Topic: Editorial: Hotties for Rent

[BigJim]

I don't doubt that there is a bigger issue in society to be discussed regarding this sort of thing, but the feeling I got out of reading this was a soft "shame on you" to the guys, and a "hang in there ladies, our day with come" for women.

If I am completely dense and missing the point, let me know. I'm the first to admit I can be thick headed.

E3 isn't just a party and supersized arcade. People are there because they have jobs to do. The social aspects are a bonus. E3 is bigger than life. The companies are all doing what they can do get the attention of the show goers. Anyone can tell you how much of an information overload it is. But at the end of the day, and despite the party atmosphere, the people there are mostly industry media and they will generally forget the babes just as quickly as they were spotted.

The final point was a bit odd. (re: "...the best and most important thing a girl can do is try not to feel intimidated.") Was it a message to the women gamers? I mean, E3 is not a public affair, and any attention drawn to the babes are just bonus/alternative content for the media to provide.  I guess my point is that, yeah, there are booth babes there. But so what? It's not something for anybody to get insecure over. The author, having not attended an E3 yet,  may not understand how quickly dismissed the booth babes generally are.

It is a cheap hook? Of course. But I think their general relevance is a little exaggerated. They're all adults, and the journalists know that they're just hired, talking billboards. Despite the opinion to the contrary at times, men aren't complete apes. We wouldn't confuse booth babes with legitimate gamers that just happen to be women. And, they (the babes and the journalists) are there to do their jobs. It's not Saturday night bar hopping, nor are the babes being made superstars. They help liven the mood, but they're just one of MANY backdrops to the products being pitched.  

[gally]

Quote
Originally posted by: Matt54321
If a girl is being treated differently its likely becuz she is acting like she is different and a 'girl gamer' not just a gamer.

I take issue with that. I have seen with my own eyes boys who act immature the instant a female enters their midst, even if she is just another player who happens to have been to be revealed to be female. I have heard stories of females who use voice chat in online games being hit upon or harassed by horny teenage boys. Obviously we males are not all apes, as someone else said, but there are people out there who just don't get it, and we can't forget that either.

[Jonnyboy117]

A few notes:

1. All of Bonnie's editorials are about being a girl gamer because that's why we hired her.  :-)  She wanted to write this series of articles, and we thought it would be interesting.  I'd say it has been very fruitful so far.

2. Of course PGC is going to E3 this year.  We have fifteen people registered!  Biggest crowd in about three years, I believe.

3. Unfortunately, Bonnie will not be going to E3 this year.  She did a lot of research for this article though.  I dug up a video clip about Nintendo's booth babes from our old E3 2002 DVD and sent it to her.  She also looked through a lot of booth babe photo galleries at other sites and read up on other articles on the subject (though I think there are relatively few serious ones).

[Hostile Creation]

I don't think it would be such a problem that she writes articles based around girl gamers if she didn't have more editorials than the rest of the staff has, combined.  For every editorial you have recently, there's a girl gamer editorial by Bonnie to go with it.

[KDR_11k]

Johnny has the best booth babe in his avatar, anyway.

[Termin8Anakin]

I think it actually is funny how girl gamers are treated.
I have quite a few friends who are currently addicted to World of Warcraft. A couple of them are girls, and they disguise themselves as guys, simply to avoid the whole barrage of horny geek guys who would follow them around everywhere talking dirty and asking for marriage proposals or whatever. It's quite surreal.
I even surprised myself....whenever I noticed the presence of a female gamer (or a chick that likes anime), I automatically wanted to try and start a conversation with her.

One thing i have noticed is that in real life, whenever there's a girl who likes games/computers/anime then there will most likely be a whole group of guy friends following her around. I know, because I used to be one of those kinda guys.
It gets REALLY awkward when one of the guys in that group decides to ask the girl out. It just breaks up the whole friendship.
And its REALLY confusing to the guys (most of whom have never had girlfriends) cause they think the girl genuinely likes them or something.

You can't blame a geek for acting that way. A girl (and maybe a hot one at that) that likes the same things they do are a rarity. Blubbered speech, crude sex jokes, bad flirting and instant infatuation should be expected.

[Jonnyboy117]

Quote
Originally posted by: KDR_11k
Jonny has the best booth babe in his avatar, anyway.

A WINNER IS YOU.

I'm not much for taking pics with people on the show floor anyway, but if I do, it's going to be with somebody freaking awesome like Sakamoto or Peter Main.

[Jonnyboy117]

Quote
Originally posted by: Hostile Creation
I don't think it would be such a problem that she writes articles based around girl gamers if she didn't have more editorials than the rest of the staff has, combined.  For every editorial you have recently, there's a girl gamer editorial by Bonnie to go with it.

If without Bonnie's contributions, we already have more editorials in 2005 than we did for all of 2004.  There have just been more, period.  Bonnie is a special case because, again, she was hired specifically to write editorials.

[Hostile Creation]

Oh believe me, I'm aware.  I'm just pointing out the reason (whether it's obvious or not I'm not sure) for some amount of dissent concerning these editorials being too plentiful.  You're certainly improving, so no reason to stop improving, eh?

[Holly]

Bonnie-
i am a 31 year old mother of four that has gamed since age 5 on atari, and the t.v box, lol. graphics since then have changed for the better i have gamed many years to say the least. my honey, and my children all game. we own xbox, gamecube, ps2, p.c, 64, SNES, dreamcast, gameboys, you think of it, we probably own it. we game from old school to new school. my 8 year old beat Halo 1 and 2 in 2 days. and that is not straight. he has school and chores. we are serious gamers! just listing for a quick insight on just how serious.

however, in those years, something has not changed. it is the fact that gaming is made more for men.

i, for once, would love to see a girl game that is seriously put together. i have played all the TR's because i love the adventure of them. but please.., if i was walking about in a jungle dressed like Lara, well let us just say it wouldn't be for long, lol i am currently playing splinter cell. sam fisher is not running around in a thong speedo, with flip flops and snorkel wear, now is he? and i wouldn't want him to, trust me. i do agree with you on this part of your article.

i would like to comment on "how do booth babes make wifes and g/f's feel?"

if a lady does not feel comfortable enough to go to E3 with their honey and stay confident throughout, then she is simply with the wrong man. models are everywhere. certain men, not all, are excited when they are able to see the model dressed up like their favorite female character. like a big kid. children are excited to go see their favorite characters dressed up. why can the big kids not be? i see, it's the whole reason behind it all? the children aren't looking at batman and batgirl for the same reason? no, but they still do shake and they do still have sweaty palms. some men look at ladies in that way and others do not.  

i do not feel intimidated at all from beautiful ladies. intimidation is a issue that resides in their own. games are made up for fantasy. as is a lady going to victoria secrets and purchasing something for their man to see them in for oh lets say 3 seconds, LOL. overated, yes. can we do something about it? uh no. women have been looked upon like this for years, and years. if a lady feels like she is being treated unfairly because she has looks and that is all her man looks at her for, and she wants more, then she is with the wrong man. that is a true problem. people are with people for wrong reasons all too much. however, all men are not the same. they have a basic attraction to us girlies because of the fact that we are the opposite. i mean, don't we want the men to have that? we can not change the natural instinct. they do have minds of their own though. some are attracted to looks as others are attracted to kindness, or brains,  humor, etc.. it just all depends on the man.

sweaty men at E3, uh no thank you. we don't need them thinking "yeah, it's not fair why am i not an E3 model" than it might just go to court and yadayadayada...eeek! lol chaos never ends.

as for booth babes. theyre just dressing up to play the part of a "game creator". this is where we need to tackle. yeah, the game creators are the ones we need to turn the spotlight on. i mean they do a wonderful job. there are a lot of cool games out there. but, like you, i would like to see one made for women that does not exist of a female running around in a too short top and short shorts, flipping and jumping and pushing rocks that are thousand times bigger than herself when at the same time her clothes stay intact and her make-up seems to hold up wonderfully in the humidity of the jungle. i mean come on. the realistic measures need some work. serious lady gamers such as i do become offened at such things. the way some of the "game creators" make the outlook of women is a shame.

taking booth babes out of E3? how come? us women are what men love you would be surprised how much men actually look up to us in many ways. i do not think all the men at E3 really pay all that much attention to them. the young crowd or the i am just looking at life for fun right now crowd sure do. you have my support on that one. but there are a lot of serious gamers that look at the booth babes as nothing more than a booth babe.  

all in all, i enjoyed your article.