Guys are pathetic, that's pretty much it. I know you think "No, really. People can't be THAT stupid, right?" yet, it works. For pretty much anything.
Can somone explain this "booth babe" thing to me?
- Thread starter Vault101
- Start date
Maybe there are strippers who use the other kind as underwear but that's probably for a very niche market.SckizoBoy said:
Hmmm... I can't imagine much by way of dancing acrobatics without a rapid rate of disintegration (of one sort or another)...(!) =PColour-Scientist said:
I know the ancient adage that sex sells, but I have always found it distasteful. I have thought the same when it is used as car shows, as well. Yes, both industries are dominated by males, but that is unfortunate if car manufacturers and game producers think so little of their consumers that they believe that the only way to attract their attention is to flash a woman's breasts at them. When I go shopping of a car, I want to know about the car. What are its features, what is its horsepower, what is the gas milage, etc etc. I don't go to a car because a pretty girl is standing next to it. The same it true about video gaming. I want to know the mechanics, the gameplay, the storyline, the subject matter, etc etc. I don't want a game because a half-naked version of Bayonetta is smiling at me. Don't get me wrong: I think there is nothing more beautiful in nature than the female form. Maybe it was the way I was raised, but that just doesn't sell me. It is a tawdry parlor trick intended to impress pubestent teens. That might have been a good selling tactic when gaming was the realm of that demographic, but gaming has evolved and gamers who were kids when Super Mario Brothers came out are now in their late 20s/early 30s. They are married and with kids of their own. We want substance, not flash.
The continued practice debases us as gamers and does not show us in a good light to outsiders and our critics.
The continued practice debases us as gamers and does not show us in a good light to outsiders and our critics.
It's something that overall, I just respond with an, "eh." I know that most likely, they don't give a damn about the games they're advertising. I know I'm not going to get anything from them either, and personally, I'm fine with that. Things like that are something I'd prefer to get from my girlfriend.
It's actually a good idea. You can simply not download it if you don't want boobies in the game.Alphakirby said:
OT: Meh, if they could hire disembodied breasts I'm sure they would. I don't think it's a problem, and if it is a problem, it's not only gaming cons that have it.
Oh for Petesake. Be open-minded, people. If you've got a problem with scantily-clad beautiful women, I say you need to sort out your priorities. It doesn't matter if you're attracted to them or not. If you are, you have no reason to dislike them and every reason to like them. If you're not, let them be, because there's no need to ruin everybody else's fun with your complaints. I don't get pissed off about the half-naked dudes in Twilight. (Actually, I get pissed off about the bad writing in it.)
And no, liking scantily clad girls does not make one a "basement dwelling nerd" like several ignorant people have suggested. Liking scantily clad girls merely means you have a healthy libido, as evolution intended for you to have.(And the opposite is true for girls and half-naked men.) If evolution wants me to like attractive women, who am I to question it? Any straight men in this thread who claim booth babes only appeal to nerds, are lying through their teeth. You guys can deny it all you want, but I know you like them too.
And the fact is, most gamers still ARE male. It's not a stereotype, it's a statistic. There's a difference. Stereotypes are based on truth, while statistics are the truth. Tell you what. When I can join a random game in Halo Reach, and expect half of my teammates to be female, THEN I'll believe that gamers have an equal gender ratio. But by all means feel free to add booth hunks to any gaming convention. I think that's a great idea too. Sexuality doesn't have to be such a personal, taboo thing.
And no, liking scantily clad girls does not make one a "basement dwelling nerd" like several ignorant people have suggested. Liking scantily clad girls merely means you have a healthy libido, as evolution intended for you to have.(And the opposite is true for girls and half-naked men.) If evolution wants me to like attractive women, who am I to question it? Any straight men in this thread who claim booth babes only appeal to nerds, are lying through their teeth. You guys can deny it all you want, but I know you like them too.
And the fact is, most gamers still ARE male. It's not a stereotype, it's a statistic. There's a difference. Stereotypes are based on truth, while statistics are the truth. Tell you what. When I can join a random game in Halo Reach, and expect half of my teammates to be female, THEN I'll believe that gamers have an equal gender ratio. But by all means feel free to add booth hunks to any gaming convention. I think that's a great idea too. Sexuality doesn't have to be such a personal, taboo thing.
If it's just a matter of getting attention, my curiosity would be equally evoked if it was a girl/guy with a giant scythe and an awesome costume. Actually, no, I would be much MORE interested. Not to mention that I wouldn't feel awkward about going to the stand.Guitarmasterx7 said:
If you haven't noticed, I'm not a fan of Booth Babes. It's a really shallow and cheap way of trying to grab attention. Plus I'm sure it does a lot to deter many clothed, female gamers who might otherwise come to the stand, people I'd much rather talk to.
Vault101 said:
The issue, as far as there is one, is less to do with sexism as that the so called "booth babes" rarely seem to have any knowlege of, or interest in, their product. There are of course exceptions, but I believe it gets attention more than other spokesmodels, because a lot of the girls hired for this kind of thing have a tendency to come accross as being at least vaguely embarassed to be there.
It's sort of like how if you've read some of the reviews/commentary on the Spike video game awards, and how they are trying to create something equivilent to an Oscars for gaming, yet the ladies there including some fairly well known models and such as oftentimes as not seem like they can't believe they are there for these shows.
If you do some searching for "gamer girls" and such, I think you'll find that there are some cuties out there who are interested in the medium, this is to say nothing of a lot of the girls who cosplay at cons and so on on their own. I think the issue with the booth babes is that a lot of them are probably hired through modeling agencies and such, have no real interest in the product or industry, and are quite obviously acting out of tolerance and sheer professionalism no matter what kind of smile they might plaster on.
It's a tough racket to find people who are both professionals, and also "into" their job. To be honest I think Ubisoft was a bit ahead of their time with the whole "frag dolls" idea. Companies might benefit due to recruiting their models and booth babes for a full time job, and the reputation wouldn't be what it is now if you weren't dealing with a bunch of one-job wonders who waffle between strained professionalism, embarassment, and a pathological fear of nerd drool.
Supply and demand, over time games will mature and we'll have different kinds of game shows for different genres and audiences.
As others have said, the female body has been developing itself as a male magnet for millions of years, that's just how it is =)
As others have said, the female body has been developing itself as a male magnet for millions of years, that's just how it is =)
I agree with you. the "Babes" choose to do it. they are the only ones who have the right to feel degraded because they are the ones standing there handing out flyers or a trinket with sexy clothes on trying to get people into the booth to see what the product is. Anyone else complaining about it is being self serving.binnsyboy said:
I have worked at a con before and the booth babes that I talked to at lunch or on the floor were having fun for the most part. the only major complaint was the shoes and getting sore feet. They laugh and make fun of the guys that have a conversation or staring contest with the "twins" because they are a very small minority of attendees and are usualy very old, young, or the stereotypical basement dwelling nerd. They dont feel offended by this because it happens regardless of standing at a booth wearing a mini skirt, high heels and a bit of cloth covering the boobs, or wearing a smart outfit to the office that they normaly do.
A wise teacher I had once said "If you get offended by something its because you dont like something about yourself and it reminds you of that." -R. Paulette.
That's undeniable, men won't buy a fashion magazine or a magazine that features a less attractive man because you don't want to be buying into that 'ugliness' you perceive.ravensheart18 said:
We're not talking 'pretty' girls, though. When we talk of booth girls, we think of highly sexualised sluttily-dressed girls. Would you buy a magazine with a front-cover that showed a man looking saucy in a leather jock-strap?
Gay men would.AngloDoom said:
Men are women on avarage are not working in the same way so some things like these can't be ported from woman -> man to man -> woman
Yes, of course some gay men would - but I was referring to the majority of men who are (as far as I am aware) swaying more towards heterosexual.tobyornottoby said:
I'm sorry but I don't understand your point beyond that- are you saying women don't look at men as sexual objects or don't enjoy some eye-candy?
Short answer: indeed. That's why the female equivalent of playboy, porn, boothbabes, etc are nowhere near as popular as the male-targeted ones. (Again, they do have a gay men audience)AngloDoom said:
Sexual attraction is very different for men and women. The male body has been developed to be a "strength-signaling device", meaning the things a woman finds attractive in a man show his strength, as a nest-defender etc. The female body has been developed to be a "fertility-signaling device", as a child-bearer etc, so yeah in that sense that's more of a "sexual object" than the first.
Men are also more visually-oriented than women when it comes to this, so eye-candy will indeed matter less to women relatively.
EDIT: you're right that there's a huge difference between attractive and sexual, I do think there's a certain "no girls allowed" atmosphere as you were saying, although it would seem girls are more tolerant than men with these kind of things.
I personally haven't been to any conventions with booth babes (yet), but I really don't find them all that attractive. I'm really only attracted to women that are more the shy, quiet type, and the flirty, scantily clad women don't really seem like it fits that description to me.
Well, it depends on your definition of a gamer. I'm excluding facebook, guitar hero, and iPhone apps. Yes, those are technically games, but if you think that playing those once a week makes someone a gamer, then about 70% of the worlds population are gamers.Matt9102 said:
I mean someone who actually plays full-on games for at least 10-20 hours a week on a semi-regular basis. If you think the number of women who are actual gamers is above 5%, you're insane.
EDIT: Even assuming you're right, and 30% of gamers are female:
A) How many are going to be nerdy enough to go to a convention?
B) Even if the convention ends up being 30/70, then statistically, booth babes are still a good idea.