Actually, reading that gave me more respect for her. I definitely had the crossing snarl in my mind that "grr..just getting a girl to read a script and pretend that she is a gamer girl." But her responses have made me contrite and I will now consider her a respectable peer again.

I have to say, I've experienced the exact same scenario at previous jobs of someone coming to ask a question about games or computers, and if there's a male near by, they get asked the question, even if they couldn't tell you the difference between an Xbox and a Virtual Boy. It definitely sucks sometimes. And even the other day, I was explaining to a friend at school what HDMI cables are for, and a guy came by and thought he was in the twilight zone to hear such talk come out of a girl's mouth. He even said "Not to be sexist...but I wasn't expecting to hear a girl say that!" Sigh. :(

teraphony

Not having access to the miracle drug you people call cable I have only seen four episodes of X-play. This would not be a problem for me if it wasn't the same four every time I had cable access. So if G4 wanted real publicity they should run new episodes more often.

On the subject of her Maxim spread, this is the first I've heard, and I couldn't really care less. What she does with her fame is her problem and as long as it doesn't block me from my goals then she could pose nude on X-play and it wouldn't have much affect on whether I would watch the show or not.

On the subject of girls in gaming, my girlfriend is a better sniper than I'll ever be in the virtual world. Whoopee, she's fun to play with and isn't that what really matters?

ggodo

@TheDollHouse: I know I might sound like a total jealous bitch for saying this but...

You are correct on that point.

VSpeck

Okay, people. It should be 99.99%. NOT 99.9 for the .01% to make sense.
That's been pissing me off. I though my original comment made that clear, but you don't seem to get it.

@TheDollHouse: Being a celebrity raises your hotness factor several billion points.
I used to be called incredibly ugly, but then I became finalist #4 in the Dementium contest, and BAM!, I got +50000 hotness points.

Kirbytheslayer: Apologizes for Everything(Including stuff he didn't do)

@MURDERFACE: Oh yeah and Xplay sucks ass too.

MURDERFACE

HAHHAHHAHA nice pic for the article LOL priceless. But seriouly she is not all that great looking. She has a jaw that would put jay leno to shame and she has a uber butterface you can cut a roast on that and nothing would happen.

MURDERFACE

I know I might sound like a total jealous bitch for saying this but Morgan Webb is slightly average looking at most. I'm not saying she's a bad person but I don't get how guys are having wet dreams about her. I'm not saying she's ugly but it just seems like she's trying too hard.

Still, I have to agree with her points about the .01% of idiots that prowl the internet. We've all came across our own share of rabid fanboys/girls, jerks that think they are God's gift to women, bratty drama queens, over zealous religious bigots, death threats, and your all around troll. It sad that it's this small percentage seem to be the loudest.

TheDollHouse

.01 percent of people? Really Morgan? Really?

I mean come on its probably more like 60% dicks 40% decent people. On the interent its probably worse though.

Triple07

From the interview in the link:

Multiplayer: Are you suggesting that if you were a man with the same knowledge, you wouldn't be as successful as you are now?

Webb: Here's the thing: television is different then the rest of the world. I have faith in the fact that if I didn't find this television show, I would have a great job. And I don't think that I have this job solely because I'm a woman. But I think that yeah, television is different, and they want a show with a man and a woman.

So what she clarified is television is different (go figure) and that she wasn't hired because she was a woman, although they were looking for a woman to help host the show as well.

contradiction anyone?

NeoAkira

We don't make fun of her knees, we make fun of her rather manly jaw. If you're going to poke fun at us, do it with good examples.

paintstevegreen

Lol when I went to E for All, there was an ad for G4 tv with Morgan and Adam on it. I took a look closed at the poster, and someone wrote "LOL MANJAW" on Morgan's Man-Jaw. That made my day.

UnJamma6096

I'm sorry, I'm sure she's a very nice girl, but I still don't like her. When I see her on G4 talking about videogames, it gets under my skin. Maybe it's the fact that she is so pretentious, yet it seems like she has little to no idea about what she is talking about. I know at least a few girl gamers who are far more deserving of her position and definitely more knowledgable about games.

Attractiveness shouldn't even enter into it, as long as they're not cave trolls. It really shouldn't be an issue anyway, as most of the people on G4 are only of average attraction, if that.

Olivia Munn however = sexbomb.

mmmm munn :D

CaptLtrl

Don't be .01 percent of that guy.

Beam1985

@Kirbytheslayer: Has to do this weekly?:
Hah, she actually addressed that in the interview. It's okay to be pretty and know about games. She didn't say much about guys talking about her looks anyways it was more about guys thinking she doesn't actually play games.

Aflack

It sounds like Ms. Webb is either naive or so nice she chooses to ignore the truth. One, it is NOT .01% that ruin interactions with fans (see Kotaku's choice of picture). Two, they did not choose you as anchor because you are "cute." Three, just because they locked onto your "cute"-ness, that does not mean you don't face challenges that men don't every day. Most of your talk is about those very challenges you face as a woman, but then you say, oh i have a TV show, so it balances out. A) It's not your show. Men still own the company, make the rules, and pay your check. B) What about the women who are as talented as you are but don't have your "cute" factor? Does it balance out for them? Four, "99.9 percent of people are cool and .01 percent are morons who ruin it for everybody"... I think you need to re-examine your data. Because most men and most gamers will reduce you to a sexual object instantly and without remorse.

hikkifan1986

Kirby said: "Whining about people who treat her as a sex object, and then objectifying herself in every way possible."

I agree. She did it for more publicity for the show and yet she knew that it could affect her legitimacy. I wonder if she didn't have some pressure from higher ups to do it. I'm sure there has to plenty of ways to get publicity for your show that don't involve a Playboy-lite kind of spread. Things like this annoy me to no end.

hikergirl

boo to Morgan Webb.

Jessica Chobot >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Morgan Webb.

drbrownt0wn

Awww damnit, she's married. Now where do I put my demon seed?

She's got a point about the internet -- that's why I'm glad most online communities have block/ignore features. After a few months of whittling away the tards, you can finally start to have meaningful dialog online.

topaz420

You'd think McWhertor would have made some kind of self-deprecating and/or indignant joke after the 'Nerd #14 being hired at Kotaku' comment.

Stormrider900

@Ping: I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, because I regret it deeply: I'm the one who invented this stupid name changing trend. Worst mistake I ever made.

@BTownDesignGuy: Jade Raymond said nothing. This was all Morgan Webb. Jade was too busy saying "Buy my game because I'm hot. But don't treat me as an object."

@balls187: Mwuhahaha. Time to get personal. You didn't notice the number disparity. MWUHAHAH!

Kirbytheslayer: Has to do this weekly?

@Desi: Agreed, I don't think Sessler or Webb are that bad, but the writing on X-Play is horrible. The show would be much better if it was just a bit more serious, like Gamehead for example.
We're still talking about games, so it doesn't needs to be 60 Minutes or 20/20 type of writing. Just a little more seriousness is all.

Dracula_Feet

I think it's mostly a generational gap. You're seeing more women get into gaming these days, and I suspect that trend will accelerate until it reaches something resembling parity in the next few decades.

You have to consider that only as feminism and equal rights took off in the 60s did you start to see it become acceptable, socially, for women to take on certain jobs in various industries, as well as hobbies and pastimes. Gaming is still considered a primarily "male" pastime, and that stigma is going to take more time to wear off, and for gaming culture to become more inclusive as a whole.

Give it time. I don't doubt that in a few decades gaming will be as unremarkable for women as it is for men. Our granddaughters will doubtlessly find it inconceivable that there was a time when their interest in games would elicit comment from anyone.

Sugoi

I remember when Morgan was on The ScreenSavers. I didn't see her as nothing more but an average girl on the show that responded to people in the forum and cited emails aloud for the host to answer. Her looks were never a topic until I guess she went through a wardrobe change as her transition from The ScreenSavers to X-Play. Also, that snubb they had with Playboy and the girls of electronics, or something of that nature. She was constantly being to compared to Jessica Corbin, another pretty female starlet on the now defunct channel, who never quite garnered as much as Morgan did, because she wasn't on the video game side of the entertainment sphere. However, I can't disagree with her though, there's always going to be people out there that are going to berate you all for attention.

Trowble

I think Morgan Webb (and even Adam Sessler) should split away from G4. Think of the crapfest that would ensue --- "WHAT WILL OUR NETWORK DO FOR THE SACRED 12-25 YEAR-OLD MALE DEMOGRAPHIC WITHOUT THE PRECIOUS GAMER GRRRL?!" (Solution: air more reruns of COPS and Star Trek.) If all goes well, G4 would file for bankruptcy and dissolve and TechTV would be dealt sweet vengeance.

--

Morgan Webb is cool, though. She should just stop doing things such as exploiting herself (like in Maxim) that give women a detrimental image in the gaming world. I really don't feel offended by having her around though -- THERE'S always room in the gaming club for anyone.

Mode7

Her statistics directly contradict the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory, which I deem more accurate.

Jokes aside, its cool to hear those tidbits from her. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for X Play, its hosts and its various incarnations (at least until they get rid of Adam).

explodingman

@kidnicky: Adam Sessler is the reason I watch. And yes the jokes are written by Grade schoolers. Love him though especially in interviews.

Desi

I am woman hear me roar. My wife can kick my butt in Halo and R6:Vegas. Some girls including Morgan can't be underestimated. The planet needs more gamer chicks!

blanku

yea it's more like 70% jerk level

SkutSkut

She's funny. Doesn't make any sense though. When Nerd #14 was hired at Kotaku I was all like, "Ahhh, shit!" calling up all my buddies, being all like, "Ahh, shit! you gotta check this out!"

Was that really a good metaphor?! Hmm? How about, "Kotaku Editor Brian Crecente spills the beans on how to pronounce...Kotaku." Now that's a story - and even Penelope Cruz designing her first action-adventure game wouldn't top that! Er....

budash2

@NeoAkira:

Or not a pretty face, as the case may be.

Perhaps I should amend my username; it seems to be the trend.

Ping: .01 percent fo' life?

Ping

I <3 Morgan Webb... yeah I know, I am a loser.

yashichi8bit

Jade's remarks remind me very much of a guy I used to know who published electronic music under a handful of personas. His most popular persona was a communist lesbian, whose music was, in his own opinion, inferior to his own. Gimmicky. Trite.

And the funny thing is, people at it up, because the photo he created for this communist lesbian was hot. He made a decent amount of money by making crappy techno and convincing people it was made by a hot chick.

Yeah, Jade's totally right about how nerds treat women who participate in nerdy media. And that really sucks.

BTownDesignGuy

wait, morgan webb is a woman!?
i keed i keed :D

bigman88zz

I think the jerk level is a bit more than .01 on the internet.

Goldwings

@Kirbytheslayer: Has to do this weekly?: lol

"And it would be really great if I could go on a forum and talk to people who like the show and talk about games, but I can't because there's some 14 year-old jerk somewhere who just wants to be an idiot and try and get attention. And then you can't engage them because if you give them attention, then they win."

uh,it's called banning and ignoring people. If you can't grasp those concepts then perhaps you are just a pretty face.

NeoAkira

It is so true. There are those out there that need the attention because they aren't getting anything at home. You know what I mean.

ghnvt

So if it's not allright to judge her attractiveness,or lack thereof,can I point out how painfully unfunny her and the other douchebag on that show are? Are the jokes written by gradeschoolers?

kidnicky

@balls187: Hello Mr. .01 percent.

Philudo

"Why? Probably too many judgments on the sharpness of her knees from sexless trolls, I'm guessing."j I lol'd hard...also, see balls187 above for a great example of this.

PATSCRU

What about the other .09 percent of people who are neither awesome nor assholes?
Are we just forgotten?

Though this comment definitely got me into the .01.

And real classy. Whining about people who treat her as a sex object, and then objectifying herself in every way possible.

Kirbytheslayer: Has to do this weekly?

Looks like its a little nipply in here.

balls187

I would be glad to see more girls in the gaming industry. Not everyone gets turned on looking at double D sized breats bouncing on screen.

0starter0

i like morgan webb for the reasons most guys should like women. i find her smart, insightful, funny and passionate (in this case it's games :D). Even though i'm not particularly attracted to her looks all the aforementioned reasons make her beautiful in my eyes. I realize it's hard for women gamers and i feel for them, but sometimes you run in to a bad bunch of them. recently, i was playing some halo 3 and came across an all female party, some with "PMS" as a clan tag (although, i doubt it was the infamous group), and they were just mean. mean mean mean. was a good match until there was terrible lag and my party was accused of "stand-bying". ugh. does that still even exist? anyway, i do feel bead for all the female gamers catching so much shit from idiotic males, but in no way does that justify their rude actions. lets all play nice.

dafthero

Great responses from the Webb, she definetly seems down to earth, and legitimatly a gamer. Maybe they should have asked her some questions about how she feels the industry is going, or why everyone seemed to love such mediocre games this year. Not every question needed to pertain to her gender in relations to the game industry.

Belain

If I was hot and did a lot of photoshoots in mens magazines and so on and so on, I'd be bitter too. Or something.

kyosen

@debloon: Maybe the problem IS that simple. Ever consider that? More girls actively getting involved and trying to change things for the better seems like an obvious and effective solution to me. Maybe I just refuse to think that any problem with regards to girl gamers requires an impossibly complex solution. Simplicity is best, don't you think? And you know, there have been games made that I think girl gamers would love to play. Games like Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, Beyond Good & Evil, the No One Lives Forever series, or a game like Half-Life 2. These are games with strong female characters that any girl could definitely associate with. They're games that I have bought, and games that plenty of other people have bought, save for one group in particular: GIRLS. Now it isn't my fault that girls decide not to buy these games. Who said anything about Barbie Horse Adventures anyway? Maybe you think that's the type of game girls are expected to buy, but I don't.

Voting with your pocketbook MEANS just that - buy good games that you feel reflect your interests! If the money is there the industry will follow! You can find that example in just about any part of the gaming industry, from fighting games to shooters all the way to dating sims. These genres exist because there are gamers willing to shell out the cash to play these types of games. Once the money shows up for games that exhibit characteristics that girls like, these games will be made. It's as simple as that. If girls as whole don't do this, they only have themselves to blame.

Besides, are there any real blocks to girls going out and trying to make their own games, anyway? Who is stopping them from buying games that reflect their interests? Anyone? The answer to that is a big, fat NO.

Also, how many times has it been said that girl gamers have it so much worse than the rest of us do? I hear it these days like some kind of endless refrain. Now I will admit there's a dimension of abuse girl gamers have to put up with that the rest don't, the same way that any gaming minority (gamers who are gay, for instance) has a dimension of abuse they have to put up with that no one else does, but then abuse has become the norm with respect to just about any type of online gaming. I get it all the time myself, much of it for no reason. Granted there's no sexual dimension to it, but abuse is abuse. You know what I do? Mute the assholes who do it. Or report them. I've been given tools to deal with idiots like that, and I use them. I don't whine that people are constantly in my face - I realize that some people are decent and others are assholes, and I take the appropriate steps to deal with the situation as it arises. I control my gaming experience, not anyone else.

theherlihyboy

Morgan Webb can shut the flipping hell up.
Appearing in Maxim = selling out your gender = Throw her in a fire!

otimus

Here's where you're wrong Morgan... I love reading about nerd #14 at Kotaku.

You on the other hand I don't give a **** about.

Iron_Dragon_2.0

You know, I may be playing in to the ".01 who ruin it all", but Morgan Webb is not "hot" or "cute". She looks like a fucking dude, with cheek bones more defined than any man, an adam's apple and the ugliest fucking hair ever. Grease used in hair hasn't been cool since 1950.

Otherwise, sucks to be her. XPLAY sucks ass and she will never be taken serious.

RagingBull

Good........looks? Eeeeeewww!

tehblacksheep234

She is just way to ugly to read the whole article. I saw the words awesome cool and fine in the same sentence and just stopped reading this garbage.

ballaboy311

@Ghede: In retrospect, I was rather quick to use the "you people" card, as only ONE person identified balls187 as a jerk. The .1 percent confused me. Curse you decimals! Curse Youuu! (It had nothing to do with the decimals, this is an entirely different hang-up.)

Ghede

@balls187: Just a titty bit.

There, the exchange has been complete. Sheesh, you people are rather quick to call people jerks on the internet. That isn't jerkishness, that is classic nipple based wordplay. Ragglefraggle, kids these days. Wait... I'm twenty. Ragglefraggle, people these days.

Ghede

See, I have a problem.

On one hand, everything Morgan Webb has said here is valid.

On the other hand, she is also the worst example of beauty exploited for fame in this industry.

Imaria

I have no qualms with Miss Webb, however I would definitely say that she's got her message mixed up. One on hand she's lambasting the internet for objectifying her as a sex object, but on the other she's got plenty of media for posing scantily clad. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Funkyphreakout

What does G4 have to do with gaming!?

Captain_Canada

@balls187:

sauce.

manjikengo

I was all like, "yeah, way to be reactionary about the web Morgan Webb!" Then I started reading the comments in this thread and thought, "way to be proactive, Morgan Webb!"

Props to MTV for framing gender in gaming culture, but it seems to me, gaming culture is actually pretty friendly to gender since gaming culture is still very fringe. In the age-old war of gender, fringe is usually the kindest and fairest, though of course that does not mean that the immortal war against the evils of patriarchy does not also find victims on the fringe.

Just that the evils of gender she probably experiences do not reflect game culture so much as Television culture.

IE.(If she were just a game journalist with a web site or writin for a magazine she probably wouldn't have the same experience she has cohosting a TV show)...

Sayin',

Although she covers fringe stuff, the fact that she's on TV makes her too accessible to be fringe.

Anyway, she's attempting to bite the hand that feeds as G4's programming is geared to 14 year olds. Which, of course 14 year olds like, because 14 year olds like the idea of cynicism for cynicism's sake, as they are in the midst of adolescence, and so part of what makes Morgan Webb successful is baiting 14 year olds, treating them with contempt and so forth, which they, for their own psychological reasons, find inclusive. So.

Yeah, props to MTV for trying, but I don't think this really sticks to gaming so much as to 'women in TV' and suchlike. What would be more interesting would be a weeklong series of interviews with female programmers, female PR, gamestop employees even, etc, the folk dealing in the actual game industry on a day to day basis, rather than just picking some quasi celebrity who treats this as a chance to excite her fanbase with more browbeating.

Wait? Did I just write 'props to MTV for trying'? Something's wrong...

balgeary

Personally, I don't get her being "hot".

Sure, she's a woman, and she's not exactly ugly either, but she's just not what I would call hot.

Maybe bookstore/coffee shop "Gimme my coffee and stop asking me if I want a mint latte" cute. Perhaps even "College girl that happens to play DDR on Doubles" cute (Who am I kidding, half the girls that play DDR in Cleveland are kinda sloppy...)

There are two other girls on G4 that I'd probably classify as "hot" over her, like AoTS' Olivia Munn, or certainly Cheat!'s Kristin Holt, whom I feel deserves a cover on Maxim (Pick a country edition).

Cute? Yes. Hot? Not.

But hey, it's just one opinion in a sea of them...

Soldier_CLE

@theherlihyboy: Your solutions are extremely clear cut and impossibly simple. Open up your fucking mind: there are a lot more complexities to being a female gamer.

Imagine trying to play Live and dealing with the shit any girl who plays must deal with. Well since she has to vote for her pocketbook, I guess she can just play 'Barbie's Horse Adventures', right? Everything's that easy!

debloon

Ah, sweet sweet man jaw.

Keanu

Will this focus on girl gamers never end? Who cares? If girls game, they game! If they don't, they don't! No one's keeping them from gaming and saying that they can't game. No one is saying they can't get involved in making games. Hell, they're free to game as much as they want, and make as many games as they want, and what do you know? Barring a few exceptions, they choose not to make games, let alone play them! BIG DEAL! The industry gets along fine without them, and will continue to get along fine without them.

If girls are going to game more often and start making their own games, that is a decision they have to come to on their own. Don't like sexually objectified girls in games? Then get involved and make your own game! Try to sell it! If it does well, it will herald much change! Otherwise, quit whining that the gaming industry doesn't cater to your particular interests. The industry responds to one thing, and one thing alone: MONEY. Where the money goes, it will follow. If girl gamers don't like the way things are going, they should vote with their damn pocketbooks. That's what the rest of us gamers do.

And you know, I'm not about to be lectured on the sexual objectification of girls in games by women who have and/or do sexually objectify themselves in the gaming industry, be it Morgan Webb, the Frag Dolls, Game Girl Advance, or whatever girl gamer decides to do so.

theherlihyboy

I like her more when she's not hosting X-Play. Same goes for Adam Sessler. Like in Game Break in Attack of the Show, or when they're hosting E3. 'Cause not one single joke on X-Play is remotely funny.

AceGamer

It's more than a little sad when .01% of people are keeping you away from social activities. I guess the words hurt. Hurt like glass....

Garro

she is a hot thing, she looks so cute on webb alert too

Dimipapa

Go figure, she actually used Kotaku as an example in the story and it wasn't just added for here.

nintendomaniac64

Olivia Munn > Morgan Webb

TheRemedy

There's a shred of hypocracy in there. Although valid points, for the most part.

@0starter0: Just DD? Some of these games look like they're smuggling cantaloupes. It's just stupid. Looking at you Soul Calibur IV.

brello

I really don't get why people are so down on her looks. From the times that I've watched x-play (not at all in the last few years due to avoiding tv) she seemed at worst to be average, and at times exceptionally attractive. Most of the time it was her mode of dress or hair style/color that detracted from her looks. Despite what most people say, I'm willing to bet that most would be all about talking her up in a bar if they had the fortitude for such a thing.

Anemone

That man has some nice boobs.

hobob

@thinkfreemind:

Your link is cranky and told me that you are stealing jpgs and bandwidth. You should be ashamed.

PapaBear434

@J-Fro:

This is just another way to do it, don't you know? Beat us in video games, and emasculate us further.

PapaBear434

Bah. This is the Morgan Webb that I used to like. [www.chefelf.com]

thinkfreemind

Women gamers? C'mon! Women are too busy destroying mens lives to play video games.

J-Fro

@debloon: Actually, anyone who isn't an american-english speaking male has to put up with an insane amount of abuse in random matchups on live.

It never fails; once the other team realises my teammates and I don't speak english to one another, you hear all kind of offensive comments on their part. Actually, it kinda reflect on the knowledge of the average american male gamer that many of them just can't recognize French when they hear it.

But it just is the way it is. You grow a thicker skin and answer back, or mute the dumbasses.

Guizzy

Oh, and to frame my statement:

I thought Morgan was hot back on "The Screen Savers" and any other show she popped up on the old TechTV. I have a thing for women who can outsmart me, I think.

The fact you did a shoot for Maxim and FHM was just icing on the cake. Smooth, sexy icing.

Wow, I'm getting lecherous tonight...

/wife is watching me write this, and is laughing while she hits me

PapaBear434

@NeoAkira:

correction: their

NeoAkira

Shouldn't that be ".1"?

AnEternalEnigma

@debloon: "Imagine trying to play Live and dealing with the shit any girl who plays must deal with."

Mute them, duh. I find people who complain about harassment on live as annoying as parents who complain that they're kids are playing violent video games. Both have the tools available to fix the problem: live complainers can mute people (novel idea I know) and parents can use the ESRB ratings.

NeoAkira

Well, Morgan, since you don't read forums anyway, I'll say this and get it off my chest:

I respect you as a gamer, as a woman, and as a tech specialist. I know you have forgotten more about operating systems than I have ever learned. You also have probably played more games, since it is your job.

That said, you are absolutely, unequivocally, stunningly hot. I have the picture of you posing against the server tower as my desktop wallpaper. And in that little, theoretical game that all spouses play for some reason where you choose your one hypothetical celebrity you'd sleep with if you had the opportunity, and not get in trouble, my wife guessed first try that it would have been you (she chose Brendan Fraiser, if you must know.)

I realize that this would never happen, and I am not about to go all creepy stalker on you. If I were to meet you on the street, or at a convention, I would shake your hand, ask for your autograph, and tell you that I am a huge fan and appreciate and reference your and Adam's opinion (on what is the only watchable show on G4) whenever possible before a game purchase. I would not do anything creepy or in anyway inappropriate.

But know this... In my head, we've done things. Dirty things, crazy things, wonderful things. You and your awesome, sexy, goddess-like figure have inescapably wormed your way into my fantasies. And there you shall stay.

WHEW! Do I feel better! Good thing she'll never, ever read this! Would THAT be embarrassing or what?!

PapaBear434

She really thinks the number of a-holes is that low? She must not have Xbox Live.

Kai_

Honestly, I'd just like to see more girls in games writing about other things over being girls games... Honestly, I'm getting a bit sick of it. Yes, it can be hard.. yes, we all can feel sorry for them when they get a smacktard on the other end of the headset.

Honestly, I'd have MUCH more respect this lady if she did a piece on the political satire of Halo 3 (if there is any..).

I'm sorry that it's SO hard for you to be an attractive woman who enjoys video games. Really, the best way to gain respect is to put your chin up, ignore the assholes, and quit writing about how hard your life is. Do that, and I'll be the first person to start the applause.

Dakkonfire

You'd think if she were gonna complain about exploiting herself, she could get somebody to point her nipples in the same direction in her pop shots.

AverageJoes

Reading most of the replies, I can see why she wouldn't want to read forums. Most people have a level head but there will always be douchebags commenting (way more than 0.1%), and who wants to have to put up with that, especially when they're being douchebags towards you?

I actually read through the interview, and I now like her way more than I did before. She realizes and acknowledges that she has gotten where she is largely thanks to her being a woman and (no matter what some people here say) attractive. She doesn't seem to have a problem with that. What she does have a problem with is people assuming she knows nothing about games or doesn't play them.

I also like her view on people wanting her to become some sort of role model for getting more girls into games. Is that necessarily a good thing? I mean, us guys would probably enjoy it but like she said, nothing is keeping girls from getting into gaming right now, and it's just entertainment. Gaming isn't inherently a good thing to do. There's no need to encourage girls to play games more (unless you're in the industry).

Kavatar

I wish techTV would take over G4....

vecha

OMG, she's a man! I can see his/her dinger!

WhoreofSpamylon

cross eyed bewbz.

hypocrazyyyyyy!

conglomerate

That photo is man-tastic.

jajimo

"What about the other .09 percent of people who are neither awesome nor assholes?
Are we just forgotten?

Though this comment definitely got me into the .01."

Just.. lol... hahah

I can't believe the interviewer didn't fix that math error when she published the interview.. -_-'

chibixleon

@TheRemedy:
Hell yes.

Captain Impulse

@MuppetChrist:

Uhmm, they've usually been pretty polite to me whenever I've seen them at PAX. Of course I wouldn't bother talking to them on a forum because I really don't care... but are they like snobbish or something? They would walk up and small talk me when I wandered on the booth and I sure as hell didn't bug them for it, and were pretty good sports. I miss something?

Evdor

I'm sorry, Morgan Webb is just a straight whiner who lets the .1 percent dictate her life. Way to empower yourself girl! Those 14 year olds really know how to drive your life! Lets say she engages into a conversation with someone on the street. Then a 14 year old comes up and starts looking at her, she's going to stop and walk away? Hella bitchy to me.

Oh and sorry, but you got a man-face girly. Whoo! I'm in the .1 percent too!

Silenthillnight

@splines:

QFT

I'm also looking at you, Frag Dolls.

MuppetChrist

someone should have asked her what she thinks of every 'empowered' female character in videogames having to munch more carpet then a power vac

Kojjiro

Oh wait, I get it.

You use your good looks and nice boobs to land a job as a figurehead for a video game channel, then refuse to talk to the fucking community because you look good and have nice boobs.

Hypocrisy much?

splines

Actually, looking at the MTV blog post and comments, it looks like MTV went back later and fixed that math. I still wonder whether Morgan herself said "point zero one percent" or "point one percent." Is it journalistically credible to fix someone's math error?

chardish

If I were a woman, i'd be offended, but happy, because those men make her career.

The men who want to sleep with her, WATCH HER SHOW, because they want to sleep with her.

So you would do yourself a favor to entice that behavior while letting them know "i'm not interested in you, but I thank you for saying you want to have sex to me in 39 different ways".

Considering where she came from, thats an ego trip.

If thats the case, don't get on TV, cause men are judging you the minute you step on the set.

Being a woman in general gets you judged, Ugly or Beautiful, someone wants to have sex to you and eventually you will be notified of that fact, INTERNET OR NOT.

RetsaM

Uh...Morgan? 99.9% + .01% = 99.91%.

Might want to check your math there and find out what happened to the .09% you're missing.

chardish

@theherlihyboy: They're games that I have bought, and games that plenty of other people have bought, save for one group in particular: GIRLS.

Except what about the girls who are buying them? Have you considered that girls are going out and buying games that they enjoy? The problem is that girls are a minority in gaming. For every girl that goes out and buys The Orange Box, there's some guy buying Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball. There is purchasing power, it's just counteracted by the average teenage male.

hrunting

So some of you think that the comments made by Morgan Webb and Adam Sesler are written by kids in grade school, huh. Yes, I know of so many kids that have knowledge of the writings of Marcel Proust, E.E. Cummings, obscure political figures, and gaming history. The fact is that both Morgan and Adam review games both with familiarity and insight, and I find their comments 10 times more adult and clever than 80% of the posters on this blog. They review games as if they are talking to adults, they don't seem to pull any punches, and I find their commentary to be both helpful and insightful. I really like Morgan Webb. But then I have always liked most of the females associated with G4TV, including Sarah from "Screen Savers", "T-Dub", "Thug", etc. I find them refreshing and gamers from a different point of view. By the way, some of the better material written for G4Tv, including gaming history, were written by females. But then, I also like Olivia.

bornonce

@Sloopydrew:
The problem is that you are less likely to ever run into that person on the freeway again. You're gonna run into douche #893273 on every gaming website (different name or not) that you go to. I'm sure she's tried the ignore trick, but when new haters pop-up everyday its easy to get demoralized and stop all together.

SpishackCola

I'm surprised a technically competent person (she did know her stuff at TechTV) doesn't know about the "ignore" functions available in chat rooms, forums and emails. Her attitude seems incredibly childish and makes it appear that she doesn't have much of a backbone. Her point is valid, but to ignore 99% of everyone out there because of the few bad seeds is absurd. Does she also avoid ever leaving her house, as she may meet someone nasty in the real world or have a mean driver cut her off on the freeway?

Sloopydrew

<3

yonderTheGreat

It's difficult to take her seriously when you're in her headlights...

boopadoo

holey shit thats a hot picture of morgan...

khuntilla

Knees? Heavens no. Nobody would be caught dead pulling themselves down to that level.

It's all about the jaw.

Johnny_Under

I like how she pretty much shuts off any interaction with her "fans" because that 1% objectify her and treat her like an object. Maybe its because, like, she poses for Maxim. There's a huge difference between getting shit for that and getting shit because you're a girl playing Halo over XBL. The difference? The average girl that gets harassed on XBL and gets bombarded with propositions and friend requests usually isn't dumping her tits out onto a photo spread. Its hard to take any lardmouth from G4 seriously to begin with.

I'm not saying she deserves it or asks for it (because nobody does). I'm saying that she should expect it with the nature of "TEH BIZ," especially paired with the whole "posing in swimsuits" thing. That kinda kills your credibility IMO. Really hard to take anyone seriously. Oh, but its cool, there's an article in there. Because the knuckledragging high school kids that read Maxim sure as hell turn the pages to read the articles about someone on an obscure channel that's on the 2nd or 3rd tier in my digital package.

And concerning the Jade issue: That was horrible, I felt bad for her. But I think the problem people SHOULD be looking at is how the industry actually treats women inside of it. If Jade weren't moderately attractive, would Ubisoft have paraded her around? Webb cites Will Wright and Cliffy B. as examples of this sort of double standard. I think the biggest difference here is that they actually did something before they were paraded around on their names. What the hell has she actually done to warrant being thrown out as someone I give a damn? Producer of "The Sims Online?" The ONLY reason she was being paraded around was that Ubisoft figured out and has known for years that you can just parade some eye-candy around for the juvenile minded gamers out there and they'll eat it up. Case in point: Frag Dolls. Would any of them get any attention if they looked like Cavetrolls? The whole image that Ubi with Jade and Morgan Webb and her bikinis have taught me is that the industry motto is "Women welcome (Unless they're fat or ugly and can't be used as PR tools)."

Maybe the whole reason that women in the industry can't be taken seriously as they should is that the industry parades them around like models and purposefully markets them as objects.

Nikolii

@theherlihyboy:

No. Just no. You seem to think all female gamers think the same way, and play the same games. We don't. I hate being labelled as a "female gamer" because we can't be put into one neat little category. The "female gamer" you're trying to reach out to is the one that the real gamers despise. The ones who cry about what some pixels looks like in a god damn game.

I'm sick of hearing about "grrl gamers". We're gamers, nothing more, nothing less. We don't need any special attention. Stop feeding your attention to the fucking drama queens, like Morgan Webb.

Hahaue

Jade Raymond: hawt.

Morgan Webb: doesn't even look like a woman.

bubuli

I can't say I blame her attitude too much. I'm a dude and I'm pretty sick of the Morgan "Manjaw" jokes by now myself. Mildly humorous the first few times sure, but making jokes about peoples' appearances is so middle school and takes absolutely zero wit.

Anyway, you can now return to your scheduled bashing of all things G4 and Morgan Webb's physical appearance.

ビッグ ボス

Hmm. While i enjoy the grade school humor of X-Play, and Morgan IS a decently well-spoken lady...

I've always had a thing for Cat (from The Screensavers)
[www.imdb.com]

WildWon

Manjaw or no, the problem is that Webb took the shortcut: she went and did a spread on a magazine that's one rung down from Playboy and used her body to succeed. She does more damage to the cause than anything, and thus has no right to talk. Every time a professional woman like Jade Raymond is harassed, it's the fault of women like this.

RawSteelUT

I think this entire post is a pretty good example of why Morgan avoids reading about herself on the internet and interacting with "fans". Its pretty obvious that the selected quotes taken from the interview are meant to be inflammatory and of course the commentors jumped to the bait.

From the interview she seems to have a good head on her shoulders. She understands she is in show business and what she needs to do to promote her show and career. It perfectly understandable she doesn't want to read hurtful things about herself or even the good things that could warp her ego and perception of herself. I see that bit was left out in the selective quoting. Good for her.

Personally I would love to be her. Beautiful and successful in a career I'm passionate about.

lilithfey

I liked Morgan back when she was on the Screen Savers (man, I miss TechTV). She was always a little stiff on camera (and still is) but she was cool. I just don't buy her as a gamer though. She could be a huge gamer in real life for all I know but she doesn't come off that way.

I stopped watching X-play when they put her on there because as big of a dork as Sessler was, he came off as excited and into it. The second they put Morgan on there they turned him into a caricature and the show became some kind of "beauty and the geek" thing.

I don't blame Morgan for that though, it's the network. For some reason Spike and G4 both seem to think it's funny to demean gamers. I guess they realize that it's not gamers who are actually watching their awful channels.

skullivan

"99.9 percent of people are awesome and cool and fine and normal, and there's the .01 percent of people who are morons"

Morgan dear, I think you need to actually go on the internet and get a freaking clue. Everyone + my grandma knows that the internet is filled with Idiots. It's not just ONE 14 year old, there are even older people who do the type of crap that gives you the title of "Ass Hat." Quit being such a little baby and grow up. I deal with idiots and pricks all the time on XBL, WoW, Message Boards, etc you find them everywhere. Sure, they might make you mad or irritated, or make you want to stab yourself in the face, but that doesn't give you the right to say that one person ruins it and you have to be a little bitch and whine because someone doesn't like your knees. Be an adult, actually play a game, get off X-Play, have Adam host it because he ACTUALLY knows wtf a game is, and do us all a favor and face society.

Gzuss09

I met Morgan and Adam back when they were on Tech TV, she was really sweet and very down to Earth.

It's a shame that she avoids most fan contact due to the immature groups out that are out there, but I guess she's stuck with it due to the target audience of games.

Ah well.

Rondogg

whatever happened to John Romero? She was a female gamer developer, double wammy, up there with Jade Raymond!

DSlayer103

It's rather cute she's using the "net dumbass formula" to cover her tracks.
Living in the bay area and working in particular geek circles have given me about 5 different personal testimonies that she is indeed a grade A Ice Queen.

And while I might expect some slander from former co-workers, I wouldn't from guys who were nice and generous enough to allow her to shoot stories in their venues.

I have nothing against the lady, but it seems really lame to blame others (even if they may be jerks) because you don't want any backlash for your own actions.

wirebrain

I like her. She seems to have a great head on her shoulders.

Still, her "excuses" for posing in Maxim really don't gel very well. I'm fairly sure she did it for the attention and the ego. Not for any other reason. There are many ways to promote something.

goddessakasha

I hate those 0.1 people. Damn 0.1 people!!! And I think she meant 0.1...right? And not 0.01...? Because I'm Asian, and isn't 100 % minus 99.9 % equals...0.1 %...Am I missing something?...Maybe there's a 0.09% of people that she's not mentioning...maybe it's the people who are trying to get her number and address...no?

_tdc_

Respect for Morgan Webb after reading this article: increased.

Hazaa54

Once there's an issue involving morals AND something OTHER than the 'common man', all of a sudden the people involved has to be representatives of their gender / age / race etc.

Not crazy about Morgan's looks, but she does look good. She looks a lot better than THAT girl in Gamestop (yea, that one). She actually has more clever and meaningful stuff to say about games and the industry. She sometimes exploits her body to other ventures. So what? She's a person first and foremost, she's doing these gigs to help promote her show and that's show business, get over it. She's not the representative of all things good in a female race. Though that said, she is an excellent candidate by being relevant to her subject and not having a sidekick role on the show. Hey, you know what? Those old hags on 'The View' seem morally correct, why don't YOU people point your attention there?

Other than a few episodes obviously way too excited about a title I believe is undeserved, X-play is the saving grace of ANY video game tv show. On or OFF G4. I believe these shows (as a whole) are still in their infancy and X-play can potentially bridge the gap between a novelty idea and a worth while watch. I'm also sad they took away my other favorite show, Judgement Day :(

neosoul

I think it'd be great to get some sort of verification system so people could take ownership of their names and reputations.

I'm lordargent here, I'm lordargent on fark. I'm lordargent practically everywhere except on xbox live*.

*: Because, for some reason, it didn't like 'lordargent' as a gamertag and I could never figure out what part of it it didn't like. (no one had that tag).

Maybe it thought 'lord' was a religious thing, or maybe it was because 'gent' denoted gender, or whatever. It just didn't work, even putting gibberish numbers at the end it wouldn't fly.

lordargent

I love the irony of posting that picture, which automatically gathered that .1% to be trolls to only talk about her looks and totally ignore her interview.

Honestly, I don't think there's a way to win. I truly believe that the vast majority of you probably wouldn't respect or listen to her no matter what she (or really any other woman) did. If she's smokin' hot, she most likely would have had to use her looks instead of her intelligence to 'sell' her ideas, and her credibility is shot. If she's ugly or even average looking but could crank out a 5 way tie for games of the year, the only attention she'd get would be assholes whining that she's not fuckable and therefore not worth the time of day, let alone any respect.

VioletArrows

@bornonce:

I have to be the odd man out here... but I can't freakin' STAND Olivia Munn... i don't know what it is, but she just comes off as irritating.

And it's been proven that she cannot carry that show on her own without a co-host who can pick up the slack.

Enigma_20XX

I like Morgan... I like Adam Sessler more, however... he's funnier... Morgan's cute, yeah, I said it.

As for the Jade Raymond comment, she was stuck in my face more than the damn Assassin's Creed game itself, and does she ever share the spotlight with some of the other people that made the game?

Sure she's the producer, but she came off looking like an attention whore in my eyes. Great! Let's have more women in gaming development! More power to ya. Just don't expect me not to get tired of ANYBODY who considers themselves more inportant than the game they're promoting.

Enigma_20XX

She is a paid tool, why anyone listens to a word she (or the network that carries her) says is beyond me.

JaXs

if you guys actual read the link it says

"Webb: I do not read fan e-mail because 0.1 percent of people ruin it for everybody, and I don't read forums because 0.1 percent of people ruin it for everybody. And it would be really great if I could go on a forum and talk to people who like the show and talk about games, but I can't because there's some 14 year-old jerk somewhere who just wants to be an idiot and try and get attention."

i dont see 0.01 anywhere? ... do you? ... umm . okay ...

bluespecv

It wouldn't be X-play without either of them.

fullmetalkira

Trolls take up a lot more then 0.01% to be certain. Those who just act like us not included. *ITG, AW,etc.*

It is a pity that Morgan is so easily hurt by text...like so many others that can't take it..at least she stays out of the way rather then look like an even greater fool in trying to do what other posters try *in vain* to do..to pwn a troll with a "witty" response *laughable* (Anti-trolls might as well be doing the work for us.)

~Personally I don't see anything wrong with how she looks, but I would troll her nontheless IF I felt she was a worthy focus for such attacks. It wouldn't be hard since I already know a little about what bothers her now. Though I can't be certain of what troll type I'd use..I personally prefer Offensive Troll tactics over flaming..Attention trolling sort of comes with the territory <_<

..we don't always feel/think as we project while working..it can be like acting *or at least that is how I've heard it described*. The views expressed aren't always our own. One could HATE Rygar but proclaim it GREATER then all other games of tha genre. One could LOVE God of War but constantly play it down as crap. Depends on the trolls goals among other things.

NOTE: Not at TUGOWU though..I can't be trolling at a union I play the part of officer at...so even if I had a perfect target in mind..can't really have my fun at the expense of the board. As for why I posted this..I just had the desire to do so and did it

GodModeGOD