Another enjoyable read Sanya, thanks!

As a female gamer myself I can say I don't mind looking at sexy ladies in game advertising for the most part. But sometimes it's so blatent I feel like it's saying the game is really not for me. I remember one game that launched a while back had looked quite interesting to me and I was looking forward to playing it. The initial ads were sexy but not extremely so. The art design was very attractive and the women in the ads complemented it. As launch drew near however, the females became more and more the focus of the ads and you could actually watch their bust sizes get bigger and bigger. Finally I couldn't take anymore boobs in the face and gave up on the game. I felt that if there was some actually fun content they would have focused at least a bit on that, instead of relying so much on breasts to draw players.

As for Star Trek, it was one of the more fair IPs giving nearly equal time to beefcake. There were many episodes were Kirk took his shirt off, or had it ripped off. Sulu in The Naked Time with his rapier. Who can forget Khan in The Wrath Of and his low cut shirt. And of course there's the classic skant:

Boobies will grab my attention and make me look twice and check it out. It works for an attention grabber but that's about it. It will make me pick up the box or check out the sight and from there it all depends on what it has to offer.

I will have to say the only thing i found fun in SWG was rolling a dancer :)

you forgot Blade & Soul

Guys like pictures of scantily clad girls? You don’t say? :)

And long may it be so, the day guys didn’t would be the day we had to rely on artificial insemination to propagate the human race.

I am always amused when the old ‘there are more men in activity X because the advertising is aimed at them” argument. That’s because the advertisers worked out that more men do the activity, so naturally the advertising is aimed at them…its egg followed by chicken, not chicken followed by egg.

Is the reason I don’t wear make up and a dress because the advertising is not aimed at me? It is always possible to find a pseudo sociological reason to avoid the fact that men and women are different. Possibly on a genetic level or a hormonal one, it is hard to say why. But we do like different things and not just because of advertising which just follows pre existing trends. These differences should be celebrated not made a taboo. The drive to pretend we are all alike, regardless of race, culture, age and sex is an Orwellian one.

Let’s celebrate what makes life so interesting. not try to be one boring blob of humanity.

I remember an AoC promo video before launch where Erling Erlingsen zoomed in on a succubus boobs and said:

"Look at the BOOBS, this game is all about BOOBS, Conans world is all about BOOBS" or something...

Thats where I lost faith in Funcom and AoC...

Originally posted by Khalathwyr  That said, an attractive woman on the cover of a product won't blind me to the flaws of said product. Understandable the vast majority of my gender doesn't work that way. If anything putting a scantily clad woman on a video game to me is a warning that what's in the box isn't all it's cracked up to be most times.

I agree with your point often I see a box cover and think oh Bewbs but then think back to how many truly awful games have resorted to that method so if anything it deters me from a game.

From a pre launch marketing perspective though they do work I had no interest in Warhammer until I saw the Witch Elf so I then researched the game and it sounded decent so gave it a shot (it sucked) :)

This form of advertising definately has it's place and it doesn't just appeal to male's.

Males generally mmo game for the sake of gaming.

Females its more for the immersion and escape from reality so showing them they can become this strong willed sexy woman in game through a box cover can have great effect with the female audience also.

Boobs and attractive females are used to market products to women too.   Last time I checked most men didn't buy makeup or female clothing etc.  Why have super hot models for makeup products?  I'm not going to tell my wife "ohh look! she's hot with that makeup! Buy some of that!"  

 sex and violence are what american culture has degraded into, and violent sex is the biggest crowd draw of them all these days, if aoc hadnt cut the sex interaction content to dodge the rating it would have kept alot more subs.  instead they slapped a thong on the chicks (there was a mod to remove it of course that was out before the game even released) but cutting out the cutscenes from the sex rewards and most of the sex rewards, and not to mention the prostitution removed alot of the more interesting content and left us with a mediocre pve game with badly balanced pvp. /rant off

So how old do you think that female on the right side there for Dragonica is...?

It is one thing to have the bewbies, cause the guys love the bewbies - but then things like that are just wrong.

Great read, nothing more nothing less :p ^^

What about the awesome lineage 2 ....  dark elves (aka porn elves) , even the orc women have an alluring quality :)

I just wanna say that I first stumbled into your articles/editorials last week, but I am already a fan. You write an amusing column :)

I am occasionally attracted to it, yet usually annoyed by it.

It's not so much that I find it insulting to my intelligence—although I do—but rather that I do not generally find such large breasts attractive. There have been some exceptions, but I typically find that such endowment seriously hampers any elegance the character might otherwise have, lugging around such tubs. Not sexy. The in-game models often look better, which just isn't right.

The thing that I have long realized and accepted: Most men and women have COMPLETELY different ways of appreciating the EXACT SAME THING.  Example, I'm comfortable enough with myself to say that I think breasts can be lovely; but I'm not going to sit here drooling over myself like I got hit with a 6 second stun.

Is a women flaunting her goodies on the cover of a box going to catch my eye: Yes

Is a women flaunting her goodies on the cover of a box going to sway my decision on signing for a sub: No

Both sides can be stopped by a pretty face or a scantaly dressed girl the motivations can even be the same; but our method of appreciating is completely different.

Originally posted by VirDan

So how old do you think that female on the right side there for Dragonica is...?

It is one thing to have the bewbies, cause the guys love the bewbies - but then things like that are just wrong.

You've lost me. Things like what? Big bewbies beneath big heads?

Originally posted by Saerain

Originally posted by VirDan

So how old do you think that female on the right side there for Dragonica is...?

It is one thing to have the bewbies, cause the guys love the bewbies - but then things like that are just wrong.

 

You've lost me. Things like what? Big bewbies beneath big heads?

It is not a big head - it is a young head - what appears to be an underage head.

Judging from the other characters from them as well as player characters from the game; that is what we would call an adult; though she doesn't look that way, per se.

I have to agree with Sanya the exploitation of the female anatomy is rampant in this genre. 

Female Avatars in many of these games are just as bad.  Men's armor is head to toe coverage while the women's has barely enough coverage to make it legal. 

I don't know of a game that does not do it sadly.

Originally posted by Ozmodan

I have to agree with Sanya the exploitation of the female anatomy is rampant in this genre. 

Female Avatars in many of these games are just as bad.  Men's armor is head to toe coverage while the women's has barely enough coverage to make it legal. 

I don't know of a game that does not do it sadly.

And do you have any ideas on how we could stop it???

i coudlnt stop laughing XD i wish more blogs and articles were this funny. but yea, im a guy and actually base my choices more on screenshots to see what a games like. combined with a review.

Originally posted by Kithca

And do you have any ideas on how we could stop it???

stab our eyes out?

on a more serious note, what i find most amusing is the claim it's directed at the 18-34 age range. i don't think too many 34yo lose sleep over boobs on a game box (they've oughta seen enough if not live then on the net by that age) while for a 14yo in the middle of hormonal chaos it might be a very interesting thing.

It is, what it is.

Women in suggestive poses always grabs attention, that's the point. It's not just positive it's also the negative attention, they want it all.

Finally someone speaking out about this subject
I am getting so tired of all the "hot gurlz, big boobs!" advertisements that I usually put away a potential game when I see it...  I liked the pictures of World of Warcrafts original box.....because I love mystique and odd yet feminine faces
Just like my characters online in any game I try to get rid of revealing clothes and like to focus more on the colouring and accesory like necklaces, shawls etcetc..thats fun ^^
So, while I might technically fall under the "heterosexual" "male" audience I often feel very uncomfy with it, and this is just another example why ^^

Good blog Sanya :0)
 

Im reading feminist science studies and you made me laugh alot with this article becuse it points out some awfull  strutctures without beeing to serious and dull. Keep up the good work.

xxx

from sweden.

 Yes but (hey somone is going to say it eventually i might as well take the heat)

can we see yours?

jokes aside: it really is simple Sex Sell and no industry is safe.

Mirror universe ST, To'pol's Pon Far (how many horney men downloaded thost episode from youtube?)

Slave Leia, Slave Leia, did i mention Slave Leia?

Super girl, hell almost any super-chick (though to be fair i think the short pleated skirt she wear works well for a super hero, better then spandex, try doing a high kick in tight pants you going to rip the crotch seam more often then not)

Name one industry without TNA, i can't