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Boobs & Guns: Marketing Today's Video Games
Amy Nelson, Associate Writer
March 23, 2010
Boobs & Guns. Got your attention, didn't I? It is well-known in the marketing industry that if you throw in some boobs and guns, people are going to take notice. Check out the trailers for today's hottest video games, and you are very likely to see one or the other, and many times both. It is as if the marketers feel that as long as you cram enough boobs and/or guns in there, you really don't have to worry much about pesky things like quality story lines or engaging gameplay. Don't get me wrong--often the trailers and ads for upcoming games are visually very stunning. However, it seems increasingly rare that I can actually figure out what the game is about and whether I want to play it from the trailer.
I know that many of the newer games actually contain an awful lots of boobs and guns in them, and perhaps their trailers are just reflecting this. That doesn't quite explain the various ads using boobs and guns to market games that literally contain nothing anywhere resembling their ads. The obvious example that comes immediately to mind is the online game Evony. I don't know how I was supposed to view a scantily clad wench telling me to, "Save Your Lover Now!" and come away with the idea that this is obviously a Civilization-type game--G rated--even. Maybe it is because I am female, and therefore boobs do not speak to me in the same way they would a male viewer, but I feel it is a bit of a false advertisement for all those lonely teenagers who expected wenches and got real-time strategy instead.
Call me crazy, but I like a game trailer to give me a good idea of what the game is about. Let's shoot for the moon here, and suggest they even throw in a bit of gameplay and storyline too. I'm not dumb, I know boobs and guns sell things, but if you have a great game then it should sell itself without all the marketing gimmicks. The mystery trailers do build up excitement for release day, but I would argue that a great story and awesome graphics could build up just as much excitement, and maybe more. I challenge you, marketing departments. Show us a little something more than cleavage. If a game actually contains boobs and guns, go ahead and throw them in the trailer too, but give us a little something else too. The results may surprise you.
