Just wanted to hit you all with my Top Five of the year…
Before I get started, I would like to thank
each and every one of you for making this Joystiq-thang happen. We do this for you guys & gals—for
our love (and sometimes, hate) of this industry & art form. So here's a big, THANK YOU for reading,
participating, and even criticizing… Happy Holidays, and I'll catch up with you all again in the New Year.
Peace.
Alright, so enough wit the sweet-talk [wink]... let's get down to business. Each Joystiq editor has been asked to pick his Top 5 gaming experiences of 2004, including—besides just games—hardware, accessories, events, and even media (articles, editorials, etc.). So, with that in mind—and the fact that I'm a diehard Xbox-junkie—I present to you…
#5: ?The Girls of Gaming? bare all for Playboy
As much as I didn?t want to include this
event in my Top 5, I just couldn?t help but be drawn back to it, time & time again- er, wait, that
came out wrong?
A lot of heads turned when this story first
broke back in August. Nude video game characters?! Isn?t that reserved for some niche market in the far
corners of the web? Apparently not. And when the October issue of Playboy hit newsstands, readers were
eager to get a glimpse of the full page spread of digital hotties. Heck, even my girlfriend scooped up a copy?for
me, so she says?
True, Playboy hasn?t revealed just how well that issue sold, but spokesperson Lauren Melone did tell CNN?s Chris Morris, ?We?ll certainly do another video game pictorial.? So why does this event make my Top 5? Simple, it?s a significant moment in the industry?s crossover into the adult mainstream. Video games are no longer considered child?s play, and publishers are paying big bucks for adult outlets to advertise their products.
So, no, I doubt that most fans picked this up for erotic stimulation, but rather, they were willing (or unwilling) participants in a cultural shift. Sure, ?The Girls of Gaming? can be written off as a publicity stunt (there?s no denying that), but the feature will be remembered as one of the most groundbreaking, albeit peculiar, gaming moments of 2004.
[Note: The Playboy feature has seemed to benefit Majesco, who used a topless Rayne (pictured above) to sell copies of BloodRayne 2. The company reports that revenues have gone up from a $46 million operating loss (2003) to a $121 million operating income (2004).]
