The Evolution of Strip Poker Video Games -Nudity The Hard Way

No other form of poker has quite the “broad audience” of strip poker. This, of course, makes perfect sense. After all, procreation is fundamental. Even more so than money. Essentially as soon as man invented the binary number system he started drawing digital nude pictures. Early console-based strip poker games may seem awfully pixelated and unsophisticated but they were all necessary steps in the evolution of this important technology. Learn how to play strip poker yourself right here with our easy-to-follow rules and guide.

Hard Facts about Strip Poker

Strip poker games have, historically, been censored in some markets and banned from others -- an unfortunate fact given the level of “exposure” these games offer up.

Nonetheless when Wii released its new Sexy Poker title in 2009 it caused public outrage. Apparently while lethal violence is widely accepted across video game titles for all ages, semi-nude pixelated bodies are considered a no-no.

But strip poker video games have been around for as long as video games themselves and they’re not likely to disappear any time soon.

It’s the Germans

According to Wikipedia, the first strip poker computer game was written by a German astronomer. Not much of a surprise there.

Never having played it I still have a feeling that primitive game required no small amount of imagination on the side of the player. And yet the reward for defeating your female opponent probably was nothing more than “Ich bin nackt.”

Thankfully, between this game and Wii Sexy Poker lies a long series of successful strip poker titles on legendary consoles such as Atari, Amiga and Commodore 64. Strip poker games are based on a few simple things:

• Beat a lady at poker and she’ll take off her clothes.
• Your own attire is optional. But that’s win/win more or less.

Here's a look at the 5 major Strip Poker games that truly marked the evolution of this fine game niche. More in our full-size infographic below!

Strip Poker: A Sizzling Game of Chance

Publisher: Artworx Software Co, Inc.

Year: 1982

Poker variation: Five-card draw

Degree of nudity: Teddy

Probably the first strip poker game to be released for the newly invented personal computer in 1982, this game is the Big Bang in the evolution of strip poker video games.

Maybe Big Bang is too strong. Let’s say this is the day when a few germs crawled ashore and started their voyage to becoming humankind.

The game first came out for the Mac II and was later released for other platforms such as Amiga and Commodore 64.

Graphics are crude to say the least, and to be honest the images aren’t terribly sexy to start with.

But, life has found a way. 

Samantha Fox Strip Poker 

Publisher: Martech Games Ltd

Year: 1986

Poker variation: ???

Degree of nudity: Topless

Say what you want about Samantha Fox as an artist, but this game is a certified classic in the strip-poker genre.

Like in the previous game, pics have limited resolution so you have to use your imagination to fill in the res0074. Shouldn’t be too hard.

There’s also an amusing piece of trivia about this game. The game music was created by legendary video game music composer Rob Hubbard.

But he didn’t want it to be known, so in the game the music is credited to a certain “John York.”

“The first name that I thought of and used as an alias,” says Hubbard (according to mobygames.com).

Poker Ladies (Neo Geo)

ACTUALLY AN ARCADE GAME

Publisher: Mitchell Corporation

Year: 1989

Poker variation: Five-card draw

Degree of nudity: Breasts

In this game you’re not really playing against your lady opponent.

You just play your cards, like in a video poker game. You win points for any hand that beats a pair of jacks.

At a few predefined levels of accumulated points the girl takes off some of her clothes.

Good thing is, you can’t lose. Eventually you’ll get there.

This is not very realistic, I know. On the other hand, who needs realism when you can have nudity?

Still all cartoons, but in high resolution and nicely rendered.

Peek-a-Boo Poker 

Publisher: Panesian

Year: 1990

Poker variation: Five-card draw

Degree of nudity: Teddy

Not only is this one of the first strip poker video games, it’s also the most expensive retro video game in the world.

The reason it’s so expensive? It was a failure. It sold so few copies that the producer withdrew it from the stores. Only a few copies that had already been sold remain in circulation.

So if you have one lying around, you probably should keep an eye on it.

In this game you’re actually playing against the lady in question. Or actually three ladies in question - Full House Francine, Double Dealing Debby, and Pok-er Penny. Yes, you read that right.

You both get five cards, there’s some betting and then there’s a showdown. As you can see, the pictures are rather pixelated. And the game itself is pretty uninteresting.

Nevertheless, this is one of the finest retro games in any category.

Sexy Poker (Wii) 

Publisher: Nintendo

Year: 2009

Poker variation: Texas Holdem

Degree of nudity: Underwear

This game is the most talked about strip poker video game in recent years.

Wii caused some turmoil when they included a strip poker title in their otherwise child-friendly portfolio.

That said, this is not the most shocking strip poker title as such. It’s not the one with the most nudity in it, and the girls are all cartoons.

And even though they’re definitely trying to provoke you, they’ll keep a little something on, such as a teddy or a pair of knickerbockers.

I don’t know if it’s one of Nintendo’s motion-controlled titles. Tell you the truth, I don’t want to know.

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PS: To anticipate some well-deserved reactions to all this talk of female nudity: No, there’s no strip poker game where the guys undress (as far as I know). But there’s an idea for your next iPhone app. I give it to you. Code away.

The Evolution of Strip Poker Video Games - Infographic

Prefer for Strip Poker education is visual form?

We broke down every major advancement in strip-poker gaming technology from the Commodore 64 to the XBox 360 in our infographic below.

Click here or the image below for the full-sized infographic; find the code to embed it on your site below!

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