Thirty Years of Nudity in Games

[Rynoster]

April 16, 2010 - Seems like more and more T and A is popping up in our videogames these days -- even some D, if you played Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned. This year alone, boobs have been coming out in record numbers in games like God of War III, Dante's Inferno, and Heavy Rain. While nudity may be becoming more prominent in games, it isn't a new phenomenon. The proud tradition of naked pixels goes all the way back to the Atari 2600. Join IGN's Senior Nudity Correspondent, Daemon Hatfield, as he takes us on a stroll down naked videogame people lane.

This isn't an entirely comprehensive list, and we're not even gonna bother trying to list all the whacked-out Japanese games with nudity in them, but we've tried to chart the most significant naked moments in gaming's 30-year history.

Custer's Revenge (Atari 2600, 1982): Yep, the Atari 2600 had pornographic games way back in 1982. Custer's Revenge is possibly the most famous, starring a naked General Custer who must avoid falling arrows in order to reach a large-breasted Native American woman on the other side of the screen. The woman is named "Revenge" -- get it?! It proved controversial, because when Custer would reach the nice lady he would, uh, celebrate, and it is impossible to tell from the game whether or not Revenge is a willing participant. You think games are expensive now? Consider this: Custer's Revenge cost $50 almost 30 years ago.

Custer's Revenge

Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em (Atari 2600, 1982): Back in the day, if Kaboom! was too tame for you, you played Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em. The gameplay was identical, except instead of a Mad Bomber dropping bombs from the top of the screen it was a naked dude with a huge Johnson dropping his seed, and instead of buckets to catch it with you control two nude women who are...um...thirsty. Really. It is amazing to us this game was actually released, and 20 years before that Hot Coffee nonsense.

Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em

Bachelor Party (Atari 2600, 1982): Bachelor Party was a Breakout clone that replaced your ball with a naked man with an erection and the bricks with nude ladies. Players would use the paddle to knock the dude into the girls, simulating a bachelor having a wild final fling with a room full of naked women. I've been to some fun bachelor parties in my day, but none quite like this. Bachelor Party was developed by Mystique, the same company responsible for both Custer's Revenge and Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em. A variation called Bachelorette Party was also released that simply switched the male and female roles. We should note that after these brave three 2600 titles, penises would go missing from videogames for almost three decades.

Bachelor Party

Taboo (NES, 1989): Skip ahead a few years and nudity started popping up in a couple NES games. Taboo: The Sixth Sense was a tarot card game developed by Rare.

Yes, that Rare, of Perfect Dark and Banjo Kazooie fame. Over a decade before it got raunchy with Conker's Bad Fur Day, Rare slipped this topless lady into Taboo. Not exactly scandalous, but still rare for an NES game.

Taboo included a warning that it was intended for gamers 14 and up. Apparently 14 is the minimum age for seeing (very tiny) pixel boobs.

Bubble Bath Babes (NES, 1991): If you ever thought the one thing missing from Puzzle Bobble was a naked lady lying across the bottom of the screen, then Bubble Bath Babes is for you. A copy of this unlicensed NES game is currently up for grabs on eBay with an asking price of almost $3,000.

Bubble Bath Babes

Rings of Power (SEGA Genesis, 1991): Before it was stunning the world with Uncharted, Naughty Dog was sneaking nude scenes into its SEGA Genesis games. In the isometric RPG Rings of Power, the developer's logo appeared before the title screen, accompanied by some blonde. By inputting a secret code, players could remove this woman's top. Funny -- Uncharted owes a great debt to Tomb Raider, and yet Naughty Dog totally had a real nude code years before Lara Croft's fake one.

Ring of Power's nude code

Rampage World Tour (PS1/N64, 1997): In the original 1986 Rampage arcade game, the giant monsters you controlled would shrink down to naked humans when they ran out of energy.


Rampage: World Tour

These humans would shamefully cover up their nakedness with their hands and arms while they skulked off the screen. In the 1997 update, Rampage: World Tour, the humans were a little less modest.

Before covering themselves up they would pause for a moment before they realized they were naked, exposing players to the Full Monty.

BMX XXX (GameCube/Xbox/PS2, 2002): Topless girls riding BMX bikes -- that's what you get in BMX XXX. It was also possible to unlock videos of real-world strippers. Interestingly enough, the PS2 version was censored and didn't include any nudity. Only the Xbox and GameCube were allowed the nakedness.

BMX XXX

The Guy Game (Xbox/PS2, 2004): Finally -- a videogame for guys! This was a trivia game show where questions are posed to young bikini ladies on spring break, and if they get the answer wrong they have to flash the player. It received very mixed reviews, from a 1.5 in Official Xbox Magazine to a 7.7 on IGN (how the hell did that happen?!). But The Guy Game is perhaps most notorious for being pulled from store shelves after it came to light that one of the girls in the game was only 17 when she was filmed topless. Let it also be noted that The Guy Game was developed by Topheavy Studios. The studio went on to do nothing else.

The Guy Game

Conan (PS3/Xbox 360, 2007): As Conan ravaged across the countryside on his bloodthirsty rampage in this God of War-inspired button masher, he encountered many a slave girl with exposed breasts. IGN found it to be pretty much the only redeeming quality of this mediocre effort.

Conan

Afro Samurai (360/PS3, 2009): One scene in this action game found our hero battling topless lady ninjas. Topless ninjas…and here we thought ninjas couldn't get any better.

Afro Samurai

Godfather 2 (360/PS3, 2009): In this open-world action game you could visit strip clubs and even stop by the set of an adult film. Although these games were inspired by the Godfather movies, the first two don't contain any nudity.

The Godfather 2

Saboteur (360/PS3, 2009): Pandemic's swan song opened with a close-up shot of a topless dancer in a club -- that is, if you bought the game new. The box would include a code to download the boob data, otherwise their bits would be covered up (you could also buy a code if you got the game used). That makes Saboteur the only example of downloadable nudity we can think of.

Saboteur

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned (360/PS3/PC, 2009): For all the controversy that has surrounded the Grand Theft Auto series, there has never been any female nudity in any of the games. It has one lone Johnson, though, in The Lost and Damned. In this episode from Liberty City, protagonist Johnny Klebits has a conversation with the very naked Mr. Stubbs.

GTA4: The Lost and Damned

Heavy Rain (PS3, 2010): Female protagonist Madison got naked in several scenes of Heavy Rain. Shower scenes, strip scenes, sex scenes…this girl does it all. Developer Quantic Dream also included some nudity in its previous game, Indigo Prophecy, although it was removed for the North American version.

Heavy Rain

Dante's Inferno (360/PS3, 2010): Dante's Inferno has the biggest nude scene of any game: demon Cleopatra's giant, imp-lactating breasts. But that's not all the skin revealed during your descent into the seven circles of hell. You'll battle plenty of topless devils along the way, and the lady love you're trying to save often shows up wearing very little.

Dante's Inferno

God of War Trilogy (PS2/PS3, 2005-2010): Olympus isn't the only mountain to be climbed in Sony's flagship action game. Each entry in the series includes titillating encounters with topless girls that lead to offscreen sex mini-games. The latest, God of War III, includes the naked Goddess Aphrodite.

We've gathered all of God of War's nude scenes together in one place. You're welcome!

Source: IGN.com

[Rynoster]

I am VERY surprised that LARRY didn't make it in here....

[IonFlux]

I think they focused more on "normal" games with nudity in them. But then again, that first game looks pretty much hardcore.. lmao

Larry is definitely a pioneer..

[DiSSaRRaY]

Hmmmm... b00bs... LSL should've been in the list.

b00bs in mags, b00bs on websites and b00bs in movies... So why not let video games join in the fun?
Is it wrong to get a hard-on when one sees that Custer's Revenge image? Probably.

Nice list BTW Rynoster. It's interesting to see what you use the internet for

[Rynoster]

Of course, the internet is one big pr0n machine!!

[DiSSaRRaY]

Correct! That's what the original design was for. Instead, people are using it for ludicrous things like email,
education, business, gaming, social network etc etc...

Those needs can be fulfilled by sending a written letter, reading books and studying (libraries come to mind),
going out and getting business, playing RISK / Monopoly etc and getting wasted with your friends...

[Rynoster]

I concur with your assessment.