Does Sex Really Sell?

I started a new file of Final Fantasy X-2 today, and I couldn't help revisiting the past and thinking that they were all hot sluts, just to put some sexual excitement in a video game. But now that I think about it, it was obviously a gimmick to sell more copies, as putting very pretty, scantily clad, women in a game definitely boosts sales (see: FFX2).

Well, i was wondering, have you ever bought a game based on hot girls on the front cover? Like in BMXXXX (is that enough Xs?), they obviously used nudity as a gimmick, but it was soon censored out on the PS2 versions, which made sales flop, which could be proving a good point....

nah not really. thats not the important thing in one game.
i see it as something extra.

I have never bought a game that has a hot woman/man on it. It really depends. I buy games that I like, not because it has some hot woman/man on it.

Originally posted by Kazan
I started a new file of Final Fantasy X-2 today, and I couldn't help revisiting the past and thinking that they were all hot sluts, just to put some sexual excitement in a video game. But now that I think about it, it was obviously a gimmick to sell more copies, as putting very pretty, scantily clad, women in a game definitely boosts sales (see: FFX2).

Of course they put the sexual excitement on a video game in order to sale a lot of copies of it. :p

Sex ALWAYS sells wether you think so or not, it does affect you, you may not even realize it but it does.

Gaming companies do this all of the time, why would they try to make a game with what they consider tons of ugly people runing around. The games wouldnt sell nearly as well.

oh great I voted the wrong option so anybody who sees it that vote for maybe sometimes... it should be a never. I personally haven't bought a game for that specific reason but some have bought games Like Dead or Alive: Extreme Beach Volleyball just for that specific reason. there will always be a buyer for that game. Which also brings me to the ESRB rating system... why do they have AO (adults only)? There hasn't been a game rated AO and I see no need for it.

Sex has no influence on what I buy. I buy only games that sound interesting, based on the storyline or gameplay.
FFX-2, I bought for the Final Fantasy namesake, not because all the girls are wearing little clothing.

Do I buy games because of scantily clad women? Nay, on the contrary, I avoid them.

Example, I would have liked to play SC2 because Link was in it, however I will not play, nor ever buy because of the female characters... one in particular that I don't believe I need to mention, most of you know to which one I'm refering.

BMX XXX is a stupid game, as the only drive for it, is to see strippers, and don't try to say it isn't. I'm glad that "most" retailers atleast have the decency to ban it from their shelves.
DOAXBV. Let's be honest, its sole purpose is as a stimulant for horney adolescent guys just hitting puberty. I somehow doubt if there is any volley ball in that game.

But alas, I'm wasting my time going over these things, I voted no never, because sex does sell, whether it be in movies or games, or even a comic book for crying out loud, but for I, nyet.

It is a cheap way to make money too, the game industrieknows that there are probably millions of kids who will buy games with inapropriatness in them. Like kamikazeCow said game like Soul Calibur 2 do have some very revealing females. Some might play it for the revealing parts but at the same time some might play it for what it is.

i think it does..........i also think the about 1/4 of the copies of FFX-2 was most likely because of the sexyness of some of their characters..........i was walking thought the store with my friend who hasn't bought FFX-2 yet and when he looked at it he said "ok looking at these pictures i have to buy it"........theres proof that sex sells

Originally posted by jehuty
oh great I voted the wrong option so anybody who sees it that vote for maybe sometimes... it should be a never. I personally haven't bought a game for that specific reason but some have bought games Like Dead or Alive: Extreme Beach Volleyball just for that specific reason. there will always be a buyer for that game. Which also brings me to the ESRB rating system... why do they have AO (adults only)? There hasn't been a game rated AO and I see no need for it.

there are AO games, my friend has one. I think you can only buy them in adult shops...

For me it's like this, I see a final fantasy game. I say cool, I look at the box see a hot girl, that just gives me one more reason to buy it... so i say sex does sell to a certin degree, i chose my vote because really, when was the last time you heard som1 say "oh no... there's a hot/cute guy/girl on the cover... i'm not gonna buy it... (unless they're joking, never.) and this is assuming theres no nudity where ppl can be offended.

Of course sex sells. Why wouldn't it? The target market when it comes to video games is males in their teenage years and early twenties. For them, the hormones are going strong, and a very big factor in something is sex appeal.

There's nothing wrong with having a good-looking female character in a game to attract the target market. However, when this becomes the main selling point, the only reason to buy the game in the first place, then something is seriously wrong. While one can argue that a video game is used for entertainment purposes, and that using it in such a way is classified as entertainment, it doesn't hold up. Video games are about the gameplay, not how many breasts you can fit in on a disk. They have always been that way, and always will. The majority of people realise this and will not buy a game based purely on sex appeal, which is why most games that focus on sex sell poorly.

Sex appeal in video games is not wrong, just as it is not wrong in movies and other forms of entertainment. In a movie, if sex is the main attraction, then we classify it as pornography. The same goes for television, even books. However, does this apply to video games? It should. If the main point of a product is to derive sexual satisfaction from, then it is pornography. If a developer is devoted enough to making a video game that is pornographic, then it should not be sold as a game, but as pornography in an establishment devoted to it, much the same way that sex products aren't found in your local grocery store, but in a sex shop.

The problem is, where do we draw the line? Games like BMXXX, while having some decent gameplay, have pornographic material in them, and this can be considered the main focus. However, as mentioned, there is also a relatively decent (if lacking) extreme sports game under it's sex appeal. Should it then be classified as a video game or as pornography? The similar scenario applies to Dead or Alive: Beach Volleyball. Yes, it very blatantly displays it's "crude" content, but does that mean that there is not a video game behind it, even if it is a relatively sub-par one? Is it pornography?

Ultimately, it's up to the customer to decide.

Right on SearanoX! I agree fully. I bought SC2 because Link was in it, and it is a fighting game (two things I love the most), not because some characters (such as Taki and Ivy) expose themselves too much. Because of this post, I just noticed the only sex appeal I've ever seen in a Zelda game would have to be Vernan from OoA. Look at that naval and one size too small bra. LoL

Originally posted by Tsukasa
Sex has no influence on what I buy. I buy only games that sound interesting, based on the storyline or gameplay.
FFX-2, I bought for the Final Fantasy namesake, not because all the girls are wearing little clothing.

Well, many Final Fantasy fans bought FFX-2 solely because it was a Final Fantasy. Since people were doubting that a sequel to FFX would be crap, Square threw in scantily clad women to prod them to buy it. And once they started playing, they realized how creative the game actually was.

Yeah sex sells, and as it hs stated above, its a cheap way of selling games.
I must admit i have played games such as duke nukem 3D . But then this game was ported to the N64 and was cencoserd out, andyet it was still a good game. So if a game is good, sometimes it can use sex to sell more.
And yes, there are adult only games <.< >.< Specially hentai.

I've never bought a game for that reason. I buy a game for good gameplay, not for how good the girls in it look. It is a good way to sell games these days. It is how they attract guy teenagers-twenties. Most certainly it sells games, a lot of times that the only reason people buy games is for that kind of stuff. I find it quite stupid, myself.

The only reason I bought tetris was for the vertical line.


....



Attraction to the characters never even enters my mind when buying a game. I know that there has been marketing based around things like that (Dead or alive 3, Whatever that Beach Volleyball game was called, etc.), but those usually aren't even particularly good games.