Booth babes banned for E3 2006?

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=24247233
Personally I think its a good idea. I would only go to E3 for games, not to lust after women.

Here's the excerpt:
What we heard: Each year, the industry struggles to show that, like films in the early 20th century, games are a legitimate, cutting-edge art form struggling to overcome misunderstanding. And, each year, industry critics trot out the stable of "booth babes" at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), to prove games cater to humanity's lowest common denominator. Stories like last year's widely reported account of the so-called "E3 groper" didn't help the issue.

So when rumors spread today that the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the industry lobby that puts on E3, had banned scantily clad models at exhibits, gaming insiders reacted with a combination of shock ("Whaaa?!") and "Awwww!" ("No booth babes? Cancel my ticket!"). The mostly unattributed Internet reports stemmed from a post on the "sex & games" blog of the IGDA, the self-described "definitive news source for sexual content in games."

According to the IGDA page, the ESA had imposed "de facto censorship" on E3 exhibitors, saying that "material, including live models, conduct that is sexually explicit and/or sexually provocative, including but not limited to nudity, partial nudity and bathing suit bottoms, are prohibited on the Show floor, all common areas, and at any access points to the Show." Judging by previous E3s, that would all but mean an end to models on the show floor, as they are not known for their modesty.

GameSpot contacted the ESA regarding the nascent controversy. An E3 staffer said that the rules regarding attire have always been in place and that they have long not been enforced. "People largely ignored us," said the staffer, saying that booth babes would merely relocate to other parts of the show floor when asked to dress a little more modestly. The rep said the $5,000 fine was introduced this year to add some teeth to the regulation.

But does that mean there won't be models hawking publishers' latest wares at E3? In a word, no. Like at virtually every other trade expo, E3 exhibitors will use attractive women to help make inroads with mostly male E3 attendees. But are they on notice not to be as risqué as in past years? Given the still-simmering fallout from last year's "Hot Coffee" Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas sex-mini-game scandal, the answer appears to be "yes."

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that they are banned, not bogus that they won't be able to undress to excess.

Makes sense, you go there for games I hope.

well I for one enjoy booth babes and games. At ECTS (UK Trade Show) one year they had amazing booth babes and amazing games, this was the year colin macrae rally came out and you could sit in a subaru and play it. They had castles you could climb around and suits of armour. Also the PS1 had crash bandicoot and die hard trilogy. The voodoo1 had just been invented, I saw it running tomb raider. Actually I might have blended two years together there. Anyway the codemasters stand with the subaru had pole dancing babes above it in small tight red uh clothes and that was fun too. The Konami stand had 3 ladies in white bikinis doing a sorta lesbian dance, I was fascinated, then I went and played the arcade games. PLus there were "nurses" wandering around and some girl in a babarian suit of armout straight out of red sonia or something, it was cool.

Yeah I appreciate it's sexist and may give the industry a bad name, but I can't help enjoying it, I'm normal after all.

What? Sex sells - period. It's used to sell EVERYTHING else so why should games be any different? The babes may not be there this year but I bet they'll be back next year! :)

Sounds familiar, that may have been the year I went - 1998, I think it was. Were the dancers on a podium, really high-up (presumably to avoid gropers :). On my way out, there was just a big bunch of guys gawping upwards. I was the only one looking at the games!

Yeah, wow, an attractive woman. I've seen one of those before, thanks. :P

Sex isn't used to see classy high-art... it is just PART of classy high-art.

Honestly... why are there tons of naked girls in old paintings? Cause the naked form is beautiful? yeah... That exactly why people bought them too. To stare at their beauty and rub one out to it.

People are clueless. However. I do agree with this.

Mainly because I don't find booth babes to be attractive. I find them to be annoying and in conflict with what you are trying to sell. Which is the babes stuck in your game.

You really can't sell sex with sex... Let them oggle the girls that you had to stuff into your game, not the girls around the booth trying to promote the game...

I agree with the decision.. However I think the motives are silly.

The funniest part? Fine Art has spent the better part of the last century trying to show how our base emotions and sexuality are ok and perfectly natural to both expirement with and act on. I am much more concerned with violence than with nudity and sex.

Sex is healthy, violence isn't.

while I don't think violence hurts anyone who is useing the ESRB ratings properly.. It is clear that M rated games have negative effects on 6 yearolds... Duh.

It is important to note the difference between real sex and nudity and the Porn industry... That is fantasy... an can create strang effects in young children the same way letting them think that harry potter is real will have strange effects on them.

Ok.. end.rant

That gamespot link doesn't work.

You guys sound homosexual somehow. I'm not implying anything, just thats how it comes across.

Booth babeth are jutht tho not thecthy.

lol @ Noel.

Big10p, yeah that was the year. I had a good look then got in the Subaru.

Fixed the bad link..
Honestly, its not a question about whether or not you think half-naked girls are sexy.

For me, I do not want to be lusting.. period. I don't want to be distracted and I don't like looking at women like they're sex objects. Sex is a very sacred thing for me, and yes this is my personal belief, and I'm not pushing it on anyone.

Because of my nature, it's easy for me to be distracted by half-naked women. Because I do not want to get myself into trouble, I wouldn't go.

Now if they have pretty women there I think that's no big issue, but if they put women in dressing like prostitutes it will be a hard time getting those images out of my head.

Sorry I gotta lol Matt at your last para, but I udnerstand. hey you never know itmight help you write better music!

So feeling you bro. Also, I read an article about a guy who sent away the first realtor who showed up when he was selling his home and specifically requested a fat middle-aged man. The first realtor was super hot so he couldn't pay attention to the deal; lol

I'm a lesbian.

well I always figured if I was a woman I'd have to be a lesbian, but that's the man in me speaking so who knows?

If you have been to E3, you will know that it gets old real fast. Most developers I meet including mysled usualy find it a chore.

Games are great and everything, but go to E3 and you see about 5000 of them within the space of about 3 football pitches. And 80% of them look alike.

If your not there because your boss wants you there to bring people to your stall, be a walking advert for your company by wearing your Tshirt. Or have meetings with Publishers. It gets boring within about 2 hours.

The best part ends up being the POS (not pile of $%^$), but point of sale displays, and the booth babes. I think they are part there to break some of the monotony.

the main hall at E3 is usualy a wall of noise from the 3 biggest corporate Publishers trying to out Watt one another. to the point that standing within 60' of their giant screen, showing yet another boring FMV sequence, the sound actualy makes your stomach nauseous and your trousers vibrate its that loud.

I'll miss the booth babe tshirt swapping stall, the live 24 hour japanese lesbian schoolgirl snogathon with live feed to a large overhead TV screen.

To be honest I think they can do away with the obvious bad taste stuff like the snogging and weird dwarf strippers outside in the parking lot that I think God Games did a few years ago.

But booth babes do add a little colour an otherwise boring trade show. I actually prefer the convention show floor at GDC, despite it not really having that much, at least you do get to see a lot of cool new tools for making games, and get to see what the best 3D apps are trying to offer.

WHATTTT!!!! NO Nooth BABES!!!!

awwwww come on!!!!!!


--Mike

I think thats a pretty extreme conclusion to draw from a statement that they will now be fined $5000 if their bikini bottoms are found on the show floor.

i second ....awwwww come on!!!!!!

Damn, that meens I can't go next year. I so hate going to games conventions in anything more than a bikini :(.

me too.

This doesn't sound like an end to booth babes, just an end to live softcore porn.

You can bet they won't pull the same tight regulations at a motor show.

Yeah, considering that most thongs are tight enough.

I love this thread. I'm going to hug it when I'm sleeping...

Yeah booth babes are a dumb idea. If I went to a game show I'd want to see games.
If I want see scantily clad women I'd just download porn, and I wouldn't even need a camera (and I'd be able to see a lot more) and it's free.

Except here's the thing though. You can't go. E3 is strictly for ESA members, and members of the press. It not a convention thats open to the public.

Now I agree that a better place to look at strippers would be a stripclub, but I can't figure out why they would ban it outright. I mean if you come for the games, what difference does it make? Your experience of playing Animal Crossing DS or whatever is not going to deteriorate because other people are drooling over strippers. If anything it might make the line shorter, giving you a better oppertunity and more time in which to try out Nintendos latest offerings.

And what should we do about those morally degrading pacman outfits?

... yeah - like it's not the booth babes causing those symptoms ;-)

Bummer...

lol, I personaly think they should just ditch E3 altogether. It's mostly a expensive self congratulory load of trollop that a lot of preople want to get into more for publicity or the slight possibility of a publishing opportunity.

Most of the time it seems to be a meeting point to get invited to parties in hotels, the numeruos strip clubs in the LA area and ultimately get wasted.

I expect the main reason that they want to get rid of the booth babes is to get rid of the feminist protests that often frequent the area. If you go to LA. You dont need to go to E3 to see pretty girls without much on. South CA is pretty much a magnet for them anyway.

True. But there isn't anything wrong with that tho'. Once a year all the cool kids gather around to stroke their egos (and whatever). How anyone can get upset about that is beyond me. People have too much free @#!*ing time on their hands.

I take it you would know about the freetime Flameduck ;P

Only in my dreams. I doubt you'll ever find me picketing anything. Even stuff I strongly disagree with. Between work, uni, social life, and sleep, there isn't much time to go annoy millitant feminists.

Gonna get me a wheelchair for ects.

Booth Babes at motor shows aren't there for your pleasure. They are there to make absolutely sure your wife is not coming with you. No way you can sign that contract for your new Impreza with your wife talking household expenses next to you.

ahhhh... it's so nice to meet someonewho can see the truth through all the smoke and haze... good call K...



WHATTTT!!!! NO Live Softcore Pron!!!!

awwwww come on!!!!!!


:)

--Mike

Believe me, once you've bought the Impreza, they still talk about household expenses next to you, esp. every 6 months around service time.

I got my wife with me, so had to go for the Forester.....Also a fine car. But an Impreza....

/offtopic: Doesn't the Forester have the same engine? It's pretty fast if it's the turbo one.

offtopic answer: It has the european 2 liter engine without turbo (2.0X). I think the american version has a 2.5 liter engine.

offtopic2: Oh OK. I saw a car programme once and they had the turbo version. It was nearly as fast as an Impreza but as it was heavier, this slowed it down. Of course it's 4x4 too and with a higher ride than my saloon. On the programm they just went nutty round fields etc it was cool.

...That's brilliant.

Reminds me of the demise of PC Accelerator. Mike Salmon ruled.

As this forum is not a place to advertise sexual appetites I find myself deleting posts (sorry GA).

Please help keep this thread alive by remaining on the correct side of decency, something which e3 when I visited seemed to be lacking of, both in respects to games and the silicon on display.

WHATTTT!!!! NO Advertising of Sexual Appetites!!!!

awwwww come on!!!!!!

:)

(seriously though guys... ya can't fault simon for this one now...)

--Mike

Serious business is done on a daily basis *outside E3*, E3 and ECTS are product launch parties for maximum exposure. This is why it is silly banning booth babes and misguided expecting to do business there if you are the little guy.

This is how it *used* to be. Now it is a giant party. Things have changed over time and I have observed this with ECTS first hand as a regular visitor.

If you think banning booth babes is going to turn it back into a business networking event then you had better ban all the LCD displays and alcohol.

It wasn't me (I think), GA sounds like Grey Alien but there is someone else called GA.

there are still plenty of opportunities to meet publishers and do business at E3. But you need to book appointments weeks in advance to get a chance of a proper look in. Half the time with big publishers you only get to queue up outside a cubicle and get 3 minutes to show off your latest and greatest, and leave them contact info.

The best I got was a 20 minute meeting with a smaller commercial publisher from france, NDA's and the opportunity to develop a demo. But had problems getting a qualified enough team to work on my game.

So... nothing different from day to day business then?