Are adult games marketable? Does adult material have to overtake a game completly, or can a game have adult matieral in it and still remain a game thats not just an "Adult Game". What about having adult matieral as a patch?

I think what you''re trying to define is whether the adult content (whether that be sex, violence and/or language depends on where you live) is gratuitous (whether the content is there only for the sake of being there) or not.

For instance in Duke Nukem 3D while both the sexual references (almost every building was either a strip joint or an adult video store, and the strippers would remove their tops) and the extreme violence (blood and depictions of painful deaths) could be considered adult content. However only the sexual themes present where overly gratuitous, while the violence was just a "realistic" portrayal of the game interaction.

On the same note there are many movies produced outside of hollywood that may have nudity/sex, but only include it as a logical extension of the plot, rather than as an attempt to arouse the audience (such as the shower scene in a slasher film, which seems like an illogical thing to do when you''re stuck in a house with people dieing).

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Original post by Order over Chaos
Are adult games marketable? Does adult material have to overtake a game completly, or can a game have adult matieral in it and still remain a game thats not just an "Adult Game". What about having adult matieral as a patch?

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You''d be limiting your market, and avoiding the lucrative under-18 age group (which buys many, many games). Adults play games, but they''re most likely to play laid-back, non-intense games like Railroad Tycoon.

This is not to say games that are deemed unsuitable for children don''t get into children''s hands, that they don''t play them, or that companies don''t make money off of them. Occasionally, the fact that a game is controversial can help it to sell (as with GTA).

In the general case, though, I''d have to say that you''re better off targeting a broad audience.

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Original post by TerranFury

You''d be limiting your market, and avoiding the lucrative under-18 age group (which buys many, many games). Adults play games, but they''re most likely to play laid-back, non-intense games like Railroad Tycoon.

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The under 18 age group represents only 20% of total gamers, and for the majority of those minors, they''re parents buy their games. So, this is not really an issue.

A bigger issue is whether you will offend some people with your adult-oriented content. Many games have an option where you can select whether you would like the full-gore version or a tamer version. This might be applicable in the case of your project, assuming the adult content is not integral to the gameplay.

Just take the Japanese approach. Do what you want with you game, but don''t push your limits too far. Even though most games have ratings, doesn''t mean kids can''t buy them. Those ratings are there simply because there''s a super sensity faction of over protective mothers in the world that think that blood in a game is a sign of Devil worship. If you''re looking for a "target audience", just make sure the game appeals to your audience. If "adult content" (in whatever context) is added to a game that appeals to little kids, then there will be a market. Just be warned going too far might cause that group of parents to hate you.

Real adult content comes in the form of adult themes and stories and ideas that require a decent level of consideration.

Otherwise, ''adult content'' as in sexual references and violence - if its treated as a feature - then it''ll be for the kids. If its used as a tool in creating a story, within reasons, it could be done quite well.

With a game like GTA3 - the ''adult content'' is very high - but while its saving grace is its good gameplay, its marketed as something shocking - appealing to teens again. The fact that you can deal so much megadeath and violence, with little to no reprecussions make it less then adult in the way it treats its content...

I''ve got a flu. I might only be making sense to myself.

Zaptruder

I really think that as the ratings on games are enforced by stores, it will be easier to market "Adult Content" in games. Here in my local town, I have seen both Compucentre and Electronics Boutique tell kids they can''t but Wolf3D without ID proving they are over 18.

If this trend grows and becomes a standard, adding adult content to a game should be no different than that of a movie.

When people talk about game sales, they all seem to talk about teens buying games. Personally, I bought and played many more games when I was in college.

borngamer

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almost every building was either a strip joint or an adult video store,

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Rubbish. That was just in the first few levels, the second of which was supposed to be in the red light district, so the adult material fits in with the story.

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Original post by Michalson
For instance in Duke Nukem 3D while both the sexual references (almost every building was either a strip joint or an adult video store, and the strippers would remove their

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I played DN3D for hours and the strippers never actually took the tops off...

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Direct3D vs. OpenGL

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Original post by Promit
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I played DN3D for hours and the strippers never actually took the tops off...

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And you were looking for it, to!!