If you know anything about the ESRB, then you'll know that any game with an Adults-Only (AO) rating is pretty much dead in the water. Most stores will refuse to stock it, while the "big three" hardware manufacturers won't license it for their systems. One particular interactive porn merchant has a big problem with that and is making his displeasure known.

"It doesn’t make sense," complains D-Dub CEO "Hod". "The ratings boards are not telling us that these games aren’t for kids. We know that already. What they’re telling us is that adult games shouldn’t exist at all. We don’t agree, and neither does our customer base of adults who are interested in games that might include themes like sex, drugs, and language.

"Since they’ve made it so that games like ours can’t be marketed and distributed through the channels other video games use, we are starting a new industry to get this game out to our customers."

D-Dub's latest game is BoneTown (NSFW ... and stupid) and the publisher's overall goal is to create an "adult videogame industry." I think that's something we can all support if it means we can continue to play engaging, thoughtful, and mentally mature titles like BoneTown -- a game where you have to shag fat chicks and "work your way up" to "hot" ones, before watching cutscenes with comedy Indians and hilaaaaarious drug references.

A brave new world, says I.