kai2: I haven't read through the replies, but felt I wanted to add a few last bits...
1) I don't begrudge anyone for wanting a game world they can get lost in, but if you need overt sexuality in a Dungeons & Dragons game to get lost in the world, I question your interest in the genre. And yes, there are other genres of games that deal with overt and explicit sex and sexual content.
2) A great filmmaker once said (essentially) that when civilization stops telling "big stories" (stories that deal with human endeavor) and instead becomes preoccupied with "small stories" (relationships, sex, "soap opera" content) then that civilization is in decline. First, RPGs told "big stories," then they added relationships and marriage (something most are still on-board with). Now they're even breaking that down to sex. While sex is not the entirety of BG3 -- there is still a story -- it sure feels like a race toward "small stories."
3) Personally, I felt Larian's livestream -- the last before release -- emphasized the wrong elements. Usually a giant fantasy RPG would want the last image(s) prior to day one release to be adventure, excitement and exotic locations. Instead, Larian gave us some dark horror elements, overt sex, and "genital customization." Strange choice.
4) Much of this may have seemed different to me if it wasn't part of the Baldur's Gate series. If this was a new "adult" IP, I might feel a bit differently about it all... but... Baldur's Gate is a cornerstone series in gaming... and simply calling it a "reboot?"
5) I'm sure as Clarry stated that some will be overjoyed with the additions / changes. I wasn't (overjoyed) from what they last showed (and from some of what I've seen of characters and story)... and I'll watch the release from afar instead of playing day One as I had originally planned. As I stated earlier, Larian may have been showing me that this game wasn't made for me... and that's ok. I can live with that. But it does feel disappointing. Guess I'll see AFTER release.
6) And lastly -- AGAIN -- IMHO Larian should have left all of these "pre-occupations" to modders. These mods would certainly have developed and released in time (if BG3 is open to modding?).
Anyway, that's all I have to say about this.
Sorry if this seems rude, quoting when you said you're done, but I wanted to ask something:
Did you play Baldur's Gate 1 and 2? Did you catch the narrative about who your main character was? How do you suppose that came about? Were all of the Bhaalspawn the result of Immaculate Inceptions? Or was Bhaal running around pretending to be Zeus? I mean, I don't know, as I don't recall that it was ever elaborated on, but I do know what I thought happened, and I was in my 30s. Now, if we were going to be dodging sex every in game hour, I might agree, but for a romance scene that you have to actually pursue to get? Not so much. The thing about giving players choices is that they can choose to not partake in them, just as easily as they can choose to pursue them.