So in a way its more appropriate to say "sex sells, but sex isn't the only thing that sells."
Yes....i don't think we need to be market genius to know that.
when i said, sex sells....i don't mean ONLY sex (and male power fantasy) sells.....i.e. games with muscular men on the front cover as protagonists.
Both men and women are NOT stupid enough to know a bad game even if the game is lead by the sexualize object of their own kink.
Thus, Horizon sold well....not because it's having lady as a protagonist..but it's because it's a good game with good critical acclaim, unique settings and released at the right time.
In someway...you can say 'sex' is like adding flavour to a game (or any medium). Sort of like pepper. If the steak is bad, no amount of pepper is gonna salvage it. However, if the steak is good, it is good...pepper or not. However, if the buyer want a good steak with this particular type of pepper, it will be wise of the supplier to provide it.
All these 'removing all sexualized content from games' talk is never going to work as there's still demand for this type of 'pepper' ........if you will.