What do you think of Booth Babes at E3?

and other gaming conventions? Booth Babes often appear in most Gaming conventions, although there is opposition to it.

On one hand, I'll just admit --- they're very hot. Most guys don't really complain, and besides Booth Babes are present at most events, which can be at Comic conventions, Sci-Fi, etc. Also, some Booth Babes are accurate character representations.

On the other hand, it is quite exploitative to the consumer to advertise sex appeal at a convention, and it sort of does detract from the Gaming aspect.

Based on the conventions I've been to, I've never seen complaints. But, opposition does exist. What are your thoughts on it, GameSpot?

Yeah - because this is exclusive to conventions...

Meh, the women do it because they like showing off their bodies. If they didn't, there wouldn't be any booth babes.

I wouldn't call it sexist, but it definitely helps keep alive the stereotype that gamers are all desperate virgins.

Booth babes should be banned. Seriously, these conventions should have some class. Shoving scantily clad women in front of your display to sell a product is super lame.

They get paid pretty damn well to stand there and look pretty. That's their job, they're models. Looking hot is their meal ticket, they work hard at it, they likely need to have very good people skills and knowledge of what their representing, and it probably gets them some neat swag too. Why do you want to put some people out of work?

Did the PARAGONS OF JUSTICE ever bother to ask the models and sales people how they felt?

Are they too pretty and make you feel awkward/jealous? Does having a vagina in close proximity make these people unable to focus because of breast onset ADD? Really bro, this is fucking stupid that Booth Babes should be banned.

There's a big difference between a woman cosplaying as a fan and one that's been hired to stand around in a booth all day.

What the heck does justice have to do with anything? I just think booth babes are REALLY fucking lame. I would prefer video games having a better image over the work of about a hundred models. They're thousands of jobs that have models stand around and look pretty, video games conventions do not have to be one of them.

And you also feel the need to question my masculinity? What's up with you? Chill out.

Not really. Both like the idea of showing off. One just likes being paid to do it.

Don't see the point of them...I go to conventions for the games (or whatever medium the convention is about) not to look at random women who are payed to stand there looking pretty. Then again, if they want be payed to stand there and look pretty who am I to say anything?

@harisinghnalwa: I was actually fortunate enough to attend last summer and found most of them an unneeded annoyance. It's not that I don't like looking at attractive women, it's just that most of them knew very little about the subject matter and were instructed to try and engage us about the game. I'll never forget the Bayonetta 2 demo, where the most ditzy of them just kept screaming, "Yeah! Punch and kick! Punch and kick! Open that next door by punching and kicking!"

Oiy.

These girls get paid for being there and look pretty and people naturally enjoy seeing attractive women. Everybody wins.

Agreed, also I find cosplaying fun.

As do I. I wish I could go to all sorts of places with people cosplaying. Say, have you ever cosplayed?

It's as if a heavily male oriented audience inherently enjoy looking at breasts.

It's not right.

It's about par for the course considering how terrible fandom communities are.

i just checked a video on youtube and to my own surprise, i did find them lame and annoying. then again it made me wish i was a hot chick so i could make money off my bouncing boobs and annoying voice

@JangoWuzHere: I'm only pointing out it's just a job, nothing more, nothing, less. Okay maybe I overreacted on the issue but E3 Booth Babes has been done for years now.

Disappointed TC, was expecting photos.

It's a job that feels more and more out of place each year. The industry is a lot more mature and developed then it was a decade ago. It's an industry for professionals, not just teenagers. People going to E3 are there to educate themselves about upcoming games. They are not there to ogle at pretty ladies.

Booth babes are hired to look pretty and pose for pictures, nothing more. Most of them don't give insight or offer information on the games in question. They're wasted space at an already crowded event.

Honestly, I would feel better if companies spent more money on bigger displays and props. Booth Babes are a waste of money, and studies show they don't even work, especially at professional tech shows like E3.

I don't care wither way, they are alright, whoever doesn't like them doesn't have to look at them.

What do I think?

i can't imagine how annoying it would be to actually be one of those women.. getting hit on all day long by guys thinking they're clever with the same tired lines over and over again...

@foxhound_fox:

Nope they do it for the money.

Cha-Ching! I sure do love me some money. Certainly can't go wrong with Ben Franklin.

I'd be happy if I can take a few home to see how well they know how to work a "joystick"...>=)

I kid I kid lol....or am I?

Seriously though, I don't mind the eye candy but its definitely not my main focus when watching E3 shows. (Not that I really watch them seeing as Nintendo does theirs by Nintendo Direct. I pretty much follow Nintendo exclusively, only paying attention to what's going to PC if I want to look outside Nintendo for my gaming needs...) If companies want them around to showcase their products, I see no problem. I mean, I doubt its as easy as it looks considering the booth babes would probably be getting harassed often...

@JangoWuzHere: "I would prefer video games having a better image over the work of about a hundred models. They're thousands of jobs that have models stand around and look pretty, video games conventions do not have to be one of them."

You can't be serious? 1st of all, why can't games convention have them but others can? If anything, games are still the main event while booth babes are like Superbowl commercials.

This. There's nothing "wrong" with it per se but it's kind of pointless. There has been a ton of discussion around how using booth babes doesn't really help get more attention/business/coverage, plus it's not really great for the image of gamers in the public perception.

-Byshop

@Byshop: "plus it's not really great for the image of gamers in the public perception."

What?

@PSP107: Read the post I was replying to. Toast_Burner said that it "definitely helps keep alive the stereotype that gamers are all desperate virgins" and I was agreeing.

-Byshop

@Byshop:

Oh I read it. The last part you wrote doesn't make sense. Public perception? I highly doubt CNN covers booth babes. But they sure cover violence in video games.

And if we go by Toastburner's logic, there are virgins at NFL/NBA games because the last time I checked, the cheerleaders wear certain clothes too.

I always found "event Babes " extremely pointless and embarrassingly stupid.

Im not fucking feminist, but I think they should be banned.

Not just Booth Babes, Im also talking about the babes they use in Boxing, car shows, Hooters, Cheerleaders in sports.

Bitches need to stop living off beauty and sex appeal and get a real job.

Yes, the idea that the public perception of gamers might be influenced by what goes on at the single largest annual industry trade show isn't exactly crazy.

And no, I wouldn't say that's a fair characterization of Toastburner's (or my) logic. The perception of video gamers and mostly male, socially awkward virgins wasn't created by booth babes, but using scantilly clad women dressed as fictional characters to try to attract attention to a given product or brand doesn't exactly help.

-Byshop

Damn right isn't
Ass is where its at

@Byshop: "but using scantilly clad women dressed as fictional characters to try to attract attention to a given product or brand doesn't exactly help."

You can argue dressing up as fictional characters is promoting the game. Its marketing 101.

I don't find it sexist. Objectification doesn't amount to having thoughts about a woman because she's attractive, though many mistakenly think that's what it means. Rather, it's behaving in such a manner in which you demean women of all value except to serve those base needs.

I kinda wish there was a male counterpart, so that people won't be complaining about being sexist.

They're nice to look at. These females like dressing up like that so might as well get paid for it. What I don't get is those advertisement with hot women eating a cheeseburger or whatever. Am I suppose to get a hard on while eating or something, is that why they call it Hardy's. I just don't get those commercials.

"Women should be able to express themselves" - Not sexist.

"omg look at those women parading in skimpy outfits!" - SEXIST

The very concept of booth babes is stupid. I don't think they attract attention to the product they're selling. Also, I don't think it's sexist and it makes no sense to have male booth models since most gamers are men.

Hot chick's are the best marketing tool to the adult male demographic. Hot chick's are in men's deodorant commercials, working at hardware stores, etc. Do you want to put hooters girls out of work too?

Yea it's not very progressive. Are these supposed to be gaming conventions or roleplaying strip clubs?

Where are the stripping doods? I'm sensing a lack of equality.

I don't care what they do. It's their bodies and they can do what they want with it. Objectification of women a myth something only the wealthiest people can even achieve. But can it really be called objectification when most women will sell their souls for riches? That sounds like a job or service and they are getting paid nicely for it.

I don't think they need to be banned. I think certain companies will keep on doing it, to their detriment, and others won't. The "problem" will solve itself.

Useless. I find them out of place. There is a time and place for attractive women to pose, but a gaming convention is not one of them. If I got to a porn convention (as if I'll go to one), That would be the appropriate time and place

I'd wager that it's more because they're getting paid. But yeah, in any event, they don't seem to have much of a problem with it.

That said, I expect I might have a SMALL problem with booth babes if I actually went to one of these types of conventions. But IF I had a problem, it'd be a totally selfish one. Exploitation? **** that. You can kind of scream "exploitation" when you're talking about freakshows or coercing the mentally disabled to do something. But able-bodied mentally normal adults who are totally capable of doing something else if they find this to be sexually exploitative? No way. I have zero concern about "booth babes" (aside from obvious offenses like maybe being sexually harassed by fans). They're mentally sound able-bodied adults, they know what the job entails, and they agree to do the job. No, if I have a "problem" about booth babes, it's about what that says about ME as someone who goes to those conventions. You know, the implication that I don't really care about the games and stuff, but that I'm just there to see some hot chicks. That NORMALLY wouldn't be offensive to me, since I like hot chicks and am not afraid to admit it. But it could POTENTIALLY be different when your real passion is for the other stuff and hot chicks are just an added bonus, but people THINK that you don't care about other stuff and are just there for the hot chicks.

An analogy might be a dude who likes doing photography. And he photographs all sorts of stuff, he just likes photography. That's his real primary passion. But then he asks a model if she'd be willing to pose nude, and she's like, "you fucking pervert! You don't care about the art, you just want to see hot chicks naked!" And, yeah I'd have a problem with that, because **** that. If I'm passionate about art, I most certainly WOULD be offended if someone said that I only pretend to be passionate about art because of the hot chicks. Similarly, if I'm passionate about games, it sort of IS offensive to get the suggestion that I wouldn't care about the games if there weren't hot chicks hanging around.

But hey...that's not a REAL problem because that's just a problem with me and MY public image. One could also equally make the argument that if I really care about games or art or whatever, that I shouldn't CARE if some dumbasses think I'm just a pervert. If I'm passionate about the content, then I should just ignore the assholes who think I have ulterior motives.

Still, I totally CAN see how that could be annoying. Still, just as the "booth babe', I knew what I was getting into when I went there. If I was THAT bothered about people thinking that I'm a socially inept sexually awkward pervert who only goes to those events because of the hot chicks, then I wouldn't freaking go to those events.

@da_illest101:

Is it really out of place considering E3 has become really big?

I mean there are release parties for games attended by actors, musicans and pro athletes.

I guess they are fantasy for gaming geeks that don't get to see women any other time. Yes...I know that's a stereotype...but for some gamers...it's reality. I DON'T think all gamers are that way.