In defense of booth babes at PAX

At the Penny Arcade Expo, there is a “no booth babe” policy, and their organizers want to know the public’s view on the situation.

Our definition of a “booth babe” has been a model (male or female) that has been hired to stand/sit in skimpy clothing to market the product. If that person knows the product inside and out then it’s less of an issue. A company representative that can interact with attendees in a way that provides value as opposed to ‘hey stare at my body’ is something that we encourage whether or not that representative is physically attractive or not. Over the past few years, I’ve heard both sides plead with me to change/enforce it one way or the other. So I thought it would be helpful to actually hear from the community on this.

- Robert Khoo, Penny Arcade’s president of business development

A short online questionnaire has been set up to ask about acceptance for the policy.

As usual, there’s a whole lot of things that I don’t get. And this is one of them. Penny Arcade’s double standard on censorship (aka the it’s only censorship if we don’t agree) aside, no-one is forcing these girls (or guys – because there are male booth babes) to do this. Just like no-one is forcing the costumed attendees to dress up the way they do.

I don’t care if these people know anything about the game. I don’t care if they are gamers. They are models. That’s all they are. Man or woman, it is eye candy for potential customers and fans. And if one thing has been proven in every single facet of advertising for decades, it is this:

Sex sells.

It has worked for many, many years in gaming – due, of course, to little more than a clever ploy based on the theory that most gamers are classified as geeks and nerds with little self-esteem or social life. For years, many game companies have thus taken the next logical step of providing this stereotypical group with fantasies come to life.

And while we cannot view gamers as the complete stereotypical group that many to this day still believe they are, we can all agree to the fact that humans are sexual beings. You cannot seriously deny or get around this fact, as it simply is. Companies would not bother investing in good-looking people to sell products if there wasn’t a financial gain involved. Conventions might not allow it if it didn’t help to put butts in the seats. But I’m sure that if they don’t lighten up, PAX will learn that the hard way – just like E3 did.

If you’re offended by booth babes and call for an end to them, then you probably don’t watch TV, film, listen to popular music, or buy the majority of brand-name foods / underwear / cologne or perfume, either. And as to how you’re a gamer surrounded by the scantily clad characters or mature situations that pervade our hobby is beyond me.

Hopefully, the community at large is able to see past these clever ploys as gimmicks, just as I assume most can, as with any other marketing device. No, I don’t think it is appropriate to have nude or partially nude booth babes at a public gaming convention. It isn’t a porn convention after all. And I do think it is a great move by the PAX folks to accept input by the public. But the anti booth-babe comments that I have read here and there seem to really go too far.

People need to get off of their high horse and stop taking the industry so seriously. If we’re going to get rid of the booth babes because they are offensive, meaningless and distracting, then we need to get rid of the music that blasts away at shows. And the sexy art displays? Gotta get rid of that as well, right?

Before we start campaigning against the “exploitation” and “violation” of rights here, why don’t we ask the men and themselves how they feel?

If some attractive man or woman at a booth makes you feel uncomfortable based on their looks alone, that seems to me to be a personal issue. I’ve seen a lot of washboard abs on men at cons that make me look woefully inadequate in comparison. But I can accept that they are generally representations of the characters in their respective games. I don’t blame the models, nor do I blame the company that hired them or the convention organizers themselves. It is all on me.

Realistically, I know I will never look like Conan. Nor will my wife look like Red Sonja. I’m OK with that. I’m also OK with having people that do at the conventions that I attend.