2.02.2009

A Return to "Normalcy"

After a couple years of downsizing, perennial game convention E3 is going all-out again. This translates into bigger companies, glitzier displays, relaxed attendance rules, and...the return of booth babes.

I don't have a lot of experience with booth babes. What I know personally is limited to the one and only con I've been to, PAX 08. I did notice some eye candy present at a few booths, which seemed to run counter to the whole PAX vibe: focusing on the games themselves. A game should be able to stand on its own without having to rely on cheap boobery to draw in fans, no? I don't so much mind the women (it's their job, after all, demeaning as it is) but the companies undermining the intrinsic value of their product. I can see it now, a story as old as time:

Exec A: I hate to say it, but our game's just not that good.
Exec B: So what? Throw some tits at the fanboys, they'll eat it up.
Exec A: Done and done!

Now E3's running with that thought process once again (and Kotaku's audience is eating it up, btw). Say hello to the lowest common denominator. It's an insult to our collective intelligence. It's the con equivalent of a beer commercial. It reinforces the stereotype that a scantily-clad jiggling advertisement is the closest a geek can get to a woman. Listen, I don't deny that sex sells, but I'd like to think serious gamer guys are better than this. To all those who welcome the booth babes back...you're only doing yourselves a disservice.

Eh, what's the point? In order to be heard, I'd probably have to pull a Large Marge...

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