Custer's Revenge
| Custer's Revenge | |
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Cover art
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| Developer(s) | Mystique |
| Publisher(s) | Mystique |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
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| Genre(s) | Adult, Western |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Custer's Revenge (also known as Westward Ho and The White Man Came) is an adult video game produced by Mystique for the Atari 2600. First released on September 23, 1982, the game gained significant notoriety for its explicit portrayal of the rape of a Native American woman.
The titular player character is based on famous American Civil War commander General George Armstrong Custer, who is most well known for his major defeat at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
Following the North American video game crash of 1983, Mystique was unable to stay in business. As a result, many of Mystique's intellectual properties, including Custer's Revenge, were sold off to the adult video game company Playaround. Under the ownership of Playaround, Custer's Revenge was re-branded as Westward Ho and given slight modifications to its original game-play. These alterations included simple aesthetic changes such as the darkening in color of the Native American woman's skin tone. Playaround also made a version of Custer's Revenge named General Retreat.
In the game, the player controls the character of Custer, depicted as a man wearing nothing but a cavalry hat, boots and a bandana, sporting a visible erection. Custer has to overcome arrow attacks to reach the other side of the screen. His goal is to rape a naked Native American woman tied to a pole.
In General Retreat, it is the woman who has to overcome various obstacles to rape Custer. Instead of arrows, cannonballs are fired at the woman.
Custer's Revenge quickly gained notoriety upon its release. Sold in a sealed package labeled "NOT FOR SALE TO MINORS" and selling for $49.95 (the most expensive Atari 2600 game in the market), it acknowledged that children might nonetheless see the game. The game's literature stated "if the kids catch you and should ask, tell them Custer and the maiden are just dancing." The makers elected to preview the game for women's and Native American groups, an act which some thought was a publicity stunt.Women's rights groups criticized the game, stating that it was a simulation of rape; the back of the packaging states "she's not about to take it lying down, by George! Help is on the way. By God! He's coming." Other groups such as Women Against Pornography, Native American spokespersons, and critics of the video game industry in general protested about the game. Activists tried pressuring legislators to outlaw the game, which Oklahoma City, Oklahoma did. Multiple Industries pursued an $11 million lawsuit against Suffolk County, New York and legislator Philip Nolan "because of a resolution authorizing the county executive to take action to halt sales and distribution" of the game.
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