Hot Chicks With Cheat Codes [Spike.com Via Fleshbot *NSFW*]

An inanimate cube, juveniles holding hands, and the nuances of a complicated adult relationship as seen through the eyes of a youth - the conclusion here seems to be that games are able to create that sense of intimacy by revealing less, not more - just as FFX's quietly tragic heroine Yuna lost a lot of dignity by cropping her shorts way up into her "personal crease" and gyrating around like a pop star in X-2 (even though it was cute and fun), games lose dignity the more decadent cleavage shots and full-body pans they show.

Me? I like a little sex with my media (and clearly, the keeper of Sexy Videogameland does too); it's probably a factor of my day job, where sex leaps off the page even when you're least expecting it (Mao Zedong? Inherently unsexy. Mao's bevy of beauties that accompanied him on train trips around China? Immediately spice up even the most boring of campaigns.). My research takes me into the realm of film culture of the '30s and '40s, where sex oozes off the silver screen and out from the pages of fan magazines, with little more than a flash of leg and certainly no busty beauties popping out of their catsuits; even the most serious of social dramas usually have their fair share of sensuous moments, and no one would accuse them of being juvenile. There is a lot of growing up gaming has to do in dealing with sex, and I agree with Alexander that taking a cue from media a little more mature would probably serve designers well.

Overt sexuality isn't necessarily juvenile — I for one would celebrate a female character that resembled my favorite women of imperial Chinese history, the brilliant, sassy, and most definitely sexy courtesans that litter the pages of secondary literature — but it does have to be handled in the right way, and that usually involves a little more brain and a little less boob. Maybe grown up sexuality will herald the continued maturation of the medium as a whole.

Getting To The Action [GameSetWatch]

1) Women play video games. Our vaginas, surprisingly, do not stop us from using a controller.
2) The Xbox is not a widow maker. No matter how many TV specials say otherwise, men can be happy, productive individuals - both as part of a couple and a part of society - while still playing video games.
3) Movies are not the ideal place to be developing deep psychoanalytical theories about men.

Finally, a woman who isn't cursing all things video game related. I was starting to get a little lonely on the Island of Girl Gamers.

Movies and video games told me that feminists ruined men [Pandagon - thanks, Cola!]

Lineage II Account Services Page [NCsoft]

UPDATE: Sarah from SuicideGirls.com is a regular Kotaku reader, and wanted to drop us a line explaining that these two women were not, in fact, Suicide Girls at all.

First off, any SuicideGirl worth her salt would know better than to risk destroying the game she was selling by wearing dangerously pointy lucite stripper heels and lolling "seductively" (ahem) on the precious equipment.

Secondly, Beeporama said "Does anybody still think the Suicide Girls are cool? @Stormrider900 got it right, this is a missed opportunity to do something charitable and cool instead of continuing to milk a dying, increasingly reviled brand for profit." While he's absolutely right, I DO enjoy spending my days milking things for profit (wheee!
Sweet, milky profit!), at least get the ways I am choosing to milk correct. Since apparently our brand is now uncool and reviled, I have very little left to get me through my long, lonely days. Except the milking, of course. And we are not milking anything on, near, or around that auction.

ROCK BAND PS3 GUITAR HERO 3 BUNDLE SANTA'S HELPER [eBay via Polygamia]

Brown, sweet and eatable. Master Chief never tasted so good!

If someone were to post naked pictures of me on the Internet, I'm not sure if the word "tribute" would be the first to come to mind. But if that someone were Playboy, and that Internet were Playboy magazine, maybe I would feel differently (don't worry, I'm joking and would never do anything to hurt pornography). See the KSFW but probably NSFW promo pics after the jump (you pervs).

Just Kidding.

Playboy's Annual Girls of Video Games [via n4g]

Enjoy your power and status with a mistress (or two) as you customize and upgrade yourself and your tower

I'm Anna Holmes, and I'm the managing editor of Jezebel, Gawker Media's newest title, which is launching this afternoon. Jezebel's mission is to cover celebrity, sex, and fashion for women — without airbrushing. Think of it as the sort of women's media property that could never see the light of day in traditional print because the big-name advertisers and the publishers who kowtow to them don't much like it when someone points out the vulgarity of a $2,000 handbag.

See? Got through that whole thing without saying jubblies once. Dammit. Michael Fahey

Jezebel : Celebrity, Sex, Fashion, Without Airbrushing

What are the perks and downsides of being a female in a male dominated industry? Jane over at game girl advance had a December 2006 response up to another opinion piece over at WomenGamers.com, and as is typical to the exceedingly broad question of women and gaming, there are no clear cut answers.

Any female that is a gamer has probably stumbled upon the dual problem/upside of being a girl who likes video games: Much as people of both genders cry that people are people, boobs or not, it's still an obvious difference, and a selling point (or a detriment). But even though one of my primary academic interests is in an extremely male dominated sub-field (military history), I've never felt put on the spot to "speak for womenkind," as the GGA piece terms it - except in relation to writing about video games. So I guess I have my own question: Why is that? Maggie Greene

When Feminine Is An Advantage [game girl advance]
On Being a Girl in the Games Industry [WomenGamers.com via GGA]

Of our sample of 200 women, those who played video games on average had sex 4.3 times a week while those who didn't play games only had sex just 3.2 times a week.

Perhaps even more promising for gamers is the fact that many of the women that we interviewed who have only recently started playing games said that they now have sex more often than before.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
13/02/07

Gamers Have Sex More Often!

It's official - women who play video games have sex more often! Gametart, the UK's largest online games rental company, carried out the survey throughout January to see how the recent influx of the likes of Pink PSPs and DS Lites would affect gamers' sex lives across the country.

The results were surprising.

Of our sample of 200 women, those who played video games on average had sex 4.3 times a week while those who didn't play games only had sex just 3.2 times a week.

Perhaps even more promising for gamers is the fact that many of the women that we interviewed who have only recently started playing games said that they now have sex more often than before.

Gamers have never had it so good!

And a tip for Valentines Day: a nice meal and a bottle of wine only last for one night but for only 11.96 you can have games for a month!

Head to www.gametart.com to make this Valentines Day the best ever!

###

If you're a guy and have a girlfriend who you're trying to get into gaming, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy of the January/February Women's Health magazine. Inside you'll find an article entitled "Grab the Joystick: Toy with your man in the virtual world", which you can leave sitting around somewhere (not the bathroom, that's our place) where she'll find it. The message couldn't be any clearer.

"Playing video games allows you to bond and learn how to problem-solve as a team," says Susan K. Perry, Ph.D., a Los Angeles-based social psychologist.

The article goes on to list games perfect for bonding, including Guitar Hero II, Lego Star Wars II, Splinter Cell, and Midnight Club 3. The describe MC3 as "foreplay on wheels", which explains why I get bored quickly and just keep trying to crash into things. Michael Fahey

grab the joystick [Women's Health Magazine]

Analysts at TNS Worldpanel Entertainment have released research indicating that over the past four years the number of female and older gamers is on the rise. Old codgers (here interpreted as over 45) buying games for personal use has risen over 40%, while the female figure (rawr) is up 67%. They didn't say how many women over the age of 45 were buying games for themselves, which just goes to show I should be a market analyst, since they obviously didn't follow through here. Slackers.

I can only see these numbers rising as Nintendo's Wii continues to make good on its promise of appealing to non-standard gamers and those of us who have been gaming for a good 30 years now march inevitably towards death. Yeah, I'm a hoot at birthday parties. Michael Fahey

Huge growth in numbers of female and older gamers [GamesIndustry.Biz]

At first, she was a bit bashful, so I put it in her hand. "Don't be afraid, baby..." I cooed. "Just hold it in your palm. Get used to the feel, the contour, the shape, the slight ergonomic curve."

"It's heavy!" she remarked.

"I know! But you'll get used to it. Just wag it around a little bit. Yeah, like that."

"I don't really feel comfortable with this, Flor..." she complained.

"No, no, keep playing with it, dammit. You'll learn to love it. Bond with it. Give it a little kiss. Well? What are you waiting for?"

"But I don't like it! It makes me feel self-conscious."

"Listen, I don't care. If you want this relationship to last, you'll damn well get comfortable with the Wii. What? Wait, where are you going?" But with the sound of hysterical weeping and a resounding bang of the bathroom door, she'd run out of the room to cry. Women!

This may not be the advice that The Girl Next Door gives, however. "Calling [your girlfriend] over to watch you pistol whip a hooker in GTA or solve the riddle of the moon druids in Myst IV is not the way. Maybe you should buy that new Nintendo system with the stupid name, Wii. It was designed to suck video-dissing women into the virtual world. Personally, I'm addicted to Rockstar's Table Tennis and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory."

So pistol whipping hookers doesn't appeal to women, but slitting guys throats from behind does? I'll say it again: women! Utterly inexplicable. Florian Eckhardt

Wii pumps iron with Men's Health [Infendo]

A vast armada of women has invaded gaming. Where once we heard over Teamspeak the confident bluster of the male warrior, now our ears are assailed by the shrill whinging of a female in the midst of her monthly ovum flushing. Where once we casually discussed in guild chat bitch fucking and the worldwide conspiracy against women, now we pretend to have "feelings" because we are cuckolded for being "insensitive."

And it's getting worse! With great smugness, Jane over at Chilly Hollow wrote us, linking us this article that states that women are the dominant online gamers. "Eliza and I outnumber you," she wrote.

Well, first of all, at five bills, Eliza outnumbers most solar systems. Second of all, it appears that you only outnumber men if you count endless hours spent on the free Flash version of Bejeweled as "online gaming." Thirdly: we don't care if you outnumber us as long as you're not adverse to taking off your top. And finally: you count Faith Naked amongst your numbers, which pretty much drops your numeric and intellectual superiority a few dozen percentile points.

So don't get too smug, ladies. As Sean Connery famously slurred, "Shometimesh a woman jush needsh a little shlap." And my aching hand is poised. Florian 'Just Kidding, Ladies!' Eckhardt

Women outnumber men in online games, survey finds [MSN]

According to the Nielsen folks, more than half of all "Active Gamers" play online. Sixty-four percent of those gamers are females; however, male gamers still outnumber female ones two-to-one. The study also stated that Active Gamers spend up to five hours a week playing games socially. Teens are still the biggest chunk of the market, and the over-45 year-old segment accounts for the smallest. So that "sexy chick" you're talking to online? Well, that's probably some old dude. Brian Ashcraft

Girls Online [Voodoo Extreme]

Personally, I couldn't care less whether there are booth babes at E3. I don't have any great desire to stop and take photos with women in tiny clothes while I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to see all of the relevant stuff on the show floor. This year there was a much ado about the booth babe crack down. According to one insider source, the big change, besides enforcement, was the addition of one new rule to the contract companies sign when they rent space on the floor. The addition basically said no bikinis.

Whether or not the rules had a huge change, it seemed that the companies did rely less on woman flesh and more on the actual product to sell what they were making. I saw a lot less booth babes this year then last and they typically were wearing more clothes.

Despite this drought in nearly-naked models, several sites have cobbled together Girls of E3 showcases. The latest to cross our email is from deepest red, darkest blue. The 18 photos in the spread seem to show the range I noticed on the floor, though the women in the short shorts giving out fans aren't represented. —Brian Crecente

The Girls of E3 2006 [Darkest Blue]

Apparently, they feel aggrieved that male avatars tend to be stronger and have more endurance than female avatars. What do female avatars excel in? Intelligence, charisma, agility and willpower.

Gee, how crushing: to be hopelessly stereotyped by Bethesda's constabulary of misogynist bastards as beautiful, intelligent, strong-willed and charming. Meanwhile, male Oblivion players don't seem to be getting upset at all about being stereotyped by Bethesda as brutish lunkheads.

Bethesda — in a display of common sense which they really should have put to use when pricing their stupid horse mod — are defending themselves against the charges, sort of subtly pointing out how stupid it all is.

Bethesda Comments on Oblivion Gender Bias Concerns [Pass The Press]

Over at Wired Chris Kohler looks at the "furious divide" between women and what kind of games they want to play. Kohler partitions women gamers into two camps. The first is the casual game, Tetris and Bejeweled crowd, while the second is the hardcore gaming, get in there with the guys faction. It's not as divided as the two camps framing for the piece would suggest, however. Lisa Sikora, from Microsoft's Casual Games division, however draws a pretty hard line in the piece: "Violence, the use of force as a primary game mechanic, is an excellent way to keep women from playing your game. Negative emotions aren't attractive to women. They don't like heavy, adrenaline-rich, head-to-head sports." Kohler offers the counterpoint from the captain of the Frag Dolls, a competitive clan of female gamers, Morgan Romine: "There are exceptions to every generalization. I've seen the whole spectrum, every color of the rainbow. There are girls who love big guns and bloody creatures."

We can all get along, right?

Women Gamers Duke It Out [Wired]

The Rocky ran a story about the Geek Gorgeous 2005 calandar, a collection of pictures featuring geeky hot Colorado women. What drew me to the story, besides the fact that it's on the paper's front page, is that the woman features is a gamer too.

The tiny text in the picture reads, in part:

Lilac, who started working as a programmer at age 16, is now a senior software engineer with an acronym-rich skill-set that includes Java, J2EE, EJB, JSP, JMS, PHP, ASP, ADO, SQL, XML, UML, J2ME, MIDP and more. As an independent consultant, Lilac has worked on numerous business applications on various platforms, from home-automation systems to portfolio optimizers based on genetic algorithms.

Lilac also owns three video-game stores in Colorado.

Three? I wish they'd say where, because I didn't know there were any locally owned game store in the state that were bigger than a ma and pa joint.

I love the juxtstaposition of the NES lightgun in her hand and the PS3 display behind her.

The calendar would make a great gamer gift and the proceeds go to a scholarship for girls interested in studying computer science. Nice.

'Gorgeous geeks' get some exposure [Rocky Mountain News]

It's like that at bars and clubs from time to time, draw the women in to retain the male clientele, but that's not the way it works over at The Escapist this week. This week's excellent issue of The Escapist is a look at the roles of women in games, women gamers and women in retail. This isn't topical fluff, The Escapist, in classic fashion gets to the heart of matters. For a once-over of the issues with some links turn the fold.

Bonnie Ruberg looks at gender roles in survival horror games Women Monsters and Monstrous Women, Chris Crawford looks at evolutionary roles of men and women, Dana Vanderclip looks at way women gamers have evolved with the medium. M. Junaid Alam breaks down the breakdown at the end of the Prince of Persia: Warrior Within demo and Pat Miller sits down with a female ex-GameStop employee and talks about way more than getting hit on by customers.

Newsweek's piece overlooks the mountain of horrible games that have been designed with women in mind. Games like Barbie As Rapunzel aren't going to spur women to be early adopters of gaming. And face it, for a lot of gamers, gaming, like smoking, is a habit that starts during youth.

The games being developed still skew male, but adopting a Field of Dreams "if you build it they will come" game design theory could backfire, especially if you find that girl gamers, like guy gamers, happen to just like good games.