I first subscribed to Game Informer in November of 2001. That fateful issue’s cover story dealt with comparing the GameCube to the Xbox, as November 2001 was the month of both systems’ respective launches. In fact, the cover reads “GameCube vs Xbox: The Showdown of the Century Featuring Dead or Alive 3 and Luigi’s Mansion” and showed an angry Luigi facing off against one of the lovely ladies from the Dead or Alive series. I could never remember any of those busty beauties names because for some reason I was always distracted by something or, perhaps more accurately, a pair of somethings. While the cover’s subtitle may be the definition of hyperbole, I was obsessed with Game Informer.

Since November 2001 I have gotten every issue of that fantastic video game magazine known as Game Informer and archived them in my basement after reading them cover to cover. Every issue except one. Allow me to tell you the story of the one blemish on my otherwise spotless Game Informer record.

It was August 2002. I was 13 years old. In a few weeks I would be entering the eighth grade but, until then, it was video game time. If memory serves I was still playing Final Fantasy X, which I had received as a birthday present earlier in the summer from my parents. After one of my many marathon sessions with that masterpiece I went upstairs to get a drink. I also wanted to see if the latest issue of my favorite magazine had arrived yet. At that point in my life I may not have been able to tell you when my parents’ birthdays were but I could sure tell you what day of the month the latest issue of Game Informer was most likely to arrive. When I reached the first floor of my house I saw a large periodical lying on the table. As I got closer I saw it was the magazine I so desired. This issue’s cover featured another one of the gorgeous women from the Dead or Alive franchise, this one wearing nothing but a bikini. As I stated previously, their names escape me. The title for the cover was very much like the title for this post saying, “Sex, Lies, and Video Games: Two Titles Are Set to Change Video Games Forever, But Politics, Big Money, and Your Mother Could Make it Impossible.” Only the last part of the subtitle was true.

I picked up the magazine to find it weighing a little less than I expected. A confused look passed over my face. I opened up my treasured periodical to find the entire cover story ripped from its pages. I immediately began seeing red with the exclamation “Mom!” quickly following. My dear mother, fully aware of why I had just yelled her name, calmly strolled down the stairs from the second floor. My enraged eyes met her serene orbs. I proceeded to ask a question I already knew the answer to, “Did you do this?” Without a second thought she calmly uttered, “Yes, I didn’t know your magazine contained such offensive material. I don’t want you seeing that stuff.” A tense moment of silence followed before a very loud argument erupted between us. As I recall it was quite stereotypical. You know with both of us stating the obvious like my mother saying “I am your mother!” and me countering with the brilliant, “I’m 13 years old!” I will spare you the details of the ordeal and just say the argument ended in a compromise of sorts. She got to get rid of the cover story while I got to keep subscribing to Game Informer as long as she looked through each issue before me. I’ll take what I can get.

There could be an interesting debate as to whether my mother was being protective or just plain Puritanical. That is not as big of an issue to video game culture as Game Informer’s decision to put that story on its cover in the way it did. Aside from issues of the magazine that reflect on the past (the 200^th issue and video game characters that defined the decade, for example) all Game Informer covers feature one new video game front and center. The “Sex, Lies, and Video Games” cover is indirectly about multiple new games. But, it was not the fact that the good people over at Game Informer were doing something different that bothered me it was how they implemented the concept behind the cover that I found distasteful. I find this even truer now as I reflect on the subject matter. It is my belief that Game Informer is a family-friendly magazine. Does the magazine contain violent material sometimes? Yes. Does the magazine cover sexual material sometimes? Yes. However, both the violence and the sexual themes are usually presented in a very matter-of-fact way. They do not present such material in an exploitative manner. Except the previously mentioned issue, that is.

While it is true I never got to read the cover story of that issue, the mere fact that my mother was so offended by the image and words on the cover makes the actual content of the story irrelevant. This is especially true because I know my mother wasn’t the only one to feel that the issue was repulsive. The issue that followed “Sex, Lies, and Video Games” featured angry letter to the magazine’s staff regarding the previous issue’s sexual content. Game Informer responded by merely stating that they had a number of cancellation due to the previous issue’s content but that they also had a number of people who wanted to subscribe again to the magazine for the exact same reason. While their response didn’t say, I doubt the numbers were equal. Regardless, I don’t think either side is completely right or completely wrong. Using the sex appeal of women to market a video game is a very real part of the industry and should be discussed. However, there are much better ways of presenting the information than the way Game Informer chose to do so almost a decade ago.