Live Magazine February Issue February 2014 | Page 14

SEX IN
VIDEO
GAMES
As the editor, I wrestled with this topic
for a while. Sure we could have ignored
it and focused on the latest game that
is due out and avoided any potential
controversy, trolls, and maybe complaints. Over the past 12 months we’ve
seen a few games get an R18+ r ating
and some get refused classification
only to be resubmitted with changes,
then passed. So we decided to look at
the issue of sex in games.
Why does the word sex conjure up
different reactions in different people.
Why are some groups so opposed to
sex in video games that the mere mention causes them to protest en mass,
often before they’ve even played the
game they’re trying to get it banned.
So what’s the controversy? After all we
have violence in games and movies,
why not sex? Well I think it’s a personal choice, like religion and politi-

cal beliefs, each of us has an opinion.
Each of us has a moral line in the sand
we feel shouldn’t be crossed. Our culture, our upbringing and our personal
beliefs dictate where that line is. For
some, sex in games has been unfairly
discriminated against by censors while
for others sex in games is just unnecessary.
But wait, I hear some people say, “we
have so much violence in games so
why not sex?” …good point. I guess
it depends on how we see games. Do
we see them in the same way as movies in that they can be representations
of real life? Entertainment meant to be
consumed on a variety of levels, some
as purely fun, some as educational
and sometimes games and movies are
created to make us think.
In Australia, we have a rating system
that now offers game producers an