Any respectable connoisseur of the erotic arts can tell you that in this day and age, watching lo-def pornography is about as un-erotic as watching reruns of Murder, She Wrote. Once you've seen an unclothed bathing suit area at 1080p, lower definition skin flicks just seem to lose their appeal. Many porno purveyors have already made the leap to high definition formats -- such as Digital Playground, which publishes movies exclusively in HD-DVD, much to the chagrin of pornstars left with pockmarked skin after years of spite and heroin abuse.

However, Joone, the company's single-named founder, has recently reconsidered his position in the resolution war, agreeing to publish Digital Playground pictures (starting with their 2005 award-winning blockbuster Pirates) in Blu-ray as well. Why the change of heart? According to Joone, "A lot of people were e-mailing that bought a PlayStation 3 and they were basically saying, 'When are you guys going to release Blu-ray?'" Pornophilic PS3 owners can buckle their swashes when Pirates is released January 4th -- we suggest watching the timeless classic American Bangster to tide you over until then.

Although not exactly linked to his continuing video game related litigation, Jack Thompson submitting gay porn in court documents could certainly impact his ability to practice law in Florida and continue those cases. GamePolitics really has all the details on what's going on here, the backstory gets really complex. The main gist is Thompson believes the Florida Bar, in their continued effort to have him disbarred, is collaborating against him with a gay activist attorney from Miami who owns NationalGayNews (NGN). In a move to discredit this other lawyer, Thompson submitted to the court graphic content from adult entertainment advertisers the NGN links to in an attempt to show that this other lawyer was in the business of distributing "hardcore porn to anyone of any age." Judge Adalberto Jordan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida was not amused -- at all.

Judge Jordan issued an order that Thompson show cause as to why he shouldn't face sanctions or contempt charges for the act. Obviously the judge didn't see the relevance of Thompson's evidence. See, the funny thing is because Thompson submitted these as court documents they are "made available for unlimited public viewing, on the court's docketing system." The images according to Judge Jordan include "several graphic images of oral and genital sex between adult males, [and were] filed electronically in the docket in this case, without prior permission from the court." Thompson now must justify his actions by Oct. 5 as to why he shouldn't be referred to the Florida court's review board. The bizarre thing about all of this -- beyond the porn if you can believe it -- is that Thompson upset the judge who'll decide the case of if the Florida Bar can stop him from practicing law.

WoW Insider has an extensive feature on an erotic roleplaying guild disbanded by Blizzard in World of Warcraft. The guild, originally named Abhorrent Taboo, which now goes under the name Vile Anathema, apparently engaged in extreme kink typing and roleplaying about subjects like "Ageplay, Bestiality, Child Birth, Watersports" and "any other kink those playing may wish to explore." After complaints by other players, Blizzard disbanded the guild saying, "This matter is not one Blizzard takes lightly in any way, shape or form, and we do not wish to have this topic continue circulation ... Let it finally be said that we appreciate those of you who brought this particular issue to our attention and that we will continue to follow up with this matter in the future to ensure the safety of all parties concerned."

The issue gets murky in terms of public perception because of some comments made by the guild leader which became public. The guild leader allegedly said, "I want to defend us, but I also want to defend the pedosexual community." The key point here is that the guild leader is talking about pedophiles who don't actually molest children -- the thought isn't illegal, the real-life action is. So are people who engage in that fantasy while roleplaying in WoW (while in private chat with a consenting individual) doing something wrong? Of course, this is an extreme example.

There are also issues about age verification for the erotic guild. Many general-purpose guilds have age guidelines set up for the comfort of their members. It's also easy to argue parents should be doing their jobs and monitoring their child's online activity and who they associate with. This whole issue is full of deep social and sexual questions, but in the end it is Blizzard's game. We're not expecting the World of Warcraft sexual revolution anytime soon.

And because we couldn't resist, (it's an oldie but a goodie as) WoW meets porn and Broadway after the break.

We still can't make heads or tails of the anonymous writers at the "semi-official" Sony blog Three Speech. In an interview with Phil Harrison, which took place at GDC, they laid on the porn questions with the Sony bigwig pretty thick. It appears the "semi-official" blog was trying to semi-irritate Harrison.

The interviewer asks if Home will allow for "adult content" between the avatars? Harrison dismisses that. Then the interviewer presses by asking if players will be allowed to upload porn and invite people into their private space to watch. Harrison tries to end the line of questioning, "I'm disappointed that you would use those as the first questions. I think Home should be used for a much wider and more beneficial scope than that, but I think that people can express their creativity inside Home in a wide variety of ways and it's not necessarily for us to dictate what that should be. However, if somebody feels uncomfortable about an encounter on Home, it's very easy for them to ban that person from their friends list"

Well, the semi-official blog certainly got away with asking some very off-message questions. Although, for all we know, it's some strange twist in Sony's European PS3 marketing to plant the idea of porn in people's minds. We do know that a majority of Three Speech's information is Euro based, but our requests for the name of their editor and a list of their writers have been ignored. We still have no idea who Three Speech is and what they represent. These porn questions would certainly not be the most bizarre tactic we've seen implemented in the European campaign.

Oh pr0n 2.0, you are so very close. Porn and games are often compared, but typically not related. However, we got to take a look at the new version of Virtually Jenna, the official video game of porn icon Jenna Jameson. The "game" is a Canadian title that is slowly being updated over time. It is currently available online only. Actually, the game lives on a server like an MMO to prevent piracy and comes with a $29.95 monthly fee.

We sat down with Brad Abram, president of Xstream3D, to get a better understanding of the game. There are currently three versions of the title available to customers: Hetero, Homo and Hentai (Anime porn). Abram is surprised that the Hentai version hasn't done better, between the robot and massive tentacle creature sex options, he thought there would be a bigger market.

Joystiquery
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News
Activision buys DemonWare, claims Irish paper
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XBLA's Ross Erickson leaves Microsoft, heads over to Sierra Online
Wii dev kits in short supply, indies left waiting
Nintendo's Koji Kondo joins Video Games Live lineup
THQ announces 'Tetris Evolution' for Xbox 360
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Disturbed teen links video games to 'sport killing'
Amplitude servers going offline, 'farewell party' Sunday
'Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales' fluttering to North America
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Culture
EB Games: PSP is passé, DS Lite is the future
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An informal poll conducted by TGDaily seems to indicate that the porn industry is almost exclusively supporting HD-DVD. One small studio spokesperson cited high production costs as the primary reason PlayStation 3's Blu-ray format would be snubbed; though he does hold the opinion that Blu-ray has "superior quality." Still, if the porn industry sides with (or is even forced to side with) HD-DVD, it would hardly signal a death knell for Blu-ray. Porn isn't gonna decide this format war.

From a console perspective, which disc format the porn industry ultimately chooses won't have nearly as big an impact as could a decision by one of the console makers (Microsoft or Sony) to open up its console to a wider variety of digital video formats, coupled with a highly compatible web browser -- currently PS3 has the edge (and Nintendo ain't far behind), but the machine is far from the ideal. Any and all porn directly downloadable onto a console? That "feature" could (quietly) move units.

[Thanks, White Rose Duelist & vince]

On Christmas morning, little Kolton Mahoney tore away the wrapping paper on Uncle Dan's gift, ecstatic to find a copy of Madden 07. But it wasn't the familiar "It's in the game" mantra that greeted Kolton upon loading the game into the tray of his Xbox 360. Instead, an explicit image danced before his naked eyes.

Confused, distraught, and perhaps overwhelmingly excited, Kolton ran to mommy and daddy, who quickly passed the concern over to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. "It wasn't a pretty scene," recounted Kolton's father.

So far, the task force has been unable to track down the culprit of this cruel gag. The soiled Madden was apparently purchased by Uncle Dan on Dec. 2 from Circuit City. The disc is embossed with an official label and came factory-sealed in a standard game case.

[Thanks, Chronos_777]

Dallas' NBC 5 News has the story of a Fort Worth mother who bought a "refurbished" PlayStation Portable MemoryStick from Gamestop only to find it filled with pornographic videos and photos. Sandra Hemm bought the stick as a birthday present for her son, whom she described as "pretty devastated" over the discovery. Frankly when we were his age we would have just been thrilled at our luck.

A Gamestop spokesman said the company was investigating the incident and that standard procedure is for used cards to be wiped clean before being sold. As a precaution, local reporter Scott Friedman recommends parents try out used MemorySticks for themselves before handing them over to the kids. Or, you know, you could just shell out the extra $5 for a new stick and not worry about it.

British Home Secretary John Reid addressed European Union members this week in Brussels regarding violent video games. He acknowledged that violent games are an issue in the gamut of problems that affect youth, tempering his statement by saying, "But I am also concerned about what more we can do to tackle the most extreme and harmful end of the spectrum. In particular I am concerned about child pornography." Reid said most games do not feature objectionable material and went on to propose numerous ways for the EU to fight child pornography.

Reid's statements come following issues in the U.K. and Europe over the survival-horror game Rule of Rose, which features very sinister little girls and is considered by some to be "erotic." The game currently has no publisher in the U.K. Coincidentally, if London audiences want to get their creepy child fix on, 17 year-old Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame will perform Equus in London early next year, which has "a lengthy nude scene during which Strang (Radcliffe) blinds six horses with a spike." So, naked Harry Potter live on-stage stabbing out horses eyes is fine, but fully clothed little girls terrorizing a woman with live rats tied to sticks is too much -- interesting.

Lovechess: Age of Egypt is your typical chess game, except for the fact that you sexually pound your enemies into submission. Not since the original Battle Chess has there been a game forcefully thrusting the ancient game into a new light. The board is divided into two sides, boys vs. girls, and as the two forces attempt to dominate each other, the player is greeted to some fornication animation. Sadly, you only get the animations by purchasing the full game, the demo turns off the sweet love -- for the sake of internets children.

The concept is cool, but the graphics are a bit blah. Considering the game's main selling point is sex, you'd think they'd have given a large variety of customizable options for different players desires. The men "stand at attention" the entire time, everyone is fully waxed and, although this may not matter to some, what about boy-on-boy or girl-on-girl chess action? It'll certainly be interesting to see what the mod community does with this.

I'm not one to normally watch the local news -- especially during November sweeps -- but after recording my dog's evening news' debut Saturday night (she's the fluffy, white one), TiVo recorded the news again on Sunday night. Just in time to find out about the PlayStation "pornable" (a moniker undoubtedly borrowed from Minneapolis affiliate station, Fox 9) from another local Philadelphia news outlet making specious claims about handheld game systems to get a quick boost in the ratings department.

The best part: when they show Google's first result for "psp porn" to be a humble Joystiq post about a pornographer's attempt to bring the online porn world to your PSP ... don't bother, the link in question has ostensibly been dead since June 2005. But what they're talking about is a web browser, not a game system. Type "porn" into Google, sans "PSP" and you're still gonna find porn. A slightly less sensationalistic piece would have discussed the prevalence of web browsers in various devices; or shown parents how to actually, y'know, use the PSP's parental controls to restrict access.

Nope. Instead they rode porn, terrorism, hate groups, pedophilia, sexual predation, and other "pathways to trouble" all the way to ratings heaven. "Eye-opening" clip embedded after the break.

Who reads the back of the box? Well, someone has. That someone is Baron, a NeoGAF poster who reports that his GameCube Killer 7 box clearly displays the address: www.killer7.com (pictured). This is a porn site. Oops ... typo?

Note: one poster reports that his PAL box displays "www.killer-7.com," which is the appropriate address for Capcom's game.

Joystiq's sister site DS Fanboy recently posted about a homebrew effort called Comic Book DS that lets you transfer comics from your computer and read them book-style with the DS flipped on end. You don't have to conceal issues of Action Comics underneath an old copy of Newsweek that you swiped off your dentist's waiting table on your commute any longer. Now people will think you're doing some serious work on your stylish PDA while you secretly use the touchscreen to pan and zoom on comic panels -- pure genius. Comic book fanboys can rid themselves of their secret shame.

If you're wondering when pr0n will start appearing on your DS so it can catch up to the PSP, you either have to wait for the browser -- available only in Japan, or else check out the ... educational effort from Ubisoft's Heather Kelley. Will that thing support multiplayer?

What are some real-life things you'd like to see migrate to your DS? Personally, we'd love a Checkbook Lite program to keep track of our finances, since the DS is so checkbook-ish looking already. Maybe even turn it into an RPG so we could level-up our savings. If someone made balancing finances fun, more people might actually do it.

Final Fantasy XXXIV: Tax Time, here we come.

[Thanks AF]

Are you a parent concerned that your child may have easy access to communist and pornographic materials? If so, you may be shocked, devastated and appalled to learn that your innocent children "are using a gaming device to access porn out of thin air." The PSP, which is a short for PlayStation "pornable", is a portable game console that has the capability of "magically displaying images of naked women." Yeah, that's right. Fox 9, a local news affiliate of Fox News, the world standard for balanced and fair reporting, has revealed that the PSP is entirely capable of displaying images and therefore porn. As a result, Sony and the PSP are entirely to blame if your kid sticks pictures of naked ladies onto the device. Bleurgh.

This article has it all: a sensational headline, wildly outlandish claims and a healthy dose of out-of-context quotes from family institutes. What's next? The Nintendo DS steals your precious bodily fluids? Xbox 360 responsible for failure to find WMDs? Playing too much Halo lowers exam results? Wait... that last one's true.

[Via Game|Life] [Update: Fox 9 is a local news affiliate of Fox News, not a purely investigative news channel.]