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What is "My Two Bits?" My Two Bits is the official editorial page for the editor of Techtite.com. Techtite will accept reader submissions, for reviews as well as any editorials deemed well written and pertinent to this web site's audience. ----------------- A Sampling Of Past Editorials: ---DEATH to pop-up window commercials! ---PG-13: An Asset, or a Curse? ---Is Chrissy Snow in Charge of Disney...? ---This Editorial Can Be Closed By Clicking This TINY LITTLE DOT! ---100 Years to Live...? Poor You! ---Brad, Jen, Angelina, and those who give a flying... ---"Big Brother," Kaysar, and The Value of a Game... ---Paranoia, Box Office Destroy-a... ---"State of the Site" Address, 2006. ---Why Hollywood Needs Its "Stones" ---The X-box 360's "Three Red Lights of Doom" ---The Bizarro PSP/360 Switch! ---Is PSP Too "Good" For Its Own Good...? ---What Is Big Brother All Stars Minus "Six"? ------------------ Sidebar: -------------------- No sidebar comments for this review. Yet. |
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The latest My Two Bits editorial (November 2006) is titled : Why Lara Croft Won't Do Playboy.------------------------------------------------------------------- Believe it or not, female video game characters have their own annual "gallery" in Playboy magazine. If that sounds weird to you, you haven't read Playboy much. Playboy is well known for its ribald art, including some of the funniest cartoons I've ever read. Say to any college boy from the 1980's a Playboy-inspired punch line like "I only sell hamburgers, but I sell a LOT of hamburgers," and you're bound to get a smile. Think of a Tex Avery cartoon with an R Rating and you get the general idea. I don't think naked video game characters are supposed to be titillating; the artwork is just meant to be harmless fun. At the very least, the annual gallery is pretty amusing. Yet what I find even more amusing about this little annual artwork gallery, is how close to life it is...socially. Sure the computer artwork is realistic, though who would think imaginary characters would have "reputations" to uphold? Out of three annual editions so far, Lara Croft has not gone nude. Likewise for Alyx from Half Life 2, Farah from Prince of Persia, Agent Cate Archer from the No One Lives Forever spy game series, Kate Walker from Syberia, and one of my favorite game characters of all time: Bastila, the female jedi from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. It's one thing when Playboy can't get Scarlet Johansson in their pictorial pages. When they can't even get "Lara Croft" to pose nude, well, I find that pretty hilarious. Think about it. Who was in the bunny mag for "real" in the past 3 years? Not Scarlett Johansson, to be sure. Not Paris Hilton, who was merely put on the cover, clothed and still sued Playboy for it. Not Jessica Alba, who was similarly put on the cover and similarly sued them for it. No; the people who usually pose for the bunny mag are only in it for the free publicity. Who would think that these video game characters "feel" the same way...? "Lara Croft" is making more than enough money so she isn't going nude. Half-Life 2's Alyx is a character on one of the biggest selling games of the past two years, so no, she isn't posing either. I don't know. I just find that funny.
Of course, some people may look at this editorial and wonder if it's a slow news week. Indeed it was, though this story just amused me. I mean; even with fictional characters, modern Playboy magazine can't get the women. It's one thing when Playboy can't get Angelina Jolie. It's another thing entirely when they can't get Lara Croft. Maybe she just doesn't like being airbrushed. After all; with al the Photoshop work done in Playboy these days, when was the last time anyone was "real"...? As Always: I'm Techtite,
and these are My Two Bits...
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Burnout
Near
Miss
Small
Crater
Large
Crater
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Impact
Not
that I'm belittling who does pose for Playboy. Kudos to Deborah Gibson for
finally shedding her "bubble gum and pink bows" image from the
1980's, and posing for the bunny mag. Furthermore; hey, if you're Tricia
Helfer and you've already been near-nude on Battlestar Galactica, and
Playboy offers you seven figures for a pictorial, why not? Likewise for
the video game company whose game doesn't sell because nobody knows about
it. If you can publicize it with some ribald artwork in Playboy, why not?
All's fair when it comes to some free publicity. Just have fun!