Poll: Does sex appeal influence your decision to purchase a game?

[SSJBlastoise]

I voted no but there were however two games I have bought that I bought solely because of the sexualisation in the game. They were (bear in mind I was early teens so all of this stuff was pretty interesting to me at the time and we didn't have the internet in our house lol) DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball and the Playboy Mansion game. Now that I have matured a bit (some might question that) I don't really see the appeal in those games anymore nor do I buy games based on sex appeal. To be honest, it can be a little pathetic seeing some things use sex appeal. It's not a game but those just for men hair product adds annoy me because of how they try to use sex appeal and some game advertisements can get pretty lame as well.

not really, if im honest when i want sex appeal and such i would just look at porn

This is pretty much the reason I don't see the appeal in the games I mentioned earlier in this post.

 

[Darken12]

Yeah, since I'm interested in equal opportunity sexualisation, I have definitely made purchases solely because they featured sexualised men (like DA:O, DAII, ME3, all of the DMCs, a few indie games you probably haven't heard of, wrestling games, and probably others I'm forgetting right now).

So yeah, male sexualisation is kind of a big thing for me. Not only because I dig it, but because it's a decent marker of gender equality in the industry.

 

[Zhukov]

No, not really.

Although I did buy the first Mass Effect because I saw it in a bargain bin, remembered that one Fox News story and decided that I just had to see it for myself.

Does that count?

 

[Phasmal]

No, I don't think so.
Maybe once, but it isn't something I consider much when buying a game.

You know, unless it's all `boobs boobs boobs` and then maybe it will put me off a bit, as it's kind of obviously not for me.

 

[Friendly Lich]

No, its never been a factor for me.

 

[RJ 17]

It's not something that's going to make or break a deal for me, but it's something that goes into consideration. For example, Dead or Alive is my favorite fighting game series, and not because of scantily clad jailbait. I like it because of it's simplistic paper-rock-scissors fighting style (punch beats throw, throw beats counter, counter beats punch) is something that I was able to get an understanding of pretty easily. I grew up getting my ass kicked in Street Fighter and Tekken and such by my older brothers, but Dead or Alive was the only series where I actually stood a chance to beat them.

The fact that there are a number of attractive female fighters in the game is just icing on the cake, but I'd still really enjoy the series even if it's visuals weren't based around fanservice.

 

[J Tyran]

No, I have never ever bought a game because the characters had sex appeal. I have thought characters looked sexy in games I have bought but its never influenced me. Many games use it though so it must work, like the way Ashley became super hot in ME3 and was plastered all over the marketing and Liaras boobs seemed to get bigger as the series progressed. Same for MMOs, the advertising is always sexy Elves in bikini armour with huge breasts.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Not personally; I think when you get to a certain age, one is able to see through fanservice and advertising spiel.

I didn't pick up Bayonetta because of Bayonetta herself, put it that way.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

My favourite game(s) is Armored Core. Not once in the entire series have I seen anything, except maybe Old King's emblem in ACfA, that could be considered arousing.

But that said, I'm not really answering the question. I'd say no, although I don't exactly know. I didn't pick up Bayonetta for herself, I didn't pick up Ninja Gaiden Sigma for Rachel, I didn't pick up MGS4 for the boss battles. So I'd say it's probably a small influence if any. It probably doesn't hurt to have some, somewhere, but it's not nearly a big enough selling point to get me to consider a game that doesn't otherwise suit my tastes.

 

[Lt._nefarious]

Sort of. Say if there were 2 games, each with excellent reviews, 2 games that I wanted in equal amount then sex appeal would influence my choice. But if I wanted the less sexy game more than the sexy game I'd go for the less sexy game.

 

[HellbirdIV]

Apparently you can get sexy ladies in games that you buy because you've heard they're good games, I discovered with the new Tomb Raider.

I did buy Mass Effect mostly because I heard it had blue space lesbians in it, but I think that's the only time.

... unless you count the fact that StarCraft II made me jizz a little when it was announced?

 

[Hagi]

Yup, it's an influence for me.

I'm not in the least interested in say DoA because I feel it's simply trying way to pathetically hard in that department.

On the other hand I do appreciate some subtle sex appeal thrown into the mix. Can't say I've ever complained about a woman in form-fitting but functional outfit, it may not be as realistic as the less form-fitting variant but I do prefer it.

I don't like chain bikinis, but if the choice is between a fully realistic square block of steel and some nice form-fitting armor that looks both protective and sexy I know which one I'm going to pick.

Nothing wrong with sex appeal. It only starts going wrong when other, more important, things are sacrificed for it.

 

[Mister K]

Yes it does. If the game has too much unnecessary nakedness, or simply presents itself in over sexualized way, I am less likely to buy it.
If I would have liked to see something smexy, I would have watched "special videos or pictures". In games, however I seek enjoyable gameplay, good-written characters, etc., etc.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Ultimately it all comes down to price and availability. Sex appeal has nothing to do with my gaming purchases. Hell, sex appeal has nothing to do with my planned purchases of porn-parodies of games as well. Isn't there an official Sonic one in the works by the way? I hope they can get Crush 40 to do the soundtrack...

Anyway, back to sexy games: there's always going to be a demographic that will be more easily swayed by whether or not the main protagonist is sexy. I don't think we'll have much longer to wade through this philosophy though since it seems like the latest Tomb Raider seems to be a huge critical success despite a sort of dressing-down of Lara as a sexuality character. For a while she could have been likened to Marilyn Monroe for video games but her rebooted character model is a lot more down to Earth.

Dressing down aside, more and more people interested in sex appeal over gameplay have less restricted access to the internet. If people are looking for sex appeal...well, the internet is made of sexual content and it's a lot cheaper than $59.99.

 

[Genocidicles]

Yep, I would say it influences me.

It influences me to not buy it. I find it insulting, as it implies I'm stupid or desperate enough to buy anything if there's tits all over it.

 

[smithy_2045]

Nope. Visuals are a very small and insignificant factor in my purchasing decisions.

 

[Lieju]

What the game industry considers 'sex appeal', is a big turn-off for me, so if anything, it will be negative.

 

[elvor0]

In a way, I certainly get annoyed if something is blatantly trying to pander to me, mainly because I feel that if I actually start enjoying it, I'm part of the problem. Stuff like skimpy armour on female characters annoys me no end, or that stupid fucking hot springs scene in FF X-2

 

[Auron]

I avoid games with female protagonists myself, hot or not. Unless the concept or story's completely awesome. So no, not really I'd rather have a more relatable character as my avatar.