Does sexualization in video games really sells?

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ArcossG

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May 12, 2011
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Sexualization of female charcters in games is something that's been around for decades, but does it really work? when was the last time( if at all ) you saw someone buy a game because there is a sexy and revealing chick on the cover
 

telocaster

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Aug 12, 2011
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I'm pretty sure unrealistic female sexualization is the only reason the Tomb Raider franchise makes any money.

But other than that I do not think female sexualization really impacts sales.
 

skywolfblue

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Jul 17, 2011
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Yes, among certain demographics.

If you want an example, Dead or Alive: Beach Volleyball made money.
 

targren

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May 13, 2009
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skywolfblue said:
Yes, among certain demographics.
If you want an example, Dead or Alive: Beach Volleyball made money.
You've got to be kidding me. That game came out in the black?!
 

TehCookie

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Sep 16, 2008
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It does for me. I'm not going to buy a game solely based on sex, but if a decent game has some eyecandy it will make me more inclined to get it.
 

Relish in Chaos

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Mar 7, 2012
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Yes, among horny teenage boys. As aforementioned, one of the big reasons the Tomb Raider franchise still makes any money is because of its unrealistic hypermodel main character, and the most that I know about the Soul Calibur series is that it has some chick named Ivy dressed in fetish gear.

And for people that don?t know about Suda51, that?s probably the main reason Lollipop Chainsaw will get sales, helped along by the controversy-generated publicity.
 

Vrex360

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Mar 2, 2009
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I think sexualization does work well for marketting and I do think that it sells. However usually a game needs to have more than just sex appeal to sell it to me, Ashley's sideboob and pixelated arse alone did not sell me on Mass Effect at least. The great setting, universe, story and characters did that.

Also while I'll agree that sexualization DOES help sell games, that doesn't mean I approve of it and I also want to draw attention to say, the Halo franchise which is a multi-million dollar juggernaut that from one little X-box game became a media empire with books, toys, comics, video game spinoffs, anime, tshirts and a possible movie in the works. Never once did it have to 'rely' on sex appeal to market or sell itself. Granted Cortana is about as hot as computer software can be but even in trailers where she's prominently featured she's never sexualized on screen nor used as a 'selling point' in the same way other female characters are.

That's the thing, as far as I'm concerned sex does sell but it doesn't mean companies have to rely on it to sell. Frankly for the most part when I see games, or most things, that use sex to sell, especially if sex appeal isn't even a feature of the game/thing in question, that's when I get annoyed.
 

rob_simple

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Aug 8, 2010
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In my mind, the only kind of people who would be suckered in by tits on a video game cover are either too young to play those games or the kind of men who hang off scaffolding shouting 'get your tits out, love.'

My point is sexualisation isn't a problem in video games just like it wasn't a problem in Schwarzeneger/Stallone films; not every film has to be straight-edge deadly serious affair, sometimes a bit of grindhouse exploitation is novel.
 

Zaik

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Jul 20, 2009
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Let me do some digging, seems like there was some research done somewhere on advertising. It turned out that sex in advertising worked so well, that even people who were aware that they were being manipulated were still affected by it.

Obviously it's not a direct parallel, but to say that advertising and video game sales have nothing in common is a little silly.

Edit: Not what I was looking for, but here's something: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/display.asp?id=6039

Seems to have a pretty small sample size though, going to keep looking.
 

targren

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May 13, 2009
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Fluoxetine said:
I can say with genuine honesty that I have never purchased a video game for any remotely sexual reasons, at all, subconsciously or otherwise.
It would appear that you're not fully aware of what the word "subconsciously" means. Either that, or you're like a 99th level Zen Master.
 

DoPo

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Jan 30, 2012
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targren said:
Fluoxetine said:
I can say with genuine honesty that I have never purchased a video game for any remotely sexual reasons, at all, subconsciously or otherwise.
It would appear that you're not fully aware of what the word "subconsciously" means. Either that, or you're like a 99th level Zen Master.
Well, after you hit level 85-ish, it's just boring grinding afterwards.

OT: It seems it works. It's not only games, though, it's all kinds of media. And those kinds of media sell. It seems like a fair guess that sex does indeed sell.
 

krazykidd

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Mar 22, 2008
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Because a good game can't have boobs?

I have bought games with sexy people in it . It wasn't the main reason , but it certainly didn't hurt . I'll give an example . When i first saw Catherine ( the game ) the first thing i saw was two sexy women both named catherine . That got me curious , so i looked into the game ( it certainly didn't hurt that it was also made by atlus ). Now after looking into the game , i found it interesting and bought it day one collectors edition . And the game quite honestly is great . Now i probably wouldn't have looked into the game if it didn't make me curious , and probably wouldn' have bought it ( certainly not day one anyways ), and i would have missed out on an amazing game .
 

Isshiresshi

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May 7, 2008
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Not directly...

I am quite sure it helps getting a larger audience to go look at a games content e.i. videos on youtube, screenshot and trailers, however, buying it due to sexualization? I think we're down to so few customers that the effect is basicly none existence, especially in the matter of profit for anyone...

So... if it helps getting more publicity, due to its sexuality, I suppose it is a factor that does count when it comes to the amount of sold copies in the last end.