Nudity in Video Games

teen gamer
Is there cause for concern?

Nudity in video games is not as prominent as the talk about nudity in games is. There are a handful of games that sport nudity here and there, but for the most part, video games resort to violence and other cheap means to be entertaining. However, some games, whether it's because the atmosphere of game or for a quick humorous value, insert nudity into the game and if you are a parent, you should be aware that nudity does exist in video games and you should know what to look for in inappropriate games if you have a young gamer.

Examples of Nudity in Video Games

Over the years, as video games became more and more popular, so did the quality of video games. Below is a list of well-known games--from all types of consoles--that included nudity.

  • Custer's Revenge came out in 1982 and was re-released in an Atari Anthology for the PS2. This game is one of the first games that threw in nudity. Of course the nudity was in that famous block Atari graphics, but still contained a well-endowed woman and you controlled Custer through barrages of arrows to have sex with the woman.
  • The Guy Game was released on the PS2 and didn't last long on the store shelves. At it's heart, the game was a trivia game and when you answered a question right, you were rewarded with real videos of topless girls going various things, like bouncing on Rocket Balls. However, one of the girls that illegally signed a consent form sued the company and asked that all the copies be taken from the shelves and destroyed.
  • When you hear the title, Playboy: the Mansion, finding nudity in the game shouldn't be shocking. This sim game has you playing Hefner and building the Playboy entire from the ground up. Much of the nudity is women being topless.
  • Dead Rising shows a nude woman on your main character's T-shirt. The only way to see it is to go to the changing room in a mall store called "In the Closet." The nudity is very subtle and you may not even recognize the woman on the shirt an actual woman if you're not paying attention.
  • While not considered nudity, you can blow the clothes off of the Statue of Liberty in Twisted Metal 2, released in 1996. Just go to the New York City map and aim some missiles at Miss Liberty and watch as the iron toga quickly becomes a hot, red two-piece bikini.
  • Assassin's Creed has a topless bronze statue located in the Rich District. If you really want to see the statue, just go to the bottom left corner and find Flag #84. The statue is near there.
  • After you finish the first mission in Driver: Parallel Lines, head to the garage and look around. You should find some posters and photos of pornography lying around.
  • Would you like some 16-bit nudity in video games? Then bust out Secret of Mana and wait for the Dungeon Master start making the Encounter spell. A spell book will randomly appear and when it does, you'll see a centerfold like picture of a blonde woman with a heart hovering over her butt.

ESRB Ratings

It's really hard to tell if a game has nudity in it unless you have played the game before. If you are a parent, you should be concerned about letting your children or young gamer play video games that contain any amount of nudity. It doesn't matter if the nudity is pixelated or cartoon-like: nudity is nudity and if you feel you need to keep tabs on the games your children buys, then there are a couple of things you can do.

First, pay attention to the ESRB ratings. The Entertainment Software Review Board uses seven ratings to classify video games as well as a number of descriptions you can view to see what the game contains. This rating system is very similar to the movie ratings system. The seven ratings are Early Childhood, Everyone, Everyone 10+ (good for those over the age of 10), Teen, Mature, Adults Only, and Rating Pending (this only means the game has been submitted to the board and is usually used for games not yet released.) The two ratings to be aware of are Mature and Adults Only. Once you determine the rating of the game, read the content descriptions. Look for the following descriptions:

  • Nudity
  • Partial Nudity
  • Sexual Content, which may include some partial nudity.
  • Sexual Themes, which may have some sexual references or quick shots of nudity
  • Strong Sexual Content, which could include explicit scenes of sexual activity and prolonged shots of nudity

Second, if you think the ratings don't give too much away, you can do a quick search on the game and see if nudity references appear. You can also read reviews of the game to see if there is any mentions of nudity. Some popular websites that review games are Gamespot and IGN.

All it takes is a quick look on the back of the game or a quick search online to see if a game is appropriate for the person you are buying it for or for your child. Take those few seconds to be involved; it will be worth it so you aren't surprised by anything later on.