Poll: Sex appeal in gaming. Does it sell games?

[Eric the Orange]

The fact the scantily clad attractive women are in games is no secret, but my question is does anyone buy games based off of that fact?

Most games aren't "entirely" based based off of Sex appeal (out side of like DoA:Extreme Beach Volley Ball, or Japanese hentai visual novel games). But they are often added to games (Like the armor for females in most fantasy games). But is any ones opinion actually swayed by it. Like if your on the fence about a game do you think, "well I guess there's some almost naked hot chicks so I guess I'll get it".

I personally use the "time and a place" argument. In that, with this being the age of the internet, if I'm in the mood, I'll watch porn. And if I'm not in the mood, I don't care.

 

[number2301]

In complete honesty, I bought Mass Effect for the lesbian alien sex. No joke. Hell it was a good thing it turned out to be a decent game seeing as that constitutes 30 seconds of a 40 hour game and my Shepherd ended up with Kaiden anyway.

In more general terms, scantily clad women are more likely to put me off a game than attract me to it (see Jack from ME2). However, an exploration of sex and sexuality, or some reasonably non-gratuitous titliation is a big attracting factor for me (see Farenheit).

Sex is part of life, why can't it be part of games? My prefered format is games not pictures or videos.

Having said all that, DoA and BoneTown et al have absolutely no attraction to me.

 

[ChupathingyX]

I've never bought anything (whether it be a game, movie etc.) for sex appeal alone. In fact, I don't think it has ever been a selling point in any kind of way or even something I considered.

Also, I would like to point out that not all Japanese visual novels are hentei.

 

[Ando85]

the fact the scantily clad attractive women are in games is no secret, but my question is does anyone buy games based off of that fact?

Most games aren't "entirely" based based off of Sex appeal (out side of like DoA:Extreme Beach Volley Ball, or Japanese hentai visual novel games). But they are often added to games (Like the armor for females in most fantasy games). But is any ones opinion actually swayed by it. Like if your on the fence about a game do you think, "well I guess there's some almost naked hot chicks so I guess I'll get it".

I personally use the "time and a place" argument. In that, with this being the age of the internet, if I'm in the mood, I'll watch porn. And if I'm not in the mood, I don't care.

Good question. I don't think I actually buy games based off that fact. But, I am glad its there for a few reasons. Sexuality is a part of the human experience, so therefore I think its a worthwhile thing to explore in a video game. What would games like Catherine be like if it had no sex appeal?

Some of it is over the top though such as Lara Crofts breasts before she got the new image of more realistic proportions. Hell, I think she is more attractive than ever without the gigantic melons.

Then there is sexual themes in games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age Origins that I think add to it.

I recall making a thread a long time ago with this similar topic, but leaning towards censorship and how parents are usually okay with violence and gore, but god forbid their kids see a boob.

A lot of people missed my point thinking that I'm angry that Marcus Phoenix doesn't run around naked in Gears of War. My point was like I said earlier that sexuality is part of the human experience and taking it away with censorship would be a bad thing.

I do however agree with your time and place argument. If I wanted sexuality I'd watch some porn. But, I don't think sexuality should be completely removed from video games.

 

[Zandarck]

I answered "no" but at least with Catherine it's actually integral to the story and isn't tacked on to sell.

 

[DrRockor]

I dont think it does. I don't really think that sex appeal sells anything unless its porn obviously. I find it hard to believe someone would sell a film, watch a tv program etc. for the sex appeal. It's also I'm just too optimistic about people and it happens all the time.

 

[Eric the Orange]

Also, I would like to point out that not all Japanese visual novels are hentei.

It wasn't my intention to make it seem that way, but I can see how you could get that out of the way I worded it.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Anything that isn't the same old scowling war/crime themes over and over again. But I wouldn't buy a game like Catherine becuase of theme because it looks pretty boring. At least DOAX had things like volleyball and jet skiing.

 

[Kahunaburger]

It sort of has a reverse effect for me - I am iffy about buying games with prominent sex appeal because that will make my girlfriend go ಠ_ಠ and lead to an awkward conversation. Also because games that sell themselves on sex appeal often aren't very good.

 

[krazykidd]

Do i buy it BECAUSE theres nudity and stuff? No . Do i like that some of my games have nixity and stuff? Yes .

And i don't care if it's tastfully done or not . It's a cool addition . I would never buy a hentai game though . But a final fantasy game where somewhere i get to plow a chick ? Sure , as long as it's a part of the game and not the game itself

 

[Lieju]

Well, most of females that are designed to be 'sexy' aren't that attractive to me.
I prefer reasonable proportions and clothes, intelligence and character and good writing, and even if it has those, most it will do is make it a bit more probable I'll buy it.

Although, if the game has a lesbian romance-option, it will be a BIG plus. It's kinda difficult to find lesbian romance, especially well-written or something that's a smaller part of a bigger story.

 

[spartandude]

no

i have an internet connection from which i can get free porn. in all honesty i dont see why i would pay £40 for something i can get for free

Well, most of females that are designed to be 'sexy' aren't that attractive to me.
I prefer reasonable proportions and clothes

i agree with this, while i dont mind a little bit of skin i think girls like Alyx Vance are more appealing than characters like Soul Caliber's Ivy
its also why i dont like oblivion mods, i swear every armour mod is a strippers outfit

 

[Zhukov]

No, not really.

I'm afraid I lack the capacity to be attracted to fictional bundles of pixels. If I want to see some pleasingly proportioned boobs on my computer screen then, well... the internet is only a couple of clicks away.

About the closest I've come to buying a game on sex appeal was grabbing the first Mass Effect from a bargain bin to so I could find out what the whole Fox News thing was on about.

 

[dimensional]

I think people are more likely to buy/dismiss a game based on graphics than anything else judging the book by its cover basically.

As for sex appeal I have never bought a game based off of this. However I will not shun a game if I think it is good and/or fun but is laden with ridiculous amounts of fanservice or whatever you want to call it (well to a point anyway theres always a line).

I dont think it sells games on its own at all in fact I think it can have the opposite effect if shoved in your face but if used correctly I believe it can help sell the game.In the unlikely situation I was looking at two games that were exactly the same except one had slightly more sex appeal I would buy the one with the sex appeal.

The exploring of character relationships can draw me in or turn me away though depending on how they are handled I enjoyed Valkyria Chronicles exploration of relationships but something like Mass effect or Dragon age left me a little bemused to be honest just felt like ticking boxes to get the desired (awkward) result it reminded me of the laughing scene in FFX in that I just thought oh dear this is just painful to watch thank god no one is in the room with me.

 

[RJ 17]

Does it work? I can't speak for everyone, but I've never bought a game based entirely on sex appeal.

But that doesn't mean that the gaming industry won't keep doing it. Seems one of the Marketing 101 lessons for the industry is "put a sexy chick on your box art and you'll get more people to at least pick up the case and look at it."

 

[Eric the Orange]

Sexuality is a part of the human experience, so therefore I think its a worthwhile thing to explore in a video game. What would games like Catherine be like if it had no sex appeal?

I think there is a large difference between exploring sexuality and giving a woman metallic thong armor (I mean seriously metallic thong, that just blows my mind). The latter is more what I'm referring to as "sex appeal".

I recall making a thread a long time ago with this similar topic, but leaning towards censorship and how parents are usually okay with violence and gore, but god forbid their kids see a boob.

While this is somewhat off topic there's a quote I like about this that I will paraphrase here. "It's strange that American censorship is more lax on violence than sex. As a parent the fist is something you would not want your children to experience in real life. While the second is one that you would hope they live to be old enough to experience."

 

[Fleetfiend]

No one I know appreciates games that use sex appeal to sell games, and it actually makes them (and me) want to buy them less. If I see that the game is good, I'll still get it, but the "sex appeal" never has any part of it. There are of course a few exceptions among my friends, but that isn't why I buy games at all, unless I just find that aspect of it somewhat entertaining (Bayonetta comes to mind... I love that game).

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

I cannot think of a single example in which sex appeal has caused me to purchase a game. I can cite examples of sex appeal causing me to not purchase a game though.

 

[go-10]

its gonna seem weird but it depends on the genre for me :/

if its a fighting game it has to be there, I cannot play a Street Fighter game without Cammy or a King of Fighters without Mai. Now as stand alone fighting games these are really good games for me, but having those characters for whatever reason just makes me enjoy the game more, even though I rarely use Mai I still want her in the roster.

also fantasy games, usually RPG's dealing with multiple races like World of Warcraft, Kingdoms of Amalur, etc. I tend to have my humans in as much armor as possible while I keep my girls as close to naked as possible. Not because I'm a horn dog or anything, to be honest I had never thought about it until now, I guess growing up reading comics sort of made it into my subconscious that ALL fantasy non-human characters wear band-aids for clothing while humans male or female wear the heaviest armor around.

and lastly beat em ups aka hack and slash, I specifically mean games like Dynasty Warriors, Sengoku Basara, Samurai Warriors, etc. I just can't play these games if the characters had bland ordinary everyday weapons and armors. I understand the appeal of realism but these are meant to be crazy over the top versions of reality so sex appeal plays a huge part in how drawn I'm into a specific character when the roster includes over 50 characters

on any other genre it just feels out of place, take for example Tomb Raider, great series, amazing idea, awesome gameplay. Is Lara Croft needed to sell the game? NOPE, its Chuck Testa... the game is good enough on its own. And then there's games like X-Blades that were it not for its naked main character it wouldn't have sold a single copy cuz the game is shit. So really when sex appeal takes front and center stage it usually ruins the game and feels out of place when it's included but not induced it usually adds to the experience because developers don't constantly flaunt it at our faces but they still included it for the few people that enjoy it, and the millions that love it but refuse to admit it

 

[Fappy]

I say yes because its subconscious marketing. It generally doesn't have a place in conscious decision making, but if you are attracted to the images you are seeing you WILL be more inclined to buy into it. Whether you are aware of it or not.