Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Leipzig, booth babes, video, nudity, NSFWhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/28/leipzig-booth-babes-video-nudity-nsfw/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/28/leipzig-booth-babes-video-nudity-nsfw/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/28/leipzig-booth-babes-video-nudity-nsfw/#commentsFiled under:


The picture above is about to get NSFW in one frame ... in just one frame it goes from normal marketing cosplay to borderline furry pron. GameTrailers put together a Girls Gone Wild-esque segment of all the Leipzig booth babe fit for video (which we have placed after the break). We joke, the video is very tastefully done, as tasteful as one can get editing together flesh shots meant to titillate. On some level it's great culture context, for our puritan American eyes, public displays of boobies burns us they do.

Leipzig obviously takes a different approach to displays of the female form than E3. Although it was a moot point this year, the last "real" E3 had a ban on booth babes. We re-emphasize that the video after the break is not safe for work, don't come crying to us if your boss catches you -- although, for all we know, he might be into furries.

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]]>boothbabesfurrygametrailerslgc07nsfwnuditysexwomenAlexander Sliwinski2007-08-28T10:44:00+00:00PAX 07: Sony tethers PSP Slims to cute girls, awkwardness ensueshttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/24/pax-07-sony-tethers-psp-slims-to-cute-girls-awkwardness-ensue/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/24/pax-07-sony-tethers-psp-slims-to-cute-girls-awkwardness-ensue/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/24/pax-07-sony-tethers-psp-slims-to-cute-girls-awkwardness-ensue/#commentsFiled under: , ,


In a surprise move, Sony decided to display the new PSP Slim at the Penny Arcade Expo this weekend after all, letting excited fans get their grubby little hands on the new hardware right now. They were clearly extremely worried about the security issues though, because each PSP Slim was tethered to the pants of a Sony booth babe -- and the cables weren't very long.

This led to some kind of awkward situations where you all up in their personal space and playing with something right next to the front of their pants. Needless to say, Star Wars: Battlefront turned out to be incredibly difficult to play.

Gallery: PAX07 - PSP Slim girls

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]]>boothbabesPAX07pspslimColin Torretta2007-08-24T23:30:00+00:00Booth babes eat your heart outhttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/17/booth-babes-eat-your-heart-out/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/17/booth-babes-eat-your-heart-out/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/17/booth-babes-eat-your-heart-out/#commentsFiled under: ,

We all know the booth babes look good, but can they play games too? That seems to have somewhat been the motivation behind British fashion label Joystick Junkies' search for the perfect model. The site set up their own little tournament of champions in the search for their bangin'-est gamer hottie. As they say, "We're not just going for model looks though, we've been looking for true gaming passion as well ..." They now have a list -- with pictures -- of some finalists, all ready for your gawking and voting pleasure. See, girls really do play video games.

[Thanks, cringer8]

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]]>Booth babesBoothBabesJoystick JunkiesJoystickJunkiesT ShirtsTShirtsJoystiq Staff2006-06-17T15:00:00+00:00Female at E3: a look backhttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/13/female-at-e3-a-look-back/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/13/female-at-e3-a-look-back/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/13/female-at-e3-a-look-back/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Being a female attendee at E3 puts one into an interesting niche. The number of women present at the show this year was surprisingly high -- a quick non-scientific headcount showed about 3 in 20 to be female. However, booth babes flashed their wares from a number of stands, gleaming cars and trucks advertised games with no cars in them, and Paris Hilton trundled out to wow the crowds.

With all this advertising clearly targeted at guys -- and, by the look of the crowds, working well -- it's easy to believe the "neglected demographic" hype.

Several booths were only giving out swag to those who waited in line to have their photo taken with a babe -- this is more of a gimmick than a male-only thing, as plenty of guys didn't want their photo taken either. Was the reward for waiting the girls, or the swag? Given how many people were walking around with inflatable Conan swords, it looks like the swag won.

   

Most of the people I met at E3 were friendly and helpful, regardless of gender, race, or nationality. However, there were obviously exceptions. Especially when I spent time with PMS Clan and the Frag Dolls, I found myself prevailed upon to speak for all women. The questions "what games do girls like?" and "how can we get women to play our games?" are extremely important, but one E3 attendee isn't going to have a definitive answer -- that's why events like the Women's Game Conference exist.

You'd have thought by now that the concept of women playing all kinds of games was fairly well-known, but some of my experiences on the show floor at E3 belied this. PR representatives, more so than developers, were taken aback by such phenomena as playing more than five hours of games a week, knowing what WASD meant and being able to find the A button without help.



However, I'm glad to say that these incidents were definitely in the minority. Most of the time, gender didn't enter into it, though I did get odd looks from booth babes while touring the show floor with a camera. In conclusion, the people of E3 didn't seem to care whether I was male, female, or other, but the props enticing people into booths were overwhelmingly aimed at guys. Tomboys like me might be attracted in by cars, but other women I spoke to at E3 were disappointed.

With a non-trivial number of women present at this year's show, can publishers really afford to deploy booth props that will have no effect -- or a negative one -- on this audience? Perhaps the number of guys flocking to dancing girls in short skirts makes up for the lack of a single female face in the crowd. On the other hand, businesslike booths from companies like Nintendo and EA attracted huge queues because of their products, not their gimmicks.


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]]>advertisingbooth babesBoothBabese3e32006female gamersFemaleGamersgirlgamersgirlsmarketingsexismwomenJennie Lees2006-05-13T17:00:00+00:00Paging Dr. Booth Babehttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/13/paging-dr-booth-babe/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/13/paging-dr-booth-babe/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/13/paging-dr-booth-babe/#commentsFiled under:


With booth babes prancing about the E3 show floor dressed as warrior princesses, dragon slayers, futuristic mercenaries and (rarely) realistic independent females, it's fair to say that their role-played lives are vastly different from their real ones. There are exceptions, however, and just such an exception could be found at Atlus' colorful booth. Celebrating the announcement of Trauma Center: Second Opinion for Wii, Atlus' booth babes were all dressed as alluring nurses (the best kind). In Wendy's case, this wasn't much of a stretch at all.

Self-proclaimed Halo addict, Wendy told me that she is currently in her fourth year as a medical student at Western University. In what is an unusual transition from model to medicine, Wendy hopes to become an excellent doctor with equally excellent bedside manners. It's an amusing coincidence that may just shatter that old booth babe stereotype collecting dust within the recesses of your mind.

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]]>AtlusBooth babesBoothBabesE32006Ludwig Kietzmann2006-05-13T16:15:00+00:00Waiting for Wii: When box babes attackhttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/12/waiting-for-wii-when-box-babes-attack/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/12/waiting-for-wii-when-box-babes-attack/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/12/waiting-for-wii-when-box-babes-attack/#commentsFiled under: ,


In an effort to keep the people waiting (and waiting) to enter the Wii area somewhat occupied, Nintendo have put up a couple of large video displays on the walls nearby their booth, each one depicting an attractive woman staring out of a cold, white prison. That alone would normally be enough to satisfy most E3 attendees, but Nintendo has gone the extra mile and made the displays fully interactive. A small camera and microphone situated above the screen allow people to engage in some inane banter with these boxed babes, hopefully helping them to pass the time and touch the Wii that much quicker.

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]]>Booth babesBoothBabesE32006WiiLudwig Kietzmann2006-05-12T19:30:00+00:00Overheard at E3: We're your propshttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/12/overheard-at-e3-were-your-props/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/12/overheard-at-e3-were-your-props/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/12/overheard-at-e3-were-your-props/#commentsFiled under: ,



Booth babe # 1: "We're your props. We'll do anything you want."

Booth babe # 2: "Should we get on our knees?"

Attendee: "No. For God's sake, where's your self respect?"

Actually, I didn't hear that last part.

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]]>booth babesBoothBabese32006exploitationobjectificationsexwomenKen Weeks2006-05-12T05:30:00+00:00Overheard at E3: You're all nerds! [update 1]http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/11/overheard-at-e3-you-re-all-nerds/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/11/overheard-at-e3-you-re-all-nerds/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/11/overheard-at-e3-you-re-all-nerds/#commentsFiled under:


For the "Women at E3" gathering today, a number of female industry professionals gathered to wear special "Girls FTW" shirts in a show of solidarity. Morgan Romine, aka Rhoulette of the Frag Dolls, led the crowd:

Rhoulette: Who knows what "FTW" means?
[Women cheer loudly]
Rhoulette: Thank God! You're all nerds!

[Update 1: "FTW" means "for teh win". Added at the request of at least one Joystiq staffer. For shame!]

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]]>booth babesBoothBabese3e32006frag dollsFragDollsgirl gamersGirlGamersgirlspmswomenJennie Lees2006-05-11T17:45:00+00:00Booth babe protest: Bikinis, not bulletshttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/11/booth-babe-protest-bikinis-not-bullets/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/11/booth-babe-protest-bikinis-not-bullets/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/11/booth-babe-protest-bikinis-not-bullets/#commentsFiled under: ,



Seen at E3: as the convention closed for the day, three booth babes wielding signs saying "Bikinis > Bullets" and "I'm rated E for Everyone". We're not sure what the aim of the protest is, as these ladies seemed happy to smile and have their pictures taken.

The question that springs to mind is: why not both bikinis and bullets? We met up with the PMS Clan at Microsoft's booth party, women who are just as much at home in bikinis as in full body armour. When you can dual-wield both SMGs and lipstick at once, you shouldn't have to choose.

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]]>booth babesBoothBabesculturee3e32006girlgamersprotestwomenJennie Lees2006-05-11T06:30:00+00:00E3 Day One: Booth babe spottinghttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/11/e3-day-one-booth-babe-spotting/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/11/e3-day-one-booth-babe-spotting/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/11/e3-day-one-booth-babe-spotting/#commentsFiled under: ,

At E3, we hoped to see some ladies wearing a little more than in previous years. Despite any enforcement of rules, there were still a lot of assets on display on the show floor -- here's some of the best (and worst) from day one.

To our right is a classic uncomfortable, gimmicky costume. She (we assume it's a she) doesn't have to keep smiling, 'cause it's pasted on. Warning: repeatedly raising your arms in the Ms. Pac-Man gesture of welcome may cause injury.


These ladies are clearly thrilled to be posing next to nerds all day long. Their shoes are uncomfortable, though at least they're not suffocating in those outfits. The one on the right is about to grab that sword and behead the next guy who sits, sweating, on that throne.



Where to begin? PVC isn't the most comfortable of fabrics in a hot show floor environment, and these ladies are feeling the strain. The one in the middle looks like she's about to bite. Of course, we're just jealous because none of us would look quite so cool after spending an entire day encased in plastic.



More of the "head-to-toe is better than a chainmail bikini" school of dress; did they know E3 was a huge hall packed with gamers? Or were they expecting the Antarctic? Either way, props to these guys or girls for smiling. Oh wait, they're probably crying inside.



Oh dear. Though the game here is medically-themed, there is never a reason to wear a nurse's outfit in public.



Finally, some real-looking people, though the oversized spanners give this a terrifying Gulliver's Travels feel. Perhaps the spanners are real-sized, and the reality distortion field around E3 is working its magic.



As Terry Pratchett has pointed out, where else does she have snakes?

To our right, the liveliest booth babe of the show. This lady was sparkling with personality and charm, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying her job and was entirely knowledgeable about the games. We hope to see more of these wonderful women next year.

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]]>assessmentattendingbooth babesBoothBabesculturee32006modelsshow floorShowFloorwomenJennie Lees2006-05-11T04:44:00+00:00Overheard at E3: Which game is this?http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/11/overheard-at-e3-which-game-is-this/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/11/overheard-at-e3-which-game-is-this/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/11/overheard-at-e3-which-game-is-this/#commentsFiled under: ,

A lot of the casual conversation at E3 revolves around girls, girls and more girls. Overheard at Webzen's display of whirling skirts and crop-tops:

Gamer 1: Which game is this?
Gamer 2: Dude, I don't even care.

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]]>booth babesBoothBabesculturee32006gamersoverheardpeopleJennie Lees2006-05-11T04:00:00+00:00Webzen: a lot of fuss for one releasehttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/10/webzen-a-lot-of-fuss-for-one-release/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/10/webzen-a-lot-of-fuss-for-one-release/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/10/webzen-a-lot-of-fuss-for-one-release/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


One MMO company definitely wants to get noticed at this E3. Webzen's booth is big, almost as large as nearby THQ and Activision, and they're putting on a show for the crowds. With dancing booth babes, a loud emcee and armour-clad models -- as well as plastering all the cafeteria tables with ads -- Webzen's attack on the Western world is well and truly here.

Of Webzen's three games being shown at E3, only one is out in the near future -- Huxley. Soul of the Ultimate Nation will make its way to the U.S. in 2007 (no word of an European release), and Project Wiki is slated for a Korea-only release at the moment. So why the big fuss?

Webzen believe that in Huxley they have the tools to break into the Western market, and make a name for themselves worldwide. The joint Xbox 360/PC release is at once a risk and an adventure for them -- and they want gamers to sit up and pay attention to it.

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]]>boothbooth babesBoothBabese3e32006huxleypartysoul of the ultimate nationSoulOfTheUltimateNationsunwebzenJennie Lees2006-05-10T22:29:00+00:00Girl gaming clans as next-gen booth babeshttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/23/girl-gaming-clans-as-next-gen-booth-babes/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/23/girl-gaming-clans-as-next-gen-booth-babes/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/23/girl-gaming-clans-as-next-gen-booth-babes/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The idea of booth babes who are fanatical gamers isn't a new one, but the booth babe cliché tends to overlook the fact that becoming a babe is one way for gamers to get into E3. With a clampdown on the amount of flesh on show at this year's E3, companies are looking for a few other ways to give their booth -- and its attached babes -- the edge.

An interesting marriage of ideas is to employ girl gaming clans as "totty with triggers" -- a booth attraction that appeals on multiple levels. Arguably, that's what Ubisoft's "Frag Dolls" team is all about, but the Dolls won't be alone at E3 this year. g0d (girlz of destruction) will be bringing their VIA-sponsored "home of chrome" to the show floor, and the PMS clan will also be sending members to E3 to work for various sponsors.

There is a difference between groups which were set up specifically by one company, or which formed in order to seek sponsorship, and those which came together naturally -- though on the show floor, that's less apparent. Clans like g0d and PMS are becoming famous, and attracting sponsorship now, but they formed for fellowship rather than financial gain. With professional gamers in general getting more exposure these days, it seems that the gender of all-girl gaming teams makes them an immediate hot prospect to replace the stereotypical eye-candy booth babes.

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]]>advertisingbooth babesBoothBabese3female gamersFemaleGamersgirl gamersGirlGamersgirlswomenJennie Lees2006-04-23T10:00:00+00:00Booth babes - GDC stylehttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/27/booth-babes-gdc-style/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/27/booth-babes-gdc-style/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/27/booth-babes-gdc-style/#commentsFiled under: ,

Crys and omsu both managed to snap a photo of the only real "booth babe" at this year's GDC. Who said developers don't have a sense of humor?

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]]>boothbabesGDC 2006gdc2006Conrad Quilty-Harper2006-03-27T09:30:00+00:00Booth babes update: E3's responsehttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/24/booth-babes-update-e3s-response/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/24/booth-babes-update-e3s-response/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/24/booth-babes-update-e3s-response/#commentsFiled under:

Yesterday we brought you news that E3 would be censoring its exhibitors this year, with a prohibition on nudity, partial nudity and even bikini bottoms. Gamecloud has obtained a statement from the director of E3 concerning this policy, and it seems that it's not a new development:

In fact, it is the same as it has been for the past several years, and the vast majority of other major tradeshows have the same or similar policies. What's new in 2006 is an update of the enforcement policies, which simply allow show management to better enforce the long-standing dress code.

The enforcement policies involve a verbal warning followed by a $5000 fine. Since the rules on decency haven't actually changed, we don't need to say goodbye to the booth babes just yet; there should be plenty of them, as always. This is a shame for those of us who welcomed the development as a step in the right direction for the games industry, but good news for anyone lamenting their loss.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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]]>booth babesBoothBabesJennie Lees2006-01-24T08:00:00+00:00Censorship at E3http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/23/censorship-at-e3/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/23/censorship-at-e3/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/23/censorship-at-e3/#commentsFiled under:

Say goodbye to booth babes; this year's E3 is putting restrictions in place to clean up the show floor a little. The exhibitor's handbook apparently includes the following rule:

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. ESA, in its sole discretion, will determine whether material is acceptable.

This is an interesting, and worrying, development; as Brenda Brathwaite points out, the censorship means that showing adult games or games with partial nudity won't be allowed. Will The Sims 2 be turned away because of the shower scenes? Will World of Warcraft be denied access because you can dance in your undies?

It's unlikely, but it looks like a line will have to be drawn somewhere. Also, while we applaud the removal of scantily-clad models from the show floor, we wonder which other techniques companies will stoop to to grab the attention of passers-by. Last year's Anti Booth Babes attracted a lot of publicity, but exhibitors will have to find new tricks this year.

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]]>booth babesBoothBabescensorshipe3sex gamesSexGamesJennie Lees2006-01-23T11:00:00+00:00