Editor's Note: the views expressed in the following exchange may not necessarily represent the views of the authors, nor those of TG Publishing. This is a debate in which the aim is to explore two sides of the controversial issue of sexual content in video games, and should be treated as such.

Rob Wright: Aaron, It's been a while since we've sparred, so I figure it's time to get back in the ring and tackle another controversial subject. All the talk from video game critics and censors lately has been about violent content in games, but an area that hasn't generated much heat has been sex. Sure, the GTA: San Andreas flap with the "Hot Coffee" mod blew up into a big ordeal, yet that hasn't stopped an apparent increase in the amount of nudity and sex in video games.

Now, some of the content in recent years had been of the lowbrow, raunchy sort, such as Leisure Suit Larry titles and Playboy: The Mansion. Other games, like God of War, have resorted to using sex and nudity as silly gimmicks. But I'd argue that some games have actually developed sexual themes and adult content quite well. Furthermore, I'll argue that there is a place for sex in games (mature-rated titles only, of course). It's my feeling that such content is part of the natural evolution and maturation of games as an entertainment medium. Mainstream feature films embraced sex and nudity decades ago, and now we can't imagine watching movies today where we don't see that kind of thing. Why? Because it wouldn't be realistic.

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Well, we're fast approaching that point with games, which are becoming more and more photo-realistic every day, while also maturing in their content to suit older generations of gamers. In fact, some games developed specifically for the Japanese audience have featured more mature sexual content for several years. Yet for some strange reason, a game like Indigo Prophecy (a.k.a. Fahrenheit) had its sex scene censored for the North American release of the game. What's the big deal? I don't want games to be turned into awful crap like BMX XXX, but there's room for sexual content in some games, which I think can actually enhance some gaming experiences. We can't expect games to grow up and progress to the next level if we censor, criticize or belittle mature content in games. We should embrace sex in games, don't you think?

Aaron McKenna: Ah Mr. Quisling, it has been too long. Time for a reminder: video games are not films, and everything that Hollywood does is not necessarily good. I'm no prude by any stretch of the imagination, but when I watch Hollywood's interpretation of sex, I have to laugh - they might as well still hold the rule that one foot must always be placed on the floor during a kiss for all the realism they imbue. On the other hand, I watched the Dutch war film "Black Book" the other day, and in one or two of the scenes I think the camera lingered a tad too long.

Sex is not necessarily required or wanted in video games, because media forms tend to do one of two things. The first possibility is that the sex is so timid and unrealistic - in order to get past the censors and audiences' moral sensibilities - that it is laughable. The second is that it is a subject too robustly challenged, at which point the audience is left feeling uncomfortable as the T&A parade distracts from the wider context of the game or film.

Leave sex to pornographers and couples, there's no need for it anywhere else.