Sex and video games go way back, and every game publisher has found a way to combine the two. Sega went farther than most did in its print advertising, particularly in Europe, and by the late ’90s its ads were quite daring. By the turn of the century, game ads had become raunchier and more provocative. We take a look at the history of sex in Sega’s print advertising, and discuss its impact.

Though no one knew it at the time, the key to Sega’s success in the mid ’90s was its stellar marketing. As the first company to directly challenge Nintendo, the upstart company launched a massive advertising blitz that almost brought the giant to its knees, eventually snatching away its hardware dominance. Interestingly enough, all of it was very close to never happening at all, and the results obtained were far beyond even Sega’s own ambitious expectations. Read the full history of the Genesis’ promotional history in our latest feature Marketing the Genesis: Sega’s Advertising 1989-1996.