Controversy and video games are not a new partnership. Even way back in the days of Atari, there were games that some thought inappropriate. Anyone who follows gaming to some extent remembers the early ’90s when there was a huge uproar over Mortal Kombat, a game that pitted fighters against each other in a battle to the death.

As the new era ushered in the Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube, games have grown more complicated, and in some circumstances, more violent.

Sex has been a subject that some games have tiptoed around but never fully submerged themselves until Acclaim decided to release its new game, “BMX XXX.” On both the GameCube and Xbox version, players can create topless female riders, or as the back of the game’s box puts it, “Create your own hard-bodied BMX honey … with full jiggle included.” Other features include unlockable video clips of real strippers from a New York club, pimps, hookers and junkies. The Playstation 2 version was edited to eliminate the nudity.

Needless to say, the game has faced some barriers, starting with Sony pressuring Acclaim to edit the game for release on Playstation 2. The game was originally supposed to be part three of the Dave Mirra BMX series, but Mirra decided he didn’t want his name on the game. “BMX XXX” has also been banned in Australia.

After looking at the game’s Web site, which features pictures of women wearing thongs, sitting on BMX bikes and the tag line “Keep It Dirty,” Barbara Mack, associate professor of journalism and mass communication and media lawyer, had this to say.

“It is inappropriate, absolutely. Is it illegal? No. It doesn’t fit the legal definition for obscenity and something that can be banned in this country,” Mack says.

Although the game obviously can’t be banned in the United States, many big game retailers are hesitant to carry a video game that features nudity and the infamous “f-bomb.” Two of Ames’ biggest video game carriers, Wal-Mart and Target, are not carrying the game for any of the three systems. Both Software Etc., in North Grand Mall, and Hastings, 620 Lincoln Way, have the game.

Much of the controversy surrounding the game is that instead of attracting a more mature audience, the game might be the object of desire for a younger audience who look up to today’s crop of extreme athletes. “BMX XXX” carries a rating of M for mature, which usually means that buyers have to be 17 or older. But “BMX XXX” requires the buyer to be 18.

Erin LeMaster, video department manager at Hastings, says she usually doesn’t have a lot of instances of kids attempting to purchase adult-themed games, but often kids will bring their parents in to buy the game for them.

“A lot of the kids who come in with their parents to buy games don’t tell them that the game is rated mature,” LeMaster says. “So we are the ones who have to let them know that the things in this game aren’t suitable for everyone.”

She also says that out of the entire game buying demographic at Hastings that only about 25 to 38 percent is under the age of 17.

While it is said that controversy sells, this doesn’t seem to be the case so far with “BMX XXX” in Ames. Software Etc. refused to talk at length about the game but did say that reviews have been bad so far and the store had seen a lot of returns. LeMaster hasn’t seen a strong market for the game either.

“The only real interest I have had have been some phone calls from people asking if it was out yet,” LeMaster says. “It wasn’t like [another controversial game, Grand Theft Auto] ‘Vice City,’ which we couldn’t keep on the shelves.”

Nonetheless, Mack believes that if Acclaim knows a large portion of the video game audience is younger and that no matter how many times they claims it specifically designed this game with a mature audience in mind, Acclaim knows how its money will be made.

“There are going to be a lot of 13-year-olds hounding their 18-year-old brothers to order this game online for them,” Mack predicts. “[Acclaim] clearly has an ethical responsibility here and I think they will be laughing all the way to the bank along with every theater that lets underage kids into R movies.”