Two years ago, a video game called Giants: Citizen Kabuto underwent plastic surgery right before its release.
The blood shed liberally by characters in the action-strategy game was changed from red to green, and a female character suddenly sported a bikini top after appearing topless in pre-publication screenshots. These changes were made to satisfy content restrictions imposed by Wal-Mart, the nation"s largest mass retailer of video games.
"It became clear that we would lose mass distribution if we didn"t give her a top," said Bob Stevenson, CEO of developer Planet Moon Studios. "No one wanted to take that gamble."
Wal-Mart sells 25 percent of the computer and video games purchased annually in the United States, a share worth $1.58 billion in 2001, according to the Interactive Digital Software Association and NPDFunworld, the industry"s data clearinghouse.