Playboy Video Game

Playboy video game fun, but all business (Chris Marlowe, The Hollywood Reporter)

Photo:Playboy Playmates with Hugh Hefner posing for Playboy Video Game It can be difficult to look past the scantily clad women and the erudite articles to recognize that running Playboy Enterprises Inc. is big business. But that undeniable fact is the premise behind Playboy: The Mansion, a video game from Arush Entertainment and Groove Games that will be released Jan. 25. Players assume the role of Hugh Hefner, complete with the pajamas known as his favorite attire, and must judiciously allot their time and money to start from nothing and create the magazine, direct photo shoots, construct the iconic mansion and socialize. Just like in real life, advertising revenues are the bedrock of the budget, and paying for the best writers means having less left over for top models and photographers. Players can access genuine covers and other content from the magazine’s long run as they balance their books.

Contributing to the realism are hundreds of celebrities who add their luster to the magazine and to the famous parties, some of which are imaginary but many of which are digitized versions of real people including Carmen Elektra, Melissa Joan Hart, Tom Arnold and dozens of actual Playmates.

Arush used photos and on-site measurements to re-create several of the mansion’s best-known features, including the pool and grotto, back lawn area, tennis courts, game room, garage, aviary and zoo. Players can build their own fantasy residence from these and other elements, or they can choose to re-create Hefner’s.

Additionally, to fill the brief technical pauses for scene changes, Playboy and Arush worked together to research and write hundreds of trivia questions related to the Playboy empire.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.