We suppose this had to happen sooner or later, but the October issue of Playboy magazine will feature the come-hither debuts – some naked – of Bloodrayne and other ladies of the video game world. The fact that they happen to be characters rather than flesh-and-blood women is purely a technical matter.
Female characters from such games as Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Red Ninja, Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude, and Darkwatch: Curse of the West are expected to appear in the Playboy pictorial, according to CNNMoney.com.
"Majesco thought it was all in good fun. The game's coming out that month and it's perfect timing," said Bloodrayne publisher Majesco spokeswoman Laura Heeb to CNNMoney.com. "BloodRayne is a very viable franchise now. It has definitely made the step up to a full-fledged video game franchise. The Playboy thing is nothing more than just another cool thing we can do with this franchise."
Playboy itself thinks video gaming is pretty cool, even though the magazine did not comment yet about the October video game women feature – later this year, Playboy: The Mansion is due to appear, for personal computers and two game platforms, in which a player gets to take his own crack and building the Playboy empire, the namesake mansion, and everything you’ve known associated with the magazine and its legendary founder’s way of life – including virtual parties a la Playboy.
"It looks like a lucrative area we're getting into," Playboy founder and longtime editor-publisher Hugh Hefner said in 2003, when the game was first announced. "It's a logical step. One might suggest it's overdue. The video game industry is huge right now and [the games are played] by a lot of people who read Playboy."
