TECH

This 'Gamescom Booth Babes' Video Is The Sexist Nadir Of Games Journalism

14/08/2014 15:36 | Updated 14 August 2014

The Huffington Post UK

"Gamescom is not only about games, it's also about booth babes."

So begins what might be the worst four minutes in modern games 'journalism'.

Zoomin.TV Games has just published a video on YouTube which represents everything wrong (and thankfully increasingly rare) with the video games industry, conference culture, games media and, let's face it, sexism in general.

The video showcases what it calls "the five hottest booth babes of Gamescom 2014" and features reporter Katharina Lopez standing with various groups of mostly awkward looking 'babes', asking them about ... nothing very much.

It's a countdown, with the "hottest" booth babes coming last, standing in front of giant advertising boards of their respective paymasters' games. It's almost interminably boring, very weird, and uncomfortable to watch.

This is the video, presented not as entertainment but as evidence:

Booth babes are a long-standing point of controversy in the world of tech. Aside from the widespread evidence that they don't actually work as a method of generating leads, there's the also the fact that they do work as a method of generating anger, of alienating female (and male) gamers and undermining the complexities and value of modern games as a whole.

For the 37,000 people who have watched the video so far, however, there are different problems with the clip.

"Ok, let me watch this video the way it should be....with my pants off," writes one viewer commenting under the YouTube page.

Another writes:

"Its not just boobs that make a beautiful women! They are always nice but come on. Half of these women are average women... just with bigger than average tits."

Others give up on describing the women in the videos as human beings altogether:

youtube

Ultimately, it's pretty clear that there is so much wrong in this four minutes of video that we don't really know where to begin.

But next time someone tries to tell you that sexism in games isn't a problem, maybe show them this.

And this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And this.

As for Gamescom there was genuine news at the event. Here's some of it:

14 Destiny Is The Most Pre-Ordered New IP Of All Time

... according to Sony and Bungie.
13 Journey Is Coming To PS4

This amazing indie game is coming to PS4, letting you explore the strange soaring desert on your next-gen console.
12 PS4 2.0 And Shareplay

According to Sony the upcoming 2.0 software update for PS4 will allow players to "pass the controller" to other players online -- for any game, even if the other person doesn't own it. If you're playing FIFA 15 you can pass the controller to a mate on the other side of town, and watch him play, even if she hasn't bought the game yet. The other player wouldn't even need to buy the game first. Neat!
11 inFAMOUS First Light Trailer

We got a great new look at the latest entry in Sony's exclusive action-adventure series.
10 Xbox One Is Getting Major Updates

There are big updates coming to Xbox One. First, Microsoft has announced that starting with FIFA 15 and Forza Horizon 2, you'll be able to pre-download games on Xbox One so you have access immediately on launch day. It's also announced a new in-console messaging service.
9 You Can Finally Buy A White Xbox One

Xbox

Microsoft has announced a white special edition of the console will be available on 31 October 2014, for a price of £349. For that you'll get the above (leaked) white version of the Xbox, a white controller, and a copy of Sunset Overdrive.
8 Skylanders Is Coming To Tablets

An iPad and Android tablet version of the toys/games franchise will be out later this year.
7 PlayStation Now Is Coming To The UK In 2015

The UK will get Sony's new games streaming service in 2015, and will benefit from a beta test before the rest of Europe. The service will be expected to launch in full by the end of 2015 but Sony says it wants to make sure the quality is consistently good before making the leap.
6 'Rise Of The Tomb Raider' Is An Xbox Exclusive

As in, it's not coming out on PS4.
5 'Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare' Looks Insane

Check out 11 reasons why this actually looks like an interesting game here.
4 There's A New Dead Island 2 Trailer

This is "Sunshine and Slaughter", the new gameplay trailer, from Gamescom 2014, for Dead Island 2.
3 There Are Loads Of Indie Games Coming To Xbox One...
2 ... And Tearaway Is Coming To PS4

(Which is awesome obviously).
1 PS TV Coming To UK In November

For the equivalent of €99.