Sex, Lies and Videogames

Well, not so much the lies (as far as I can tell), but the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (Issue 177, April 2004) is big on the sex and the videogames. I wish I could show you some pictures from the magazine, but unfortunately, Ziff-Davis seems to have a habit of sending cease-and-desist letters to sites that do that. Instead, here are some descriptions of the sextacularly sexy features contained in the issue (please read through them all and read my comments to follow before assuming I'm totally opposed to attractive women in magazines):

• "America's Sexiest Gamer" (Pg. 38) -- A one page feature about Gamer.tv's search for the country's sexiest gamer. The main point of the feature seems to be showing a picture of a girl with a navel ring and a midriff exposing Pac-man shirt (click the title link to see it). The same girls appears in a small picture on the cover and in more outfits in the table of contents. The text includes the following introduction:
  
  
  
  "Sexy gamer wannabes, you best cancel that plastic surgery appointment, because Gamer.tv (www.gamer.tv) has already named America's Ms. Sexiest Gamer -- and she is 21-year-old Ashley Jenkins of Ogden, Utah.
  
  
  
  Jenkins bested candidates from around the country who submitted their sexiest sexy photos to Gamer.tv's search for the Sexiest Gamer (at sexiestgamer.com). The top five sexiest as chosen by the site's visitors (of which Jenkins was one) were flown to Hollywood last December for a final competition of gaming skills, trivia and the all-important sexy strut-off. We sat down with Jenkins to find out just what life is like after being crowned sexiest of sexy gamers."
  
  
  
  The author, Chris Johnston, gets major points for managing to use the root word "sexy" ten times in two paragraphs, and also for coming up with the phrase "sexy strut-off." The feature also includes a thumbnail picture of the sexiest male gamer that's literally the size of your thumbnail.





• "Move Over, Foxy Boxing" (pg. 46) -- A half-page box-out for "Konami's all-girl rasslin' title WWX: Rumble Rose." The main point of the box seems to be to show two virtual girls in bikinis grappling with each other, but there is some text, including the choice line, "no matter which side they're on, these women still be lookin' fiiiiine." (all five i's are actually in the article!) A cutout from the same picture sits atop crossword puzzle on pg. 141, and a smaller version appears in one corner of the cover.





• "In the Flesh: Confessions of a Cosplayer" (pg. 52) -- Part of a three-page feature by Seanbaby on cosplaying, this half-page feature contains three pictures and an interview with 23-year-old Tiffany-Marie Austin. The picture show Ms. Austin in various degrees of costume skimpiness; the more skin, the larger the photo seems to be the rule. The interview includes the questions, "What's the skimpiest costume you've ever worn?" and, "What's the naughtiest costume you've ever seen?"





• "Celebrity Gamer: Mya" (pg. 54) -- Featuring a full-page picture of Mya wearing... some sort of translucent sarong would probably be an apt description, while posing suggestively. The text describes Mya as a "steamy chanteuse."





• "Billy Mitchell: Videegame Champ, Hot-sauce Maven" -- This interview with videogame record holder Billy Mitchell includes a picture of him surrounded by nine Asian beauties in skimpy outfits. The caption: "Sorry ladies: Mitchell, recognized here for his Pac-man skills, is married by says he's inundated with proposals."





• "New school" (pg. 83) -- My absolute favorite feature in the magazine. What better way to introduce 50 games to watch out for in 2004 than with "our stern schoolmarm," a blonde model with glasses, a half-open white blouse , a short black skirt and fishnet stockings. The feature uses pictures of the "schoolmarm" to introduce each section, including:
  • Action games (pg. 90): Our model holding a riding crop and staring at the camera like she wants to spank someone.
  
  
  
  • RPG games (pg. 96): Our model fondling a globe (still holding the whip).
  
  
  
  • PSP games (pg. 98): Our model lying back with come hither look, legs slightly spread.
  
  
  
  • Shooting games(pg. 100): Our model showing her backside, gesturing towards the blackboard with a pointer.
  
  
  
  • Fighting games (pg. 104): Our model standing at attention with a baseball cap(?)
  
  
  
  • Stealth games (pg. 108): Our model propping her legs up on stack of books.
  
  
  
  • Weird games (pg. 112): What better way to finish than with our model holding open hedge clippers across her chest.
  
  
  

Now before you all go calling me a prude who thinks all women should remain completely covered at all times, let me say that I understand where these magazines are coming from when they use attractive women in their pictures. Sex sells, after all, and the increasing competition of magazines like Maxim and FHM is eating into the aging, mostly male gamer market. It's hard to blame a magazine for giving their readers what they want.



And, to be fair, even this particular issue of EGM isn't totally sex obsessed. The main focus is still video games, and they cover that topic quite well. The coverage of the Nintendo DS unveiling is particularly good, and the features on cosplaying and Twin Galaxies referee Walter Day are well-written and interesting. Some of the examples I mentioned above are also pretty tame, especially compared to other non-video-game "male" magazines.



The being said... well... do we really need all this sex in the magazine? Would the "New School" feature really suffer for having a less exploitative visual motif? Should a video game magazine really be devoting space to features on "America's Sexiest Gamer" and sexy "Celebrity Gamers." Would WWX: Rumble Rose have gotten even a cursory mention if it didn't feature scanitly-clad ladies grappling with each other?



The issue brings up more general questions as well. Are magazines scaring off potential female readers by including such pictures, or can most women handle a little skin in their magazine? Is the female gaming audience even out there and worth courting? Should suggestive pictures be included in a magazine that has a large proportion of child readers (not necessarily EGM, whose audience does skew older)? Is the proclivity for skimpy outfits just a reflection of a video game industry seemingly obsessed with the same, or should the press hold themselves to a higher standard?



I find the recent discussion threads for the past few posts have helped me keep an open mind on these issues and tempered my dictatorial, "I'm-right-and-you're-wrong" tone, so I'm going to open up the floor again for this one. Respond to any of the above questions, or post any other thoughts you might have on this issue using the "Comments" link below.