I think the promotion is fine, and let me be totally honest, even if they WERE giving out dates with professional escorts as a prize, it's not a new idea. Ubisoft has been here with their "Frag Dolls" and oppertunities to go out/hang with them and nobody batted an eye.
The problem is that the anti-gaming/pro-censorship/anti-sex/anti-violence "groups" (organized or not) have been winning continuously where it matters. They whine, and game companies back down. Heck, Bethesda wouldn't even stand up to the Australians about animations of a guy giving himself an injection in Fallout 3.
Lust fits with the promotion because it's a game based on the 7 deadly sins. Works perfectly.
The promotion also makes sense if they tell the Booth Babes to be unusually flirty and encourage customers to be that way back, and then to pick out the prize winner(s) from the crowd based on whom they like. Assuming they sign up for it, it's really no big deal. As long as they aren't being paid directly for sex (though that might happen if they indeed are selecting people they like) there really isn't an issue.
It's no worse than what goes on during some of those "hang with the band backstage" promotions which oftentimes amount to the performers checking out the crowd, deciding whom they like, and then well... we all know about rockstars and groupies.
You can say "it's differant, it's differant" but no, it really isn't (hey that rhymes).
Instead of apologizing EA should be defending their ideas, ignoring the criticism, and forcing the issue.
I don't even know if their around anymore, but what's next? Going after the Frag Dolls?
Or worse, look at like last year's video game awards where Marissa Miller (I think that was the name) pretty much invited the world to play Gears Of War 2 with her under the gamertag "Pussy Pounder" (gee, that was subtle). Then I seem to remember someone telling me Asia Carerra (porn starlet) made a point out of saying that she played Unreal Tournament at some point and was a "real nerd" in what struck me as being a promotional thing as well.
Now granted the Frag Dolls promotions and what EA is doing there (basically their own version in a way, oriented on this specific game rather than a team of company spokeswomen) are a step further than the above, but not pushing the envelope even slightly. If anything it proves gaming is a big business like any other. It's just relatively "new" for gaming as opposed to say the music industry or whatever.
Trust me, the way it sounds I very much doubt the girls in question are in any trouble given the way it sounds like it was supposed to work.
Apologies if I misunderstand the whole thing, I haven't heard about this except for the above article and might myself be reading it badly (if for example EA intended it as a joke to begin with, but I'm guessing it was a real contest).
