Causality is a big part of the equation here. Girls and women may not be buying games at the same rate as boys and men, but the BOOBS! BOOBS! BOOBS! mentality of a lot of game marketing is very likely a cause as well as an effect. I know that it is for me: I'm *embarrassed* by the packaging and media for a lot of games. It's not just that I'm offended by the idea that game companies think I don't _want_ to buy games and therefore am not worth marketing to, although I certainly am offended by the fallacy and shortsightedness of that -- it's also that I don't have any interest in associating myself with the segments of an industry that think soft-core is the only way to attract buyers.
Sex can certainly be used to sell to women, but the game industry isn't trying to do that. It's trying to sell to teenaged boys and men under 30, and I imagine that the current market strategy does that quite well, especially given the number of "I like boobs. heh heh." post that this article has generated. But women with big boobs and tight shirts aren't going to help sell any games to me. They're going to make me roll my eyes and go looking for another game to try out, since a game that is marketed with boobs isn't likely to be one that I find interesting...and even if it is, I'll avoid it anyway because I don't want to reward the company for objectifying women.
Perhaps the alienation of the market segment I represent -- computer, game and gadget loving woman between 15 and 30 -- doesn't matter much if boobs will bring in hordes of teenaged boys. But damn, it's awfully insulting.
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Sex can certainly be used to sell to women, but the game industry isn't trying to do that. It's trying to sell to teenaged boys and men under 30, and I imagine that the current market strategy does that quite well, especially given the number of "I like boobs. heh heh." post that this article has generated. But women with big boobs and tight shirts aren't going to help sell any games to me. They're going to make me roll my eyes and go looking for another game to try out, since a game that is marketed with boobs isn't likely to be one that I find interesting...and even if it is, I'll avoid it anyway because I don't want to reward the company for objectifying women.
Perhaps the alienation of the market segment I represent -- computer, game and gadget loving woman between 15 and 30 -- doesn't matter much if boobs will bring in hordes of teenaged boys. But damn, it's awfully insulting.
-laura