Interesting discussion. I hope no one takes this personally, but I have to admit to having mixed feelings about this. It seems a bit seedy, somehow, having some scantily clad model decked in a game-related "costume" try to promote a product. Perhaps it's effective, but surely there are less, shall we say, sexist ways to promote something? After all, McDonalds sells plenty of Big Macs without having to put exotic dancers out front.
In my opinion, the whole "booth babe" thing is demeaning to women and, in fact, to gamers, who the publishers seem to assume are so sex-depraved or gullible that they'll fall for such shenanigans. Bill and I saw plenty of them at GDC, and, if anything, a lot of guys there seemed embarrassed by the whole thing. Sure, some were all about it, hooting and what-not, but is that the kind of vibe we want for the gaming industry?
Interesting discussion. I hope no one takes this personally, but I have to admit to having mixed feelings about this. It seems a bit seedy, somehow, having some scantily clad model decked in a game-related "costume" try to promote a product. Perhaps it's effective, but surely there are less, shall we say, sexist ways to promote something? After all, McDonalds sells plenty of Big Macs without having to put exotic dancers out front.
In my opinion, the whole "booth babe" thing is demeaning to women and, in fact, to gamers, who the publishers seem to assume are so sex-depraved or gullible that they'll fall for such shenanigans. Bill and I saw plenty of them at GDC, and, if anything, a lot of guys there seemed embarrassed by the whole thing. Sure, some were all about it, hooting and what-not, but is that the kind of vibe we want for the gaming industry?
Matt Barton, Managing Editor
Location: St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA
Email: matt@armchairarcade.com