Genders in Gaming Target Audiences.

[Kreekakon]

It doesn't stand out because every single commercial these days has sex in it.

Okay poor choice of words on my part by using "stand out". That wasn't what I intended to mean.

I was trying to mean that for some people it is able to grab their interest.

[Kman]

i mean when something has some half naked girl with boobs the size of my head hanging out it usually catches my attention enough for me to stop and do a double take

im not even attracted to women either

[VaeVictis]

Sex sells, and they abuse that all the time.

No, but objectification does. If sex sold, you'd see more erotic content. Not to mention male characters being subjected to the same ridiculous tropes the female ones are.

Also, women and girls make up about 47% of the gaming market these days, so gaming companies need to re-think the stereotypes and tropes they use (although personally, they could have done it looong ago and NOT depended on such a crutch).

Honestly, I might look when I see a nearly nude women on a game cover, but it's pretty much immediately followed by an eye roll.

[Wooderson]

If sex doesn't sell then why is the sex industry the biggest industry in the world?

[Kreekakon]

If sex doesn't sell then why is the sex industry the biggest industry in the world?

Simple. People go to the sex industry for sex. With art however people will come mostly for the art itself, with sex being a very, very small attraction.

[VaeVictis]

If sex doesn't sell then why is the sex industry the biggest industry in the world?

I was speaking of video games, not the sex industry itself. That's a different topic.
Edit: And don't forget that the sex industry is pretty much entirely based upon objectification in the first place.

[Alardem]

Sex doesn't sell. But it's way easier to do what's already been done, and following the leader is what industries all do.

I think there is hope that we'll see more sanity in gender portrayals and making things more interesting for 50% of the world population. Quite a long way to go, and quite a low bar to hurtle over - the way the nigh-pornographically abused neo-Lara and the useful tool that is Elizabeth of Bioshock are being over-praised as amazing shows just how behind video-game writing is when it comes to women.

[Kreekakon]

Quite a long way to go, and quite a low bar to hurtle over - the way the nigh-pornographically abused neo-Lara and the useful tool that is Elizabeth of Bioshock are being over-praised as amazing shows just how behind video-game writing is when it comes to women.

That's a bit condescending don't you think? I don't have anything against either of them.

[Alardem]

Quite a long way to go, and quite a low bar to hurtle over - the way the nigh-pornographically abused neo-Lara and the useful tool that is Elizabeth of Bioshock are being over-praised as amazing shows just how behind video-game writing is when it comes to women.

That's a bit condescending don't you think? I don't have anything against either of them.

And why did you think I was addressing you personally?

There's a lot of marketing and critical 'praise' thrown upon those two games for their supposedly "progressive" characters. While I do see value in both stories (Lara's for providing a story about a woman overcoming adversity, and Elizabeth for a sheltered girl being exploited by paternal figures), there's still a lot of disturbing elements in their characterizations that I'm sure would not be thrown upon male characters. The near-pornographic focus on Lara's suffering, the way Elizabeth's agency is gradually reduced throughout the main Infinite storyline & the expansions...

[Kreekakon]

And why did you think I was addressing you personally?

I know you didn't. I was just stating that I, myself personally did not dislike their portrayals at all as a standalone statement from the previous sentence I wrote in that post.