Video Game Characters That Have Appeared In Playboy

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15 Video Game Characters That Have Appeared In Playboy

There's been many video game characters chosen to represent their series in the hallowed pages of Playboy magazine. Here's some of the most popular. Video games were originally seen as a medium that was used exclusively by children. It wasn't until the 16-bit era that a rating board was even formed for games. It took the growing controversy over violence in games (like Mortal Kombat and Night Trap) for any sort of content control to be put into place. It took a lot longer for different kinds of riské content to be censored in games, simply because the technology didn't exist to show it for a long time. It's easier to show bursts of blood and viscera than it is to accurately portray of the human form on something like the Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis. The 32-bit era represented a shift in the age demographics of gaming. The kids who grew up on the 16-bit consoles were now teenagers, which allowed game publishers to update the content and advertising of their games accordingly. This led to an era of games that were aimed at teenage boys, which featured scantily clad women in both starring roles and in the adverts for games. This was the era that helped propel Lara Croft to mainstream success. We are here today to look at the video game characters that were chosen to represent their series in the hallowed pages of Playboy magazine. From the dhampir who started a digital revolution, to the true love of Geralt's life.

Bloodrayne

via: pinterest.com The first video game lady to ever grace the pages of Playboy was Bloodrayne, who stars in the game of the same name. Bloodrayne was the featured lady in a pictorial that appeared in the October 2004 issue of Playboy. This was the first time that Playboy featured a character from a video game. It wasn't the last time, as they have since dedicated parts of their issues to video game characters on an annual basis. It's a shame that Bloodrayne's career didn't last long after, as she has only starred in three games, the last of which was an indie title. She did have three movies based on her, the first of which starred Kristanna Loken, who is best known for playing the female Terminator in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

Onechanbara

The Onechanbara series is supposed to be about fighting armies of the undead. It is actually a series about scantily clad women fighting armies of the undead. The series started out as budget titles for the PlayStation 2, which became popular due to their adult content. The draw of the Onechanbara series is seeing girls in tiny outfits. It's surprising then that the creators of the game provided Playboy with a picture of Aya, who is one of the protagonists of the series. Playboy wanted some exclusive pictures from the developers, as they wanted to review Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers. They got more than they bargained for, as D3 Publisher sent them specially made pictures of Aya for their review.

Heavy Rain

It's generally easier for a developer or publisher to allow one of their video game characters to appear in Playboy if they actually got undressed in their own title. This was likely the reason why Quantic Dream allowed Madison Paige from Heavy Rain to appear in Playboy, even though the game was a PlayStation exclusive and was published by Sony. The players see Madison Paige showering early on in the game. Madison is also forced to strip for a mobster, which gives the players multiple different options for escaping from the situation. The player can distract the mobster by stripping and then whack him over the head. Madison Paige appeared in the December 2009 edition of Playboy magazine.

Mortal Kombat

via pinterest.com It's fitting that the video game series that caused the creation of the rating board should also be there for the moment when video game women undressed for the first time. Mileena from the Mortal Kombat series appeared alongside Bloodrayne when Playboy first featured video game ladies. Mileena is a popular choice for cosplayers, as her default outfits tend to be very revealing. It does mean that the face needs to be covered unless the cosplayer wants to put a lot of work into getting Mileena's mouth perfect. Underneath the mask, Mileena has a monstrous mouth made of razor sharp teeth, which have featured prominently in some of her finishing moves in the Mortal Kombat games. Mileena didn't appear totally revealed in the magazine, as she covered her chest with her pair of sai.

Indigo Prophecy

via gamesvillage.com Appearing ungarbed in a magazine is actually a step up compared to what Carla Valenti did in her actual game. Those who played Indigo Prophecy (known as Fahrenheit outside of America) could engage in an adult scene between the main character (Lucas Kane) and Carla, which has aged terribly and now looks like someone rubbing a Barbie and Ken doll together. What makes this scene even worse is the fact that Lucas had died earlier in the game and was now a reanimated corpse. Carla Valenti appeared exposed on a trading card that came with October 2005 issue of Playboy. Who you would actually trade these cards with (and what for) is anyone's guess.

Tekken

Revealing content is nothing new for the Tekken franchise. It was one of several fighting game series that featured a shower scene in its animated movie. Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie started this trend when Capcom gave consent for Chun Li to appear topless in the movie. This inspired other franchises to do the same thing, such as Mai Shiranui's shower scene in Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture. Tekken: The Motion Picture featured a shower scene of Anna Williams. Playboy decided to include her sister, Nina Williams, in the October 2004 issue of the magazine instead.

Saints Row

The Grand Theft Auto series gets all the glory, even though the Saints Row series has exceeded them on many occasions. The Saints Row games always remained fun and lighthearted, while we sat through the schizophrenic adventures of Niko Bellic: the depressed former soldier who hated violence... except when it suited him. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas caused a lot of controversy when it was discovered that a mini-game called "Hot Coffee" was hidden within the game's files. This caused the game to receive a new certification, which led to it being banned in Australia. Saints Row went the safe route when they put a topless picture of Shaundi in the October 2008 issue of Playboy, which caused no controversy at all. The same picture would appear in the later Saints Row games.

God of War

via YouTube.com One has to wonder why Santa Monica Studio would bother to include a character who is topless in all of her appearances in Playboy magazine. In God of War III, Kratos meets a priestess of Poseidon named Hecuba. She was originally the wife of King Priam of Troy and was mentioned in The Illiad. In God of War III, she is a scantily clad slave of Poseidon, who is sacrificed by Kratos so that he may proceed further through the level. Hecuba is topless in all of her appearances in God of War III (including her concept art), which is why almost no cosplays of her exist. She appeared in the December 2009 edition of Playboy magazine.

Dead or Alive

It should come as no surprise that a character from Dead or Alive would appear in Playboy, considering that this is the series that sells itself on its attractive cast. This is the same series that prompted upgrades to the amount of DLC that you could add to the PlayStation Network & Xbox Live, due to how many tiny costumes they added to the game. Possessing all of the costumes in Dead or Alive 5 Last Round will cost you a small fortune. The character chosen to represent Dead or Alive in the October 2004 issue of Playboy magazine was Ayane, the purple-haired ninja.

Clive Barker s Jericho

via codemasters.com/Jerichp Clive Barker s Jericho was an experimental game that deserves credit for trying something a little different, even though it didn't succeed in its goals. This was a game that involved you controlling several different members of the Jericho Squad, whose goal was to stop a mythical race known as the Firstborn from taking away the realms of mankind. Clive Barker s Jericho received mixed reviews at launch. It seems that Clive Barker himself was fond of the premise, as he has teased a potential sequel on many occasions. For most people, the most memorable part of the series was the fact that two members of the Jericho Squad (Church & Black) appeared together in the December 2007 issue of Playboy.

The Witcher

The later games in The Witcher series have been commended by fans and critics for the depth of detail that goes into the adult scenes. Not only do they put in a lot of work into making them look good, but the writers made an effort to actively invest the player in the relationship with the women in the game. The same cannot be said for the first game in The Witcher series, which has often been mocked for its "Cards" system. Whenever Geralt slept with a woman in The Witcher, he received a collectible card that showed a pin-up-style picture of the girl in question. These were censored in the American version of the game, though they were later uncensored in an updated release. One of Geralt's potential love interests in The Witcher is a dryad named Morenn. She appeared in the December 2007 issue of Playboy.

Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa was an ill-fated attempt to blend RPG elements and a first-person shooter game into an MMO. The game was made by Richard Garriott, who was responsible for the Ultima series. He used his experiences from working on Ultima Online to help build the game. The cover of the physical edition of Tabula Rasa featured an attractive girl named Sarah Morrison, who also appeared in the intro movie as both a central character and a narrator. She was the closest thing the game had to a mascot, which is why she was chosen to appear in the December 2007 edition of Playboy. Sarah's form might be the only thing people remember about Tabula Rasa, considering the fact that it was shut down in 2009.

Age of Conan

via ageofconan.com Age of Conan was a promising MMO that would have earned a bigger fan base if it had more content at launch. It was easy to see everything the game had to offer, which meant that a lot of players quickly moved on to other games. This meant that a lot of players were turned off from the game, meaning that it never really got its audience back when the expansions came out. Keaira is a key NPC in Age of Conan. She was saved from enslavement at a young age, which led to her becoming the head of his spy network. Keaira is best known for murdering her lovers after sleeping with them. Kearia appeared in the December 2007 issue of Playboy magazine.

Dante s Inferno

via YouTube.com Making deals with the Devil is never a good idea. Making bets with the Devil is even worse. This is what happened to Beatrice from Dante's Inferno, as she made a bet with Lucifer that her husband would remain faithful to her while he was away during the Third Crusade. Dante was unaware of this bet, so he ended up sleeping with a slave girl, which condemned Beatrice to damnation. Dante s Inferno was filled with raunchy content, both in its cutscenes and regular gameplay. This was because it was mostly set in Hell. It is no surprise then that the developers would allow one of their characters to appear in Playboy. Beatrice appeared in the December 2009 edition of Playboy magazine.

The Witcher

All of the other girls who have appeared on this list appeared in special "Girls of Gaming" style features, with the exception of Aya, who appeared in a review. This meant that they appeared as group segments that were intended to a specific kind of fan who would buy the issue just to see the naked video game girls. Triss Merigold is special in this regard, as she was the cover girl of a Polish edition of Playboy magazine. She was treated as the featured lady of the magazine, with no special treatment given to the fact that she was a video game character. Triss Merigold appears sans clothes in all of the main The Witcher games, which usually also include graphic adult scenes (at least by video game standards). It goes to show how popular The Witcher series is in its native land that Triss would be considered centerfold material.