Sex in Video Games

Description

Since the first computer games became available, sex has played a role in some form. But with the release of games like Playboy: The Mansion, Leisure Suit Larry, and The Singles, sexual content has gained a firm foothold and for the first time, ventured into the mainstream. Even casual games like The Sims have started to rev things up a bit, and in on-line games, tales of “cybering” have become commonplace. This “sexual revolution” in games has generated intense scrutiny of the games industry by political watchdog groups and family-oriented organizations.

And it has brought the importance of self-regulation and rating systems to the forefront of the industry. Seeking to understand this emerging trend, developers, publishers, retailers, and consumers are asking themselves: When is sex appropriate in a game? How far is too far? What will it mean for the product? For its distribution? For my company? For me? Do games with sexual content sell better? Are they generally profitable? So far, there are no definitive answers to these questions. Sex in Video Games provides insight into this issue and presents guidelines and answers by studying the history of sexual content use in games and within the industry itself. In addition, the book considers ethical issues, parental and retailer responsibility, and explores industry attempts at self-regulation, along with a growing concern about potential censorship.

自從第一款電腦遊戲問世以來，性在某種形式上一直扮演著角色。但隨著《Playboy: The Mansion》、《Leisure Suit Larry》和《The Singles》等遊戲的發行，性內容已經牢牢站穩腳步，首次進入主流。即使是像《模擬市民》這樣的休閒遊戲也開始加入一些刺激的元素，在線遊戲中，「網路性愛」的故事已經變得司空見慣。這場遊戲中的「性革命」引起了政治監察組織和家庭導向組織對遊戲行業的密切關注。

這也使得自我監管和評級系統的重要性成為行業的焦點。開發者、發行商、零售商和消費者都在思考：遊戲中的性何時合適？什麼程度算是過分？這對產品意味著什麼？對於它的分發來說呢？對我的公司來說呢？對我來說呢？帶有性內容的遊戲是否銷售更好？它們通常是有利可圖的嗎？到目前為止，對於這些問題還沒有明確的答案。《性在電子遊戲中》通過研究遊戲中性內容的歷史以及行業內部的使用情況，提供了對這個問題的洞察，並提出了指導方針和答案。此外，本書還考慮了倫理問題、家長和零售商的責任，並探討了行業對自我監管的努力，以及對潛在審查的日益關注。