I must disagree. Yes, Playboy has had, and undoubtedly will continue to have, world class articles and fiction. But that wasn't the reason the magazine became such a huge hit. And it wasn't just the nudes in and of themselves that made Playboy a hit--granted, they were what got people's attention to begin with, and certainly there are more explicit images of female nudity, both still and moving, which can be found quite easily on the Internet or almost anywhere else. That does not mean there is not a place for Playboy in men's entertainment--or in society for that matter.
One of the things that Playboy did when they first started photographing their own Playmates and models was that they depicted the women as enjoying sex and being with men as much the men enjoyed being with them. This was done through the choice of props to reflect, as I understand how Hefner put it, "the presence of a man." A necktie draped across a chairback, the woman wearing a man's shirt, two half-full cocktail glasses rather than one--all that and more (especially in the cartoons) were part of cultivating this idea, which at the time seemed quite revolutionary, and even in an age where it seems like everyone and her sister has a page on a webcam site, it's an idea which to my mind is still worthy of attention.
I don't know what Playboy hopes to accomplish by getting rid of the idea that made it a hit in the first place, and no matter how they attempt to spin it, it still seems like a win for the anti-sex activists who have dogged Playboy since its inception. I remember an interview with Hefner in which he described the history of sexual liberation in America as being "two steps forward, one step backward." It always seemed to me like Hefner and Playboy were the ones leading the two steps forward, and I don't know who, if anyone, will take their place.
Just my thoughts on the subject--take them as you will.