Earlier this month, I mentioned the roll out of a sex game for the Kinect—ThriXXX’s creepy, yet entertaining “groping simulator” involving a floating, disembodied hand—and I pondered what Microsoft might do about this sort of thing. Well, it looks like we’ve gotten our answer. Microsoft took one look at the game and said, “Get it off! Get it off!” right before rushing to the bathroom to wash its hands.

IGN has some choice quotes from spokespeopke at Microsoft who actually indeed make a moral point about what they intend to license for their console and what they won’t,

Microsoft responded saying this software would never pass certification, so don’t expect these types of games to hit console anytime soon.

"This isn’t the first example of a technology being used in ways not intended by its manufacturer, and it won’t be the last," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Microsoft did not authorize or license its technology for this use."

"Xbox is a family friendly games and entertainment console and does not allow Adults Only (AO) content to be certified for use on its platform, and would not condone this type of game for Kinect."

Thrixxx said the software is currently in alpha stages and hopes to add optional Kinect support to its PC sex games in 2011.

Okay, so no sex games for Xbox 360. The AO rating is dreaded by mainstream game publishers because it means that no outlets will carry their game—according to the ESRB, AO (or Adults Only/18+) is reserved only for games that depict graphic scenes of a sexual nature, previous encounters with extremely violent games have shown that it’s not a factor. Everyone should keep in mind that Rockstar’s extremely famous, controversial, and highly popular game series Grand Theft Auto has had at least one time almost gotten an AO rating due to an in-game Easter egg available only after downloading a hack from the Internet.

Instead of simply not finding a mainstream retailer to carry their product in this case, ThriXXX wouldn’t be able to publish at all for the Xbox 360 console.

This is about as far as Microsoft can legally go with this sort of licensing embargo, however, noting their tacit approval permitting people to hack the Kinect peripheral for other forms of us. While the software giant may withhold licensing that permits companies to sell products that run on their console, they have very little jurisdiction when it comes to what people do with their Kinect and their PC. (Note they carefully avoided saying anything about that particular aspect.)

We still might see this game rolling out for the PC while patting itself on the back and mentioning that, if you have one, you can take your Kinect from your Xbox, plug it into your computer, and get down to groping.

Meanwhile, Microsoft will be making a big show of using the soap and sink to wash their hands of the entire subject.