The booth babe lineup, a TGS tradition
by Vladimir Cole 
{ Sep 23rd 2006 at 3:28AM }
It's a TGS ritual: when the clock strikes five, booth managers round up all of the lovely female 20-somethings that they paid to prettify their booths and line them up for a five-minute photo opportunity.
Show attendees oblige, whipping out their massive camera rigs, kneeling, zooming and snapping thousands of photographs in the fleeting moments before the booth managers lead the women away again.
Though we don't typically engage in such flights of fappery, we think it important to document this spectacle. (It makes us feel dirty to take these photos, but for you, readers, we subject ourselves to all manner of difficult game blog assignment.)
Click "continue" for more photos.
Above: 5 PM at the Hangame booth. One of the least impressive lineups for reasons that will soon become clear. Shown here to demonstrate how even some of the smaller booths participate in the event.
Above: Microsoft's impressive lineup included dozens of women, sorted by height. The tallest women (in the foreground) comprise approximately 10% of the total and are dressed in futuristic stewardess outfits. The middle of the line (approximately 80% of the total) includes women of surprisingly uniform height, indicating that Microsoft's booth managers actually measured height before making hiring decisions.
Here are the shortest of the MS booth hands. They're wearing a third type of outfit and lack the chains shown in the next photograph.
These chains are designed to jangle as the booth attendants march into and out of their line-up. The addition of this siren sound to the visual overload was designed to ruin those of us who forgot to lash ourselves to a sturdy mast or plug our ears with beeswax. All those boots clop-clopping, those butts badonka-donking and those chains ring-ringling made it look and sound as if Santa had come to Tokyo.
The ladies of Cykan's booth really need to get in touch with Peter Moore's tattoo artist. We can totally tell that those are fake. The tats, pervs, the tats.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
johnny @ Sep 23rd 2006 3:39AM
Wow looket them 360 girls.
dazsly @ Sep 23rd 2006 3:47AM
Their is something wrong about the way Japan is changing, I mean becomming more westernized.
I have been there 2 times and feel sad for the land of the rising sun.
I like pretty ladies, but their is something wrong about getting them to line up like cattle.
Sintua @ Sep 23rd 2006 4:06AM
....must....buy....Xbox....
Nick Simpson @ Sep 23rd 2006 4:13AM
dazsly, that doesn't make any sense. In America E3 banned booth babes... in fact they banned revealing clothing entirely. So how does a tradition in a Japan expo that is pretty much the opposite of what E3 is doing make you feel bad about westernization? I admit the actual stuff that you actually see and hear about in the US is often emarrasingly shovenistic, but the fact is those are rare occurences you only hear about because people are shocked by those things here, cause their all prudes. And why are they prudes? Because American corporations and government are run by prudes.
Its late, forgive my writing and statements are a bit "out there"...
shivr @ Sep 23rd 2006 4:21AM
ahh... more... creepyness of the japanese perception of women... awesome
rolling them out, lining them up for display, then leading them back
Fisher @ Sep 23rd 2006 4:25AM
I'm going to agree with number 5; a brief look at the Japanese media over the last ten or twenty years reveals that Japan hardly needed any pushing to create the image of the submissive woman being herded about.
Remember; keep ten paces behind at all time!
See, I can't recall the last time I heard that in the States! Well, except on Clerks. Man, that made me laugh.
Calpico @ Sep 23rd 2006 4:41AM
@2 plz be quiet if you know nothing about Japan.
Going to Japan twice makes you an expert in the Japanese culture?
We appreciate our culture more than most countries. Thank you very much.
Kendrick @ Sep 23rd 2006 4:50AM
Before feminism, women were unfairly treated as inferior and subsurvient to men. During feminism, there was a recognition that many forms of achievement didn't relate to one's gender at all, and so there was an effort to bridge the gap.
Now we're entering a time that some sociologists are calling post-feminism, where there's a school of thought that men and women can't be equivalent in some ways. It's not that comparative value or quality is any more or less, but there's a recognition that men have power over women in some ways, and that women have power over men in completely different ways. If a perfectly chaste and well-mannered woman goes out into public in spike heels and a see-through top, she's likely doing so for her own amusement and not because some man told her to. If a man behaves inappropriately to her, that's his problem now rather than being her fault. When speaking about men exploiting women, the defense that 'she led me on' has never been valid and now the law recognizes that.
The booth babes at E3 and TGS are paid performers. They're recruited, they're compensated, and they're generally free to do whatever they want for a job. Moreover, there's security and police at these shows who are there to keep presenters and performers safe. So who's being exploited more, the women in the skimpy costumes or the men who can't look away? I'd also be interested to know who makes more money in a day, the booth babe or the entry-level game tester.
johnny @ Sep 23rd 2006 5:16AM
Whats the big deal. These girls must feel like super models.
ZekeThePlumber @ Sep 23rd 2006 5:28AM
You know, sometimes Japan really confuses me.
God of War's titularly enhanced cut scenes were censored there...
And then there's these:
http://www.photomann.com/japan/machines/bizarrex.jpg
Yes, thats right. "Used" schoolgirl underwears in a vending machine.
My thoughts exactly...
Jay @ Sep 23rd 2006 6:51AM
... Like cattle.
Brian Sexton @ Sep 23rd 2006 6:58AM
Weird.
> Remember; keep ten paces behind at all time!
Sometimes my girlfriend walks behind me and it reminds me of that very custom (or rather, its portrayal in movies and such). It is not her custom, though; she just stops to look at things and sometimes she seems to stroll more leisurely than I do.
drcolossus @ Sep 23rd 2006 7:39AM
Living in Tokyo now since three years I don't know what you critics problem is! These girls and the way they act ARE part of Japans culture and you will not find something similar in any other country! You should be glad!
O_o @ Sep 23rd 2006 7:46AM
I demand a high res version of the photos... like the ones at eurogamer or kotaku.
vc @ Sep 23rd 2006 8:01AM
0_o -- that's not really the point of the post. There's plenty of porn on the net. Try Google.
ShockWave @ Sep 23rd 2006 8:20AM
hmm , does the tradition includes taking them to your hotel room?
Lansing @ Sep 23rd 2006 11:06AM
@9 Models maybe, super models no way! I have to belive video game conventions are at the bottem of the barrel in terms of places to show off your body.
Jeff @ Sep 23rd 2006 12:15PM
"I have to belive video game conventions are at the bottem of the barrel in terms of places to show off your body."
These are not "models", so let's disavow ourselves of that notion right now. They are not "strippers", either, as most of the E3 girls used to be (they were usually picked up the night before at the clubs along the strip near the convention center, in one of E3's many now-gone "traditions").
TGS girls are recruited from colleges throughout Japan. They are college students, for the most part. Regular girls. For many of them, it's a chance to go to Tokyo for an all-expense paid long weekend, plus their paychecks at the end. Afterwards, they go back to being college students and eventually go on to be bankers or businesswomen or graphic designers or whatever it is that Japanese college students eventually go on to being. Some of them do make repeat TGS appearances, as some do consider it pretty easy money with a lot of perks.
I know all this because one of the designers I used to work with was a TGS booth babe (among other venues). btw, they don't call them "booth babes" - you want to talk about demeaning women, well that term is a totally American term. In Japan, they're called "campaign girls", as in marketing campaign.
The girl I knew actually hated it, but then some Japanese people don't really buy into Japanese culture (which is why they end up moving here). She did say that a lot of girls consider it almost a prize to be chosen for it, though. It ends up being one of the highlights of their college years.
GTG @ Sep 23rd 2006 3:06PM
So far I think the funniest part of this thread are the people who instantly make an association to ideas of "like cattle" or an implicit sense that it's utterly degrading. Meanwhile, simply thought "that's a lot of cute girls"...no animal references remotely in mind. That seems a bit telling. Does anyone look at a football lineup and think "wow, cattle!"
Also, the Japanese need no help with the sex-"freakiness." If anything, they could teach the U.S. a few things. In the States, a taped over nipple on TV almost caused a civil war. OMG, partially exposed mammaries in a mostly non-sexual context!...think of the children! It's all even more ironic since one could argue the only/main purpose of creatures (humans included) is to reproduce. Life exists merely to generate more life and is mostly engineered to support that cause. Everything else that occurs is auxilliary.
So, in summary, CTFD (calm...down).
kyou @ Sep 23rd 2006 3:17PM
I see maids... but where are the neko-mimi maids!? What a rip-off.
Steve @ Sep 23rd 2006 5:12PM
I wish I had the opportunity to suffer and take those pictures. I revel in the gutter :)
daddycool @ Sep 23rd 2006 5:55PM
I wonder if the severe nassatall evident in the 4th picture would look the same x30 if the other pictures where taken from behind the line.
I think it would. Next time just focus on the faces.
Ghost Box @ Sep 23rd 2006 8:01PM
10. You know, sometimes Japan really confuses me.
God of War's titularly enhanced cut scenes were censored there...
And then there's these:
http://www.photomann.com/japan/machines/bizarrex.jpg
Yes, thats right. "Used" schoolgirl underwears in a vending machine.
My thoughts exactly...
--------------------------------------------------
Used schoolgirl underwear?!!!
What the hell is going on over there?!!!!
Pants @ Sep 23rd 2006 8:46PM
Pants.
What a load of crap. Sterotype, hype, crap.
Why are there so many stupid, stereotypical, misinformed, blind critics of Japan?
Forget this country, go play in your own you clouded in hype fools.
Durg @ Sep 23rd 2006 10:56PM
It hasn't been legal to sell used schoolgirl underwear in Japan for years and year and years ago. That picture is probably over 10 years old.
Or more.
borgie @ Sep 23rd 2006 11:41PM
I love ignorant comments from dufus white fanboy gamers. The truth is if they're there they're probably the f-ed up crazy gaijin wanting to group these women. The photographers bow to these women after the take the picture, and the showgirls are PROS who are MODELS. Have you seen a paris fashion show? Is that cattle-like? I'll bet everyone of these white fanboy morons who act so holier-than-thou by screaming about panties jerk off to these same pictures. Congradulations, you're beocming the same hypocritical white douchebags who runs this country.
drcolossus @ Sep 24th 2006 12:26AM
@25: you're wrong! It isn't illegal! There's just a pantie-vending machine some corners around the blocks of where I live (and no, I haven't used it). And my niece-in-law sold her used panties once to a special shop for it. Also this used-pantie topic is stone-old, exists since decades, so why these surprising comments?!!
GhostBox @ Sep 24th 2006 1:21AM
25. It hasn't been legal to sell used schoolgirl underwear in Japan for years and year and years ago. That picture is probably over 10 years old.
Or more.
-----------------------------------------------------
Thank's for clearing that up.
That pic was very misleading so I did my own fact finding and you're right, it's been banned in Tokyo since 1993. However, more than a few sources sited that the law isn't enforced everywhere.
Jerry @ Sep 24th 2006 5:12AM
Boy, it's a good thing Japanese people aren't black.. then the shit would really hit the fan.
GhostBox @ Sep 24th 2006 12:18PM
29. Boy, it's a good thing Japanese people aren't black.. then the shit would really hit the fan.
------------------------------------------------------
Puh-leeze. Japanese Americans living in my state are just as vocal as African Americans when they feel they are being discriminated against or stereotyped.
There is only the assumption that African Americans are the only minorities who assemble and protest. They just get more press coverage.
Confused @ Sep 24th 2006 7:42PM
HOW DOES A BUTT BADONKA-DONK??? I am totally mystified, is this some american thing? How can I tell if a butt is Badonka-donking in my vacinity? Is there a telltale sound or smell?
Darcrequiem @ Sep 26th 2006 3:09AM
"31. HOW DOES A BUTT BADONKA-DONK??? I am totally mystified, is this some american thing? How can I tell if a butt is Badonka-donking in my vacinity? Is there a telltale sound or smell?
Posted at 7:38PM on Sep 24th 2006 by Confused 0 stars"
Well there are no Badonka-Donk's pictured. A Badonka-Donka is a nice round butt. The girls pictured are cute but their butts are quite flat.
FLOYD DARDEN, Ph.D. @ Oct 6th 2006 10:51AM
I think the ladies look great. A good tradition for fun. A break from studies to enjoy a little free time and feeling special for it too! The beauty of these ladies is just what the doctor ordered and it makes a pleasurable experience for all people that take time to see art through life..... I say why not!
What is there to make fun of?
All the photos are great...my favorite is the 1st, 3rd and 5th.
The beauty of Japan, I love it Ohio go zanima su...
F.D.