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Good Riddance To Booth Babes
Colin Campbell has an editorial at Next Generation in which he applauds the decision to fine risque outfits worn by the traditional 'booth babes'. From the article: "Exhibitors at E3 employ a whole range of human beings to attract attention to their booths and excitement to their live events. The ones who attract the largest crowds are either celebrities (fair enough), well-loved industry-creatives (quite right) or so-called 'booth-babes', often behaving in ways that at least mimic the lowest sort of strip joint. People do not dress this way in normal life, not even in Los Angeles. There are some companies that seem more susceptible to this kind of technique than others. It's difficult to imagine, say, EA or Sony or Microsoft or Nintendo bothering with this nonsense."
Those vile practices reinforced the social trend to objectify females. I solemnly applaud the decision to ban them. Now take me to the pictures! What? No pics?!?!?!?
Considering that in reality E3 is supposed to be an industry event (I have attended the seminars wearing my game programming hat) and yet recently it has become a giant circus similar to Comdex right before the collapse, I think this is a good move. The press day in particular will be helpful (more so that the clothing requirements): the poor people in the booths are besieged by loser fan boys while the real interviewers can be recognized by the desperate looks of someone under time pressure they wait for a bunch of store clerks to stop hassling their interview target. Or they just get pushy, which I don't blame them for.
Reducing the booth babe exposure (literally) won't prevent people from hiring pretty young women and placing them in the booths. I don't think that practice will ever end (check any other convention and see who is most prominently displayed in each booth: the best looking women of the company or some "spokeswoman" who they hired because the women at the company refused to be so exploited). It will hopefully reduce the circus like atmosphere and restore the event to something that industry actually interacts at.
(On the flip side of the coin, the private parties are even more outlandish than the show floor. Make of that what you will.)
Sig under construction since 1998.
3840 entries... That's what I call comprehensive media coverage.
Wait... get laid? I've not been to E3, but if the normal crowd who discusses it is any measure of the people there.... shudder. Also, it's not like there are hot men there to attract geek girls (assuming that that WOULD do such a thing), so enlighten me on exactly why you think E3 is the same nirvanna of pleasure persuits that say a real estate convention is?
On second thought, I'd rather you didn't. shudder again
Hey, I agree with you that I don't care much for booth babes. I don't go to conventions so that I can get a sneak peak of something along with 100,000 other people. The market already provides for guys like us -- it is called alpha testing, private screening and buyer tours.
When it comes to the industries that I am in, I expect my sales people to give me a preview of items before the masses get to see them. I don't go to industry conventions, and I buy first from the sales people who give me dibs on seeing a new product. Girlies in bikinis do nothing for me (if you want nudity, just go to European beaches).
Yet my problem with Campbell is his desire to enforce morality by LAW. If a private convention center said "we don't allow bikinis in our center" I have no problem with it. I have a problem with giving someone the right to use force against another. Voluntary cooperation is fine, force by mandate of the law is not.
Forbidding something has never made it go away. If the marketing guys think near-naked women makes things sell, then they will find a way to use near-naked women. Video, pictures, sexy voices, whatever,... you can't forbid everything. If necessary they'll put a booth babe in the game and have a "game-character" show up. Then what?
However, if they notice that too many people find their ways undignified and take their shopping and attention elsewhere, the booth babes will magically disappear.
"Government loves to try to control morality."
No government intervention involved or called for. RTFA.
You have your own blog in which you can bemoan government as much and as often as you want. This isn't it. Fight the power somewhere else please.