Live Magazine February Issue February 2014 | Page 17

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the notion that “video games are for
children”, due to the often cute and
manga-inspired characters found in
Japanese games.
Despite the popularity of more adultoriented games such as Mortal Kombat and Doom in the 1990s (and the
popularity of adult games today), the
notion that video games are strictly
for children has been asserted all
through the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s
and even today, despite the average
age of a gamer always increasing.
It’s understandable then, that a developer may have avoided sex in
their video games (even if it would
have been perfectly acceptable)
due to the almost-constant negative
treatment the video game industry
has received in the past.
“But we have an R18+ rating in
Australia now! Shouldn’t EVERYTHING be allowed?”
The short answer is no. Quite often,
people think that because we have
an R18+ rating (finally!) in Australia,

that every single game will see a
local release. What it does mean,
is that a game with adult content is
more likely to see a release, so long
as it falls within Australian Classification Board’s guidelines. While some
games like Manhunt and Grand Theft
Auto V seem to be approved without much of a hassle, the Australian Classification Board will refuse a
game a local release on the grounds
that the sex present is a reward for illegal and anti-social behaviour. This
was one of the reasons that Grand
Theft Auto: San Andreas had to be
modified before it was approved,

as the protagonist, CJ, could take
women out on dates, participate in
drive-by shootings, and then partake in some “hot coffee” with those
women.
Let’s take a look at some other
examples of sex in video games.
Some you may have heard about,
some you might not have. Some
have been completely tasteful, and
some may have crossed the line, or
dealt with the subject of sex poorly...