Poll: Should we get rid of Booth Babes?

[nondescript]

I've seen these girls at other gatherings. They dress up and have fun. Some are there for the money, some are there because they would be trolling around the booths like everyone else. My opinion is get rid of the girls there who treat their job as "I have to dress like this and pose around all the unwashed creeps." Similarly, if some actually think this is a low-key prostitution job, they don't need to be there. But anyone willing to stand at a booth (hot girl or otherwise) and help out while also enduring sideways glances, photo shoots, and heckling has to either like people or the game.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Oh no, attractive women are having to be paid more for jobs most of us do anyway. How will they cope?

Seriously guys/girls, caring hats off because they don't work. Most "babes", whether male/female, get a lot better conditions/pay than a LOT of other jobs and they actually enjoy it. It's hardly our fault if a minority of us are social retards because the rest of the world pigeonholes us away from girls.

Booth Babes have done nothing wrong, and are doing nothing wrong. That being said, you'll find a lot more around bad products.

Treat them with a bit of respect, and both of you will usually have a good time.

but when you think about it, these women are being treated like prostitutes.

Pimping. You're doing it wrong.

 

[ShadowKatt]

it's a GAMES industry it's not meant to be taken seriously

Why you're exactly right about that. Why take the GAMES industry seriously? It's so clear to us now, you should really attend a Microsoft quarterly sales meeting and explain to them that even though the xbox 360 division is leeching away millions of dollars in lost revenue, it's okay. To quote the late Heath Ledger, "Why so serious?"

It's a games INDUSTRY. It's a business. Not only is it meant to be taken seriously, it is serious. If you can't be serious about it, then you're in the wrong line of work. Those women are there to do one thing: Attract attention. People see them, they see the booth. Because the more attention they get the more they can increase their bottom line, which determines whether or not they'll even have a business next year, which includes themselves, their property, and their workers.

I really hate to play DA in this fashion, but if I have to weigh in on whether they should stay or go, then the answer is emphaticly stay. If I am a developer, and hiring a few girls to stand around my displays can increase my sales by x and increase gross revenue by y, then I'm absolutely going to do it. I don't care what these people think, or what they feel. This is what I need to do to grow my business.

 

[crudus]

I get the feeling it's simple bias. If someone who criticised video gamers used booth babes as an example of our collective immaturity, if shown the girls at car races they probably wouldn't have even considered them. But I think the main problem is that while films are far worse in this regard, films have shown themselves to be a mature, artistic medium while to the general public, games have not.

Wow I am watching the wrong movie if that is true. I am pretty sure movies shoehorn crap like that more than games do. Movies just try to disguise it more whereas games just say "yes, this is what you want. Take it and give us your money". I am pretty sure games are just behind the curve as far as this goes. Example: the uproar the M-rated game Mass Effect caused because the developers announced there was a sex scene. Could the same be said about any R-rated movie today? Point to a random R-rated movie released in the passed 10 years and there will (probably, 99% chance) be a sex scene in it. It is just expected of R-rated movies, the equivalent rating to an M-rated game, to have a sex scene in it.

 

[sunburst]

Topics like this make me ashamed of being a gamer. It's not the promotional models at E3 that make gamers look immature; the gamers making a big deal out of this are accomplishing that quite well on their own. Attractive women being employed to sell anything and everything is a part of life. Media reporters from every medium and genre have to deal with the exact same things, so gaming journalists being uncomfortable around booth babes acting flirtatiously are revealing their own self-image problems. Anyone assuming these girls are somehow disgusted from just being around gamers are revealing the same problems for our hobby as a whole.

But I've come to expect gamers to have confidence problems. What surprises me is the people saying promotional modeling is somehow demeaning. That is straight up insulting. It's a great job for up-and-coming models that pays well and delivers a huge self-confidence boost in the form of young men stuttering around them simply because of how beautiful and nice they are. Some of them are into nerd culture themselves so they enjoy it even more. Who are you to tell them they shouldn't be doing it or they should be ashamed of themselves for it?

If you want people to stop thinking gaming is immature, try thinking about and reacting to things in a mature manner.

 

[Akalistos]

I'd like to bring your attention to the latest Penny Arcade comic.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/6/14/

This comic showcases the "booth babe" present at most (if not all) gaming conventions and frankly... it's embarassing. We say we want our medium to be taken seriously yet we have things like booth babes that continue to make us out to be the "immature boys club" that I thought we wanted to grow out of.

You could say it's all harmless fun but when you think about it, these women are being treated like prostitutes. They're being paid to stand there and look pretty so us guys can say "Holy shit dude look at this photo of me with a hot chick!"

To me, this needs to end. But I want to know what you think, should we get rid of booth babes once and for all, or am I simply overreacting and this isn't a big deal?

[look at Profile] How did you ever got to....

Nevermind. You got to understand that those models (yeah, they aren't prostitute, just model) are paid for it. Some of them are even gamers Chick. Not only do they get the chance to enter but they are paid. But that's one tiny aspect of it. Secondly, they have the right to choose. They are offered the "gig" with what come with it. No joke. If they are some booth babe, it's because they agreed to be there. Finally, some chick love that! They love to get attention for their body and some girl as made... i won't say career but definitively a side gig. As such, let me present to you Ruby Rocket, the "Megan Fox"'s of cosplayer. She get invited and pick up by convention, love it to dead, and dress up.

Spoiler: Ruby Rocket

In order, A female version of Loki from Thor
Batgirl
Black Widow... Man, she rock that better that Johanson. Damned Ironman 2 Casting Call
and her famous BLACK CAT.

Bottom line, As long as they accept to perform, i'm ok with it.

How about we go for a one-year gag? Get a bunch of guys to dress up like booth babes.

I once saw a "It doesn't work this way" thing with a bunch of guys dressed as race queens making sexy poses on a car & it was hilarious.

Before:

After:

My eyes... It burn IT BURN!!!!

I can't see... I can't see anymore. Sens hekp!

 

[JanatUrlich]

Why is everyone acting like there is something wrong with paying hot people to get naked?

 

[Kojiro ftt]

I'd agree with the sentiment, except they have attractive women standing around at car shows and just about every male-dominated (or even male-interested) event for exactly the same purpose.

I'd say they aren't the issue.

Even medical science expos have booth babes. They aren't the problem here. And while I laughed at PA's comic, I think that girl would be crying even harder if she didn't have a job at all. Nobody is forcing these girls to do anything they don't want to.

 

[jamesworkshop]

is it really any different to this

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I think so, if we ever want to be taken seriously as a medium by the more established mediums.

I can agree with this point but I would point out that the plural form of medium is media. Just a nit-pick, mostly because I see it far to often.

I suppose it's really their choice whether they want to do it, but it's still fairly patronizing to gamers like me who aren't adrenaline addled sex mad killers in waiting.

Adrenaline addled killers? Probably not. But thanks to the significant presence of young males in the market, I'd say that sex probably works better than we'd expect.

I wouldn't say ban them, but there should certainly be a reduction. I'd like to think we're evolving past that, but it's a long ways yet.

Hell, if it's going to stop in the games industry, it might as well stop everywhere. I get sick of advertising treating me like nothing but hormones and a wallet.

Or perhaps add Booth-hunks as well? I mean, girl gamers should be catered to.

I can agree with this in general. It's been a few years since I purchased any media based on the presence or even presumed presence of titilating material. Of course, I have to assume someone is buying things based upon this very thing we dismiss and I don't know if I can fault them as a result.

 

[Estocavio]

If they want to do it, they should be encouraged. It doesnt hurt anything, and its an aesthetic present in many other things, so theres no reason why not.

Just think of them as decorations. (I know that sounded offensive, but it wasnt intended to)

 

[Ickorus]

How about we go for a one-year gag? Get a bunch of guys to dress up like booth babes.

I once saw a "It doesn't work this way" thing with a bunch of guys dressed as race queens making sexy poses on a car & it was hilarious.

Spoiler: Spoiler'd to save space.

Before:

After:

Those pictures genuinely made me laugh, i'd love to see the people at E3 do something like that.

OT: I don't see a problem with them, plenty of other things do it such as racing or (american) football so really it isn't going to make people think gaming is for oversexed teenage boys.

EDIT: Not saying that I like them or anything, I just think there's bigger problems in the gaming industry than 'Booth babe, Yae or Nay'.

 

[ZeeClone]

Every trade show has booth babes. Even the security industry showcase.

 

[Hollock]

they don't really bring anything to the show, i don't really care.

 

[antipunt]

Good argument there.

Then I'd say reduce them, but not completely ban them

 

[Guy32]

I don't mind the fact that they're there, I just don't want companies to try to use them to promote their games. Almost half of the people that talked for the Microsoft press conference were girls and only one or two of them actually sounded like they had interest in the things they were promoting.

They're being given money to just stand around, and they do add to the experience a bit, so I don't see what the problem is.

 

[sunburst]

Just a nit-pick, mostly because I see it far to often.

That is one of the mistake I see far too often, along with the there/their/they're issue.

-guys posing with car-

I would likely be drawn towards anyone doing this out of appreciation for the ridiculous.