They bounce, are semi-buoyant, and young males seem to not be able to get enough of them. They are breasts, or as some refer to them, 'boobies'. In an odd way, the physics of breasts have become a huge factor and trend in the world of gaming; it’s quite interesting how this whole trend started.

Like the beginning of console gaming, breast physics in games were born in. From what it is believed, bouncing breasts really got their true start in Anime. Anime shows (especially 'Ecchi'-themed ones such as Love Hina) have had a seemingly strong obsession with breast movement and it stemmed quickly into gaming. The first ever gaming girl to have bouncing breast is the famous Mai Shiranui who first showed off her very animated self in the original Fatal Fury fighting game. After that it was a matter of time before other games started copying this form of gravity. A large fraction of 2D fighting games started to integrate bouncing at this time, but as technology went 3D, so did the physics. Thus Dead or Alive was born.

The Japan-based company Tecmo, at the time, was in a very tight financial spot; they had a strong possibility of going bankrupt due to lack of game sales and low profits from their arcade games. A little-known developer working for them, Tomonobu Itagaki, stepped up to develop their last game as an attempt to save themselves. Since it was a last ditch effort to save the company, the game was named Dead or Alive. The game, a fighting game, used a unique reversal system and fast gameplay. One other feature, and the one feature from the game that blatently made all other game creators copy it, was it's insane breast physics. The male populated gaming demographic loved it, and the game was a hit in both arcades and as home ports on both the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation. Thanks to Itagaki and his Dead or Alive girls, Tecmo was saved. From then on, 3D games started to slowly integrate breast physics more and more until it became the norm for all games.

Through the years breast physics have gone through many different forms, as well as the way they react. Here are some highlights and a look back at some of the greats and not so greats:

Dead or Alive Series

The best place to start is with the one series that truly defined breasts in gaming. In the original Dead or Alive it was all a bit crazy. Small movement in the characters resulted in their breasts going all over the place in a 'moon gravity' type of motion. It was and is funny to look at, but at the time, it was the best thing out there. In Dead or Alive 2, or Ultimate for Xbox owners, Team Ninja took the time to make the physics a lot more realistic and slightly toned down. There was an easter egg in the game that manipulated the physics and was controlled with how old the player was, and the same easter egg still works with most Team Ninja games. Dead or Alive 3 improved on 2, but Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball was probably the most sexually oriented title in the series resulting in a boob-fest. Again, Dead or Alive 4 improved slightly but the upcoming Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 seems to do breast physics justice. Unlike most games that have breast physics applied to both breasts at the same time, DoAX2 actually gives each breast its own set of physics resulting in a more natural, and crazy, look. If you need proof, just watch the trailer for the game.

Soulcalibur Series

This series actually integrates breast physics to their advantage. Almost all of the female cast is given bounce and is done very well. In fact, Namco took advantage of this technology in their game engine to apply almost the same type of breast physics to the buttocks of some characters. Even the thong-wearing shirtless character Asteroth has ass and boob physics in Soulcalibur III, which is scary to look at at times. It was done so well that the same physics happen to appear in Namco’s other fighting game, Tekken 5.

Metal Gear Ac!d 2

For an already-odd portable game that focuses on stealth, strategy, and a deck of cards, it’s weird to see this game implement breast physics. Even though the female cast is very small in this game, Konami went a little crazy on the physics. When the heroine known as Venus does almost any little thing, she tends to bounce quite a bit. She talks = bounce. She shoots someone = bounce. She stands still = bounce. It happens so much that it gets a bit silly after a little while. Konami went as far as to even give her a hopping animation that she randomly does… was it really necessary?

Aggressive Inline

With a game featuring a Britney Spears schoolgirl look-a-like character that does inline skating, you would think the game needed breast physics, right? Well, it seems the developers of this game thought so. The game played pretty well for an extreme sports title, but featured breast physics on most of their female characters. The developers must have thought that if they were going to make a girl do flips and spins, they might as well put in breast physics in the game. Then again, the same team that made this game also created the worst idea in extreme sport gaming history: BMX XXX.

Mortal Kombat Series

When talking about Mortal Kombat and breast physics, this only applies to the recent titles that are in the series. This includes Deadly Alliance, Deception, and the upcoming Armageddon. The breast physics in this game seem a bit odd; probably the best way to describe it is that they move like very stiff jello. The games even went as far as adding bruising and bleeding, and sometimes matches would end in a pair of bloody breasts.

Rumble Roses Series

Probably the biggest rip-off of Dead or Alive’s successes, this game takes the world of female wrestling and makes it sexy. This series of games are very raunchy and really doesn’t mind showing off a lot of skin; breasts are all over the place here. The animation of breast physics is hit or miss with this title, but not badly done. Don’t forget there is a lot of hopping in this game when you’re not wrestling.

Metal Gear Solid 3

One of the few games that actually wanted the player to stare directly at moving breast has to be Metal Gear Solid 3. In many of the cutscenes featuring the blonde bombshell Eva, the player had the option in changing the camera view with the R1 button usually resulting in Solid Snake looking at her breasts. Oddly, the game even keeps medical history of Eva’s plastic surgery including breast implants.

Fight Club

This horrible game had one small little addition that was never necessary, and only God knows why it was done. The character Big Boobs Bob, played by singer Meatloaf in the movie version of Fight Club, has his own boob physics. It’s something you don’t want to see, but it’s there if you want to. Sadly, Bob’s breasts were probably the best part of the game since the rest of it played horribly.

Breast physics has a long history in gaming, and covers a large spectrum of genres. Though it started as a touch of detail that was never originally needed, it has become something that almost any game starring or including a female character seems to have as a default these days. Breast movement now has a place in gaming and it will be a long time before it ceases to exist, if ever.