Eh, there's no reason for this discussion to continue. Neither of us is making any progress and the discourse is stagnant. You have your views and I have mine. I think it's a cheap grab for teenage appeal and you think it adds to the atmosphere and the experience.
Nevertheless, as I said originally, I didn't find it to be a compelling experience with or without Playboy shots in it. I've never been a fan of most sandbox games, and didn't find the gameplay to be anything special.

Its too early of course to say it for sure but Mafia 1 was not sandbox game so Mafia 2 wouldn't be it either.
It was always about story, plot twists, character development and interaction. not about sandbox game.
In M1 it was non-existent. You had big city to drive and you could drive anywhere but there was nothing to do.
now it seems they just spice it up the sandbox part by adding few features but the core of game is still plot and characters.
just sayin...

Now don't try to be confrontational. Mafia is a sandbox game, no matter how poor the sandbox is. It seems like most of the time developers create a whole world for people to run around it, they neglect the gameplay. I found Mafia to have mediocre gameplay that wasn't enough to make me play simply for the story.
I also am just not a big fan of the mafia setting. I didn't find the Godfather movies to be compelling, so I guess I'm just not really that into the mafia.

but but
Mafia 1 was not sandbox game! there was nothing to do in the city. no sand to play with. it was just a background for the missions. instead of you being magically send to the mission place you were given a car and 'forced' to drive by yourself.
im not picking a fight just I am surprised.

I understand what you're saying and what your point is, but here's what I can't help but parsing from that:
They spent a large amount of effort making a considerable area for people to drive about, but there was nothing to do and one of its primary purposes was to drag out the game length by making you drive to the next mission (while observing the speed limit).
I think I know the problem.
My definition of sandbox: a large area that is the basis for a game that the player can navigate around, whether it be between missions (a la Mafia or Wolfenstein), or instead of missions (a la Minecraft or Morrowind).
Your definition of sandbox (I could most certainly be wrong about this): a large area that is the basis for a game that the player can navigate around that has a significant amount of distractions that the player can enjoy. You must have the ability to freely explore it between missions (this part is an assumption).

GTA 4: The Ballad of Gay Tony sold quite well, didn't it? I'm pretty neutral on that stuff, and have no problems not looking at it or not buying it, as with anything I don't care for or dislike.
Apparently it's a blur thing. I'd upload pics for you but I've uninstalled the demo. I'm assuming you can force real AA, or maybe they'll have it in time for release, or not too long after. 2K is pretty good with supporting its PC releases. They patched in proper widescreen support for BioShock 1 + 2, and other similar stuff.

Male nudity is accepted as a comedic device (see the Hangover, Life of Brian, Borat, etc.). The fact that it is being treated as a joke allows for insecure males to have a self-defense mechanism against having their sexuality challenged. When you get to something more sexual in nature (read: without comedic intent and from an erotic magazine), the hackles get raised. When it was announced that it would have male nudity, I saw many comments from people who were insulted and grossed out that it would have male nudity and announced that they wouldn't buy it. If it were Playgirl spreads in Mafia 2, people would refuse to purchase it out of fear for what their sexual orientation would appear to be.

I agree, the Playboy collectibles are an unwelcome distraction, especially considering all the other possible choices for collectibles (Fallout 3's bobbleheads and Nuka-Cola Quantum comes to mind).
I was surprised that there wasn't an option to turn off the nudity (as in, say, The Saboteur, which had an option for making the nearly-topless dancers totally topless), although since this is tied to an achievement I suppose that wouldn't be nearly so feasible.

Demo was pretty good, but I'll hold off until I see some reviews. Mafia 1 didn't interest me that much.

I think that was a reward for new purchasers, or something?

Yes and no; on the consoles it was a one-use DLC code, while the PC version had it built in.

Apparently it's an error, new PhysX drivers released through Steam today should fix it.
And further tweaks: http://physxinfo.com/news/3628/mafia-ii-demo-tweaking-physx-performance/
:)

Pretty fun, but I'll wait for a sale. The DIgital Deluxe edition's DLC doesn't strike me as essential and I already played Mafia 1.
Feels like it is missing something though. Plays a lot like Gears of War: 1950s edition.

Thanks a ton for the link!
With the new PhysX driver I get 18.3 average FPS in benchmark with all settings maxed out including PhysX, and 21.3 with AA off, which seems to be very playable.
The actual gameplay is pretty good too - I only get low framerate (about 16 FPS) in crowded areas, like outside Vito's house, but I get 30+ FPS almost everywhere else.
I'm not going to try other tweaks, since they disable some special effects, and the framerate I get now is good enough to enjoy the game.