Slashdot Mirror
Are Game Magazines Turning Into Men's Magazines?
KaiEl writes "I was skimming through the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (April 2004) the other day when I began to notice a recurring theme: pictures of scantily clad women, both virtual and real, kept popping up. Usually it's not surprising to find one or two skimpy outfits in an issue, but this one seemed crawling with them. I decided to chronicle a list of the semi-nudity in a post on my weblog. What does this surplus of sexy pictures say about the direction of the videogame industry? Is it a reaction to the success of 'male' magazines like Maxim and FHM? Is it a reflection of the video game industry's seeming fascination with the barely clothed female form (see: Dead Or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball)? Or am I just a prude who's getting worked up over nothing?"
Know your audience.
I have been pwned because my
"Or am I just a prude who's getting worked up over nothing?"
;)
Considering you chronicled the semi-nudity on your web site, I think you're a smart person who knows that nudity (even the semi kind) will get you a posting on Slashdot and a lot of web traffic to your blog.
And since I seem to be a very early post, I suspect a lot of people are RTFAWSN (Reading the ----ing article with semi-nudity.)
The blog doesn't have any of the pictures from these magazines. Man, what a damn tease. I'm sorry I clicked the link.
Why not start "reviewing" women in the magazines as well? Because the phrase "she really sucked" has a completely different connotation with applied to reviews of women, and gamers might get confused...
I wonder if the author has looked at much of ANY magazine, TV show or movie in the past 20 years. There isn't much of anything that isn't sold by attatching hot nearly naked women to it. Powertools to alchohol to videogames to vacations in Jamaica- all brought to you by the power of your own biological urges. This is nothing new. Videogames have rounded the bend on graphics enough to give us rendered juggy characters. Entertainment Weekly often has nearly naked women, so does Interview, so does Wallpaper, so does Vogue, so does pretty much any magazine aimed at anyone over pubescent age. Ever wonder why so many "classic" paintings from the renaissance are of nude reclining women?
Your wish is coming true. Liesure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude will be availabe for the the PC, XBOX, and PS2. It appears to be a 3D version of previous LSL games though one major difference is the main character, Larry Loveage, nephew to the previous games main character Larry Laffer.
I think it reflects that a large part of the audience who grew up with computer games has, er, grown older, and this is the kneejerk reaction of the industry to try to attract them.
Um, I don't think the knee is the part of the body being jerked in this case...
GMD
watch this
Or am I just a prude who's getting worked up over nothing?
No, I think you have a valid concern. I can be a porn hound with the best of the them but when I want to read about computer games or car modding it narks me that I'm bombarded with 'glamour' pictures. You should see the shit you get in car modding mags these days.
I think it has as much to do with the sudden power of the editors and other staff members. It's like the sad state that guys go through as soon as they get a bit of money to spend on the art budget. You also see it in music videos. Sad no-name rap group gets told they can spen $X on a video and get some women bumping and grinding, like it's some sort of badge of honour. Gee well, done guys, you got enough $ to hire a pretty girl to stand near you for a change.
If you really want a computer game magazine you should buy Future Publishing's Edge. It's written for and by adults in an adult style and doesn't go for the prurient. Stear clear of the sad wankers because if the need to show you some tits to make you buy their mag then their editorial must be shite.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
...welcome our new Nude overlords.
What can I say, it's been a slow day.
The problems with all the emphasis on sex in video games is that makes them 1) less likely to be allowed by Mom and 2) less appealing to female gamers.
I stopped getting video game magazines when I realized that every issue had a partially revealed hottie on either the front or the back cover. I couldn't even leave the magazines lying around.
Eventually, the hobby will mature enough to support videogame magazines aimed at different markets: young videogamers, female videogamers, mature videogamers, and (the largest segment) horny young male videogamers. For now, though, it's just that last group being served.