does that mean you think you might not have taught your child right from wrong, or maybe how to distinguish reality from fantasy? No matter what your deeper conclusion must be, you should act upon it to not only make sure you have a socially acceptable child, but also a child who will be free to do more things, since he has a better understanding of what he is doing/seeing.

Why is sex considered a taboo subject to talk about when everyone's live come from it???? It's better to teach kids about it and to make sure they understand it, but not ban it!!!!

Sparker Wrote:

Assassinator Wrote:Then you go to Japanland... ...

Wee have roller coaster simulators, life simulators and plane simulators.... Supposedly, they have rape simulators.

How many people use it a day?

Rape is like saying hello in Japan.

Sparker Wrote:

MehHakker Wrote:

Sparker Wrote:

Assassinator Wrote:Then you go to Japanland... ...

Wee have roller coaster simulators, life simulators and plane simulators.... Supposedly, they have rape simulators.

How many people use it a day?

Rape is like saying hello in Japan.

I've been to japan before, and all I people I know who said some form of an introduction have not raped me <_<.

That's because they did it when you were asleep....they drugged you...