Mass Effect to include sex scene

By Robert Purchese Published 19 September, 2007

BBFC undresses blockbuster.

Mass Effect has earned itself a 12 rating from the BBFC for containing moderate violence and some steamy hanky-panky. About time, says us.

But we wouldn't suggest reading any further if you are worried about spoilers.

The scene is the sort of thing you're likely to see in most films at the cinema, with a brief flash of a breast and some jazz saxophone wailing in the background. You can tell those involved really like each other and will probably pursue the relationship further, for example.

Developer BioWare has even given players the chance to see a lesbian encounter, depending on the the sex of your character and the choices you make throughout the game. You can find out a little more about it on the BBFC site, but it further uncovers what is likely to be a big part of the story in the game.

BioWare has included a relationship path in a large portion of its games to date. But, in keeping with nearly everything else in Mass Effect, the choice here is more detailed and has a lot more depth.

Head over to our recent first impressions of Mass Effect to see how one of this year's most anticipated titles is shaping up.

Mass Effect will be released exclusively for Xbox 360 on 23rd November.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (58) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Skooch #1 4 years ago

    Boobies FTW!

  • Aretak #2 4 years ago

    Lesbians are my favourite animal.

  • Vandrius #3 4 years ago

    Sigh, the one decent xbox game that isn't coming to PC that I want.

    *sob*

    PC version please! >:-(

  • L42yB #4 4 years ago

    "Developer BioWare has even given players the chance to see a lesbian encounter"

    Ok, this has just gone onto my *must have* list :D

    Lesbian sex scenes ftw!!!

  • souljacker2000 #5 4 years ago

    lol... that just makes the game sound tacky...

  • Fab4 #6 4 years ago

    Animated porn...whoop-dee-doo!!

  • Crovax20 #7 4 years ago

    Fact, about 80% of the male people who read this and buy the game, will start a female character. :p

  • Aretak #8 4 years ago

    Anyway, why just lesbians? You should be able to engage in some hot manlove as well.

  • souljacker2000 #9 4 years ago

    but man sex is just so not gona sell games

  • lambtron #10 4 years ago

    oh oh

  • PlugMonkey #11 4 years ago

    "The scene is the sort of thing you're likely to see in most films at the cinema, with a brief flash of a breast and some jazz saxophone wailing in the background."

    So, you mean like most films circa 1985...

    Can anyone propose a scenario where this won't seem really tacky and gratuitous?

  • Dark_Stranger #12 4 years ago

    @ Crovax20 - in the words of the great wordsmith, Homer J Simpson "Funny coz its true".

  • Aretak #13 4 years ago

    "Can anyone propose a scenario where this won't seem really tacky and gratuitous?"

    Probably not. Which is a shame, as we've moved on enough that films like Shortbus and 9 Songs, which both contain real sex scenes, can be rated 18 by the BBFC -- yet a flash of a boob in a game is still seen as gratuitous and sensationalistic.

  • PearOfAnguish #14 4 years ago

    If I wanted to watch animated characters awkwardly humping I'd look at hentai.

  • Iora #15 4 years ago

    lol at comments -
    I watched the character creation vids yesterday and thought. hmmmm for once im going to create a female lead. Im tired of all these buffed up unshaven gorillas im picking the fairer sex this time.

    And this is how Bioware rewards me...........awesome!

  • Darren #16 4 years ago

    The queue for prepubescent teenage boys is over there by the way... ;)

    Well I'll be playing the game as a male Sheppard personally so lesbian love scenes will NOT appear in my game. Ever! LOL

    Seriously though, it does seem a little sad that this is even reported as a story, it's almost like Microsoft want to guarantee some extra sales by stirring up a bit of controversy prior to its release. I mean really what is so special about it, if this was a movie, no-one would bat an eyelid and it certainly wouldn't have had a story posted about it all over the internet. This kind of thing just makes people who play video games appear as sad sexually-frustrated loners who are desperate to see any sex they can as long as its in a video game! LOL

    Whatever, the game has been rated 12 so these scenes must be very mild indeed which again makes you wonder why it's even been reported... :?

  • jack_klugman #17 4 years ago

    Lesbians are for girls!

  • Pike #18 4 years ago

    For those wanting some man on man action, such an option was included in Jade Empire, so it wouldn't surprise me if it exists in Mass Effect as well, even if they don't talk about it here.

  • Metalfish #19 4 years ago

    All of those who have posted in this little thread going, "woo, lesbians! Boobies!" etc. You're a bunch a classy guys, you know that?

  • BeersOfWar #20 4 years ago

    BioWare has included a relationship path in a "large portion" of its games to date. But, in keeping with nearly everything else in Mass Effect, the choice here is more detailed and has a lot more "depth."

    TeeHee

  • Fab4 #21 4 years ago

    "but man sex is just so not gona sell games"

    You dont get much more homo-erotic than GoW ;)

  • pyrat6 #22 4 years ago

    Huh ... kids console.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #23 4 years ago

    Maybe they're saving the man-love for Mass Effect 2. Kinda like that bit in Deus Ex: Invisible War, where if you play as a bloke you can chat up another man.

    Personally, I think this is ace, and not from a pervy angle either (I wonder if you can control the angle...). About time games started reacting intelligently to sex, and, y'know. Stuff.

  • Darren #24 4 years ago

    @Fab4 - Indeed.

    Gears of War is the gayest game I've ever played... maybe that's why it's so popular? ;)

  • the_sas_man #25 4 years ago

    SOLD!

  • Killerbee #26 4 years ago

    It'll be interesting to see how the Hot Coffee zealots on America react to this. Surely if the crudely animated (and entirely ungraphic) "hidden" minigame in San Andreas warranted an AO rating, those next gen HD visuals are really going to get people very upset...

    On a more serious note, it is about time games started offering geniune choices for same sex relationships rather than the fixed boy-meets-girl path usually on offer in RPGs. Final Fantasy VII might have done this a long time ago, but it hasn't really been repeated much since (that I'm aware of). So whilst I'm sure there'll be lots of "lesbianslol!!1!" adolescent sniggering, I think this is actually a very positive step.

  • Darren #27 4 years ago

    I remember the first God of War on the PS2 had a sex scene in it between levels 1 and 2 involving Kratos and TWO women but that was never reported as far as I know. It was tastefully done anyway; you heard sounds but the camera focused on the bedside cabinet!

  • MrWonderstuff #28 4 years ago

    And behold the stereotype gamer is revealed once more.

    Is this news?

  • Kiigan #29 4 years ago

    Gears of War isn't gay. It's a manly game with manly men being manly. Nothing gay about it. Well maybe Baird...

    Now THIS is a gay game:

    [link url=http://www.somethingawful.com/d/rom-pit/cho-aniki -bakuretsu.php
    ]http://ww w.somethingawful.com/d/rom-pit/...[/link]

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #30 4 years ago

    Homosexuality sells games.

    Oh. And. It's only a 12 rating, so I can't see that it is even that adult.

    It's refreshing to see a developer not shying away from it, though. Although I wonder if it was included simply to entice people.

    Edited by 1 at 19/09/07 @ 11:23

  • Rirekon #31 4 years ago

    Dear media,

    Please grow the fuck up.

    Sincerely,
    Games industry.

  • Darren #32 4 years ago

    This game is rated 12 people so it hardly deals with adult topics and themes in a mature way since if it did it'd be rated 18 or higher, right? The fact that the game is rated 12 means that this article is pretty much a non-event anyway and likely only posted for some cheap publicity.

  • Therapist #33 4 years ago

    Might be nicer to title this as 'BBFC reveals spoilers'. I'm sure some people try not to hear anything about the games they are looking forward to.

  • bushwod #34 4 years ago

    Lesbians, F that.

    How about some HOT inter-species action.

  • [TR] #35 4 years ago

    In a few hours/days this will be commented by MS and in the end the game will ship without sex scenes or just with some insinuating fade-outs.
    Rating boards are afraid of sex. Seriously, it's like a primal fear of predators that borders on sheer terror. Movies, TV and now, naturally, games.

  • Razorus #36 4 years ago

    Bushwood, there is an inter-species sex scene in the game. As a man, you can either romance Ashley (as seen in the trailer) or you can enjoy an Asari. If you're playing a woman, you can romance a man (dunno who, maybe Kaiden) and also an Asari. Sexy Time!
    On a more serious note, it's a little depressing to see the game has been giving a 12 rating. This is not just about the sex scene (a nude breast.....12?!) but also about the violence. I really hope they haven't forced Bioware to cut anything. I want violence.
    And yes, the sex scene IS a big deal. Sure, if it was a film, nobody would bat an eyelid, but how many sex scenes have you seen in mainstream games? On top of that (hehe), you have the fact that the player has the option of instigating it. It'll play out as a cutscene (this isn't San Andreas) but the player must "get into their pants" so to speak.
    Sexual innuendo ftw.

  • Kafeen #37 4 years ago

    "Can anyone propose a scenario where this won't seem really tacky and gratuitous?"

    Probably not. Which is a shame, as we've moved on enough that films like Shortbus and 9 Songs, which both contain real sex scenes, can be rated 18 by the BBFC -- yet a flash of a boob in a game is still seen as gratuitous and sensationalistic.

    That's because most people still see games as being made for children. Even if they do have an 18 rating.

    Lesbians, F that.

    How about some HOT inter-species action.
    The other female is an Alien, so it is "HOT inter-species action", HOT inter-species lesbien action.
    Edited by 1 at 19/09/07 @ 11:57

  • Fab4 #38 4 years ago

    Here in Holland nudity isnt anything risque. They dont have a watershed on TV here, and you regulalrly see nudity in trailers during the day schedule.

  • slickster #39 4 years ago

    it looks like my controller will be sticky playing with this game, hehe..

  • Raised_By_Puffins #40 4 years ago

    Heh, didn't realise "*SPOILER ALERT*" was official BBFC terminology.

    Maybe they'll extend Jade Empire's thinly veiled threesome (with two cousins!) to a no holds barred party-wide orgy this time.

  • riz23 #41 4 years ago

    I was really hoping for Human/Alien coupling. Or something with tentacles.

  • gamerbunny #42 4 years ago

    And if they want anymore attention....

    They put in Lesbians!!!

    Seriously, I'm glad its only on 360....

  • The-Bodybuilder #43 4 years ago

    >"Anyway, why just lesbians? You should be able to engage in some hot manlove as well. "

    It's called "mass effect", not "hollyoaks".

  • The-Bodybuilder #44 4 years ago

    >"Gears of War isn't gay. It's a manly game with manly men being manly. Nothing gay about it. Well maybe Baird... "

    The ironic thing is that all those that call GOW gay are they same people that have absolutely no problems whatsoever running around a pre-pub japanesse tranny with a giant sword, doesn't care for the attention of girls, and wears very tiny and very tight emo clothes.

    Irony.

  • Fab4 #45 4 years ago

    >"The ironic thing is that all those that call GOW gay are they same people that have absolutely no problems whatsoever running around a pre-pub japanesse tranny with a giant sword, doesn't care for the attention of girls, and wears very tiny and very tight emo clothes.

    Irony."

    You misunderstand the difference between recognizing something as being gay, and that of actually caring whether it is or not. It could be as gay as "Dale Winton's Supermarket Sweep", if it played well I couldnt give a toss (if you'll excuse the pun).

    GoW is undoubtedly homo-erotic. Does that make it a bad game? The choice is up to you.

  • The-Bodybuilder #46 4 years ago

    >"GoW is undoubtedly homo-erotic. Does that make it a bad game? The choice is up to you. "

    How so? Why is is that any action movie/game involving men is isntantly "homo erotic"? In 300, everyone was quick to point how homo-erotic the spartans were, whilst xerxes the giant tranny doesn't even get a look in.

    Why is GOW associated with gaming homoeroticism, whilst virtually every j-rpg under the sun that involves young emo boys with small, tight clothing doesn't even get a mention? (especially in EG reviews)?

    It seems if you're an old-school masculine man, you're gay. Whereas if you're a feminine metrosexual male with boyish looks (and in the case of beckham, even wears thongs), you're straight.

    Edited by 2 at 19/09/07 @ 13:20

  • vane101 #47 4 years ago

    "There's not enough sex in video games, all 18 rated games should have some dont you think?"

    Yes, all games should have steamy lesbian sex scenes whether they are necessary or not! :-)
    Edited by 1 at 19/09/07 @ 13:46

  • Daryoon #48 4 years ago

    It kinda proves that gaming is still ultimately stuck in "teenage boy" territory when something like this constitutes news!

  • Tomnd #49 4 years ago

    is that breast or nipple?

  • peak_performance #50 4 years ago

    How Biowareian.

  • Triggerhappytel #51 4 years ago

    PlugMonkey: "Can anyone propose a scenario where this won't seem really tacky and gratuitous?"

    Nope. Whatever BioWare might say, there is no way this will be essential to the fundamentals of the game, and just reading of it's inclusion just makes it sound immature and needless.

    Breasts in games for the lose.

  • RedPanda #52 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • FortysixterUK #53 4 years ago

    This thread is sad.
    But boobies ARE nice.
    But this thread is sad.
    But boobies are the best.
    Man this thread is sad.

    I am so confused.

    I hope the press don't get hold of this story. I can see the headlines in the Daily Express
    " Mass Effect has Mass Porn"
    Ok, maybe that's more like a sun headline.....

  • chischis #54 4 years ago

    It's 2007 and still sex in gaming is treated like an abhorrence, a taboo that must be Stamped Out (usually by Americans).

    Hurrah for BioWare. Hell, I just want to see more games where the characters in them have _some_ sort of relationship! *Pats copy of Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines*

  • wired009 #55 4 years ago

    Some of you may not be aware of it yet, but sex is actually a common activity among adults. So you have the chance of a sexual encounter in an M rated game where you play as an adult character. I don't think you can jump to conclusions (as some people in this thread obviously have) about the maturity lvl of the game or the player without knowing the context. The inclusion of sex in Mass Effect probably won't be a deciding factor in whether people choose to play the game anyway.

    Also, the big deal about the Hot Coffee mod was not that there was sex/nudity in the game. It was that it was included as a hidden part of the game that the ratings board was not aware of. As long as you declare the content of you game when it is being rated there shouldn't be any legal problems. Take the God of War sex mini games as examples. Those were totally legit.

  • smelly #56 4 years ago

    Cant help but wonder that if rockstar released the EXACT same game, it'd get an 18.

    Sounds a bit fishy all this to me.

  • smelly #57 4 years ago

    PlugMonkey: "Can anyone propose a scenario where this won't seem really tacky and gratuitous?"



    Do films need nudity? Can they not just cut away and leave it to your imagination?

    Do books need sex scenes? Can they not just say "and then they retired to the bedroom" and leave it to your imagination?

    While i'm at it.. why is nudity "rude" anyway?

  • TexMurphy01 #58 4 years ago

    Hold the phone. I played as the woman in Jade Empire and I worked my balls off (hehe) to get a hot lesbian encounter, but nothing happened. Any tips?