Game Review Scores ‘Not Important’
Analyst implies Metacritic scores are corrupt. Article written by Tuffcub in PS3 News, Xbox 360 News, on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 15:30.My new favourite crystal ball gazer, Cowen Group analyst Doug Creutz, has been doing some, er, analysis. He has discovered that out of the seven identified factors used when considering a game purchase, the review score is the least important. According to Doug, word-of-mouth recomendations are valued more than decent score on Metacritic.
“We note this, in part, because of persistent rumors that some game developers have been jawboning game reviewers into giving their games higher critical review scores,” said Cowen. “We believe the publishers are better served by spending their time on the development process than by ‘grade-grubbing’ after the fact.”
The eight seven factors are, in order of importance:
- Genre – If we like First Person Shooters, chances are we will buy more of them.
- Franchise – Good news for Activision, if we liked the first game the chances are we will pick up the sequel.
- Price – Everyone loves a bargin.
- Word Of Mouth Recommendation – We are more likely to trust friends who recomend a game.
- Advertising – Dynamic and exciting adverts help sell the game.
- Publisher Reputation – ‘Brand loyalty’ is low within gaming.
- Metacritic Scores - Least important due to alleged ‘fixing’ of scores for exclusives.
Source: Gamasutra
Comments
Please note that all comments are the opinion of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis.
toutski | 25/11/2009 15:35
Legend
4007 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2008
“Genre – If we like First Person Shooters, chances are we will buy more of them.” – genius! How much does this guy get paid?!?
Tuffcub | 25/11/2009 15:42
Team TSA: Writer
3448 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
Actually those are my words, not Dougs, he just listed the factors so I elaborated a bit. Just not very well cos im fick.
toutski | 25/11/2009 15:56
Legend
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Sorry dude. My point was that factor was an obvious one!
bunimomike | 25/11/2009 15:37
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3374 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
For me, it’s: Review Score (although my ears prick up from anything 6 out of 10 onwards) then I just go with the actual review article, word-of-mouth here (TSA) and friends, etc…. then genre excludes (eg. football games) and price dictates when I actually pick it up. I have close to zero loyalty to any franchise but will always listen out for sequels, prequels as a matter of course.
tjgb | 25/11/2009 23:21
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276 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
Yeah – I think reveiw scores are important. For example, I was reading GamesTM the other day and they gave Demon’s Soul 10/10. It’s not really a game or genre that I would normally be massively interested in, but a game that gets a perfect score has got to be worth checking out… Assuming it gets released in the UK.
Jumping Monks | 25/11/2009 15:39
Legend
1049 TSA Points | Member since: Jan 2009
Fair enough I guess. Reputation and review scores are more important than advertising though. IMO anyway. What about other factors like multiplayer support, I know a mate of mine who just plain won’t buy SP only games.
jacklum | 25/11/2009 15:40
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890 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
This article is a bit more quantitative;
“Research by EEDAR has shown that a high marketing spend increases gross revenue three times more than high review scores.”
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/marketing-influences-game-revenue-three-times-more-than-high-scores
BlingOnMyWrist | 25/11/2009 15:44
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1358 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2008
It’s true. Even if nofi gave Uncharted 2 a low score like “9″, I still would have gone out and got it.
Heheh
Paranoimia | 25/11/2009 15:49
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402 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2008
I’d agree with that, to a point. I do look at reviews and their scores, but only pay them serious attention if I’m uncertain about a game in my own gut. Generally speaking, if I know I’ll like a game, I’ll buy it regardless of what the reviews say and what scores they give.
For example, I enjoyed the the original BFBC game more than Modern Warfare, so I’ll buy BFBC2 regardless of the reviews it receives. Same goes for Just Cause 2.
fiffyfu | 25/11/2009 15:58
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67 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2008
MGS 4 was getting 10/10’s everywhere and ive never played it, and the same goes for the final fantasy games, i dont like them genres so i dont play them games. Like Paranoimia i only really pay attention to the scores and reviews if its a game im not sure about, like mirrors edge and dead space for me, and even then i only got them when they were cheap enough (point 3 lol). Generally i know which games i will and wont be getting months before they are out.
bunimomike | 25/11/2009 15:54
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3374 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
For me, the most important thing is that a TSA reviewer actually likes a certain genre (or is open to things). I’ve been to other sites where the reviewer slammed a particular title but confidence was low when the article started with a “I’m not really a fan of FPS games so…”.
*facepalm*
Raen | 25/11/2009 15:55
Team TSA: Writer
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“The eight factors are, in order of importance:”
Only 7 in the list?
bunimomike | 25/11/2009 16:18
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3374 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
8. Should I buy the game so I can be in with the in-crowd.
Tuffcub | 25/11/2009 17:25
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3448 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
Oh bugger I thought I’d changed that!! *cough*
BrendanCalls | 25/11/2009 16:00
Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc - YOHIMBÉ!!!
1156 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
For me I would like to think my order is as follows 4,7,1,2,3,5,6
But hopw do you quantify how much I am influenced by advertising, I don’t think it’s alot but I reckon I might be surprised if someone ever studied me about it
hairfreax | 25/11/2009 16:00
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582 TSA Points | Member since: Jun 2009
Its all about the money for me . If its cheap enough i will get it. Had to justify MW2 at sainsburys price to my wife that it was a bargain then trade as quick as poss
bajere | 25/11/2009 16:12
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927 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2008
I NEVER base my purchases on a review. some people have different tastes in games than others..end of story…
Example:
MGS series, best thing in computer games ever IMO. MGS is “ok” for others.
LBP, load of crap IMO. Others loved it.
Tombradier, mediocre at best IMO, the world laps it up every time.
GTA, i play each game from start to finish a minimum of twice, i love them, others don’t even finish the 1st play through….
the list can go on and on….gaming is a personal taste.
colossalblue | 25/11/2009 16:23
Team TSA: Editor
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but reviews are /not/ personal taste. This is a common misconception that I suppose as reviewers we bring on ourselves a bit.
A review is an individual’s opinion based on objective appraisal of a product. If there is no objective part to that then it’s not a review, it’s just an opinion in a pretty dress. That’s why experienced and knowledgable reviewers are worth a million bedroom score-scribblers who will rate a product they’ve never experienced first-hand. I can tell you why Killzone 2 is a great game even though I didn’t enjoy it. Because I can disconnect my opinion from the critical reality. So opinion plays a part but “reviews are just one person’s opinion” is not the whole story.
jimmy-google | 25/11/2009 16:52
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1285 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2009
Which is why reviews don’t effect sales so much as at the end of the day if you buy a game you want to enjoy it. Technically good isn’t enough if you don’t enjoy the game.
3shirts | 25/11/2009 22:27
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1791 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2008
This is EXACTLY what I think reviews should be. They are a critical/objective examination of HOW the game works with some opinion of the overall effect thrown in for a bit of flair.
It annoys me when people seem to suggest that no-one can give an objective view of something. Like when I watch quiz shows and say “thats an easy question” and people go “it’s only easy if you know it”. BS! It’s easy because I objectively estimate that it requires knowledge held by the majority of people or can be worked out with simple logic/maths etc.
bunimomike | 25/11/2009 23:05
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3374 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
I think I disagree. See what you think:
A review can be an objective dissection of a game’s components. Graphics, sound, structure, load times, etc… but when it comes down to it, that’s just a cold feature list. However, I want a reviewers opinion on the game itself. Does it gel well. Does it compare to other games. Even if it’s got crap graphics is it still great to play? I want an opinion that strikes a chord, makes me smile, warns me off a title. An opinion can rarely be anything other than subjective due to the very nature of the word. It’s an estimation or judgement as to the merit of any given title. Sure, the review can be objective which is always important but the real opinion of said reviewer is surely going to be the essence of the article.
From my perspective, what separates TSA reviews from amateur scribbles and other sites is initial objectivity but the balance of a real-world opinion and honesty which gives me a far better idea of whether something’s worth purchasing or not.
Did I end up disagreeing? Pass.
DJ Judas | 25/11/2009 16:19
Epic
371 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2008
I’d say that the mob at large finds the franchise most important. You could slap the word ‘halo’ on a piece of dogshit and it’d sell well.
X201 | 25/11/2009 16:27
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260 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
For me “Review score from reliable publication/website” holds a fair degree of sway as well.
iNsAnE_gAmInG | 25/11/2009 16:27
* Banned *
-1930 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
I never even look at the developers when I am deciding on what game to buy. Genre, price and review scores are just about all that interests me.
XMbeaner | 25/11/2009 16:57
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Review scores are the only way to know if something is good. If there isn’t a score how do we know what value it has? I for one will never read a review that doesn’t have a score and since most of the people that I know are total morons I can’t trust word of mouth. Also I do agree with the marketing side of things. If a game is marketed well I am more likely to buy it.
colossalblue | 25/11/2009 17:00
Team TSA: Editor
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It’s not just the people you know dude, most /people/ are total morons.
We’re not though, we’re ace.
3shirts | 25/11/2009 22:53
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I just spent about 10 minutes writing a reply before it dawned on me that this is sarcasm.
Fail
jimmy-google | 25/11/2009 17:03
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I think the order changes from game to game. Price is normally right at the top for me but developer loyalty (Naughty Dog for example) can break through that. Advertising probably impacts my choice the least as I probably know a fair bit about the game before there are any adverts about.
Genre varies as well as sometimes I’ll buy a game because its a certain genre I like but other times I won’t because I have too many games in that genre. At the moment I won’t be buying a FPS for a long time; not because I don’t like them but I have far too many of them.
A high review score that comes out of the blue (like Demon Souls) will encourage me to look at a game but I’ll check the developer and price before I take the plunge. On the whole a review score means very little to me. I still bought Haze when it came out and rented Fairytale Fights despite bad reviews and actually I’m put off a game now if their aren’t lots of reviews about before a game is released as it comes across as though the publisher/developer is trying to hide something.
3shirts | 25/11/2009 22:58
Member
1791 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2008
I agree wholeheartedly with you. What drives my decision towards one purchase may be a low priority on another. I bought MW2 based purely on how much I enjoyed the the first one. On the other hand I bought Guitar Hero when I saw it cheap, then Rock Band based on a combination of enjoying the genre and reviews.