"Mature" Games... and Sex and Stuff

There's no doubt that many of the women characters created in video games are given sexually fantastical appearances--incredibly/unrealistically voluptuous and super tight fitting cloth or barely there attire. It wasn't difficult to find a top ten list in hottest Video Game chics from website actiontrip.com:

1)Lara Croft - Tomb Raider
2)Ada Wong - Resident Evil Series
3)Rachel - Ninja Gaiden
4)Farah - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
5)Elexis Sinclaire - SiN Episodes: Emergence
6)Catherine Ann Archer - No One Lives Forever
7)Tina Armstrong - Dead or Alive Series
8)Alyx Vance - Half-Life 2
9)Nariko - Heavenly Sword
10)Rayne - Bloodrayne

http://www.actiontrip.com/features/atstop10videogamechicks_2.phtml

Considering this, I always automatically assumed that sex/sexual ideas/sexual desires in video games is almost natural. But I've always imagined it as something that wasn't complex, just a blatant in your face type of thing. I came across an interesting article however that claims that sex in video games is maturing.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/grows+gaming+world/2196639/story.html

"Sex and video games have had a long and sordid past. From the constant portrayal of women as large-chested sex objects to shallow, mini-game sexual encounters, video games have taken a flippant view of sex and sexuality since the 1980s."

The article is trying to get across that the role of sex in games has become more complex than what it once was, involving more dynamic love inspired story lines.

"A lot of the mature themes that you will get to in a video game are the result of deep stories, and the result of complex relationships and the result of multiple decisions that you need to make throughout the game,"

says Colin Macrae, spokesman for video game developer Electronic Arts.

Two years ago, EA introduced the game Mass Effect which sparked a lot of controversy because it included sex scenes which the New York Times compared to evening television. Of course there was controversy because a lot of people immediately associate games with children, and anything sexual as taboo. I think that combining sex and video games makes for amazing possibilities and levels of entertainment, especially now that the genre seems to be "maturing." As always, I think that the responsibility predominantly lies on the parents, just as they would censor their child's evening television viewing.

Natal: Soon and Cheap?!

I just saw this article on Kotaku and thought I would post about it. Rumors have spread that Microsoft's Project Natal could be released as soon as next November for a price as low $50! This is incredible news given that Microsoft has been hyping Natal as a whole new platform that will revolutionize video games. We know that this console cycle is going to last a lot longer than usual and that upgrades/peripherals will be a significant reason why, but it's still incredible to think that we could be "leveling up" to the next sub-generation of gaming within a year.

The fact that Sony hasn't released much additional information about their motion "wands" seems to suggest that they are probably not as far along in their development as Microsoft is. Therefore if Natal does come out next year, Microsoft will once again be the first to market and may perhaps gain a significant leg up on Sony in the coming sub-round of the console cycle. Furthermore, the more generally agreed upon price tag of $80 is surprisingly affordable, given how much some other peripherals cost (see Guitar Hero and Rock Band). A tag of $50 would be even more amazing. If such a low price point is really chosen and the hardware and software really do deliver on everything they're promising, Project Natal could end up being a home run for Microsoft.

Enter the Matrix (willingly)

Playfish was just bought by EA and games built on the structure of social networks seem to be all the rage right now. Ever since the in-class presentation, everywhere I look, people are playing Farmville. Giving away software, and games in particular, for free is not a new thing. Shareware and freeware has existed as far back as I can remember, though its importance has grown now that it is more feasible to distribute games online rather than via floppy discs.
I simply think that at some point people will realize that they are just performing virtual labor. Reformed WoW players are able to come to this conclusion and are able to unplug themselves, though there are many more players who are not. Will casual gamers realize this as well? Farmville is themed around producting and growing crops and can be played in the bacgrkound of non-gaming work, making it appear like something casual, but make no mistake, it is still agrarian labor, only performed with a keyboard and mouse rather than a rake and a hoe. Players, it appears, continue to perform this work because it has a highly social component, traveling to friends’ farms and trading goods with them. There is a stigma to free games that they are less competitive as a result of this, or have lower production values. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?), I don’t think we’ll be seeing successful non-casual game types such as Action-Adventure or FPS move into an item micropayment system because it is just unfeasible (in the West, at least). What does appear to work, however, is Halo’s system of purchasing additional multiplayer maps, or other games that function with an episodic system for lengthening and extending the game.

Especially in Japan, but also found in US, video game industry is highly related to character goods business. The biggest hit of this connection was Pokemon series came out in 1995. With its massive hit, and after it came up with TV animation series, Pokemon character business dominated the market. Besides it established Pokemon Center, a huge character and video game shop got a motive from Pokemon game itself, I remeber when I visited Japan in 2001 when the entire kids/toy floor of department store was almost entirely filled with Pokemon. I could come up with the statistics, but no wonder Pokemon character and video game industry created a huge synerge. However, it has been 14 years Pokemon game out, there is no such booming of video game character popularity. I could not even come up with the example of recent video game character which made into character goods. Is it still Pokemon and Mario characters rule over the market, or no character is attractive enough to own them as plush dolls?

MP's "Row" Over Modern Warfare 2

http://www.destructoid.com/ice-t-thinks-this-borderlands-sh-t-is-sick--152921.phtml

It is very refreshing to hear a pro-video game politician after feeling like both sides on America political spectrum seem to like using censorship as a personal tool (i.e. former Second Lady Tipper Gore advocating the introduction of a Parental Advisory Label because she heard her daughter listening to a Prince song, extreme right wingers hating on Harry Potter, etc., etc.) Sure there are many who strongly advocate the 1st Amendment but often times this seems to fall short of lending the same support to the video game industry, often maintaining their speech while allowing de facto means of censorship prosper (i.e. AO ESRB and NC17 MPAA ratings, and refusal for classification in other countries such as the UK.) Without wandering too far into the debate on video game censorship, it obviously a major step towards the common reorganization of the legitimacy of video games as an art form when major public officials and other public figures (I’m thinking of Ice-T posting on twitter “Just got done playing Borderlands 4hrs straight need I say more?") take an anti-censorship and very pro-video game position, such as British MP: “Are you sick of UK newspapers and (my fellow) politicians beating up on gaming? So am I.” It’s a sign that Video Game Culture is progressing through the growing pains that accompany the birth of any new culture and art form. And it’s progressing a hell of a lot faster than other such cultures have.

Rockband 3 to Make You a Better Guitar Player?

After watching Rockband being played in class on Friday and pretty much everyone came to the conclusion that playing the guitar in Rockband or Guitar Hero is nothing like playing a real guitar. So I found it interesting that an entry at Joystiq was talking about how Dhani Harrison (George Harrison's son and contributer to The Beatles:Rock Band) said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune that RockBand 3 will do the opposite and actually help people play the guitar. He says "I'm working on 'Rock Band 3' and making the controllers more real so people can actually learn how to play music while playing the game...Give me a couple years, it's going to happen." It'd be very interesting to see how the controller for Rockband 3 and if it could actually be like playing a real guitar. This could put the Rockband brand head and shoulders above Guitar Hero because people who actually play the guitar won't think it's just glorified air guitaring. This is something fans of Rockband and music based games(which I'm not) should keep their eye on.

Link to Joystiq article about it http://www.joystiq.com/2009/11/07/dhani-harrison-rock-band-3-will-make-you-better-at-actual-rocki/

Link to interview from Chicago Tribunehttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/chi-1106-thenewno2-musicnov06,0,2903455.column

Free2Play

I found the Free2play presentation very interesting. One of the more interesting parts of the presentation was in fact how digital distribution is changing the business model for the video game industry. I remember about three years ago being able download EA Sports’ FIFA 07 onto my computer without actually needing a CD. I was really fascinated by this and luckily was smart enough to realize that in fact this process would become more prevalent in the near future. One of the arguments that I have had against digital distribution has been the scarcity of broadband connection available. It was surprising to me that broadband is actually increasing rapidly around the world.

As for the end of the $59 video game, I don’t think it will happen so fast. Many buyers may be reluctant to switch over to digital distribution and as the presentation states, there is still that perception that free2play games lack depth and quality. In all honesty, I may have to agree with that perception as of right now, simply because these games lack the realistic graphics and game play that Xbox or PlayStation games have. Perhaps, this will change as that market matures. I do agree with presentation’s statement of free2play being massively successful in parts of the world like Latin America. Many of my relatives go to online cafes to use the computer and regularly play the free2play games because they don’t have video game consoles at home.

I think that free2play will in fact change the video game industry but it will take some time. I just walked past Union Square and there is a complete setup for a new war video game that’s coming out soon, so the industry can’t be doing that badly. We grew up with online tools and being “wired” so playing video games online seems natural.