Porn & Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and other Sexy Games Changed Our Culture [Paperback]

Damon Brown (Author), Jon M. Gibson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008

“A stimulating look at two of today’s most controversial subjects. . . . Sure to amaze and titillate anyone who’s ever hoisted a videogame controller.”—CNN Tech Correspondent Scott Steinberg

No book until Porn & Pong has explored how pornography and video games have influenced America’s sexual mores and technological compulsions on a massive scale.

The first Atari systems and their phallic joysticks began to sell by the million along with the rise of the VCR and the modern porn industry. Reality TV skyrocketed the same year as The Sims, and the surgically endowed Pamela Anderson was only outshined by one other woman: Lara Croft.

Porn & Pong’s publication comes at the time of the release of several highly anticipated adult-oriented games, including a new Leisure Suit Larry, Tomb Raider, and the sequel to the most controversial video game of all time, Grand Theft Auto. Author Damon Brown examines how politics, hidden agendas, and financial pressure affect the controversial art forms of gaming and pornography.

Damon Brown writes for Playboy, Spin, New York Post, and the Inspector Gadget column for PlanetOut, the largest gay and lesbian website.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Brown, a journalist for Playboy and The New York Post, maps the course of sex in video games from the Atari era to the present in this slim, fun read. Asserting that video games fulfill the cultural need for "dark sexual thrills," Brown's roving (occasionally rambling) exploration looks at the young medium in context and finds that, even in its infancy, video games were already as influential, potentially dangerous, and worthy of dissection as any other art. The first mainstream porno game, 1982's "Custer's Revenge" for the Atari 2600, spurred debate over the non-consensual nature of its crudely depicted virtual sex, culminating in crowds of protesters, lawsuits against the publisher, and the sexual assault of a Native American woman by thugs verbally invoking the game. Despite his graphic description of games many may find abhorrent, Brown comes off as neither a libertarian geek nor a moral custodian, and he keeps his history lively with personalities like Toby Gard, designer of video gaming's all-time "It Girl," Lara Croft. The talented programmer's admission that "maybe subconsciously, Lara Croft was my sister" is just one of the quirky insights Brown unearths, revealing the digital artistry and skewed lust that fuel the industry's ever-expanding reach: in erotic content, artistic merit and culture at large.
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About the Author

Damon Brown is an author for Playboy, Spin, New York Post and many other publications. Among his books are The Pocket Idiot's Guide to the IPhone, The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Satellite Radio and The Pocket Idiot's Guide to the IPod.

Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: Feral House; 1st edition (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932595368
• ISBN-13: 978-1932595369
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #642,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Damon Brown writes about sex, technology, music and video games for Playboy, New York Post and Family Circle, and is the tech columnist for AARP Online and other publications. He is the author of several books, most recently Porn & Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and Other Sexy Games Changed Our Culture. In 2009 Damon became Mobile Games Editor at About.com (http://mobilegames.about.com).

Damon has a Masters in Magazine Publishing from Chicago's Northwestern University and a degree in Journalism and Computing from Detroit's Oakland University. The Jersey native considers New Orleans, Chicago and Lansing (Michigan) his hometowns, but recently established his secret headquarters in Northern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and well-written, November 10, 2008

By 

R. Taylor "Roro" (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Porn & Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and other Sexy Games Changed Our Culture (Paperback)

A thoughtful, in-depth look at sexuality in the gaming world. Is it so very different from Las Vegas? Advertising? The voyeurism of movies? Do these things shape us or are they a manifestation of our collective urgings? Mr. Brown has a way of holding up the mirror to our most private selves and in allowing us to provide that answer, keeps us from retreating to an earlier comfort zone. Well written, as is most any offering by this author.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sex Ed, March 7, 2009

By 

J. Brown "game freak" (Festus, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Porn & Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and other Sexy Games Changed Our Culture (Paperback)

Well, let me start by saying that when I first heard about this book, I was expecting to read about how bad sex in games is, or some other crap that you might hear from people like Jack Thompson. I even expected it to be pretty boring. But I decided to take a chance and get it, and let me say that I was pleasantly surprised. It is very educational and entertaining. Now while it is a good book for people to read, I would not recommend it to anyone under 18 for the plain fact that it does in fact contain some adult oriented pictures. I know my review is not very informational, but I do recommend this book. It talks about the origin of sex in video games, as well as a small history of the video game industry.