This article is rated AO (Adults Only) by the author. All readers under 18 and those who take offense at sexually-themed materials must go away.

Really. I mean it.

Last week, the Sex in Video Games Conference was held in San Francisco. Video game designers, lawyers, industry professionals, and gamers alike all attended to discuss... yes, you guessed it, sex in video games. This author wasn't able to attend, but its mere existence is worth discussing.

Prompted by both the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Hot Coffee and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion incidents which resulted in the games being assigned new ratings (GTA was made AO and Oblivion was made M), both incidents caused a stir in the gaming community, shaking some people's faith in the ratings committee, because let's face it, the difference between an M (Mature) rating and an AO (Adults Only) is whether you're 17 or 18 years old. This may seem like a minor difference, but it's enough justification for retailers not to carry AO rated games. After looking at the ESRB website, I discovered that there are a total of 22 titles that have been rated AO, one of which is a screensaver. Additionally, The Indigo Prophecy had to be stripped down from its European version (known as Fahrenheit) in order to make an M rating in the states. The original version was later released as a Director's Cut Edition and was subsequently given an AO rating.

So, what am I getting at exactly? Think about it. Statistics show that the average gamer is now around the age of 30, but out of the 12 years that the ESRB has been in existence, only 22 reviewed titles have qualified as Adult Only, one of which is a screensaver, another a re-rating due to hidden content, another a stripped down import and one because it is apparently a gambling client. Obviously, most developers are reaching for M or lower rating so that they'll be carried by major retailers, which makes it all the more interesting to have a conference to discuss games that will most likely add to the AO list. Games that are purposefully sexual in nature and meant specifically for adults, not anyone younger than 18.

Now, it's hard to discuss sexually explicit game content without discussing pornography. In the eyes of many, most of these games will amount to little more than interactive porn. Perhaps many of those people will be right. Erotic anything relates directly to porn. But if we are living in a time where the majority of customers are adults, shouldn't there be more products that appeal specifically to that audience? After all, we can have our screens fill up with rivers of blood (I think I actually saw one in Diablo or Doom 3), and there are plenty of sex teases to go around. Check out BloodRayne's latest costume? Let's not even get started on the DOA girls. How wide did the nude patch for Tomb Raider circulate? Sad as it may seem, virtual nudity is in demand. And why not? Haven't gamers been subjected to what is essentially a decade-long strip-tease with almost no payoff? How long did it take before a game like God of War, which is without a doubt meant for adults, hit the market?

According to an interview MTV News conducted regarding the conference, rendered cartoon-like bodies are currently preferred over photorealistic ones because the technology hasn't developed well enough yet to make photorealistic avatars look enticing. In fact, they are quoted to look "plastic," "undead," and "freakish." Yet, wherever there are people, there will be sex, and video games are no different. Most users will take the best that they can get, always ready to the next workable technology.

Of all the topics that were listed for this conference, perhaps one of the most intriguing ones includes a type of MMO that is based specifically on making relationships. A virtual dating game, I suppose, complete with virtual sex. If we're lucky, we won't be talking about the kind that comes from the Hot Coffee or God of War book of Sex Ed, where mashing buttons will score you the right points. Because if there are people out there that think that somehow pushing computer or controller buttons somehow equates into pushing people's buttons... well, then I suppose a lot of hard lessons need to be learned.

It wasn't too long ago that Computer Gaming World / 1up.com reported on virtual call girls in the game Second Life. Yes, virtual prostitutes exist and they seem to be making a pretty decent living with their second life. At least one of these avatars is described as being a "patchwork" of different jpeg images. And people thought that liars were a big risk on computer dating services? The idea of having an adult-themed MMO game is both fascinating and repulsive at the same time. It's an idea that's progressive on some levels, yet deeply saddening too.

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