Duke Nudem: Duke Nukem marketing with video game porn

It shouldn’t be surprising that 2K Games has opted to promote Duke Nukem Forever with straight-up porn. I mean, from the very beginning of the series, Duke has been portrayed as a violent, beefy, sexist, gun-totin’ macho man. So really, it’s only fitting.

If you’ll recall, this isn’t the first video game promoted with flesh, but I’d dare to say they put in some effort this time around. Duke Nudem, a genuinely interactive Flash game with actual flashing, does a better job of recreating the game experience than most other Flash-based marketing I’ve seen. There are four distinct levels with progressive difficulty, a “boss” character (played by Rosie Jones, FTW), and unlockable rewards*. Hell, you can even ruin the experience with a cheat code if you want… and if that doesn’t sell you, I don’t know what would. Continue reading…

Gaming, Porn, & Synergy: Playboy does Bayonetta (poorly)

Just as American Idol attracts a subset of “singers” who have no business performing in public, Playboy is inundated with audition photos from women who simply shouldn’t be seen in public. Those are the girls Playboy puts in gaming shoots.

But there’s a more important question to be asked. Push yourself past the apparent fact that the girls used for Playboy’s Bayonetta lookalike contest are straight out of the trailer park (I know it’s hard, but try). Instead, ask yourself this: Did Sega pay to have this content produced as a means of disguised advertising, or is this collaboration between Sega and Playboy a pro bono job? Comment away.

As my gift to you, I’ve embedded the B-movie video clips of each Bayonetta below. I hope you like lollipops.
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