supposed to be a developers' conference, E3 -- the game developers convention -- is banning booth babes.Now, I've never been to E3. The closest I've been is Gen Con, where video games have been taking over more and more as people begin to rely on computers for their various gaming needs. But I can say that I'm familiar with booth babes -- witness the girl in the chain mail bikini that stands around in the booth selling dice, or the fact that the Book of Erotic Fantasy was published.
I've seen reactions ranging from "Fuckin' Neocons" to "gamer girls just didn't like the competition." The latter statement continues to amaze me because frankly, the thought of an unwashed, mouth-breathing, socially-retarded fanboy makes my libido run screaming from the room -- no matter how much money he's got in the bank.
I'm not saying "OMGWTFTHINKOFTHECHILDRENYOUPERVS!" or "OMGWTFTHATCHICKSHAWTTERTHANME!" but it's more of the idea that if you need someone dressed in a bikini to help you hawk your goods, your game can't be that good.
Of course, in my case, I tend to get distracted along the lines of "Who the hell thinks that wearing a chain mail bikini counts as armor?" or "Having your waist exposed is dangerous because of the internal organs and the stabby weapons."
Then there's my favorite thought: "Hrrrm. I didn't know you could shave/wax/Nair/doublestick tape that body part."
For an industry that wants to be taken seriously and expand its audience so the perception isn't something like Grandma's Boy, this is an alright first step. When I hear about E3, I'm more interested in what's coming out next year from video game companies. I'm not interested in the chick clad in duct tape. Maybe people who go to E3 strictly for booth babes will be disappointed, but I have a feeling many others who want to focus on video games won't miss the booth girls that much.
2 comments:
Yay! I get so sick of booth babes. They always look vaguely unhappy (but with a fake smile plastered on) and somewhat cold (given that they don't wear much clothing). And the really offensive outfits and themes tend to piss me off so I won't even look at the product, much less buy it.
I'm constantly amazed at the rhetoric "we're doing all we can to bring more women into the industry" (bullshit) and how completely they manage to undermine it by insisting that they need booth babes and naked cartoon chicks to sell product. If a game is good, or even just interesting, and remotely within my price range, I'll buy it. That's what will bring women in - product that is good and marketing that isn't insulting. At least, it couldn't hurt!
I had heard that E3 had some specifically nasty incidents fairly recently with booth babes churning a croud into a near frenzy (my vague memory is suggesting something to do with dead or alive but I could be delusional). So this might be more of a protective measure than an attempt at decency.
I'm mostly used to the booth babes at GenCon and they've never bothered me much. Because I've been exposed to the inverse female armor law since I was an infant, its rather difficult to offend me with too much skin (though I do feel bad for some of the models they hire to wear that crap). I don't really think booth babes add much to my enjoyment of the con though. I'd prefer average but well costumed members of both sexes. Skin is _not_ an inherently interesting costume.
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