Photos: ‘Booth babes’ then and now

Now: E3 2006 “booth babes” representing Nyko, a manufacturer and retailer of console accessories, are wearing shirts that cover their midsections–a significant departure from last year.

Then: At E3 2005, prior to rules being enacted that govern what “booth babes” can wear, video game companies had dozens of scantily clad women on the show floor, usually posing for one picture after another.

Lana Kinnear (right) and another model work at the E3 2006 booth for Sapphire. Kinnear, who’s been at the game trade show the last four years, said the new restrictions on attire for so-called booth babes are silly. “People wear less at the beach,” Kinnear said.

At the N-Gage booth at E3 2006, several women strut their stuff on a riser as photographer after photographer snap pictures. No exposed bellies here.

While some companies at E3 2006 seem to have come to terms with the new “booth babe” rules ensuring that women cover their midsections, not all have. Here, several women promoting Sierra’s “FreeStyle” clearly are still clothed in pre-2006 “booth babe” style.

A GameDaily.com banner at the Los Angeles Convention Center makes a joke out of the controversy over “booth babes” at E3 2006.