Oh wow, I didn't mean to stir anything up!
I just want to add my two cents in on the debate about scantily-clad women in video games. I personally love RPGs, and that's a majority of what I play. In most RPGs that I've played, I've come to view the depiction (clothing and such) of women to be representative of power. They outwardly show their power through a sexual nature. This may sound weird/twisted/strange, but bear with me.
I can think of no better example of this than Yunalesca from Final Fantasy 10. The woman is barely wearing anything at all, but you know from the moment you first hear her voice that she is someone you do not want to roll with. Her appearance oozes power through her sexuality. This is also true of Lulu, who is someone else you do not want to roll with.
Now consider Yuna. Conservatively clad and meek from the start of the game, she is someone that everyone else protects, or rescues. Face it, when you look at Yuna in FFX, "powerful" is not the first word that pops to mind. When you look at Lulu or Yunalesca, the words "scary" or "frightening" will probably be quicker.
Another example that pops into my head is from the FF7 game. There are monsters that you fight throughout the game that look like scantily-clad women. One of them is on the glacier, she's a snow maiden or something like that, and another (the Pollensalita) is in the very last dungeon of the game. She has a skill that you can learn called 'Angel Whisper', and it restores HP, fixes status ailments and revives a dead ally. That's a powerful healing ability, and who do you learn it from? Yes, a powerful, sexy, scantily-clad woman.
Also, considering that many games come from Japanese sources, you have to take into consideration their religions and secular traditions. Women hold far more dominant roles in mythology there than they do here in the West (think of Shinto Priestesses).
So when I see a scantily-clad woman in a Japanese video game, I think "wow, she's probably a tough cookie".