The promo poster for their 'Sin to Win' contest.
Actions speak louder than words. Actions tell us that EA's new title, "Dante's Inferno," is not a game they expect girls to want to play.
Dante's Inferno, as you probably know, is based on a famous poem by the author of the same name. It's a classic piece of literature, arguably one of the most influential to western writers. The game, however, looks like God of War with the serial numbers filed off and an edgier name. Inferno, if you were aware, had very few epic battles (I'm taking liberty with that statement.)
Back to the topic at hand. At Comic Con, EA ran a contest called "Sin to Win." This is a simple contest, with humble intent. To win, you simply "commit acts of lust" with the "booth babes" at the EA booth. Particularly, per EA, they're speaking of acts of lust as mentioned in Dante's Inferno. So, grope a hot babe, and you get prizes? What prizes? Well, "a sinful night with two hot girls, a limo service, paparazzi and a chest full of booty." Sweet! Well, if you're a guy. And if you see women as a commodity, as a prize to be won.
Also, we run into the problem of this behavior being encouraged with the "booth babes" around the EA booth. This refers to the costumed representatives. Theoretically, any girl dressed in a way that suggests an EA title may very well have "acts of lust" enacted upon her. Really EA? "Booth babes" aside, the contest flier says, "Take pictures with us or any booth babe." Essentially, what they're saying is, they are opening up the field. You can commit 'acts of lust' with any 'booth babe' and EA will reward your behavior. I wonder how many of the girls at the convention were made aware of this one in advance.
But it's okay! EA apologized to people who complained about this ridiculousness.
"We understand there's a lot of debate right now around our "Sin to Win" promotion at Comic-Con and wanted to clarify a few things. We created this promotion as part of our marketing efforts around the circle of Lust (one of the nine sins/circles of Hell). Each month we will be focusing on a new Circle of Hell. This month is Lust. Costumed reps are a tradition at Comic-Con. In the spirit of both the Circle of Lust and Comic-Con, we are encouraging attendees to Tweet photos of themselves with any of the costumed reps at Comic-Con here, find us on Facebook or via e-mail. "Commit acts of lust" is simply a tongue-in-cheek way to say take pictures with costumed reps. Also, a "Night of Lust" means only that the winner will receive a chaperoned VIP night on the town with the Dante's Inferno reps, all expenses paid, as well as other prizes.
We apologize for any confusion and offense that resulted from our choice of wording, and want to assure you that we take your concerns and sentiments seriously. We'll continue to follow your comments and please let us know if you have any other thoughts or concerns. Keep watching as the event unfolds and we hope you'll agree that it was all done in the spirit of the good natured fun of Comic-Con."
So let me break this down.
"Commit acts of lust" is simply a tongue-in-cheek way to say take pictures with costumed reps.
Bullocks. I cannot think of a single person who would, when asked the definition of an act of lust, suggest taking innocent pictures fits the bill. This is remarkably transparent spin.
"We apologize for any confusion and offense that resulted from our choice of wording."
I love this. I read it as, "We didn't do anything wrong. We're sorry you think we did." We're not offended by your choice in wording. We're offended because you're encouraging a hostile environment for every girl at the convention, and you're showing an irrefutable gender bias.
"Keep watching as the event unfolds and we hope you'll agree that it was all done in the spirit of the good natured fun of Comic-Con."
Good natured fun does not offer women as contest prizes.
Look EA, it's hard enough to make girls comfortable in gaming, fantasy, sci-fi, and comics. They fight an uphill battle against people who think they're incapable just because of their gender. It's well-known that often, creative women are discounted, discredited and ignored. Fantasy and comic book art present women as impractical bimbos in as few clothes as the particular publisher will allow.
Can't we get past objectification? Can't we show women that we're welcoming of them as people, not prizes or willing victims?
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