Hitting a New Level : Next Wave of Computer Games Show Plenty of Punch at Expo

If you mixed the comic machismo of professional wrestling with the tawdriness of a Las Vegas girlie show and then threw in lots of guys in suits with cellular phones, you might come up with a scene like that at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, now packing them in at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The three-day show is a chance for the leaders of the multibillion-dollar computer games industry to display their new products, which often combine the latest technology with sure-fire themes such as sexuality and violence.

And so the atmosphere Thursday was dominated by male spokesmodels wearing combat fatigues or costumes representing martial artists or medieval fighters. The female spokesmodels weren’t wearing much at all.

Natasha Pavlovich, who plays a character in a soon-to-be-released game, wore an outfit fashioned from a two-inch wide black ribbon wrapped from her ankles to her neck, covering little in between.

“The game has nice girls to entice you, as well as intriguing ones,” she began to explain to a reporter. But before Pavlovich could finish her description, a manager from Sega of America, the game’s maker, whisked the reporter to a back room to be handled by a corporate communicator. “She’ll probably give you better information,” the manager assured.

In the privacy of the holding room, the reporter asked Lee McEnany, the fully clothed director of corporate communications, whether the company’s exhibit might be considered exploitative.

“These are just games, you can’t take it too seriously,” she replied.

Judging by the crowd, many agree.

About 35,000 manufacturers, retailers and computer game industry journalists attended the opening day of the event, which is closed to the public. The throngs backed up morning traffic on streets surrounding the center and filled its 6,000-space parking garage by 10:30 a.m., just half an hour after the start of the show. The 2-year-old international exhibit--which will move to Atlanta next year because that city’s convention center offers more space--filled every available inch of Los Angeles’ center.

More subdued than the displays, and more reflective of the size and power of the industry, were the suited men and women from North America as well as Asia, Europe and Latin America who milled through the crowded hall, talking over new product specifications and trading business cards in the corridors.

But the exhibits made it obvious that boys--and men under 35--make up 80% of computer game consumers. The sounds of simulated explosions, jet engines and punches filled the air. Experts were on hand to discuss the merits of games with names such as “Duke Nukem 3D.”

And scattered throughout were the scantily clad women with nature-defying physiques. A woman promoting a computer baseball game wore skin-tight shorts with “bottom of the ninth” printed where it made sense.

An announcer prodded men to have their pictures taken with the beauties.

“Can you say anything in English?” he asked a European businessman sandwiched on stage between two models.

“Yah, the girls is beautiful,” came the reply.

At the same exhibit, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris also greeted guests. He wore a double-breasted suit.

Nearby was Playboy magazine’s April centerfold model Gillian Bonner. Bonner stars in a game called Riana Rouge, which she produced herself. She founded Black Dragon Productions, a Florida-based computer game company four years ago.

“It’s a matter of perspective,” she said of the bikini-clad women posing for photos nearby with beaming executives. “If they don’t mind being ogled that’s fine. People are way too uptight about these things.”

A banner above the display area revealed the slogan of the sponsoring company: “Konami. Whatever It Takes.”

At the Nintendo area, one giant plastic character blurted in an amplified human voice to another in a stereotypical Italian accent: “Hey Mario, comma here so I can slappa you upside the head.”

But it was not all gore, sex and poor taste. At another corner, a clean-cut crew in khakis and orchid-colored polo shirts displayed a new line of games based on the educational TV show “Sesame Street.”

“This is Elmo’s Preschool,” said Paul Oeschger, a soft-spoken representative of Creative Wonders, pointing out a new game. “In addition to the normal curriculum areas, it teaches social skills.”

Tellingly, this display drew one of the Electronic Entertainment Expo’s smaller crowds.

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* GAME TRENDS

Multi-player and online games may rejuvenate business. D1