Sex in Games is Good, says BioWare

The debacle that was the Fox News segment on Mass Effect shows that the video game industry still has to work on its perception in the mainstream media, but don't expect sex scenes in games to go away. Like any other media (TV, film, literature, etc.) sex has its place, and as the video game medium continues to mature, we'd expect to see more of it. BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk agrees that sex in games makes sense, especially as it relates to character development.

Speaking to CVG, Zeschuk commented, "I don't think they need to have them; I think that in certain types of games it makes sense to have them. It's interesting because I think the Mass Effect thing was completely over-blown. There wasn't even really nudity; it was like the side of a leg. I think some of the press took huge advantage of the situation. The reality was that it was the kind of stuff you'd see on evening television."

He continued, "That said, I think from our perspective we want to reflect real human relationships. If you're trying to have a relationship with a character we want to reflect that and the impact of the connection with that character. And if that involves some sort of intimate scenes, we want to provide those for the player. It's based on the fact that this is a sophisticated, mature experience."