Is the GTA 6 trailer full of half-naked women simply to make a sale, or is it representative of the criminal world in which it is set?
Sex sells. So when the new GTA trailer dropped, it was no surprise to anyone that nearly every shot had at least one character in minimal clothing. But is this as simple as exploiting women in order to make more sales, or is this an accurate portrayal of the criminal world in which it is set?
With GTA 5 being the best-selling game of all time, it is doubtful that the team at Rockstar Games has to worry about selling enough units of what some are calling the most anticipated game of the decade. This has led to many asking why the team felt the need to plaster nearly every shot with women in less and less clothing. The GTA games of the past have not held back when it comes to women in sexualised roles, whether it be hookers for Trevor to sleep with and kill or various characters’ girlfriends that are in very tiny outfits.
So if Rockstar does not have to worry about selling enough units, why do they have women wearing so little throughout, not only the previous games but also their trailers? Does it go deeper than using the exploitation of women to sell copies of their games?
It seems that the answer is yes. While there is always something to be said about how easy it is to slap a pretty girl on a cover and have a game sell, GTA is a game about the world of crime, and within that world, there is a lot of exploitation of women. It would be unrealistic to have a game based on the type of crime seen in the Grand Theft Auto games without a certain level of feminine exploitation. This can set critics on a difficult path, however, as it can get to a point where developers can get away with almost anything in the name of accuracy.
Additionally, the argument of being true to life would rely on the rest of GTA being accurate to the real world. Most people have never tried to land a helicopter on a mountain and fallen all the way down, only to walk it off after the world’s quickest trip to the hospital. While this is an extreme example, it only highlights the fact that realism isn’t always the main aim of Rockstar in the GTA games, yet it is seemingly a priority when it can lead to half-naked women in the trailer.
That is not to say the GTA 6 trailer is only focused on women in minimal clothing. There were demonstrations of the types of vehicles available to drive, as well as a significant focus on alligators, with more shots of the reptile than shots containing guns. The opening shots allow Rockstar to demonstrate the fantastic graphics they have for the new game. Additionally, the basic story is lined out with Rockstar introducing a woman in the lead role.
Lucia is in a correctional facility, seemingly for committing some form of dangerous crime, as she is seen later in the trailer committing armed robbery with a male partner. The story seems to be very interesting and could allow for a massive deception to be at play, with a game that allows a woman to shine in a lead role and not be an accessory, object of sexual pleasure, or just a motivation for a male character to get revenge.
So, what does all of this mean in terms of sexism in the gaming industry? When a trailer for a GTA game has more shots with women twerking in them than it does guns and other weaponry, it seems to suggest that the fact that “sex sells” was a major priority in the production of the trailer. While this could be simply to avoid an age gate behind which violence is hidden, it could be indicative of a bigger problem in the gaming industry as a whole.
