Custer's Revenge
Custer's Revenge is a
pornographic video game made for the
Atari 2600 by
Mystique, a company that produced a number of
adult video game titles for the system. The game was first released on
October 13,
1982 and is subject to significant controversy because of its crude simulation of
rape with a physically-restrained Indian
squaw.
Custer's Revenge gained notoriety for its particular plot. In the game, the player controls the character of General
George Armstrong Custer, depicted as a naked man sporting a Cavalry hat, stylish boots, and a visible
erection. Custer has to overcome various (not very difficult) obstacles to achieve his goal, which is to rape a crudely depicted, large-
breasted Native American Squaw who is bound to a post.
The game prompted criticism from
women's rights groups who stated that the simulation of having sex with a tied-up woman was a simulation of rape. Other groups such as
Women Against Pornography, Native American spokespersons, and critics of the video game industry in general protested the game.
Aside from complaints over the game's sexual content, many found the gameplay simplistic. People also found the pornography element of the game inadequate - the two characters' appearances have been compared to
lego blocks or cardboard boxes.
The focused media attention caused the game to sell approximately 80,000 copies, twice as many copies as Caballero's other X-rated games:
Bachelor Party and
Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em.
Like many other video game manufacturers of the era, Mystique went out of business and sold the rights to their games to
Playaround. Playaround continued to market
Custer's Revenge as
Westward Ho for a time. They made minor modifications to the game, which included making the skin of the "woman" darker and having her extend her arm and gesture to "Custer" to come over to her. They also made a version of the game called
General Retreat. In this game it is the "woman" who has to overcome various obstacles to have sex with "Custer" - who this time is the one tied to the post. Instead of arrows, cannon balls are fired at the woman.
General Retreat has often times been hailed as the better of the two versions, featuring slightly less questionable material.
There were rumors that a sequel to the game was to be released, entitled
Custer's Return. It was supposedly the same game, but set in Mexico. This rendition was never released.
