A controversial “sexy” computer game will not be sold in America, but children will be allowed to buy it here in the UK.
An advert on the internet for the game, called We Dare, shows two couples in a series of sexually suggestive situations.
Parents have hit out at the game, which includes the option of a “flirty strip-tease”.
Blocked
We Dare has proven particularly controversial because it will be available on the Nintendo Wii console – a product marketed to families.
It will go on sale here later this month. But, according to reports, the company behind the game has blocked the internet ad in America and the game will not go on sale there.
The advert for We Dare reportedly shows two couples undressing to their underwear and is reportedly suggestive of orgies, pole-dancing and wife-swapping.
The game draws on technology which monitors players’ body movements and uses these to control the on screen characters.
Fuel
We Dare will be rated as twelve plus on the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) rating, but this system is not currently legally enforceable. A “Parental Discretion Advised” sticker will also be on the box.
Mother Laura Pearson said: “I have a 13 year old daughter and if I knew she was playing such a highly charged sexual game with boys, I would be appalled. It is encouraging under-age sex.”
And George Hardy, 46, said: “This sort of computer game will only serve to fuel sexual tensions and in a worse case scenario sexual touching or assault. Imagine a room of testosterone-fuelled teenagers playing this, something could get out of hand.”
Labour MP Keith Vaz said the game had “clearly been wrongly marked as a twelve plus”.
Defend
The group which administers the computer game rating system in the UK defended the twelve plus rating.
Laurie Hall, director general of the Video Standards Council, said: “There is no sexual activity” in the game.
He commented: “There is suggestion and innuendo if you’re that way inclined but you don’t actually see anything”.
Controversy
Ubisoft, the company behind We Dare, describe it as a “sexy, quirky, party game that offers a large variety of hilarious, innovative and physical, sometimes kinky, challenges. The more friends you invite to party, the spicier the play!”
It says you can: “Select the mood of your party: Enchanting, Persuasive, Naughty, Adventurous and Brainy”.
While a PEGI rating is not currently legally enforceable in the UK, it is expected to be so when the Digital Economy Act is implemented in the coming months.
In January there was a storm of controversy in the US over the first series of an explicit teen drama, but in the UK it was starting its fifth series.
Pulled
Top brands pulled their advertising from the programme in the US amid plummeting viewing figures and strong criticism of its explicit sexual content.
The UK version airs on the E4 channel operated by Channel 4. And an advertising agency has boasted of its involvement with the UK show.