San Diego-based Naughty America (www.naughtyamerica.com), an adult entertainment Web site, is the first porn company to enter the massively multiplayer online (MMO) game business. Next spring, the company will launch Naughty America: The Game, an Adults Only (AO) rated game that will follow the traditional MMO business model.

Like World of Warcraft or Star Wars Galaxies, the game will be sold at specific retail locations and will be available for download. After paying the initial price for the game, players will pay a monthly subscription fee to mingle with thousands of other real players in virtual environments. Expansion packs with new areas for exploration will follow ever four to six months. Unlike previous MMO games, sex will be a major component of Naughty America.

According to Dusty Lillo, spokesman for Naughty America, players in the game will be able to do anything that the actors on the company's Web site do. He said that includes the full range of sexual positions, which your virtual counterparts can take part in within the game's worlds with other real players.

"We're not gonzo porn," said Lillo. "The producer of this game is female and we have a lot of respect for both the male and female actors that appear on our Web site."

Lillo said that the new game will serve as a form of socializing. Sex is a component of the game, but like The Sims, interacting with other male and female players will be a major draw to both sexes. The game can be played in a PG way, or in an X-rated way, according to Lillo.

"You're not going to sit down and get off on this game," said Lillo. "Players will get into this game to meet other people online. Those people could live in the next neighborhood or across the country. It's the next step in the world of virtual dating."

The game will offer romantic dating options, including carriage rides with your virtual date, a ride on a Ferris wheel or a night out dancing. Following a nice evening, the game offers detailed sex mode without the blurring effects of The Sims 2. The PC game even allows players to turn on their Web cameras to see their virtual date in real life. There's also a voyeur club where anyone can go to check in on other player's late night activities.
Developed by Safe Escape Studios, Lillo said the game will be simple and easy to play, not just on your PC, but on any Web-enabled PDA or cell phone.

"This isn't World of Warcraft," said Lillo. "We've made a game that any man or woman can easily get into. You don't have to be tech savvy to enjoy this game."

The game looks like a simplified version of The Sims Online, complete with a home decorator tool that allows you to buy furniture, paint your pad and decorate any way you like. The game begins with the creation of a unique fantasy persona by choosing from different body types, skin tones, and clothing options. Choices can be changed or modified at any time by visiting plastic surgeons, clothing shops, hair salons, tattoo parlors and other in-game hot spots.

The initial game will ship with three large areas to explore: Downtown (filled with gritty nightlife, back alleys, sex shops, video arcades, and loft apartments), Uptown (adorned with outdoor cafes, a stunning central park, a casino, and luxury condo accommodations) and the Beach (with its boardwalk games and activities, a cruise ship getaway, poolside bars and clubs, swimming, and seaside housing). Lillo said additional areas will ship in expansion packs about four to six months after the initial launch.

Lillo said that interaction will be the core of the Naughty America experience. Players can gather with multiple friends or with a single partner for private chats and a night on the town. There's also the option of hosting an in-game event at your pad or a public locale.

"Sex has been a big taboo in gaming, but when we went out and talked to game developers, we got nothing but good responses," said Lillo. "Not too many companies have gone for it in the videogame world."

While other porn companies, including Vivid Interactive, have toyed with sex videogames (albeit in the form of interactive DVDs), this is the first MMO game that will feature both virtual sex and real dating opportunities. Mainstream games that have featured nudity, including Acclaim's BMX XXX and Take Two Interactive's The Guy Game (which has since been banned after a lawsuit involving underaged girls) have been huge flops. Eidos' Singles: Flirt It Up and VU Games' latest Leisure Suit Larry game (which both had AO versions for download only) also failed to deliver strong sales in their Mature or AO rated incarnations.

Should this MMO game succeed, expect to see more AO content come from the porn industry. Mantra Entertainment is reportedly working on a Girls Gone Wild videogame. The porn industry has always been fast to adopt new technologies, so it's just a matter of time before videogames are fully embraced by that industry.