Here's the background. BMX XXX is an adults-only bike stunt game, kind of like Tony Hawk with strippers. The girls get nude, and there's other shock-jock style comedy... like dwarf clowns. Check out this screenshot. Panties. So yeah, it's intended for adults only.

I can sort of see KB and TRU avoiding the title, although that still smacks of PTA pandering to me. They both sell Grand Theft Auto 3 and a dozen other M-rated games, so obviously they have the means to stop selling M titles to kids. They even gave me a verbal content warning when I bought Eternal Darkness. Me!

But Wal-Mart? You can buy weapons at Wal-Mart, for christ's sake. In that article, the Wal-Mart spokesmonkey is quoted as saying "We're not going to carry any software with any vulgarity or nudity -- we're just not going to do it." Hey dumbass, have you ever browsed through your music or movies section?

I found these titles at walmart.com in about two minutes of searching. Why does Wal-Mart stock R-rated movies? "Documentaries" about swearing, racist pop artists? Controversial and vulgar pay tv shows? These products aren't for kids, but kids would certainly *want* them. Wal-Mart blocks their purchase, so why not run the same adult-check on video games? Answer: They do, for the titles they choose to sell.

The key to his quote is "software." Somehow, software - video game software - is still perceived as a kids medium. Still! Wal-Mart can shill the pseudo-sexy "Austin Powers 3" in the same breath as the animated "Ice Age"... but all video games are meant for kids. This is our struggle, my friends, and it's a damnable place to find ourselves. On one hand, video games are solely for children's entertainment so therefore it's insane to sell games with nudity. On the other hand, video games are so potent and powerful a media that they inspire crazed psycho killing sprees.

It's all bullshit. Wal-Mart and the others are simply Standing Up Against Smut before they get told off by some interfering religious parent group. It's pre-emptive. Who are they bothering anyway? Video game fans? That's about .0000000001% of their audience. Wal-Mart comes off looking great to frightened parents without even considering the sense of their actions. Which is another point: it's one thing to opt not to sell the game, it's another to issue press statements about how high and moral you are for not selling the game. That's PR. That's transparent manipulation. And if you can't recognize that when a giant money-making organization starts making veiled political statements, then you could probably benefit from a go-round with a video game that features naked girls on bikes.